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91' Winnie Warrior Over-Cab Water Damage Repair


Mrlope

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I installed a custom-fabricated support for the cab-over. Two steel rods were welded onto small brackets in the doorjam, which was then also welded to 3" steel plate. The steel plate ran the width of the fiberglass, and was screwed into the existing metal support. The wood and foam from the cab-over interior was destroyed by water damage, so it was all ripped out and replaced with new high-grade lumber, foam, and plywood. All in all, I'm very happy with the results and shouldn't ever have water problems in this area again. It's a shame that they didn't think to add more support here in the first place! I'm still not done, I could use some help in deciding what to do about the outermost layer, which is still heavily glued on. It's incredibly hard to strip off, but I was thinking about buying an electric planer to get an even surface to glue a new piece of plywood to. Thanks for looking!


Here's an album of the fix:


http://imgur.com/gallery/JP7aO/new


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Nice job. I'm considering the use of honeycomb aluminum panels for a future rebuild project. Normally used for aircraft floors, the stuff is very light.

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Nice job. I'm considering the use of honeycomb aluminum panels for a future rebuild project. Normally used for aircraft floors, the stuff is very light.

Have you looked into composite foams? There's some pretty cool stuff out there:

http://dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=106

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Nice job. I'm considering the use of honeycomb aluminum panels for a future rebuild project. Normally used for aircraft floors, the stuff is very light.

Boeing uses fiberglass over honeycomb for the floors. I know as I used to install them. I am using a piece of that for the removable mattress base panel section in the overcab area. You have to pot inserts into it which are installed with an injectable resin to secure them wherever you are going to use fastener. Otherwise the skin will break through where the fasteners are. You will have to use a similar technique on aluminum honeycomb panels to provide proper support for fasteners even if they are going through the panel to hold it down to the structure on the motorhome. Here is a video showing the installation of some of these inserts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9qkvBZwMwE

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Boeing now uses some of the carbon fiber with fiberglass over honeycomb for the floors. These things are made up in layers of scrims of various types, such as a layers of carbon and layers of fiberglass that get baked together in big ovens.

I am using a piece of the older style fiberglass honeycomb floor panel for the removable mattress base panel section in my overcab area. You have to pot inserts into it which are installed with an injectable epoxy resin wherever you are going to use a fastener. Otherwise the skin will break through where the fasteners are. You will have to use a similar techique on aluminum to provide proper support for fasteners even if they are going through the panel to hold it down to the structure on the motorhome. There is a video link following this post showing the installation of some of these inserts. In some of the newer foamed composite core panels the inserts are heal welded (sometimes called heat staking) into position. Just remember the the cost of the panel is not the total cost required for the installation and any fasteners or materials that are approved for use on aircraft is very expensive. All those materials have to go through testing for approval by the FAA plus the price of the liability insurance the companies that make these items has to carry is offset in the price of the goods. Weight saving versus cost means they are not budget friendly. My panel came from the old Boeing Surplus store that closed a number of years ago. That was an affordable place where we used to get some really nice materials. If you can find these materials from a factory outlet source for 2nds with cosmetic flaws or miss-cuts and surplus you will be fortunate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9qkvBZwMwE

As to my qualifications to talk about using these types of materials. I have years of direct experience working with these panels in the aircraft industry.

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I built a fuselage for a kitplane out of half inch honeycomb aluminum, a BD-17. I'm buying some scraps out of a place in St. Louis, about $50 for a 2' X 4' panel. Also considering using some material to reinforce the roof around the AC unit.

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