Re- Skinning My Rv

[thetundrawolf]

Hi,

I have a 19' 1982 Toyota Dolphin motorhome.

I've spent thousands rebuilding the motor, transmission, differential, and driveline.

The problem is, it has been stored by the ocean all of it's life, and the rot is bad. I've gutted it and was living in it on my moms horse ranch for a while, but the mold from the numerous leaks when it rains, makes me cough and sneeze when I am in it more than a few minutes.

So it's gotta be re- done.

Problem is, I am extremely poor. It's been suggested to find an RV boneyard and I have a query into one that's two hours away.

I am looking to spend a couple hundred dollars at best for the aluminum. But I may have to end up going with a different floor plan? Does anyone have any suggestions or help?

[jdfrost64]

it,s all depends on how far u want to go with reskining mini. it,s not going to be cheap.i just restored the entire outer shell and roof of mine. if I didn,t work in a rv plant. the supplies would have cost close to 2 grand if not more. that's for roof rubber and wood, glue and chalk and staples. if you can get filon for your outer skin that would be better . go to the bone yard and find the longest class A there should be enough filon to reskin a toy home. just take a sharp putty knife and take your time peeling it off

[thetundrawolf]

it,s all depends on how far u want to go with reskining mini. it,s not going to be cheap.i just restored the entire outer shell and roof of mine. if I didn,t work in a rv plant. the supplies would have cost close to 2 grand if not more. that's for roof rubber and wood, glue and chalk and staples. if you can get filon for your outer skin that would be better . go to the bone yard and find the longest class A there should be enough filon to reskin a toy home. just take a sharp putty knife and take your time peeling it off

Thank you, that's a great idea! Not sure if fiberglass is recyclable or has a scrap value. I might have to patch it here and there but that might actually work.

[Derek up North]

I think the trick is going to be to find big enough pieces of siding to recycle that don't have cut-outs for windows, doors and hatches.

[linda s]

The mold isn't in your siding. it's in the wood underneath. I'm afraid if you remove that siding there won't be anything left to hold it together

Linda S

[thetundrawolf]

The mold isn't in your siding. it's in the wood underneath. I'm afraid if you remove that siding there won't be anything left to hold it together

Linda S

It is going to be completely rebuild, from the inside out. I already rebuilt everything underneath, now it's time for the living area.

[Dolphinite no longer here]

What Linda S said...

The mold is in the walls in the insulation and, probably, in the wood. Particularly the wet wood. Before you start, get a good mask from Home Depot or Lowe's, not the paper ones, but the respirator type. You'll be glad you did.

The very first thing to do is to coat the roof with some of that white elastomeric goo meant for RV and trailer roofs. Put it on on a sunny day when no rain is expected for the next 24 hours. Put two coats on two days in a row. The stuff can be rolled or brushed. Just make sure you give a good coat around anything that sticks up through the roof like skylights or vents. All of your windows should come out, too. Scrape the old putty off and re-install the windows using black butyl tape, NOT the grey putty like stuff.

Strip the interior but leave the aluminum siding alone since there's no mold in the aluminum. Some of the wood and probably all of the insulation will need to be replaced. For wood that's wet but saveable, give it time to dry out and, once dry, paint some straight bleach on the old wood and allow everything to dry again. The bleach will kill any mold and rot in the old wood.

Once everything is nice and dry and mold free, wipe all of the interior surfaces of the aluminum with one of the many products on the market that are meant for mold removal (duh!). At this stage, you're ready to start the rebuilding process. Use regular lumber store stuff, there's no need to get fancy with hardwoods or anything else. If possible, paint all the surfaces of every piece of wood in the walls, both old and new. Just use a good water base, exterior paint. This step will slow down any water that sneaks its way into the walls later on after you're done. The paint will also freshen up the smell in the interior.

When you re-insulate, use foam sheets, not fiberglass, again, from Home Depot or Lowe's. Just cut the foam for a press fit into each space, you don't need any glue there. You'll probably need 3/4" thick stuff.

Whew! If you get this far, you're well on your way to a nice, good smelling interior. For the interior paneling, I'd use 1/8" door skins. They come in 3' x 7' sheets or 4' by 8' sheets at most lumber yards. They can be painted or clear coated-your choice. You can cut them with a utility knife easily and they can be glued in with "Liquid Nails" or one of the other brands meant for construction adhesive. A few small screws or short finish nails will hold the paneling in place until the glue sets. Cover the seams with molding from H. Depot or Lowe's.

Getting this far may seem to be a pretty daunting job but the actual construction is fairly simple wood work. Everything I've suggested here can be done fairly cheaply, like about $150 or $200 for the whole job. Rebuilding the cabinets and dinette will add some more money, but the cost will depend on how complicated and fancy you make the interior.

Good Luck,

John

[thetundrawolf]

What Linda S said...

The mold is in the walls in the insulation and, probably, in the wood. Particularly the wet wood. Before you start, get a good mask from Home Depot or Lowe's, not the paper ones, but the respirator type. You'll be glad you did.

The very first thing to do is to coat the roof with some of that white elastomeric goo meant for RV and trailer roofs. Put it on on a sunny day when no rain is expected for the next 24 hours. Put two coats on two days in a row. The stuff can be rolled or brushed. Just make sure you give a good coat around anything that sticks up through the roof like skylights or vents. All of your windows should come out, too. Scrape the old putty off and re-install the windows using black butyl tape, NOT the grey putty like stuff.

Strip the interior but leave the aluminum siding alone since there's no mold in the aluminum. Some of the wood and probably all of the insulation will need to be replaced. For wood that's wet but saveable, give it time to dry out and, once dry, paint some straight bleach on the old wood and allow everything to dry again. The bleach will kill any mold and rot in the old wood.

Once everything is nice and dry and mold free, wipe all of the interior surfaces of the aluminum with one of the many products on the market that are meant for mold removal (duh!). At this stage, you're ready to start the rebuilding process. Use regular lumber store stuff, there's no need to get fancy with hardwoods or anything else. If possible, paint all the surfaces of every piece of wood in the walls, both old and new. Just use a good water base, exterior paint. This step will slow down any water that sneaks its way into the walls later on after you're done. The paint will also freshen up the smell in the interior.

When you re-insulate, use foam sheets, not fiberglass, again, from Home Depot or Lowe's. Just cut the foam for a press fit into each space, you don't need any glue there. You'll probably need 3/4" thick stuff.

Whew! If you get this far, you're well on your way to a nice, good smelling interior. For the interior paneling, I'd use 1/8" door skins. They come in 3' x 7' sheets or 4' by 8' sheets at most lumber yards. They can be painted or clear coated-your choice. You can cut them with a utility knife easily and they can be glued in with "Liquid Nails" or one of the other brands meant for construction adhesive. A few small screws or short finish nails will hold the paneling in place until the glue sets. Cover the seams with molding from H. Depot or Lowe's.

Getting this far may seem to be a pretty daunting job but the actual construction is fairly simple wood work. Everything I've suggested here can be done fairly cheaply, like about $150 or $200 for the whole job. Rebuilding the cabinets and dinette will add some more money, but the cost will depend on how complicated and fancy you make the interior.

Good Luck,

John

Thank you very much for this! And great idea about the door skins, i am definitely going to give those a try.

[thetundrawolf]

I can see why he says he wants new siding. It looks like the original siding has larger areas of damage that would be next to impossible to rework to get it back to the correct profile.

The other side is much worse. I backed into a hill and the rear corner is very tweaked and torn. There are screw holes everywhere from where I had to put drywall screws to hold everything together.

[thetundrawolf]

Backup camera installation on your to-do list? That is on my list. My friend has had one kicking around unopened here for a few years that he never got around to installing on his van. So I asked and have received!

For sure.

Not only this, but I plan on making the entire rear portion open up on gas cylinders to accept a quad or whatever. I'd have to make a steel frame and gusset it inside to do that but it's not a problem for me to do. I also want to make a small steel skeleton on the roof with a slight radius so water does not pool on top like it has been.

[DanAatTheCape]

probably not what you want to hear, but.... you essentially are looking at a complete rebuild & when you are done, (unless you spend the money and time to do a really good job) you will end up with a camper not worth all that much.

I would consider selling the parts and getting a newer camper that is not in such bad shape. The drive train has some value and if the appliances are any good they would too. With some patience & skill you might get a little something for it - parted out.

when you peel back those inner walls I am afraid & somewhat sure that you will find a shell that is not worth much.

[thetundrawolf]

probably not what you want to hear, but.... you essentially are looking at a complete rebuild & when you are done, (unless you spend the money and time to do a really good job) you will end up with a camper not worth all that much.

I would consider selling the parts and getting a newer camper that is not in such bad shape. The drive train has some value and if the appliances are any good they would too. With some patience & skill you might get a little something for it - parted out.

when you peel back those inner walls I am afraid & somewhat sure that you will find a shell that is not worth much.

I'm not too concerned with what it's worth. I've already invested more than it's worth and that's not the point for me... In fact I am converting it into a 4x4 soon, I have all the parts except for the driveshaft and front springs/ hangers. I will be "Upside down" on it but it will be mine.

[DanAatTheCape]

<<<<

I'm not too concerned with what it's worth. I've already invested more than it's worth and that's not the point for me... In fact I am converting it into a 4x4 soon, I have all the parts except for the driveshaft and front springs/ hangers. I will be "Upside down" on it but it will be mine.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I understand the feelings- but the reality is that if you are not happy with what you end up with, you may wish you had accepted the concept "sunk costs" (you should not make future decisions based on what you have already spent - instead one has to objectively look at what the situation is at that point in time and make the best decision based on the facts as they exist at that time. Human nature inclines people to make decisions which are essentially emotional.

Some day in the future you will want to sell your project. Unless it turns out quite well you will not recover even what a similar "standard" camper would sell.

Good luck whatever you decide to do - I get the impression you are fully committed to build from what you have. My thoughts were intended to suggest another alternative - to start over from a new beginning.

Have you looked for a comparable camper that has a good body but bad drive train? Maybe that would be a good match. Unfortunately, given the good history on toyota chassis/ drive trains & the poor history on the older "stick built" cabins, that may be difficult.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sunkcost.asp