Motorhome Rehab Pt 5 - Base re-installation!

 Great few days!

We were finally blessed with a sunny warm day so I could work outside on the trim.

I started by putting the final two coats of the car paint on the cab. It looks great, I probably could have done a better job sanding down the edge of the old paint, but no one will ever see this area as it is under the screws holding down the bunk. For now, it is sealed so no rust will form. 

Bob helped make the second piece for the floorboard. It is a slightly modified construction. Longer, wider side boards, but still has a styrofoam core. It is laminated the same way as the larger piece except the fiberglass is still on the cab and will need to be laminated after we install it to the front piece. Plan for this week is to install it and create a jig to apply good, even pressure on the area that needs to be glued and get the nose completely glued and ready for the trim to be put back on.

New board before the second layer of hardwood

Old construction, notice the larger, middle styrofoam piece.

Took the nice day to laminate the fiberglass piece to the new base we created. It was vital that we used the correct glue and it was applied properly. We chose original Gorilla glue. Keep in mind a few things about this glue. It expands! Make sure you have proper, even weight on the entire project. We had one corner that wasn't fully weighted so we needed to add a little glue to fill the gap that was made. It also needs a slightly wet surface to work. Do a test drop so you can see how it expands. It does clean by scraping it off or sanding it, it will not wash off so make sure that you look for drips. We did not consider the screw holes in the fiberglass piece and realized that the top plywood we used to weight it down might stick to glue that expanded through the holes. It did, but thankfully when we pulled gently the fiberglass didn't crack or peel before the glue did. I was able to scrape off the glue left on the fiberglass without much trouble.

We did the best we could to evenly lay out the glue. 

We found everything we could find in the garage with any weight and piled it on top of a piece of plywood. Left it for the night and checked on it in the morning.  

It looks great!! I cleaned it one last time and put a layer of car wax on it. It probably needs boat wax but this should provide a little bit of protection for now. (I was careful not to wax the areas where the caulk or glue will go.)

Went outside and decided it was time to pull the molding all the way to the top. Not too bad, there was a good amount of eternabond under the trim, but definitely areas of water. It will be better to seal it all up properly. With the molding off, the fiberglass panel hangs pretty freely, please be careful with this, I think that there is now a hairline crack under the window. Just be sure to clamp up the fiberglass the best you can to avoid unintended consequences. I will likely stop by an auto body shop to see if they can remedy it properly instead of trying a hoky DIY fix. It's just so tiny I don't want to screw it up.

 The eternabond comes off pretty well with patience and the goof off. The hardest thing to remove is the silicone around the trim, it is stubborn and does not budge. I have yet to find a good solvent that does a good job with this. I am going to try another type of Goof off and Maybe WD40 (read somewhere it might work)

After addressing the crack and securing the nose piece with some clamps we were done for the day.

The next morning the rain held off a bit so we decided to go for it and install the first base piece! It fit in perfectly!

We decided to use the  Sealtite Window sealant around the cab area. I had bought a box in case the windows need to be taken out at any point and we figured it would do a great job. We laid down the cord and added a ton of the clear hap sealant that came with it, behind the foamcore bead. I will run a bead around the outside too when I put in the molding.

https://sealdesignllc.com/product-category/seal-tite-window-door-and-molding-sealant/

It was a challenge to slide in the board with the sealant on the edges. We quickly realized that all the sealant made it difficult to get the board all the way in. We tried tapping it with a hammer and pulling on it, but it kept sliding back. Eventually we realized that we could loop a ratchet strap around the top and pull it from the middle of the motorhome. (in one of the drawers and on the dinette) This was just enough to line up the screws and secure it in! Added a little more sealant around the cab and screwed it all down.  The side screws needed to be pre drilled but they are in and secure!! 

Since the first piece went in so well, we decided that we would give the second piece a try!  It was important that the gap was perfect so that the T- molding fits properly. We temporarily screwed in the metal strip in order to properly fit the gap, it also helped to hold the piece while we screwed it in. 

Once it was in, we took off the molding and threaded the straps back through to hold the fiberglass from blowing in the wind. 

This is what the outside looks like now. The next step is to make the jig and get the front fiberglass piece glued up. Once that is in I will put the metal trim back in and reinstall the corner molding. 

This is ALMOST watertight! I am hoping to be sealed up by later next week. 

It is so nice to be able to sit up on the cab again. I have been unable to reach the front carpet to work on it. Now I can sit up there and figure out what to do with the damaged ceiling and walls. 

Next on the Agenda:

Glue the front nose fiberglass

Clean, seal and replace trim (maybe paint it)

Remove and replace top roof sealant.

At this point I am about 90% sure the water is coming in through the seam on the roof where the roof meets the front cap. It seems as though the water was coming in at the top corner (on both sides) and actually running down INSIDE the cab. The walls are in good shape and all the damage seems to be below the window line. You can see where it is running down the inside walls (all the way down to the passenger and drivers seats) so I know it's not the windows, and my running lights are sealed in the hard fiberglass cap piece , with expanding foam completely covering the back of the cap, so I am pretty sure it's not from there either, but I will def throw some sealant in there around the lights.