Insane 1999 Wildwood repair....pic heavy!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Thanks a lot. Something to remember, for every one of us that has posted in this thread I would bet 10-12 other people are being inspired that have not posted. About $5K or a little less for a complete custom 5th wheel that's done right with no worries seems fair to me. That's not counting the cost of the labor of course. The cost of labor will be recovered in pride of ownership. Jay

Right...not counting labor. That adds about another $100K to the project.. ...

I think that we'll be very happy newbee campers when it's finished.

Originally Posted by rmac04401

And while we are making payments on ours you will be payment free. Great job.

That's one way to look at it. I like that idea, too. I have been driving my truck, payment-free for 10 years, and it only has 81K miles on it. I don't like monthly payments....

Rich

[Dtpaine]

I am a carpenter, and all I can say is, "God love ya!"

[rollscanardly]

Yesterday, we removed the awning assembly...



Awning strips...







This is so that I can add a length of 4" Eternabond tape down the entire right (passenger) side, as a layer of leak protection..

Cleaned the area with acetone...



Tape edge guide line...



Tape is installed. The front of the camper..



Along the side, to the rear...






...more to come...

[rollscanardly]

I bought a new fridge roof vent, to replace the original, cracked one. Good day to install it.

The cutout for it...





The old sealant has to be removed...

Removed it with my soldering gun w/rope cutting attachment. The trigger is a pain in the butt to keep pressed in, so I made my own "trigger lock".





Outline of the new vent base...



Put a layer of putty tape on the flange of the new vent...



Installed, with new stainless steel screws...





..more to come...

[rockfordroo]

I notice you have snow on the ground. Aren't you concerned that the Eternabond tape and the putty may not adhere well in cooler temperatures? (I sort of assumed you were indoors.)

And now you REALLY have my admiration for tackling this outside in winter!

[rollscanardly]

Added a layer of 2" Eternabond around the flange, instead of using self-leveling sealant...





To play it safe, a bead of clear sealant was added along the top edge of the tape...







New stainless screws for the vent hood...



Dropped a blob of putty tape into each screw hole to seal the screw heads...




Finished the day by screwing down the front corner mouldings that were lifted to do all this work...



Here's a pic of the new fridge vent, at the rear of the camper...



...more to come...

[rollscanardly]

I wasn't able to show any pics of the rotted top corners, once repaired, because plastic was covering them. Today, I had to uncover the top right corner to complete today's work. So, I was able to get a pic of the repair.

Before...




After...




It's 6:15....Time for football!! Go Pats!!
Rich

[johnbryanpeters]

Wow. Just wow.

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

I wasn't able to show any pics of the rotted top corners, once repaired, because plastic was covering them. Today, I had to uncover the top right corner to complete today's work. So, I was able to get a pic of the repair.

Before...




After...




It's 6:15....Time for football!! Go Pats!!
Rich

Awesome job! What a great game tonight. Nerve wracking but very exciting! GO PATRIOTS!!!! Dynasty/GOATS.

[rollscanardly]

I cannot believe that game! I'll be honest, I'd given them up for a loss.

Incredible comeback after a horrible first half.

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

I notice you have snow on the ground. Aren't you concerned that the Eternabond tape and the putty may not adhere well in cooler temperatures? (I sort of assumed you were indoors.)

And now you REALLY have my admiration for tackling this outside in winter!

I used a heat gun on EVERYTHING that requires an adhesive. You can see the red heat gun in post #84. Believe you me, everything is stuck well.

Yep, I worked on this every weekend (and a few days taken off of work) this winter. Brrrr....

Rich

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

I used a heat gun on EVERYTHING that requires an adhesive. You can see the red heat gun in post #84. Believe you me, everything is stuck well.

Yep, I worked on this every weekend (and a few days taken off of work) this winter. Brrrr....

Rich

That good ole New England determination. Use to have it when I was in my youth living in Maine!

[Mdaniels4]

This is an amazing take on project! I have 2 questions. Let's say you have a really bad one you got for almost nothing. Wouldn't it be easier to tear it all down and basically build a tiny house on top of the frame? Side it with vinyl siding?

And regarding the roof. Is there any downside if you had a bad section of toof, to open up the rubber roof, fix it, eternabond the seams and basically paint the entire roof with blackjack, they have it in white now, or rhino truck bed liner spray/paint? That would see, to me to be permanent water seal. But I'm probably missing something here. Thanks.

[rockfordroo]

The frame would never take a tiny house - all the ones I've seen on TV are built with 2x4's and 1x6 sheathing and usually weigh about 20,000lbs - or at least they look like they do!

[Mdaniels4]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

The frame would never take a tiny house - all the ones I've seen on TV are built with 2x4's and 1x6 sheathing and usually weigh about 20,000lbs - or at least they look like they do!

And other than finding that somewhat offensive, it's not necessary that you are limited to 2 by 4s. What about aluminum studs that bolt together. And if you are doing this, they put conventional tiny houses on trailer frames. So why couldn't one beef up the current trailer frame. My old 5th wheel was rated at 15000 pounds. So it was still way within safety specs. I'd rather be a bit more open minded and think outside that box. That's how innovation occurs.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Mdaniels4

And other than finding that somewhat offensive, it's not necessary that you are limited to 2 by 4s. What about aluminum studs that bolt together. And if you are doing this, they put conventional tiny houses on trailer frames. So why couldn't one beef up the current trailer frame. My old 5th wheel was rated at 15000 pounds. So it was still way within safety specs. I'd rather be a bit more open minded and think outside that box. That's how innovation occurs.

I'm not saying it couldn't be done lighter, I'm telling you what I've seen on TV - i.e., MY experience. If you've actually seen something lighter, you must be watching different tiny house shows that I've seen. Tell me what they are and I'll watch them. Might change my mind.

[Mdaniels4]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

I'm not saying it couldn't be done lighter, I'm telling you what I've seen on TV - i.e., MY experience. If you've actually seen something lighter, you must be watching different tiny house shows that I've seen. Tell me what they are and I'll watch them. Might change my mind.

Good. Then we agree! I put so little stock on what i see on tv. I look for alternatives. I see the tiny houses and I see a really unlikeable and unliveable situation. So I look at what else I could do to make it better. No worries.

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

That good ole New England determination. Use to have it when I was in my youth living in Maine!

I am far from being in my youth, but I am determined. As a matter of fact, this project has taken me away from another project that I'm working on....building a Jeep CJ5 from the ground up, from accumulated parts.

I've been working on that one (part-time, though) for about 8 years. My goal is to finish it, and drive it at least once before I die......

Originally Posted by Mdaniels4

This is an amazing take on project! I have 2 questions. Let's say you have a really bad one you got for almost nothing. Wouldn't it be easier to tear it all down and basically build a tiny house on top of the frame? Side it with vinyl siding?

Funny you should mention that. My friend tried to convince me to chop up and scrap the body of my camper so that he could buy the trailer and build a tiny house on it.

As far as, if it would be easier than fixing a "really bad one", I'd say "yes", tear it down and build a tiny house.

That being said, believe it or not, mine is easier to repair, than to do that to it.

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Mdaniels4

And regarding the roof. Is there any downside if you had a bad section of toof, to open up the rubber roof, fix it, eternabond the seams and basically paint the entire roof with blackjack, they have it in white now, or rhino truck bed liner spray/paint? That would see, to me to be permanent water seal. But I'm probably missing something here. Thanks.

I am going to do what you are suggesting. I've patched the only bad spot on the roof. I am adding a layer of Eternabond around the perimeter of the roof, as added protection, as well as around all the roof penetrations.

THEN...when the weather warms up, I'll be rolling on a rubber roof coating (in white) that will cover and seal everything.

I wouldn't use truck bed liner. That's meant for coating hard surfaces....steel, fiberglass, etc. Plus, if it has any petroleum product in it, that could destroy the roof.

Rich

[WolfWhistle]

If money was not object... and if you were going to keep it a very long time... or....?

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