Replacing The Front Fiberglass
Looking for some advice. I had a leak in the seam between the rubber roof and the front fiberglass piece on my TT (not a fiberglass cap but an actual piece of fiberglass). The dealer looked at it and said that the roof damage is minimal and I should be ok on that for now. However, I do need to replace the front fiberglass panel and some internal pieces. I received a quote from one of the local RV collision shops and they wanted almost $6K but when I add up the price of the materials it was less than $1,500. So I am strongly considering doing the job myself. I have done several major home remodeling projects so I know my way around tools and am not afraid to dig into it.
Last Summer I pulled most of the front apart in order to clean some mold off that I found on the backside of the interior panels and the underside of the fiberglass front panel. So I need to replace the interior pieces due to the damage and then I need to put on a new piece of fiberglass because the existing piece doesn’t sit right now because the “wood” backing on it came apart when I tried scrubbing it for the mold and it has a small tear in it.
So my questions are:
1. Am I underestimating the job? Will it be harder to put a new fiberglass front on than I am thinking it would be?
2. Leaving the roof damage out of the equation for now, anything else I should look for on the front end?
3. What kind of time am I looking at to do this? Don’t have an indoor storage area so it will be done outside.
4. Any tips on doing this from those that have done something similar?
For now, insurance isn’t an option. The leak was caused by cracks in the seam caulk that formed in between my yearly inspections. Plus the insurance carrier I had at the time the leaks occurred was different than the one I have now, they discontinued offering trailer insurance so I really don’t expect any help there. And my new policy is just an add on to my auto insurance and not a true TT policy (for now, working on getting that one changed).
Last Summer I pulled most of the front apart in order to clean some mold off that I found on the backside of the interior panels and the underside of the fiberglass front panel. So I need to replace the interior pieces due to the damage and then I need to put on a new piece of fiberglass because the existing piece doesn’t sit right now because the “wood” backing on it came apart when I tried scrubbing it for the mold and it has a small tear in it.
So my questions are:
1. Am I underestimating the job? Will it be harder to put a new fiberglass front on than I am thinking it would be?
2. Leaving the roof damage out of the equation for now, anything else I should look for on the front end?
3. What kind of time am I looking at to do this? Don’t have an indoor storage area so it will be done outside.
4. Any tips on doing this from those that have done something similar?
For now, insurance isn’t an option. The leak was caused by cracks in the seam caulk that formed in between my yearly inspections. Plus the insurance carrier I had at the time the leaks occurred was different than the one I have now, they discontinued offering trailer insurance so I really don’t expect any help there. And my new policy is just an add on to my auto insurance and not a true TT policy (for now, working on getting that one changed).
