Older Work and Play Question

[Scubaanddreams]

Hi all I was reading this thread: https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ion-86237.html

I can't reply to it due to its age. I was specifically looking at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2oL2sHwmIA

I have an older 26' Work and Play with substantial water damage in the walls. I use it as a race car trailer, and it serves its purpose and the price was right. The rv type amenities are niceties and a bonus. If I ever find the time and room/space I plan on doing extensive FRP repair, I'd say that 50-60 percent of the walls suffer from some form of water damage.

Having said that I watched the youtube video, and I have a question on the construction. It looks like there are no four corners and that the trusses are essentially laid/on/supported by the FRP walls. Is that really the case? Is there no steel beam running from front to back from "four" corner beams to support the trusses? Are the FRP walls really structural to the roof?

Given the amount of water damage I have that would concern me greatly. Can someone confirm if there are or are not "four corner" beams?

Thanks.

[SeaDog]

I have not seen a trailer that has what you are referring to the supports for the roof run wall to wall. Its basically a rectangle box with the roof on top. Most frames don't have a series of cross members and the frames tend to flex. JMHO

[Aussieguy]

YES... I saw no beams
plywood with fiberglass outer laminates

walls hold up the roof looked like there is NO studs/framework inside the walls, there may be some stiffeners at each corner where the walls meet.

if 50% feels soft and spongy ... expect at least 75% needs repair.

The repair is not going to be easy...

google fiberglass boat core repair to get an idea what's involved.
https://www.google.com/search?client...at+core+repair

It would be uneconomical to attempt it.
get the trailer out of the weather for months to dry it out

repair can be either of two methods .... Inject OR Replace core
but the fiberglass looks very thin........ so that makes both process much harder.

Such a big area ... the amount of resin will be very expensive... Use polyester.
Epoxy will kill the bank of England.

you might extend the life just a bit by using a product such as inject a deck
https://injectadeck.com/

[Camp20144]

A friend had a pontoon houseboat that looked like a camper mounted to a flat deck. He had delaminating in the FRP walls due to water infiltration from the roofline. I think his walls were in the range of 20-22 feet long. There were no wall studs and only a “key way” type structure at the corners. The roof had a “key way” type connection from the walls to roof. The roof had a vertical strip just interior of the wall. The roof was connected by screws through the wall into the interior vertical strip connected to the roof. After those screws were installed, an outer vertical strip was fastened to the roof. It was poor design/sealing of that outer vertical strip that allowed water infiltration between that outer vertical strip and the bottom surface of the roof and over to the top of the wall FRP which was not sealed. His roof was flat as it was a sun deck. There were no “trusses” in the roof. If I recall correctly it was 2x4 with sheathing and walkable roofing.
He looked at injecting epoxy into the walls and several other remedies until he figured out how extensive the damage was, the time it would take to dry out the walls etc. He figured he would lose an entire season - which also meant half his shop being tied up in addition.
He went to a local FRP company. He ended up ordering two full length wall panels from them. He took everything off/out that connected to the walls on the inside. Took windows out and measured everything. After the new walls were finished he brought them home, jacked the roof up and installed the walls, measured window locations, cut holes, installed the windows and reinstalled the interior walls, cabinets etc., ordered new decals and installed them and launched. I think it was in his shop a couple months, working nights and weekends and then waiting for the FRP panels after ordering them.
My friend showed that if you have access to all the tools you need and it’s well thought out, it’s doable. But it’s not something to take lightly as it’s a big job!