Start of an Adventure with an S & S 8SC

[97fordrunner]

So this unit came up for sale on the Facebook market right in my town and I've been looking for an OBS Ford like this for a long time and this one is relatively rust free (has a small bubble patch on both rockers behind the doors) and it came with a camper which I've never really considered. Truck is a 460 5spd 2 wheel drive. Camper is a 2001 S & S 8SC. I noted the ceiling & walls showing water intrusion when we looked at it the first time and was not to worried as I am up to the task of doing the repair I just need some pointers where to start like inside or outside? It rained like crazy yesterday and i noted water on the counter by the window and water on the window and first thought the window track drain was plugged but found today that over the top of the window there is no sealant and the roof edges are spotty at best. As far as i can tell the front corners are ok at least from the inside but I am going into it planning that there is a lot to do likely starting with the roof and working my way down.




Upper cabinet water damage


Roof Edges


Kitchen Window Exterior


Moisture under sink area


Ceiling on drivers side


Overall clean interior

[mountainkowboy]

Yes it was, I didn't have any problems finding it. I also glued and doweled the filler piece along with a few screws. I also sprayed a 10% bleach solution on any dark wood I found to kill any wood eating bacteria.

[97fordrunner]

mountainkowboy wrote:
Ours was 3/4" x 1" cross beams that were tied together with straps. I added a steel "stiffener" to the main support beam in the front. You have to be careful when setting the tension on the straps, I pulled mine to tight and needed to redo it to get the tin to work.

Was your side structure 7/8" ply? I feel like I saw that noted somewhere,

If it was I am having a hell of a time sourcing anything that thickness. if I can not what are peoples thoughts on going with 3/4" and 1/8" putting the 1/8" on the inner side and laminating it to get the correct thickness? Likely use screws as well from the inner side sporadically but would rely on the adhesive mostly.

[mountainkowboy]

Ours was 3/4" x 1" cross beams that were tied together with straps. I added a steel "stiffener" to the main support beam in the front. You have to be careful when setting the tension on the straps, I pulled mine to tight and needed to redo it to get the tin to work.

[97fordrunner]

So I we had a heavy rain last night and I went to check the camper out to see where there was water and what was high and dry. Had water in the middle of the main floor which was odd as I have no idea where it came from, Under the sink area is soaked which is a known problem area. and i walked under the overhang and just at random hit the uderside gently with my fist feeling for solid wood and heard water so I jacked the opposite corner up and lowered the LF jack slightly so it angled to the front and side and pulled out the trim screws and I guess I shouldhn't have been surprised but none were even attached to anything, most pulled out with my fingers and they are a newer type construction screw so obviously someone was trying to grab something further in than the OEM screws were supposed to. Anyways I know I have to pull the skin off on the front, the front windows and the entire left side and likely the rear and will most likely end up doing the roof to wrap it up but What is under the over hang for framing. Only reason I ask is the Wife & I have 1 last trip planned about 2 hrs away next weekend and i just want to make sure I'm not going to rip the thing apart either driving down or sleeping up there. from what I can tell there are some solid studs on the underside and really the worst is relegated to the far side and the closest stud to the left side otherwise the right side and every other stud is very solid. Do the "studs" run front to back or side to side on these S&S units?

[97fordrunner]

mountainkowboy wrote:
I don't know if things changed by 2008 but most of the C/O area on ours is 7/8" plywood sides. When I repaired ours I used the front windows for effect, it was just to hot in the summer and to cold in the winter with them open. I used a piece of plastic bathroom wallboard to for the wrap and enclosed the window area with 7/8" marine grade plywood. I've stayed in the TC down to 6*f and was still comfortable sleeping in the C/O.

do you have any more pictures of the underside of the cab over? wondering what is under the bunk for framing & support

[mountainkowboy]

I don't know if things changed by 2008 but most of the C/O area on ours is 7/8" plywood sides. When I repaired ours I used the front windows for effect, it was just to hot in the summer and to cold in the winter with them open. I used a piece of plastic bathroom wallboard to for the wrap and enclosed the window area with 7/8" marine grade plywood. I've stayed in the TC down to 6*f and was still comfortable sleeping in the C/O.

[97fordrunner]

mountainkowboy wrote:
I believe that they did cover the drain and your probably going to find rot like I did. They are pretty easy to fix though and are built like a tank.

Looking at it and putting a level on the underside of the cab over shows that is drooping on the drivers side quite a significant amount or it was and fixed because I can tell someone else has been in here already

[mountainkowboy]

I believe that they did cover the drain and your probably going to find rot like I did. They are pretty easy to fix though and are built like a tank.

[97fordrunner]

I think I made a descission this AM while drinking my cup of coffee looking out at the camper. We are going to run it as it is with the weak wall for at least 1 more trip this year maybe 2 if time & weather permits then I am going to strip everything off the roof and remove the 7'2" header for the 1 garage door on my pole shed and the 12" of tin and slide this right in for the winter. Still have no idea why anyone would put a 7' door on a pole she. but anyways this way I can have it under a roof and do all the repairs that I need to do without worrying about rain or snow or cold.

[97fordrunner]

So we had a very successful first camp in the TC however even after I did a quick re-seal of the known trouble spots we did still have a leak when the AC was draining off the roof. Also when I opened the drain valve on the fresh water tank I noted it was running out of the truck bed which at first didn't really cause me concern but after getting it out of the bed I could not find where the drain hose was, Can anyone tell me, did someone build this sub frame right over the drain port?

Also the gutter spouts are in horrid shape as is the seam on the underside of the overhang. Anyways in the next day or so I am going to start disassembling the drivers side of the camper to see how bad it all is. I have a trailer I will be sliding under the camper so I can still move it around the yard should I need to but can take off the jacks with no worries.

[joerg68]

Cleaning the trim is a lot of work, but you end up with prefabricated trim pieces that fit just right.

[mountainkowboy]

I used Butyl tape for under the frames on anything (really never dries) and then Dicor to seal out the weather after. I just cleaned, painted, and reused all my trim stuff.

[97fordrunner]

Quick question, going to order supplies to replace basically the entire drivers side of the camper as its very soft and I suspect there is more but my question is do I use butyl just on the Windows and foam tape around the covers and access doors? Thats how it looks now at least. The side of this is obviously not flat smooth with the ribbed siding. Also does anyone have a good source for replacement aluminum edge rail? Or is that something I can just clean up and reuse and put seal on each screw to seal up those holes?

[mountainkowboy]

97fordrunner wrote:
Whats a good choice for replacing the roof? It has the look of aluminum but not positive on that but over the overhang portion I do see a low spot which is sort of in an unusual spot as the seam where the front nose meets the roof material is about 10" further forward. I was looking around and found roof replacement kits on RVpartsnation.com and they have a rubber kit or a superflex kit.

Both seem like decent options and pricing is comparable for the 15' I need

It's most likely the "seals" that are bad on the roof. Mine is 31 years old and the aluminum is fine, even flat. As long as all the seams are sealed correctly, it works great. I used Eternabond 4" tape on the roof to front tin seam and then Dicor to seal the edges. That was 12 years ago, and the seam is still sound today.