I'm a retired RV tech who specialized in repairs such as you tackled. You done good. I would have added a couple of things like milling the cross bracing down and covering the whole nose with a very thin luan plywood and using a rubber undercoating at all seams before putting your aluminum sheeting on with construction adhesive, It may sound like an extra step but it turns the nose of your 5th wheel into a battering ram and helps prevent dents from low hanging branches.. Aluminum dents real easy especially where there is nothing supporting it but insulation.
Henry, wondering where are you located and if you’d be willing to help me I have a moldy fifth wheel and back wall we’ve taken off the back wall but the man is helping me and myself we have really no idea what we’re doing I’m in the Denver area
Okay.... so.... watched a few so called "delaminate" videos. 1:45 this guys already showing, step by step, how to start the repair. Bravo sir! And thanks for taking the time to do things right! 👍
YOU GUYS ARE LIFESAVERS!!! Thanks a bunch i was completely terrified of this repair but my ol' copper canyon needs it now as well . Now thanks to you guys and gals I am ready to handle this project and get back on the road!! Thanks a million times again.
Great job man. It’s a never ending battle fixing these campers. If the manufacturers left out the fluff and focused on quality, we’d all have more time to enjoying camping instead of working on the trailer.
My husband and I are literally using this kind of like a template as we got an older camper and (thanks to your video) we realized what was wrong with ours. So this is beyond helpful. Thank you soooooo much.
I've owned five different sailboats, and one nice travel trailer, and after 40 years of this I can tell you never never use silicone on a camper or a boat. Impossible to get it off, but even if you're able to do the impossible, that means you will have spent an enormous amount of time and effort at something that may never really give you a bond again. Butyl tape however is fantastic.
Hey guys just a tip if you ever have to cut a long line again in aluminum sheet you can take an axacto knife score a line 2 or 3 times then bend metal and it will snap a perfect line and its much cleaner , just a tip i do capping that way all the time and no wavy line from snips ...
Thank you for exposing the structure of these campers. The sealing of the seam @7:20 is helping me with another unrelated problem. Thank you for making this video.
Thanks for taking the time to share your work. I'm rebuilding the front end of an 81 Chevy RV. I was hoping you chalked around the 2 clearance lights you installed.
I've done this but used FRP panels instead. Much easier, less expensive and no worries about scratching up or denting panels. $32 at home depot for a 4x8 panel. No need for an s-channel bend, just butt up the 2 panels on a cross support and then screw down a metal trim piece and install the vinyl insert.
How is the FRP holding up after 2 years? Just interested because I wanted to use this the same way but manufacturer specs were against outdoor use due to weather
As you install the metal on the sides, that is also supposed to be tack stapled. They only hold the metal until you put the cap rail on. I am impressed that the cap rail conformed to that major curve without the tool they make to bend j-rail. Nice repair overall. Where did you get your metal? I’m on the East coast and so far can’t find a local camper/metal supplier.
Good job folks, I battled that job on my 2005' class C 5 yrs ago when I bought it, one thing in the rebuild that is a must so everything falls into place is making sure that 1st sheet is square to the nose of the Rv and spaced correctly. I totally rebuilt mine alone I might add, and my placement was off, resulting in the angle trim not covering the side panels. my seam at the top gave way last fall, I've got it striped down and am going to add a 18"x 8' piece of aluminum sheet metal and screw it down, this should lessen the vibration that caused the failure.
Great job , I have to change my rv roof this summer ,I looked at many other video that did there roof and your the only one that did it the proper way and you gave me great advice thank you
Nice explanatory video. One thing I’d like to share to help viewers. On the seam you mentioned screwing it, you are supposed to staple it on. I’m not trying to be a know it all, but have been taking a vintage trailer restoration class and rebuilding a 1967 Trailblazer. There’s barely room for staples, but it may still work, but hoping they don’t rub through the top metal. Excellent video regardless
So well done that I used your video to do the same to my trailer. I just finished and It took a total of 3 days to complete and am very pleased with outcome. I to used aluminum as it was easy to acquire with the sizes and the "S" pockets I needed.
Thanks Norm! That was our plan going into it, we wanted to do something that would turn out to be a better finished product than the RV dealer option. If it holds up over time we will have succeeded. So far, so good. Thanks for watching!
I don't know what state you are in, but I hope I run into you if I ever need a serious RV repair. Your repair is obviously much better quality than I would have expected from a RV repair shop.
@@dmeyer6994 Laugh all you want, my experience in the past has been that many workers at some of the major RV shops were hill billy's at best. It is bad enough that RV's seem to all be made like crap from the start.
Very nice job y'all are fortunate to have been able to have plenty of hands in the job to get it done so it came it professional. The only thing I'd mention is you may want to go back n put some silicone/dicor around wire opening on lights n then run a bead of silicone across the outer edge of light back plate at top n sides leave bottom open. This will keep from getting water into n behind your new panel from a leak n keep water out of back plate. Awesome job!!!
Good video, I have a trailer with this problem and am trying to find another trailer for a mother in law cottage. Most of the trailers in her price range have this issue. I have never taken one of the fiberglass skinned trailers apart before, so it was very informative to find out what supports or fails to support the end caps. I grew up with RV's in Florida that had lots of structural issues as a result of water intrusion and resulting rot. As a result of this experience, I bought a used 81 Airstream and repaired it. I figured less to rot in one. They are lower maintenance once you get one in shape and maintain it. They are not very roomy though.
Great video. Never thought that sheet aluminum in place of the Filon would give you such a great result. If/when my camper delaminates at least I now have an idea on how to address the problem.
Wow! You guys are brave! That's something we would be a little afraid to tackle. Yet again, we're not the handiest of people. But this RV life is definitely teaching us to be. lol It looks great! I'm sure it's even stronger now. Great job!
Nice Job! When triming the aluminum. You can do a much nicer job by using double stick tap on a thin 1 by for straight edge. Use a trim router with a bearing to ride against straight edge. Will also work on fiberglass. Cuts like butter and True! Also use this fiberglass wheel on grinder to cut those side trim moldings. I also suggest that one puts caulking under the side edges to make contact with wood and underside of aluminum. Can never seal enough. If you squeeze some caulking into that seam where your sliding the flat piece into. It will lube it so they slide together instead of prying it apart. Good job, just some ideas for others. I work with these and know these methods to work well.
awesome job looks great but as far as cutting with tinsnips (they yellow ones) i'm glad you were using the correct color but if you don't cut all the way to the end of the snips and stop befor you will avoid the sharp hooks on the panel . so if you use the snips only 90 percent and then start cutting again it will be smoother.
@@alanosborne1947 Had the same problem with my clearance lights, the factory never sealed them. I replaced mine with led lights, over sealed the back of the light
Why didnt you put the 1/4" plywood on first then glue the fiberglass panel to it and roll out all the wrinkles? Ive never done any of this but just wondering since you did have some material attached when you removed the panel. I enjoyed your video. Thanks for making it.
Am fixing to be making similar repairs to our towable but also think metal is much better than the fiberglass. It may not get hail or rock dents but Delamination is a huge problem with fiberglass and we don’t want to go through this particular repair again! My concern is cost for the metal though, that and y’all had an extra pair or 2 of hands. Hoping we can get it done. 😳
Those clearance lights are a constant source of water leaks. You might want to put some sealant of some kind under them. Maybe use a led bulb and seal the lenses too. Great job- it looks awesome.
Wow Chris! This was so interesting and I am sure helpful to anyone thinking about doing this. I didn't even know that this fix was possible. Clear explanations of the problem and the fix. Impressive. I wonder if you will choose either a decal of your own or leave it as is, either way will look good.
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words and we're relieved that it went well! Not sure about a decal yet, if we go that route I think we'll definitely do one of our own. Thanks for watching!!
WOW! Y'all were brave! You did a great job! I'm a new subscriber. Ran across you maybe 6-8 mos ago. I had you video page opened to get some background and get a feel for your channel. Hubby closed down my browser and I couldn't remember you name. I have watched loads of "Wandering" TH-cam channels, trying to find you. I think you were around Crater Lake. Our oldest son lives out there. Just saw your video on the Congaree National Park in SC. I was born & raised in Columbia. Once your video started, I knew I had found you again! So this time I subscribed. LOL
Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing your repair. I enjoyed watching your thought process on this. You took some of the mystery out of this for all of us :).
Nice repair job. The RV industry really needs to step up on the quality and durability of their products. Flimsy short lifespan designs rob the consumer of their investment.
Nice Job! Have a look at Eternabond 4" Tape. Does a must better job on seams. Very tidy. Once on, lay a very small bead of chalking on edges. Did a complete 37' RV, especially the roof edges, sky light domes, etc. Cheers
Hello, are you still in the business do you have private RV owners… I’m located in Denver Colorado and really need some help can’t find good tech don’t know what I’m doing this is my home and we’ve had to takeoff the back and now will have to takeoff the front fifth wheel lots of mold what a mess
I am impressed. Enjoyed watching this video. Your quality of work is definitely better than a dealership. We had to get our front cap replaced as part of a warranty repair. The manufacturer sent the wrong colored cap for the repair. The dealership put on the wrong cap and told us "deal with it". We are looking to vinyl wrap the front to match the color of the original cap. Maybe some vinyl decals/rap maybe an idea. Cheers.
Thanks Troy! We've had some minor repairs done by RV dealers on the road and we just weren't that interested in having this work done by a dealer. Even being back in the area where we purchased our RV, we have had a great experience with our RV dealer, but wanted to tackle this ourselves. Our RV dealer was a good source of input for us on this project, but we are very happy that we tackled the work ourselves. Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!!
I will hand it to you guys on a nice clean job, except one thing and that is liquid nails wont bond to aluminum. It has to be an epoxy type mastic and you have to take prep pad to the areas that will make contact with the panel and we use heat treated aluminum at .032 and it bends like butter especially on those tight bends.
Fantastic video! Thanks! I'm going to pull the front of my trailer apart this fall and try to repair it. I was wondering how the supports were under the curve. Minimal I see! Nice to see that there wasn't any rot or water damage to the frame and insulation. Hopefully mine is the same. I'm wondering how the aluminum has held up? Does it still look good? I'm worried that getting aluminum light enough to bend into place means that it will also be light enough to get dented (or even punctured) by flying rocks during travel.
Very professional level repair. Glad there was minimal inside panel water damage. Assume you let the insulation dry out well for a couple days maybe. Estimate you could buy a 5th wheel with this damage for less than $10000 and then fix up for $1000. Result is a fifth wheel worth at least $15000 post fix.
We did let the insulation dry out - not as long as we had hoped because we had a ton of rain in PA this Spring. So, we waited until we had a 2 full days of sun in a row - 1 to dry out, and then one for the repairs. Thanks!
@@ToWanderFreely Wondering why you didn’t pull all the insulation out to see if there was mold on the plywood behind the insulation and if there was more there would you have gone further to illuminate it? I’m assuming your bedroom is in the fifth wheel and you don’t want to sleep around all that mold and hoping that you were able to investigate and get it out. Most people think that dry mold isn’t harmful only wet mouth is but I don’t believe that’s true
Thanks for sharing. I'm at the start of a reno myself, and this was helpful. Quick question, though, Why did you tuck the new sheet UNDER the old at the bottom? The water has a greater chance of infiltration. Whereas if you had attached it on top of the old bottom section like was originally done, the water would have wicked more normally.
Right, that was my exact same question. I don't quite get it why they put so much time and efforts in doing that spectacular fix without thinking about something that basic...
Can you buy the trim by itself that you put the insert into? On the corners of my camper where it transitions to that diamond plate stuff the aluminum trim is bent allowing water inside the corners.
If you had it to do again, what changes would you make to this job? Grease or vaseline on the edge where you butted the 2 pieces? More supports? Maybe add a hitch light circuit? Use screws that won't react to the dissimilar metals (aluminum vs steel)? Overall, a nice fix to a rather nasty situation. Definitely wouldn't want to do that job alone. Any cut or bleeding fingers?
Another method to removing the old caulk is with a stiff wire wheel or cup-brush on a drill or grinder... like on the roof, where some scratches won't matter, it can reduce your demo time a little bit.
This is excellent work... you found a shop to make up those aluminum sheets for a retail customer! I have been practicing aluminum brazing, just for the hell of it as you never know.
That was an impressive job and a great video. I agree though, that the clearance lights really need to be sealed up before water gets in behind all your new work.
Agreed, I put a solid bead of silicone around the full perimeter of each clearance light after the reinstall. Don't want that water getting in there! Thanks for watching!
I dig it. Did the same thing on my 5’er last summer but re-used filon. Added diamond plate to most pronounced curve towards top. Was a lot of work. I put down some 10mm x 2 plywood to reinforce the entire wall. I replaced all the studs on my entire front wall, only had little helpers. Used metal brackets on corners to strengthen and to add more places for attachment. Like yours all it had before was cardboard which was too soggy. Added clearance lights across front myself, fortunately uncle works for Truck Lite so I’ve got all new LED exterior lighting. I found caulking the clearance lights caused them to condensate so I sealed penetrations and left the fixture be, apparently the ones I have don’t like to be sealed. They were the only non-Truck Lite fixtures added, would’ve changed them too but I already built interior panel and lost access to lights. Your corner trim came out really nice. I had one side come out clean and the other not so much. Because of delamination on side someone before me added diamond plate and simply screwed it over damaged area. They did a semi-hack job so i would’ve needed corner trim with 1” lip that’s just too much metal to bend cleanly without forming tool. How has your aluminum panel held up to road since? I’m curious if debris or impact with smaller rocks leaves a ding.
Interesting, breather holes. I guess the Amazon ones I used achieved similar effect by crappy seal. The Truck-Lite type are a completely sealed unit with only holes intended for mounting. You should checkout RVROOFINSTALL. I’m currently mimicking their process with a TPO re-roof. Lotta work.
Very nice work! I would not get a new decal they typically can be a real headache with cracking, lifting, tearing and oxidizing etc. Have you thought about Eternabond tape on some of those seams? Peace & Happy Travels.
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I'm a retired RV tech who specialized in repairs such as you tackled. You done good. I would have added a couple of things like milling the cross bracing down and covering the whole nose with a very thin luan plywood and using a rubber undercoating at all seams before putting your aluminum sheeting on with construction adhesive, It may sound like an extra step but it turns the nose of your 5th wheel into a battering ram and helps prevent dents from low hanging branches.. Aluminum dents real easy especially where there is nothing supporting it but insulation.
Henry, wondering where are you located and if you’d be willing to help me I have a moldy fifth wheel and back wall we’ve taken off the back wall but the man is helping me and myself we have really no idea what we’re doing I’m in the Denver area
Okay.... so.... watched a few so called "delaminate" videos. 1:45 this guys already showing, step by step, how to start the repair. Bravo sir! And thanks for taking the time to do things right! 👍
YOU GUYS ARE LIFESAVERS!!! Thanks a bunch i was completely terrified of this repair but my ol' copper canyon needs it now as well . Now thanks to you guys and gals I am ready to handle this project and get back on the road!! Thanks a million times again.
Great job man.
It’s a never ending battle fixing these campers. If the manufacturers left out the fluff and focused on quality, we’d all have more time to enjoying camping instead of working on the trailer.
My husband and I are literally using this kind of like a template as we got an older camper and (thanks to your video) we realized what was wrong with ours. So this is beyond helpful. Thank you soooooo much.
I've owned five different sailboats, and one nice travel trailer, and after 40 years of this I can tell you never never use silicone on a camper or a boat. Impossible to get it off, but even if you're able to do the impossible, that means you will have spent an enormous amount of time and effort at something that may never really give you a bond again. Butyl tape however is fantastic.
Hey guys just a tip if you ever have to cut a long line again in aluminum sheet you can take an axacto knife score a line 2 or 3 times then bend metal and it will snap a perfect line and its much cleaner , just a tip i do capping that way all the time and no wavy line from snips ...
Thank you for exposing the structure of these campers. The sealing of the seam @7:20 is helping me with another unrelated problem. Thank you for making this video.
Wow that looks amazing! Thanks for the material list, it helps out a lot!
Thanks for taking the time to share your work. I'm rebuilding the front end of an 81 Chevy RV. I was hoping you chalked around the 2 clearance lights you installed.
I'd recommend applying the butyl tape to the backside of the trim. Then you pull the paper as you bend and fasten the trim in place.
Wow!! Gives us confidence to tackle repairs on our trailer ourselves, too.
I've done this but used FRP panels instead. Much easier, less expensive and no worries about scratching up or denting panels. $32 at home depot for a 4x8 panel. No need for an s-channel bend, just butt up the 2 panels on a cross support and then screw down a metal trim piece and install the vinyl insert.
How is the FRP holding up after 2 years? Just interested because I wanted to use this the same way but manufacturer specs were against outdoor use due to weather
Wow 😳 lots of work but happy you did it, good job...I’m sure you saved thousands...
Water runs down. I think you should have gone over the bottom not under. Very good job either way. Thanks
With the butyl tape it should be ok but yes ideally you are correct.
As you install the metal on the sides, that is also supposed to be tack stapled. They only hold the metal until you put the cap rail on. I am impressed that the cap rail conformed to that major curve without the tool they make to bend j-rail. Nice repair overall. Where did you get your metal? I’m on the East coast and so far can’t find a local camper/metal supplier.
Great job guys! Really appreciate all of the explanation of the process.
Good job folks, I battled that job on my 2005' class C 5 yrs ago when I bought it, one thing in the rebuild that is a must so everything falls into place is making sure that 1st sheet is square to the nose of the Rv and spaced correctly. I totally rebuilt mine alone I might add, and my placement was off, resulting in the angle trim not covering the side panels.
my seam at the top gave way last fall, I've got it striped down and am going to add a 18"x 8' piece of aluminum sheet metal and screw it down, this should lessen the vibration that caused the failure.
Great job , I have to change my rv roof this summer ,I looked at many other video that did there roof and your the only one that did it the proper way and you gave me great advice thank you
Nice explanatory video. One thing I’d like to share to help viewers. On the seam you mentioned screwing it, you are supposed to staple it on. I’m not trying to be a know it all, but have been taking a vintage trailer restoration class and rebuilding a 1967 Trailblazer. There’s barely room for staples, but it may still work, but hoping they don’t rub through the top metal. Excellent video regardless
So well done that I used your video to do the same to my trailer. I just finished and It took a total of 3 days to complete and am very pleased with outcome. I to used aluminum as it was easy to acquire with the sizes and the "S" pockets I needed.
Good job, very well thought out and executed! I doubt an RV repair place would do as thorough a job.
Thanks Norm! That was our plan going into it, we wanted to do something that would turn out to be a better finished product than the RV dealer option. If it holds up over time we will have succeeded. So far, so good. Thanks for watching!
@@ToWanderFreely how is the front of the camper today, 2 yrs later?
Just like to say GOOD JOB! Great crew, wife and I truly enjoy your taking time to share your videos. Safe travels.
Pam & Jerry
Thanks, Pam & Jerry!
I don't know what state you are in, but I hope I run into you if I ever need a serious RV repair. Your repair is obviously much better quality than I would have expected from a RV repair shop.
That's your idea of quality work?
Lmao
@@dmeyer6994 Laugh all you want, my experience in the past has been that many workers at some of the major RV shops were hill billy's at best. It is bad enough that RV's seem to all be made like crap from the start.
I used Liquid Nails behind flat side panel on my RV. Mistake.... sun heats panel, Liquid Nails turned gummy and swelled. Major re-do.
Nice job guys. That was definitely a big job to tackle but you guys did it like pros. I hope you get to enjoy many more seasons in your camper
AWESOME! (even 6 years later!)
We should follow your instructions step by step !! Thanks !!
I've got this in my future, I'm afraid. Thanks taking this on yourself and showing me how.
Very nice job y'all are fortunate to have been able to have plenty of hands in the job to get it done so it came it professional. The only thing I'd mention is you may want to go back n put some silicone/dicor around wire opening on lights n then run a bead of silicone across the outer edge of light back plate at top n sides leave bottom open. This will keep from getting water into n behind your new panel from a leak n keep water out of back plate. Awesome job!!!
Silicone is not recommended,,, use butyl instead.
Good video, I have a trailer with this problem and am trying to find another trailer for a mother in law cottage. Most of the trailers in her price range have this issue. I have never taken one of the fiberglass skinned trailers apart before, so it was very informative to find out what supports or fails to support the end caps. I grew up with RV's in Florida that had lots of structural issues as a result of water intrusion and resulting rot. As a result of this experience, I bought a used 81 Airstream and repaired it. I figured less to rot in one. They are lower maintenance once you get one in shape and maintain it. They are not very roomy though.
good to see teamwork going on !!
Great video. Never thought that sheet aluminum in place of the Filon would give you such a great result. If/when my camper delaminates at least I now have an idea on how to address the problem.
Wow! You guys are brave! That's something we would be a little afraid to tackle. Yet again, we're not the handiest of people. But this RV life is definitely teaching us to be. lol It looks great! I'm sure it's even stronger now. Great job!
Great repair,it is probably stronger now, than it was originally.
That was our hope and I think we accomplished it. Thanks for watching Davie!!
This is a great video! We have an extra lite camper with water damage on the front. This gives us a blueprint on how to repair it.
Wow, I would not know where to start. Excellent work and attention to detail.
Beautiful Job Sir.
Thank you. We have the same issue and this will definately help
Thankyou, so much for this helpful tips on rv repairs..you, make so, easy and very effective ways to make the repairs...budgeting our pockets too
Nice Job! When triming the aluminum. You can do a much nicer job by using double stick tap on a thin 1 by for straight edge. Use a trim router with a bearing to ride against straight edge. Will also work on fiberglass. Cuts like butter and True! Also use this fiberglass wheel on grinder to cut those side trim moldings. I also suggest that one puts caulking under the side edges to make contact with wood and underside of aluminum. Can never seal enough. If you squeeze some caulking into that seam where your sliding the flat piece into. It will lube it so they slide together instead of prying it apart. Good job, just some ideas for others. I work with these and know these methods to work well.
One of the best How To Films I've seen GREAT JOB ! Except Chris kept using the wrong hand.....LOL. 🙃😊😁
awesome job looks great but as far as cutting with tinsnips (they yellow ones) i'm glad you were using the correct color but if you don't cut all the way to the end of the snips and stop befor you will avoid the sharp hooks on the panel . so if you use the snips only 90 percent and then start cutting again it will be smoother.
You might want to go back and seal those lights, that's where my 5th wheel leaked.
I agree BC5391 I was thinking the same thing no gasket or seal behind that light will cause big problem down the road!
@@alanosborne1947 Had the same problem with my clearance lights, the factory never sealed them. I replaced mine with led lights, over sealed the back of the light
Why didnt you put the 1/4" plywood on first then glue the fiberglass panel to it and roll out all the wrinkles? Ive never done any of this but just wondering since you did have some material attached when you removed the panel. I enjoyed your video. Thanks for making it.
Great job guys. Jen, no flip-flops when working on a project! Yikes, those little toes so exposed. Aunt Glady looks terrific.
Thanks Debbie, and good point about the flip flops!! Next time I'll be more construction site approved!! Thanks for watching!
Debbie Alix have to agree. And please use thick gloves next time. That aluminum sheeting is damn heavy and sharp.
Right on Kevin, thanks for the tip!
wow!! bravo!!! thanks a lot for the video, i will start with the same job!! Saludos from Europe!!
Am fixing to be making similar repairs to our towable but also think metal is much better than the fiberglass. It may not get hail or rock dents but Delamination is a huge problem with fiberglass and we don’t want to go through this particular repair again! My concern is cost for the metal though, that and y’all had an extra pair or 2 of hands. Hoping we can get it done. 😳
Those clearance lights are a constant source of water leaks. You might want to put some sealant of some kind under them. Maybe use a led bulb and seal the lenses too. Great job- it looks awesome.
Good tip, thanks!
I found that! You are absolutely correct.
Wow, great job! I need to repair just a seal on front of our trailer. This helps.
Glad to hear it!
Wow Chris! This was so interesting and I am sure helpful to anyone thinking about doing this. I didn't even know that this fix was possible. Clear explanations of the problem and the fix. Impressive. I wonder if you will choose either a decal of your own or leave it as is, either way will look good.
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words and we're relieved that it went well! Not sure about a decal yet, if we go that route I think we'll definitely do one of our own. Thanks for watching!!
Wow Lots of work but what a payoff, Great Job!
It looks awesome!! So impressed with your work on Gladys.
God bless you on your travels.
Thanks so much, Beverly!
That looks really good!
WOW! Y'all were brave! You did a great job!
I'm a new subscriber. Ran across you maybe 6-8 mos ago. I had you video page opened to get some background and get a feel for your channel. Hubby closed down my browser and I couldn't remember you name. I have watched loads of "Wandering" TH-cam channels, trying to find you. I think you were around Crater Lake. Our oldest son lives out there. Just saw your video on the Congaree National Park in SC. I was born & raised in Columbia. Once your video started, I knew I had found you again! So this time I subscribed. LOL
It's been a journey for you to get here! So glad that you found us again and are on board this time around!! Thanks for watching!
Very nice and thorough video. Thank you.
Wow, I am impressed! It looks great.
Thanks Carol!!
You did an excellent job, looks professionally done.
Looks sharp!! Nicely done.
Thanks Scott!
Nice job
Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing your repair. I enjoyed watching your thought process on this. You took some of the mystery out of this for all of us :).
Glad to be of help!
you need to seal the clearance lights... it turned out super good
Great video
Nice repair job. The RV industry really needs to step up on the quality and durability of their products. Flimsy short lifespan designs rob the consumer of their investment.
Great insight - totally agree.
Great job guys. Looks great.
Thanks Roger!
Nice Job! Have a look at Eternabond 4" Tape. Does a must better job on seams. Very tidy. Once on, lay a very small bead of chalking on edges. Did a complete 37' RV, especially the roof edges, sky light domes, etc. Cheers
Hello, are you still in the business do you have private RV owners… I’m located in Denver Colorado and really need some help can’t find good tech don’t know what I’m doing this is my home and we’ve had to takeoff the back and now will have to takeoff the front fifth wheel lots of mold what a mess
Looks good! Good Job!!!
Interested in learning how you started the process with the top cap? How did you secure it to the roof?
I am impressed. Enjoyed watching this video. Your quality of work is definitely better than a dealership. We had to get our front cap replaced as part of a warranty repair. The manufacturer sent the wrong colored cap for the repair. The dealership put on the wrong cap and told us "deal with it". We are looking to vinyl wrap the front to match the color of the original cap. Maybe some vinyl decals/rap maybe an idea. Cheers.
Thanks Troy! We've had some minor repairs done by RV dealers on the road and we just weren't that interested in having this work done by a dealer. Even being back in the area where we purchased our RV, we have had a great experience with our RV dealer, but wanted to tackle this ourselves. Our RV dealer was a good source of input for us on this project, but we are very happy that we tackled the work ourselves. Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!!
I will hand it to you guys on a nice clean job, except one thing and that is liquid nails wont bond to aluminum. It has to be an epoxy type mastic and you have to take prep pad to the areas that will make contact with the panel and we use heat treated aluminum at .032 and it bends like butter especially on those tight bends.
Great job and team work.
Not a good idea to have tucked that panel second panel. Water will be directed inside and sit in there IF your seal cracks. So keep it sealed.
Earthbound
Looks great! Done well.
Thanks Robert!
Great fix even if y didn't do it like was. Taught me what I need to do by the mistakes u made and now I know better so I really can't F #$k up now !
great job. but I think I would have added some black vapor barrier. behind the panel just to be safe.
Great video and great job with the repair.
FlyingFish28 Thank you!
WOW !! That is a fantastic renovation!! Very nice job :-)
Thanks David, it was a lot of fun!!
Thank you for all the helpful videos. I really appreciate you both.
Fantastic video! Thanks! I'm going to pull the front of my trailer apart this fall and try to repair it. I was wondering how the supports were under the curve. Minimal I see! Nice to see that there wasn't any rot or water damage to the frame and insulation. Hopefully mine is the same. I'm wondering how the aluminum has held up? Does it still look good? I'm worried that getting aluminum light enough to bend into place means that it will also be light enough to get dented (or even punctured) by flying rocks during travel.
Very professional level repair. Glad there was minimal inside panel water damage. Assume you let the insulation dry out well for a couple days maybe. Estimate you could buy a 5th wheel with this damage for less than $10000 and then fix up for $1000. Result is a fifth wheel worth at least $15000 post fix.
We did let the insulation dry out - not as long as we had hoped because we had a ton of rain in PA this Spring. So, we waited until we had a 2 full days of sun in a row - 1 to dry out, and then one for the repairs. Thanks!
@@ToWanderFreely Wondering why you didn’t pull all the insulation out to see if there was mold on the plywood behind the insulation and if there was more there would you have gone further to illuminate it? I’m assuming your bedroom is in the fifth wheel and you don’t want to sleep around all that mold and hoping that you were able to investigate and get it out. Most people think that dry mold isn’t harmful only wet mouth is but I don’t believe that’s true
I will admit I was a bit skeptical. You all did a amazing job. Looks fantastic for a diy project.
Thanks for sharing. I'm at the start of a reno myself, and this was helpful.
Quick question, though,
Why did you tuck the new sheet UNDER the old at the bottom? The water has a greater chance of infiltration. Whereas if you had attached it on top of the old bottom section like was originally done, the water would have wicked more normally.
Right, that was my exact same question. I don't quite get it why they put so much time and efforts in doing that spectacular fix without thinking about something that basic...
Very nice work! Now you need a "To Wander Freely" decal on the front.
Funny you should mention that - we were actually thinking about it. Just not sure yet. :)
ohh I think that is a marvelous idea for a decal !!!
Can you buy the trim by itself that you put the insert into? On the corners of my camper where it transitions to that diamond plate stuff the aluminum trim is bent allowing water inside the corners.
Great job I have done a lot of things to our RV to
Nice job, well done.
Thanks!
Whew, quite the project, good job😁
Thanks Sharrie!
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome video and repair. Thank you for sharing !
If you had it to do again, what changes would you make to this job? Grease or vaseline on the edge where you butted the 2 pieces? More supports? Maybe add a hitch light circuit? Use screws that won't react to the dissimilar metals (aluminum vs steel)? Overall, a nice fix to a rather nasty situation. Definitely wouldn't want to do that job alone. Any cut or bleeding fingers?
Another method to removing the old caulk is with a stiff wire wheel or cup-brush on a drill or grinder... like on the roof, where some scratches won't matter, it can reduce your demo time a little bit.
You guys are good! I think this is a job I would have a hard time tackling. Even so, I am interested in how this works.
Thanks Rock! It was fun figuring it out and seeing everything come together. Thanks for watching!
Why could you not use the front piece that you took off. And where did you find the aluminum? TIA!
Wow look so great. Good job have a great day!
Thank you!!
Great Job. Good Luck
you made it look easy!!! now I miss sugar sands. great video
Thanks! We miss Sugar Sands the day we leave that place!!
This is excellent work... you found a shop to make up those aluminum sheets for a retail customer! I have been practicing aluminum brazing, just for the hell of it as you never know.
Can you please post your materials list again? I can’t find it and can’t seem to access your website. Many thanks!
That was an impressive job and a great video. I agree though, that the clearance lights really need to be sealed up before water gets in behind all your new work.
Agreed, I put a solid bead of silicone around the full perimeter of each clearance light after the reinstall. Don't want that water getting in there! Thanks for watching!
I dig it. Did the same thing on my 5’er last summer but re-used filon. Added diamond plate to most pronounced curve towards top. Was a lot of work. I put down some 10mm x 2 plywood to reinforce the entire wall. I replaced all the studs on my entire front wall, only had little helpers. Used metal brackets on corners to strengthen and to add more places for attachment. Like yours all it had before was cardboard which was too soggy. Added clearance lights across front myself, fortunately uncle works for Truck Lite so I’ve got all new LED exterior lighting. I found caulking the clearance lights caused them to condensate so I sealed penetrations and left the fixture be, apparently the ones I have don’t like to be sealed. They were the only non-Truck Lite fixtures added, would’ve changed them too but I already built interior panel and lost access to lights. Your corner trim came out really nice. I had one side come out clean and the other not so much. Because of delamination on side someone before me added diamond plate and simply screwed it over damaged area. They did a semi-hack job so i would’ve needed corner trim with 1” lip that’s just too much metal to bend cleanly without forming tool.
How has your aluminum panel held up to road since? I’m curious if debris or impact with smaller rocks leaves a ding.
Interesting, breather holes. I guess the Amazon ones I used achieved similar effect by crappy seal. The Truck-Lite type are a completely sealed unit with only holes intended for mounting.
You should checkout RVROOFINSTALL. I’m currently mimicking their process with a TPO re-roof. Lotta work.
Very nice work! I would not get a new decal they typically can be a real headache with cracking, lifting, tearing and oxidizing etc. Have you thought about Eternabond tape on some of those seams? Peace & Happy Travels.