camper repair

[homemaker]

We noticed the siding on our 2000 Jayco Quest popped out, so my DH went to investigate. What he found was rotten wood underneath the side of the camper. When we took it for an estimate they told us that the corners all need to be removed, replaced and resealed. Apparently they have been leaking and causing water damage for awhile. The estimate is 3500.00 and insurance will not cover it because it is water damage. Here's the problem. DH has been laid off for a year and we do not have the extra money. Should we try to repair it ourselves or wait til we have the money (will damage get worse). Would it really be much cheaper for us to do it? Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[2goofycampers]

I agree, it sounds like a big job for a professional.

 

[Tigger1966]

Do you have any experience in carpentry?
If you do then I believe you could do the project. Just take your time and pay close attention to what you take appart. Take lots of pictures and measurments so if you are in doubt you have a refrence.
If you don't have a building to put it in make sure you have plenty of tarps to keep it covered.
One other thing if you want to avoid having this problem again use treated lumber for everything and meticulously seal everything

If you don't think you can do it just look at some of the things people have built or rebuilt with no training at all.

 

[LarryJ]

We noticed the siding on our 2000 Jayco Quest popped out, so my DH went to investigate. What he found was rotten wood underneath the side of the camper. When we took it for an estimate they told us that the corners all need to be removed, replaced and resealed. Apparently they have been leaking and causing water damage for awhile. The estimate is 3500.00 and insurance will not cover it because it is water damage. Here's the problem. DH has been laid off for a year and we do not have the extra money. Should we try to repair it ourselves or wait til we have the money (will damage get worse). Would it really be much cheaper for us to do it? Any advice would be great. Thanks

As mentioned the very first thing to do is to get it covered so no more water can get in.

I will assume this is a full sized trailer and not a pop-up and the type of siding (smooth or aluminum can have a big factor in the cost of repair). In any event all the water damage pics/descriptions I have seen are always much, much worse than the owner originally thought. The guesstimate you got probably said the full extent of the damage or needed repairs wouldn't be known until they tear into it and therein is the problem. You really have no idea what the cost will actually be until things are torn apart and then you are stuck. If there is actual damage now on all four corners IMHO that $3500 is WAY LOW. The problem with those corner leaks is that it probably from something on the roof and has the potential to damage not only the roof, but the front/back and one side framing. I had a leak on my last trailer at the front corner and it took out the whole front of the trailer because it leaking onto the inside of the aluminum front and then ran across to the other side by way of all the ridges on the inside of the aluminum skin. Thus you can see damage from a leak that is 10 or so feet away.

Sorry to be the messenger of potentially not so good news.

Larry

 

[Tigger1966]

You are right about the $3500 being a low estimate
The place that usually leaks on these (stick & tin) trailers is where the corner trim bends over and fastens to the roof. I have seen a lot of damage from this neglected spot.
If the roof is damaged it can be permanetly repaired with eterna bond roof patch.

 

[LarryJ]

You are right about the $3500 being a low estimate
The place that usually leaks on these (stick & tin) trailers is where the corner trim bends over and fastens to the roof. I have seen a lot of damage from this neglected spot.
If the roof is damaged it can be permanetly repaired with eterna bond roof patch.

I agree with that corner trim where it bends up onto the roof is an achilles heel on a TT. Biggest issue is that with the trim piece that runs from side to side to secure the roof the the end sections form a nice little area where regardless of how the trailer is leveled water can collect and pool in most likely at least two of these areas. This is further compounded by the fact that neither the caulking or butyl tape is meant for submerged applications. Below are a couple of annotated pics of the area that we are talking about and my solution to solving this issue ...

The is what a normal corner looks like:

That pic was after I had already sealed the end seam with Eternabond so while better it left that top area unprotected along with the end of the trim piece. So to solve that I cut a small triangle of plastic to fit in the corner and then entombed the whole mess in Eternabond which will hold up to submerged exposure.

Pic...

Larry

 

[stpetedisneydad]

First, as with any large project like this you should get more than one estimate. That being said I agree that $3500 seems reasonable to low but an estimate is often just that, an estimate. Once they start tearing things apart and they realize things are worse then they thought you may get the dreaded phone call saying it's going to be more.
I Googled your type of unit and it seems to be similar in shape to my 2000 Coachmen which had water damage at 2 corners, 1 front, 1 rear. My unit is smooth fiberglass as opposed to the aluminum. The leaks happened at the junction of the rubber roof and the siding material. The rubber roof ran under the fiberglass and the joint was "sealed" with a little bit of grey caulking tape and a 1" wide aluminum trim strip screwed down over the joint. The grey caulk separated from the rubber roof in 1 small area about a 1/4" wide and allowed rain water to flow in everytime it rained. Those small leaks lead to having to replace half the front wall, 2 feet of front side wall and a 1 foot by 2 foot section of front corner floor and floor framing, also 3 feet of back wall, 3 feet of back side wall and a 3 foot by 2 foot section of floor and floor framing and a small corner or roof plywood at each corner. If you are not mechanically inclined, if you have no woodworking experience or knowledge of any aspect of construction then do NOT take this project on. The wedge shape design of the front makes for some pretty interesting angles and I haven't even mentioned the wall outlets that needed to be disconnected then wiring ran through new framing and reconnected as well as the wiring for the 12 volt outside marker lights, pulling out the tub and tub surround which meant disconnecting the plumbing for the tub etc, etc, etc.
Sorry to be long winded but as you can see what seems like a simple project can actually require a lot of knowledge about a lot of different aspects of construction. Please just think it through before you take it on. Good luck!

 

[Tigger1966]

I agree with that corner trim where it bends up onto the roof is an achilles heel on a TT. Biggest issue is that with the trim piece that runs from side to side to secure the roof the the end sections form a nice little area where regardless of how the trailer is leveled water can collect and pool in most likely at least two of these areas. This is further compounded by the fact that neither the caulking or butyl tape is meant for submerged applications. Below are a couple of annotated pics of the area that we are talking about and my solution to solving this issue ...

The is what a normal corner looks like:

That pic was after I had already sealed the end seam with Eternabond so while better it left that top area unprotected along with the end of the trim piece. So to solve that I cut a small triangle of plastic to fit in the corner and then entombed the whole mess in Eternabond which will hold up to submerged exposure.

Pic...

Larry

Larry I respect your opinion as camper owner but as a certified RV tech your mods are a joke. I have rebuilt hundreds of rotted out water damaged rvs so you should respect my opinion a bit more than you do.

 

[Gatordad]

With duct tape, chewing gum and a coat hanger, you can fix it!

 

[LONE-STAR]

With duct tape, chewing gum and a coat hanger, you can fix it!

You forgot the 12 pack

 

[LONE-STAR]

We noticed the siding on our 2000 Jayco Quest popped out, so my DH went to investigate. What he found was rotten wood underneath the side of the camper. When we took it for an estimate they told us that the corners all need to be removed, replaced and resealed. Apparently they have been leaking and causing water damage for awhile. The estimate is 3500.00 and insurance will not cover it because it is water damage. Here's the problem. DH has been laid off for a year and we do not have the extra money. Should we try to repair it ourselves or wait til we have the money (will damage get worse). Would it really be much cheaper for us to do it? Any advice would be great. Thanks

Me and my Dad rebuilt his trailer a few years back. We took the metal off the out side of the trailer and replaced all the wood on the front half of the trailer. It took about 2 months but I only worked on it Saturday and half of Sunday but my dad would get all the wood cut during the week. I actually enjoyed doing it.

 

[Gatordad]

30 pack.

 

[LONE-STAR]

30 pack.

Then the camper will still leak.

 

[kc5grw]

Then the camper will still leak.

Yea, but at least you won't care.

 

[LONE-STAR]

Yea, but at least you won't care.

Very true.

 

[LarryJ]

Larry I respect your opinion as camper owner but as a certified RV tech your mods are a joke. I have rebuilt hundreds of rotted out water damaged rvs so you should respect my opinion a bit more than you do.

My post that you quoted had nothing to do with your opinion and in fact I agreed with it. What I did was as a preventive measure not as any sort of repair due to rotting out from water damage albiet it would prevent any further water intrusion. I only stated what I did and you have a right to feel it was a joke ... for me I'm glad I did what I did. If anyone is interested the "mods" I have done are in the link in my signature and personally I am happy with each one so I'm satisified.

Larry

 

[Old Snipe]

Nice work Larry!

You did a well thought out solution to prevent a problem from happening. Thanks for the pictures, it helps to see how you did it.

Best Regards!

 

[LarryJ]

Nice work Larry!

You did a well thought out solution to prevent a problem from happening. Thanks for the pictures, it helps to see how you did it.

Best Regards!

Thank you Paul for your kind comments and I'm no professional or RV Tech, but just an owner that saw an issue and tired to do the best I could to prevent a potential future problem. I admit the corner stuff is not the prettiest, but only the birds and the golly green giant will se it so I don't really care as long as it works and now two years later it's still stuck like the day I put it on so I'm satisified and the rest of the Eternabond I did looks the same.

Hey we maybe neighbors looking at your info since I'm in the same area... shoot me a PM and we might talk.

Larry

 

[Garway]

Let me first say that you must understand campers are not made to last. They must be maintained to prolong their life. If the corners are that bad, sell the camper for whatever you can get and buy something newer. I've rebuilt enough campers to know that once you begin to strip away the siding to repair/replace damage, you, in most cases are opening up a can of worms. If its in the corners which by the way are the most common places water starts to seep in, then chances are it's coming in elsewhere too! There is a tremendous amount of work involved in removing molding, siding, damaged wood, etc. And if it extends into the flooring, you're in for a tremendously laborious job. Sell it and move on. And by the way, if you should ever walk into a camper and smell mold/mildew..., run away! It's prolly due to the rotting wood that you cannot see. It starts to leak and rot long before you'll ever see it!