Insane 1999 Wildwood repair....pic heavy!

[rollscanardly]

Thanks for the kudos...

rp53...is your RV in this kind of condition??

Rich

[Crabman]

Quite an undertaking. The corner and roof joints are the weak points in the stick and tin units. Your repairs will be stronger then the original. Nice job. Was there any damage to the front joints as well?

[rp53]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Thanks for the kudos...

rp53...is your RV in this kind of condition??

Rich

no mine is just a year old, however I've seen a few sitting beside barns that i have often thought about trying to buy and restore. I've built 3 houses so i think i could pull it off, but....

[rockfordroo]

That open heating duct looks just like the one another guy posted here on the forum. He closed it off similar to what you did. I think the thought at that time was that the manufacturer simply forgot to close it off, but now I'm wondering if they left it open on purpose, and what that purpose might have been.

[purduepete97]

Rolls,
That is truly amazing work. Glad you documented it so well and took the time to post.
Well done and here's wishing you many great seasons of camping as a reward for all your hard work!
Pete

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[MOD Guy]

Great work! That's one of the advantages to stick and tin campers, you can repair them yourself.

Did the camper have an enclosed underbelly? The open heat ducts might have been their way of heating the underbelly (a crude way).

[Dwilcox]

Very nice job. Looking forward to the finished product. Amazing all the damage a little water can do if you give it the time.

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[Evereddie]

Amazing! Standing ovation for you.

And I'm old enough to remember Steve Allen (and I'm sure others) using the Rollscanardly bit. Kudos to that too.

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

That open heating duct looks just like the one another guy posted here on the forum. He closed it off similar to what you did. I think the thought at that time was that the manufacturer simply forgot to close it off, but now I'm wondering if they left it open on purpose, and what that purpose might have been.

That guy was me....

I'm assuming that FR counted on the rear wood cross member would block the duct off, but it sits about 7/8" away from it.

Originally Posted by purduepete97

Rolls,
That is truly amazing work. Glad you documented it so well and took the time to post.
Well done and here's wishing you many great seasons of camping as a reward for all your hard work!
Pete

Sent from my XT1585 using Forest River Forums mobile app

Thanks, Pete. Thing is...We've only camped one other time, ever. About 15 years ago we borrowed a friend's popup camper. I hope we like camping!!

Originally Posted by MOD Guy

Great work! That's one of the advantages to stick and tin campers, you can repair them yourself.

Did the camper have an enclosed underbelly? The open heat ducts might have been their way of heating the underbelly (a crude way).

It has that black, plastic landscape material stuff. I don't think that the open duct would heat the under belly, seeing that the opening is about 3 inches away from the rear bumper, in other words, almost completely at the extreme end of the camper, and all the floor joist bays are insulated.

I feel as though they just leave it off.

Originally Posted by Dwilcox

Very nice job. Looking forward to the finished product. Amazing all the damage a little water can do if you give it the time.

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Thanks for the kudos. Moral of the story...keep up on sealant inspections!

Originally Posted by Evereddie

Amazing! Standing ovation for you.

And I'm old enough to remember Steve Allen (and I'm sure others) using the Rollscanardly bit. Kudos to that too.

I'm bowing right now....

I remember Steve Allen, too...

Thanks!

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rp53

no mine is just a year old, however I've seen a few sitting beside barns that i have often thought about trying to buy and restore. I've built 3 houses so i think i could pull it off, but....

The purchase price would have to be cheap, and you probably will have to spend more than you anticipate going into the project.

The thing is, is that you really don't know what you're in for until you tear into it.

I'm guessing that unless you're going to keep the finished product (vs. selling it) it would not be worth it.

Rich

[DouglasReid]

I have but one word for for the courage, craftsmanship, perseverance and just plain guts to see this project through to its completion......
MAGNIFICENT!!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

I have but one word for for the courage, craftsmanship, perseverance and just plain guts to see this project through to its completion......
MAGNIFICENT!!

Thank you. I'll be honest here...when I started to disassemble this thing, and saw the damage, I really didn't know how to approach repairing it. I'm not a wood working kind of guy. I'm a metal fabricator.

I was going to strip out all the items that I might be able to sell,and scrap the "tub"...cut my losses.

But, I went on Youtube and saw what others had attempted. This gave me a little bit of courage to dive into it.

I had nothing to lose, really.

Now that all the rotted wood has been replaced, I feel as though the toughest part is done.

Even after all the "necessary" repairs are made, I will continue to update the interior to "make it my own". That should be more enjoyable.

Stay tuned...

Rich

[MCTroy]

Thank you. Your pictures and progress reports are inspiring. And they really helped my DH understand why I am crazy about finding any small hint of a leak. He won't complain (as much) about sealing our roof this spring now!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Quite an undertaking. The corner and roof joints are the weak points in the stick and tin units. Your repairs will be stronger then the original. Nice job. Was there any damage to the front joints as well?

The front joints look good, anyway, and there's no evidence of any water damage. That's one reason that I decided to take this project on. All the major damage appear to be on the back end of this RV.

I've been all over the roof, and the rest of it is very solid.

Plus, the old owners didn't use it all that much, so all the interior stuff isn't all worn out. The fridge, AC, and all other electrical stuff work.

We are going to replace the mattress and all the cushions, though...

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by MCTroy

Thank you. Your pictures and progress reports are inspiring. And they really helped my DH understand why I am crazy about finding any small hint of a leak. He won't complain (as much) about sealing our roof this spring now!

Yes!!...Let this be a lesson to everyone out there. Rain is the enemy! You must do whatever it takes to keep it all outside of your RV! ......

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Saturday's progress...

I want to cover this trim cross-piece with 4" Eternabond tape (I love that stuff!)...



First, the old sealant must be removed. Got the "new tool" out and started in on it. Heat cutting the rubber side of the trim piece...







Then, the tool snapped. It cracked at a weak point where it is stamped.

I TIG welded it back together, just to keep going. I ordered another one, anyway...




A heat gun and plastic scraper was used on the opposite side of the trim strip, as well as in the center groove...



It's hard to tell, but all the old sealant is gone...





Then, the area was wiped down with acetone, and Dicor self-leveling goo was applied in the center groove...



This, along with a bead of Geocel sealant on both long sided of the trim strip, will give the tape a better surface to bond to.

I'll do a little more today, then we're watching football! Go Pats!

Rich

[WolfWhistle]

I know you have already said, but why is the roof surface black? Is it mold, or paint or some kind of coating?

I saw your original post when you started the project and today looked at all the pics. I am amazed that you didn't walk away. But, I think I am a bit like you and probably would have rebuilt it, too. Nice work.

VERY nice work.

Another question: all that damage was caused by tiny holes plus years upon years of rain water running down inside?

Okay, another question: were you concerned about working in all that mold... looks like black mold?

Thanks,
WW

[rmac04401]

Yeah. PATS.

[semlohde]

This is fantastic! Thanks for such a great read and congrats on such good work.

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[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by WolfWhistle

I know you have already said, but why is the roof surface black? Is it mold, or paint or some kind of coating?

I saw your original post when you started the project and today looked at all the pics. I am amazed that you didn't walk away. But, I think I am a bit like you and probably would have rebuilt it, too. Nice work.

VERY nice work.

Another question: all that damage was caused by tiny holes plus years upon years of rain water running down inside?

Okay, another question: were you concerned about working in all that mold... looks like black mold?

Thanks,
WW

Believe it or not, the white has worn off! The white is still there, in protected areas, like under where the antenna was laying flat on the roof.

EPDM rubber is white on the topside, and black under the white. That's why there are black smudges all over my "white" repairs...i.e. the new rubber, new tape, etc.

That exposed black of the roof is like soot! It smears, and goes a long way! You should see my clothes!

Eventually, when I'm finished with all my roof repairs (mainly resealing all the penetrations), I will buy some of that RV roof coating.

After that, it'll be white again!

If you look at the first pics of the first post, you'll see that the RV was parked under a tree. It sat there for 6 years after the husband died.

The branches did that....what a shame...

Originally Posted by rmac04401

Yeah. PATS.

Having lived in RI my entire life, that's my team!

Originally Posted by semlohde

This is fantastic! Thanks for such a great read and congrats on such good work.

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I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Maybe it'll help provide some insight on what's involved to someone else contemplating an RV revival.

Rich