WhidbeyDave Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Working on cleaning up/restoring my 85 Dolphin and have appreciated all the help offered by this forum. My next issue is water-damaged wood under the cabover bed. Apparently the front window leaked, or is still leaking, and there is water damage to the wood under the bed. The front edge of the plywood is rotted, and needs to be replaced. I am fairly handy with woodworking, so replacing it isn't a problem, but I'm not sure what's under it. Can i cut through the front half of the plywood and simply lift it out, or is it bonded/glued/screwed to framing supports beneath? I figure next winter may be a complete tear-out and rebuilding of the entire coach, but for now I just want to get rid of the damaged wood and make it usable this spring. And of course, fix any ongoing leaks..... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Sorry Dave thats the only part of the camper I havn't tore apart yet. Although that seems to be the place most everyone has replaced. I've seen alot of bunk rebuild picts either here or on yahoo. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Dave, I have an '85 Dolphin, 20', and I replaced about three quarters of the overhead bunk. I pulled up the entire "floor" or bed area, one whole side wall and half of the other one. I had pretty extensive rot in the front wall, too. I pulled all three windows since they gave me more access and needed re-bedding anyway. Where the original wood was good I left it in, making 45 degree cuts with a sharp chisel in the 1 x 2 framing and then glueing in a new piece with the same bevel cut using thickened two-part epoxy. The epoxy was expensive but it was worth it when scarfing two pieces of wood together. If your rig is built like mine, you'll find that the bed is 1/8" plywood glued and stapled with lots of 1 x 2 framing under it and the large spaces between the framing is filled with 3/4" ridgid foam. Also there's about a gazillion small staples holding everything together, so have some kind of puller for them-you'll need it! Depending on how much water damage you have, you may or may not have to replace the framing around the edges. If you have to replace the edge framing under the foot or the head of the bed, you'll have to go outside and remove the vinyl screw covers and the curved aluminum moulding piece that covers the side-to-front aluminum siding. The reason for this is that the screws that hold the moulding on also hold the perimeter 1x2 framing in place. For the bed I went with 1/4" AC plywood for a little extra strength. Everything was coated on all sides with Systems Three brand epoxy before buttoning the thing back up. This job is not for the faint of heart, but the actual carpentry work is straight forward. I spent many years as a wooden boat shipwright in Alaska and Washington State so I just looked at the job as another repair on a rotton old wood boat. Enjoy John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhidbeyDave Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 Thanks Dolphinite for the detailed answer to my question. I appreciate your response. Although I haven't worked as a shipwright, I have built a number of wooden kayaks and stripper canoes using fiberglass and Systems Three epoxy, so I'm familiar with that product and it's uses. I also still have, and use frequently, a custom staple puller I made back when I built the stripper canoes. It's basically an old screwdriver with the last two inches bent at about a thirty degree angle and the tip sharpened. Works great and finds lots of use in my shop. Seems like there's a lot of similarities between small boa-building and RV repair! I also have a full woodworking shop with all the toys, ahem - tools, I need. One upon a time I could have even pulled my Dolphin into the shop while I worked on it, but my wife's desire for an art studio has now occupied a large chunk of the shop space. I think the rotted wood project will wait until next winter and a possible complete tear-down and rebuild of the Dolphin interior. In the few weeks I've owned it I've learned a lot about RVs and repairs, and I just want to get out and enjoy it during the spring and summer seasons. We're planning our first weekend trip in a few days, so this'll be our first chance to see what mini-RV camping is really like. I know there are other water leaks, so I suspect a lot more damage inside than I want to tackle now. I also suspect I'll need a new water heater and possibly other appliances, and may even want to re-arrange the interior layout a bit. Andrew McCarthy's Sunrader rebuild blogsite is providing some much needed encouragement for this. Just what I needed - ANOTHER expensive hobby! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 hows it going Dave? I just removed the paneling in overcab bed and need to replace more framing. I think i'll just replace all. Have you started,finished? Im not quite sure how i'll replace perimeter frame to floor of bed. My perimeter is made of 2 pieces of 1x. One piece glued to sheetmetal another to filon then screwed together. In the rear corners i used glue and clamps but the walls were bowed allowing more room. Here its tight.Heres some picts hope they help. I've seen a bunch of picts & posts on this subject in the past, wish i payed attention now. I'm going on a search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder62 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Doing the same thing to my 83 Dolphin right now. Just got the bed floor out today,hope to start replacing wood tomorrow. One thing I will say is they sure made it hard to work on. Some stuff screwed in from out side and some not. Thinking of using 1/2 inch ground contact ply for the floor with a 1/4 ply on top. Will also cut the ground ply into 1x2 strips. Do know I will be mounting the windows from the outside can see why they all leak with just the inside trim holding them in place. Have posted photos on the Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-campers/photos/album/1438235775/pic/list will update with today destruction photos. After starting on this sure wish I had not had to sell my Ultravan much better design and build rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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