Body repair after tire tread delaminated...

[david_reaves]

My camper is a 2015 Rockwood Windjammer 3001. Had a Carlisle (load range E) tire delaminate and lose the tread yesterday afternoon. It didn't blow out and held pressure so that I was able to get to the side of the road safely. I was able to have it replaced under warranty, but the tread tore off a good bit of trim. There doesn't seem to be any other damage, at least.

The trim is the bottom molding from the rear step forward to the rear axle. So that is only the straight trim that wraps around and under the edge. I haven't called my insurance, yet. I think that if I can get the part, I could fix it myself. I'll call Forest River tomorrow to see what the part itself would cost and if I can get it directly without going through a dealer (and markup).

Any suggestions? I'd prefer not having to file a claim. Any thoughts on technique for holding and attaching the trim if I can get the part?

David

PS-- The Anderson Leveler isn't tall enough to use as a jack, BUT the leveler stacked on the trimmed leveler (shorter for between the wheels) does a great job. I discovered that both are needed -after- my wife took the photo.

We had the wheel up, off, changed, and back on the road in about 15 minutes. No, that isn't a NASCAR or Indy Pit Row time, but not bad for one middlin' old guy with kidney disease and his somewhat younger wife who was 4 weeks post back surgery. We had to hurry to get off the freeway and to the Discount Tire 10 miles away before they closed!

[KingFisher]

I ripped the piece in front of the tires up when I had my flat in my 2012 Windjammer 3001W. Also tore up the fender skirt/flare, whatever it's called. I ordered the metal and flare from forest river, cost me less than my $500 deductible. Fixed it myself.

I bought enough to do from the front door all the way to the bumper since there was a small dent in the part behind the tires. My flat was on the front axle.

I don't know how you got the bottom metal off since it fits under the flat metal piece you still have on your trailer. On mine I had to pull the bubble looking vinyl or rubber out of the flat piece to access the screws, then take the screws out to remove the bottom metal.

And you worry me about the E range carlisles since that's what I bought a set of to replace my tires after I had the flat.

I think I remember using a few pieces of duct tape to hold the piece up and pencil marks to make sure it was in the right place. I didn't know I needed roll caulk so I put white tube silicone caulk under the piece that holds the bottom metal on.

[KingFisher]

http://www.forestriverforums.com/att...846db17e18.jpg

http://www.forestriverforums.com/att...ae08b681c1.jpg

[david_reaves]

Kingfisher, thanks for the info. I didn't take the fender skirt off... the tire did it for me. The skirt assembly on my camper appears to slide under the strip that's there, then there are screws through the metal just below the strip. Probably something that they changed between year models. I'm guessing the skirt wasn't fastened very tightly at that spot! I'll try to call FR today about the replacement skirt.

[cseeger22]

david_reaves & KingFisher,

Glad to hear you didn't have a huge repair from the tire separation. Been there & done this, not fun! Don't do the repair until you can get rid of your ST tires and replace them. If one went down, the others will typically follow suit! I repaired both sides of the RV! My recommendation would be to do tire replacements with LT tires. Many will disagree, however, think about longevity and safety. You are allowed to put LT tires on an RV, but it clearly states on ST tires that they are only for trailer applications. Why would that be?! If you think about it, one is tested and must pass safety standards, while the other ... not much is expected so not much is tested! Used to be that 15" rims did not have an acceptable replacement in an LT, but not anymore. Check at Discount Tire and ask about Nokian. Most stores have never seen the tires! But they are great replacements!

[fredcrowley]

Had the same problem on my 5th wheel (twice!). Aluminum skirting behind the wheel well got torn up by the separated tread. Called Forest River and they said they had the skirting, but that I had to order it through a dealer (I was planning on replacing it myself). We are full-timers and had dropped anchor at an RV park in Tucson for about a month. Spoke to the Parts Manager, and they said no problem they could order it , but that it would be shipped via truck freight. Asked them how much the bottom line would be. The Manager said he'd call and get back to me within several hours. Never happened! Over the next week or so I called the dealer and finally went back to the dealer. They still couldn't give me a price. Not unexpected shabby service. Looking at the damaged skirting, I found it was real simple to remove. I called up a sheet metal supplier in Tucson telling them the dimensions I needed (4' x 18"). Cost was about $15. Taking Murphy's Law into account I got 2 pieces. I then went to Home Depot, bought a 4' length of 5" PVC as a "mold/template" to make the bottom curve, plus some primer and paint. To make the bend I drilled a series of wholes along the replacement sheet of aluminum and temporarily screwed it to the PVC pipe. I carefully bent the aluminum around the PVC to get the right shape. Used a potable jig saw to cut the final shape. Primed and painted. Can't tell that it wasn't original from the factory. Took me less than an hour to shape it, and a few days elapsed time to spray paint it using Home Depot spray cans (did all the work discreetly in the RV Park). Total cost including paint was less than $50. Never did hear back from the Tucson dealer! Oh, Murphy's Law did surface several months later when another tread separation chewed up another piece of fender skirting. Since I had the 2nd piece of aluminum sheet, it cost me about $10 to fix (another piece of PVC and a bit more paint). As a result of the razzle frazzle tires that were on my rig, I upgraded to 17.5 rims, and Goodyear G114 14 ply load range H tires (our rig is 43' and total loaded weight is 15,800# with a hitch weight of 2900#). Problems solved.

[DouglasReid]

[QUOTE=fredcrowley; I upgraded to 17.5 rims, and Goodyear G114 14 ply load range H tires (our rig is 43' and total loaded weight is 15,800# with a hitch weight of 2900#). Problems solved.[/QUOTE]

After having a Goodyear Marathon tire blow and cause damage to teh underside of my large slideout (which I fixed for free using materials I already had on hand) I switched all 4 our for Maxxis 8008s (E rated). No problems so far, even pulling all day in the summer West Texas heat on a 2 week vacation. But when these are due for replacement I am going to switch to G rated tires just for some additional weight bearing cushion.

[m35a2]

Originally Posted by fredcrowley

Had the same problem on my 5th wheel (twice!). Aluminum skirting behind the wheel well got torn up by the separated tread. Called Forest River and they said they had the skirting, but that I had to order it through a dealer (I was planning on replacing it myself). We are full-timers and had dropped anchor at an RV park in Tucson for about a month. Spoke to the Parts Manager, and they said no problem they could order it , but that it would be shipped via truck freight. Asked them how much the bottom line would be. The Manager said he'd call and get back to me within several hours. Never happened! Over the next week or so I called the dealer and finally went back to the dealer. They still couldn't give me a price. Not unexpected shabby service. Looking at the damaged skirting, I found it was real simple to remove. I called up a sheet metal supplier in Tucson telling them the dimensions I needed (4' x 18"). Cost was about $15. Taking Murphy's Law into account I got 2 pieces. I then went to Home Depot, bought a 4' length of 5" PVC as a "mold/template" to make the bottom curve, plus some primer and paint. To make the bend I drilled a series of wholes along the replacement sheet of aluminum and temporarily screwed it to the PVC pipe. I carefully bent the aluminum around the PVC to get the right shape. Used a potable jig saw to cut the final shape. Primed and painted. Can't tell that it wasn't original from the factory. Took me less than an hour to shape it, and a few days elapsed time to spray paint it using Home Depot spray cans (did all the work discreetly in the RV Park). Total cost including paint was less than $50. Never did hear back from the Tucson dealer! Oh, Murphy's Law did surface several months later when another tread separation chewed up another piece of fender skirting. Since I had the 2nd piece of aluminum sheet, it cost me about $10 to fix (another piece of PVC and a bit more paint). As a result of the razzle frazzle tires that were on my rig, I upgraded to 17.5 rims, and Goodyear G114 14 ply load range H tires (our rig is 43' and total loaded weight is 15,800# with a hitch weight of 2900#). Problems solved.

Wow thanks for this excellent post. I suspect it's not a matter of "if" a tire will go flat and destroy something, but when.

For 500 bucks I'll follow your example and make my own!

[Ttramp]

Originally Posted by m35a2

Wow thanks for this excellent post. I suspect it's not a matter of "if" a tire will go flat and destroy something, but when.

For 500 bucks I'll follow your example and make my own!

Maybe not. My TT looked like this a bunch of years ago with major damage. Left on a trip with very small cracks. Never again. It is a little costly but I now change tires every 2 years. Unless you put many many miles on your rig, time and weather conditions determine tire change.
Happy Camping.