smitty Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 HELP! We've had extreme water damage on bed area and I have removed all rotten wood, foam, everything. All we have left is the fiberglass that wraps around the overhang above cab. Anyone out there that can help, or has tackled this same repair problem. What would be the best materials to rebuild, what kind of sheet foam, how do I go about laminating it together. What recommendations for everything? HELP !! Smitty 1990 Toyota 21' Micro-Winnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loquito Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hi I am sorry to hear your toyhome needs fixin. I don't have any advice but maybe you can help me? I want to know how the area behind the running lights is assembled. Was there a wood strip that ran acrosss the front that the lights screwed into or did they do it some other way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idtracey Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Hi. Sorry to hear about your water damage. Hopefully you were able to get the leak stopped to prevent any further damage. I haven't done that type of repair in a Winnie, but I did have to make similar repairs to my parent older Dodge. Replacing the inner structure with the fiberglass shell intact can be a little difficult because you have limited angles to work from, but it can be done. Start by rebuilding your wood framing. Make sure it all fits snug, but not too tight. Bond the joint together with Gorilla glue, drill a pilot hole and screw them together at an angle. One the framing is in place, replace the foam. I'm not sure what Winnie used in theirs, but I would recommend a polyurethane sheathing, something like Thermasheath. It's got a good insulating value and is foil backed which helps provide a radiant barrier. Cut the foam so that it fits snugly inside the wood frame. It wouldn't hurt to use some contact adhesive to hold the foam to the fiberglass shell until you get you paneling back on. When you put paneling back on the frame, be sure to apply a bead of glue the the frame and then use panel nails or staples to lock it in place. Make sure your paneling fits good and tight into the corners and don't forget the glue - the paneling provides part of the structural strength, so it's important to make sure it's a good fit and it won't move against the wood frame. Hope this helps and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 I've enclosed a couple of photos ... check 'em out. Any help is appreciated. Smitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The diesel had the overhead rebuilt before I purchased it (was done maybe 16-18 years ago). What they used on the bottom was exterior marine grade plywood. It is still solid as a rock. Make sure that you remove and seal all of your windows and running lights so that you don't have any leaks. Removing and resealing is something that you should plan on doing every 4-6 years. Keeping your RV under an RV cover when not in use can help preserve it unless you have more permanent under roof storage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idtracey Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 That's a little different than what I was picturing. Polyurethane sheathing is a good product, but it doesn't have quite enough bend to it to make the curve in that nose. You can use regular fiberglass insulation in that area - 1" is what they normally use in these homes - or you can fill the void with expanding foam after you get paneling in place. I'd go for the foam for the better insulating value. An inch of fiberglass is R4, the foam will get you to R6.5. There's not a lot of structural support in the nose area, so getting your paneling secured properly isn't as critical. Are you going to replace the paneling on the sides? It looks like they got pretty saturated as well. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmh139 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 This may help: http://leagh.com/89toyotadolphin/ There are quite a few pictures of how we rebuilt our frame when repairing water damage. I can't think of anything we should have done differently, everything worked out great. Any questions, email me: maps@leagh.com - Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loquito Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Wow what a large, well done project. I commend you. Can you tell me if the running lights screw into a backer? This may help: http://leagh.com/89toyotadolphin/ There are quite a few pictures of how we rebuilt our frame when repairing water damage. I can't think of anything we should have done differently, everything worked out great. Any questions, email me: maps@leagh.com - Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmh139 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 It may look like a well done project from the pictures, but for a while there I was really wondering if I could get it back together :-) It took about two months of evenings and weekends, but in the end was WAY worth it, I got a great deal on it, and it is worth a bit of money now. I am not sure if the running lights have a backer or not, I do not think I removed anything that high to see the back... Wow what a large, well done project. I commend you.Can you tell me if the running lights screw into a backer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loquito Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Thanks for responding anyway. Happy your toyhouse is getting better:) It may look like a well done project from the pictures, but for a while there I was really wondering if I could get it back together :-) It took about two months of evenings and weekends, but in the end was WAY worth it, I got a great deal on it, and it is worth a bit of money now.I am not sure if the running lights have a backer or not, I do not think I removed anything that high to see the back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Not sure what the original foam core is in these. As a boat builder for 35 years, here is how I would fix it. Rough up the exterior fiberglass skin with 40-60 grit sandpaper. Cut strips of PVC structural foam, such as Divinycell or Klegecell, or Airlight to fit in the curved area and glue in using a mix of West Epoxy 105/206 and Q-cells to a mayonase consitency. For the flatter panels, you can use sheets. Clean up the inside and laminate with a 10-12 oz roving or cloth. You can either paint or cover that with formica. Do NOT use polyurathane foam or styrofoam as it has no structural value as a core material. The foam will quickly break at the bond line. I hesitate to use much wood or plywood except where it is necessary to fasten things. It adds a lot of weight and Toy homes are weight sensitive as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty Posted September 23, 2008 Author Share Posted September 23, 2008 Thanks for all your replies and information. I've got it all torn apart now, and am looking for a resource for the structual foam .... hopefully here in Colorado. Also looking for a good commercial contact adhesive to glue it all together. Foxy - any idea where to get the 3 you suggested. loquito - just took off the front running lights and there was not a backing board. They would were just screwed into the aluminum. Water did not leak in here. We will be replacing all running light just from the deterioriation due to sun, heat, hail, etc. Thanks to you all on all your information and tips. Smitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Foams I suggested are available from any boat building supplier. Try Composites One and see if they will sell direct to you or point you to a builder near you that they supply. A local builder who will sell you a sheet or two. You can order small amounts from http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/ but a google search might get you a better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi.. this topic is a bit old, but looks interesting and wanted to join in be it a bit late. At first, I thought you were replacing the core of the overhead including the exterior of the shell too. I think Foxy the boat builder did at first as well. That would be a big job. I like what jmh did, and he did a great job with his project. You can tell how much time he took by looking at the intricate miters in his skeleton framework. nice job! Looks great. I too, used very lightweight paneling only my camper was so gutted that I could afford to fiberglass the paneling to the roof, floor, and to window frames doing away with the need for nailing to a substructure/nailing backer. I used your standard 3/4" rigid foam insulation and no glue. I'm sure there are probably plenty of glues out there that would bond my doorskins to the rigid insulation foam to fabricate a composite core, but I didn't bother investigating. Some foams just disintegrate with some adhesives. The rigid insulation and door skins was the cheapest route and most readily available.. Home Depot. It worked great and would probably work fine for you as well. I don't think you need as many nailing surfaces as you might think tho. The best fix would be of course locating a good composite core. i.e. a thin fiberglass sheet laminated to foam and ideally only one sided. Or you could investigate laminating your own. Either way, laminating the skin would save you the need for a nailing back or messy fiberglassing in my situation. With nailing/stapling the skins to a frame, there's no chance of delam tho. Good luck.. take plenty of pictures please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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