Undercarriage Fabric Repair on TT

[Marauderer]

I have a new to me 09 Puma 29FQS that I am quickly learning about. I was up underneath checking things out and saw this damage in the right side wheel well and some forward and aft of it.

I apologize for the pics not being better but being under the TT on my back with the camera , Oh well. Anyway the first two pics are in the fender well area and the last one in just behind the fenderwell







I have searched the internet for the fabric and haven't found any. The fabric that is on it breaths and is not very strong but I got to thinking about the black fabric we use in the garden and other places we don't want to have weeds grow. It looks like it will work. I also have some Shurtape Gaffers tape and I bought a roll of Gorilla tape to try out. I noticed some rust on the frame in places so I got a couple of rattle cans of rust converter and some rubberized undercoating to take care of the rust problem.

All comments and suggestions are appreciated.

[Marauderer]

Huntindog wrote:
When getting the tires balanced, they need to use a lug plate.
Most all TT wheels are lug centric, not hub centric like on a car.
This means that the big hole in the center of the TT rim is not actually in the center. Balancing using the center hole is a waste of time/money and may well make it worse.

Most tire shops hate to use them if they even have them.

Interesting. My tire shop did them the standard car way and I will have to see how they do. My shop was good in they didn't charge me to balance them but they didn't have a lug plate. I imagine if I can find a place that has a lug plate they will be really expensive to get them balanced as most places charge $8-10/wheel just to car balance them.

[Huntindog]

When getting the tires balanced, they need to use a lug plate.
Most all TT wheels are lug centric, not hub centric like on a car.
This means that the big hole in the center of the TT rim is not actually in the center. Balancing using the center hole is a waste of time/money and may well make it worse.

Most tire shops hate to use them if they even have them.

[GrandpaKip]

BurbMan wrote:
Where you have the jackstands is OK, I personally like jacking on the frame. Reason not the axle tube is that if you look at the axle, it has an arch to it, that's how the suspension gets it's camber. With the weight of the trailer where the spring is, and the jack up farther along the axle tube, you could possibly bend the axle or screw up the camber. You probably figured out by now that nothing on these trailers is "heavy duty" or bulletproof.....

Yep.

[Marauderer]

BurbMan wrote:
Where you have the jackstands is OK, I personally like jacking on the frame. Reason not the axle tube is that if you look at the axle, it has an arch to it, that's how the suspension gets it's camber. With the weight of the trailer where the spring is, and the jack up farther along the axle tube, you could possibly bend the axle or screw up the camber. You probably figured out by now that nothing on these trailers is "heavy duty" or bulletproof.....

I hear you BurbMan. I would never jack an axle in the center and your correct that I am pushing where I had it in the pic.

Yes, it is very obvious that the bean counters are in control of what components are used in this industry.

[BurbMan]

Where you have the jackstands is OK, I personally like jacking on the frame. Reason not the axle tube is that if you look at the axle, it has an arch to it, that's how the suspension gets it's camber. With the weight of the trailer where the spring is, and the jack up farther along the axle tube, you could possibly bend the axle or screw up the camber. You probably figured out by now that nothing on these trailers is "heavy duty" or bulletproof.....

[Marauderer]

GrandpaKip wrote:
As an aside, you really should not jack it up by the axle tube.

Ok Kip, and your suggestion on how to do it is??? I ask that question as I have always done it that way and I would like your reasoning for not doing it the way I did it so I can learn.

[BurbMan]

brockwellw wrote:
They make a repaire tape just like it. You apply it and then heat it with heat gun or hair dryer and it swinks and seals.

Is this the repair tape:



I bought a roll of this from this site and it peeled off before the summer was over...it didn't come with instructions and it doesn't say on the site (click pic for link) to heat it...wondered why the repair didn't hold...

[ReferDog]

AllRite .com has what you are looking for.

[GrandpaKip]

As an aside, you really should not jack it up by the axle tube.

[westend]

Attaboy, that's the way to get right on it!

[rgolding]

Looks good!

[Marauderer]

Yesterday things started to come together. All the suggestions given so far have been great and thought provoking. Like the old Hewlett Packard "What If". So, I jacked up the right side and put the axles on jack stands and removed the tires.


With the tires removed I reevaluated the problem and saw that the problem areas could be covered with tape. The forward most 4 small holes needed to be trimmed as the covering had heated up and melted and I cut the globs away so the tape would lay flat in that area.



I had so many recommendations to use gorilla tape and went out on the internet and say other sites and post that said the same that I would try it. After I took this pic I went back over it and made sure it was sticking well to the fabric



I also noticed that my tires hadn't been balanced so I took the two I had removed over to my tire guy and had them balanced. I will take the other two today.

The repair is not complete. With the input you all have given me I will be installing some aluminum sheet metal up in the fender wells to prevent this from happening again. I also noticed that for a five year old unit it has more rust, not bad, than I liked. That will be the next project of using a rust restorer and then some rubberized undercoat to preserve the undercarriage frame.

[brockwellw]

They make a repaire tape just like it. You apply it and then heat it with heat gun or hair dryer and it swinks and seals. Not sure of the name but found it on line. Cant tell it was patched.
Had RV dealer to make a repair for the same reason Sheared tire and he cut and covered a thin piece of plywood with the material which he sells, also and sealed the back side with a sealent and tacket it in place and it came out great. Cost $105.00 for them to fix it.

[BurbMan]

Marauderer good that you were able to verify tire clearance. It's possible the previous owner had a suspension issue on the road that caused the tires to rub for some period, or possibly was running oversized tires and then put the stockers back on to sell. Is it just the one side or both?

Alum or galvanized sheet metal will work fine here. I would try to cut a little wide and wedge it a little between the frame rail and the Darco then use some self tapping screws on the outside edge and screw into what ever is there. Gorilla tape around the edges of the sheet metal to keep any water from getting behind it, because it won't dry out and will cause rot. Remember that area is under constant spray when you are running in the rain.