guitarlover519 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The bed over the cab is the worse area, My neighbor has suggested simply repairing the source of the leak, fixing it, and covering the damage rather than a renovation. I didnt like the idea but after he explained the process of trying to rebuild I am nearly agreeing with him. I dont think I have the skill nor money required for a renovation unfortunately. Any thoughts? I am 21, im just happy to have the thing despite some of the downsides. I think a received a pretty good deal so im not too worried about the few areas of repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90toydolphin Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 i've decided sort of the same thing. 90 dolphin with some rot at back corner and side. i replaced the skirting below the floor then used some small channel iron to add to the rigidity and integrity of the wall between the side window and shower. the channel i used is actually the bars used to put up shelving, heavy duty chrome. i actually used once of them and a shelf bracket to make a shelf for the dvd player so looks like it is there for that. i ran two strips vertically from the floor to the ceiling. i did take care of the source of the leak and someday may tackle it, but for now it'll work for us. you could use something similar on the sides of the overhead, not sure how it could help the front part, they are usually curved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarlover519 Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 ok, good to hear im not the only one. The Sun Land Express has aluminum siding, ( thanks to derek up north for showing me that link) so im not too worried about the structure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The bed over the cab is the worse area, My neighbor has suggested simply repairing the source of the leak, fixing it, and covering the damage rather than a renovation. I didnt like the idea but after he explained the process of trying to rebuild I am nearly agreeing with him. I dont think I have the skill nor money required for a renovation unfortunately. Any thoughts? I am 21, im just happy to have the thing despite some of the downsides. I think a received a pretty good deal so im not too worried about the few areas of repair. Just found the same problem in my 1978 Galavan. Ended up gutting the front portion of the cab. As a builder, I can assure you if you leave any of the wet plywood or framing in place it will become moldy. I found the source of my water was not the front cab window but the seam where the home body meets the cab. A small gap is just enough to allow water to get inside. A trick I've always used is to remove the old sections intact. You can then use them as a template to fabricate the new sections. And take plenty of pictures in the event you forget how everything goes back together. If your mechanically inclined, go slow and you should be ok. good luck! fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarlover519 Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/2592618/hr/1028425741/name/SunLand+Toyota++Alum.+Framework.jpg i dont know if that will work but thats what my structure looks like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 That link didn't work for me, but I suspect it's a picture like this:- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The bed over the cab is the worse area, My neighbor has suggested simply repairing the source of the leak, fixing it, and covering the damage rather than a renovation. I didnt like the idea but after he explained the process of trying to rebuild I am nearly agreeing with him. I dont think I have the skill nor money required for a renovation unfortunately. Any thoughts? I am 21, im just happy to have the thing despite some of the downsides. I think a received a pretty good deal so im not too worried about the few areas of repair. Guitarlover, You can probably get several more years out of your Toyhome before something will have to be done. The key is to stop any more water from getting in. Caulk, coat, paint do whatever you have to do to stop the leaks. Even one of those "Blue Squares Of Shame" (blue plastic tarps) go a long way to help in drying out your rig. I've rebuilt the cabover section, both wheel well skirt areas and the rear wall on my '85 Dolphin. The expense is minimal, but the time and labor can be overwhelming if you don't have a good place to work and the right tools. Covering up the soft areas will definitely buy you some time and allow you to use the camper. I've posted pictures of the repairs that I did on the Toyota_motorhomes@yahoogroups.com website in the photos section under '85 Dolphin Rebuild. Good Luck! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattleguy Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Stopping the source of the leak should be the main priority. My Nova Star had a leaky front window which rotted out the upper bunk area. After I had the front window completely fiberglassed over, my brother re-built it for me. Mine also has the aluminum framing so there wasn't structural damage. Once you stop the leaks perhaps you could cut a new piece of plywood to lay over the existing bunk in the meantime. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-campers/photos/album/1055838023/pic/257709231/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I found what was causing my problems see my repair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidadro Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I removed all the inner wood on the front portion of my cabover sleeper, sealed from the inside on all seams, replaced the frame wood. redid the panneling and trim, repainted the ceiling area. resealed the roof area, and was good to go. Cost me less than $200.00 and looks like a million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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