toddsnorthriver
mcminnville oregon
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I have a 2001 fleetwood elkorn that I found the start of some water damage. I took the rubber cap off that covers the screws on the metal bracket that hold the aluminum sides together. The water damage is in the lower protion of the cab over section of the front nose cone. The bottom section of the plywood is wet about 1/4 to 1/8 inch from the bottom of the board. From the front to the back of the camper the wood is wet for about two feet. It dosen't appear to have come from the roof area, but just around the lower corner of the cab over section. I took the edge railling off the one side and lowered the sheet metal down enough to chech to see how extensive the damage is and to my surprise it's very little. So my questionis when I start to rebuild the camper, what type and brand of sealant do I use. I am assuming that I would use the puddy type tape on the edge railing that has all the screw in it. And as far as fastining it all back together do I work from on end and end up in a corner to get everything tight and uniform. Thanks for your help, Todd
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toddsnorthriver
mcminnville oregon
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Anyone? The wood is drying out pretty good, would like to start putting it back together soon, but would like to know the right, easiest way to do it!
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Sportsman Matt
Blackstone, MA
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Joined: 10/16/2007
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I would recommend Dicor lap sealant for the flat roof areas, and Geocell for the seams.
Life is short, Play harder.
2002 GMC Sierra 1500 Regular Cab Long Bed 4.3L V6 Automatic 2WD
1989 Sunline C-750 Slide In Truck Camper
7'6" Floor, 11'6" OAL
Fishing and Hunting New England and eventually the world
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Beaker
Brevard, NC
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Be happy you caught it in time.
I would suggest going to rotdoctor.com before sealing it up.
I got the same problems on trailer only bigger.
2000 Silverado 5.3
1998 23' Jayco lite
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toddsnorthriver
mcminnville oregon
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Ok, so to easy my mind I took the other side down to make sure it was ok and Ifound a big mess. The wood that is making up the frame on the left side is gone. I cut it out, or at least what didn't crumble out and now I'm off to Lowes to get some wood. The majority of the damage looks to be in the 2x4 board. The plywood underneath the overhang is a little wet but not saturated like the 2x4. I went to the rotdoctor sight and looked around. Which product do you recomend? Is that all it does is penatrate the wood to help with rot? Thanks,Todd
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Beaker
Brevard, NC
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I have been using the CPES. It helps to kill the fungus that causes the rot and and hardens the wood. Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.
Of course if you can get out all the rotten wooden, that would be the best thing. I can't and most of it I don't need to. Read the material a couple of times and understand exactly what wood rot is and the whole business of wood rot becomes clearer.
Good luck on your repair!
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toddsnorthriver
mcminnville oregon
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Did you brush ot on or did you have to spray it on? The only piece that I think that needed replaced was the 6' section of 2x4. Hopefully I can use the epoxy sealer to cure the rest, which isn't very bad maybe a 1/8 of an inch saturation. I think the reason it was so bad on the drivers side was that it was tilted that way all winter on my stand. What type of silicone sealant do you recomend after everything is put back together? I bought some of the grey puddy tape to use on the railing/molding which is a little bit wider than what came on from the factory. Thanks, Todd
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Beaker
Brevard, NC
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I used a brush to cover some of the wood. It seemed like it would be easier than a sprayer, just toss away instead of cleaning but either will work. I kept brushing on until it did not soak in anymore.
Where the rot was deeper in the wood, I drilled small holes and used a turkey baster from wally world for injection. Works pretty good.
The grey putty that you are talking about I think is butyl tape or "monkey poop" which is what I use. I think what happens is as the walls flex, the "poop", which never hardens, will squeeze out. The water from the rain gutter hits one of these spots and ran down the 2x2s. Great design!
One thing about all this is that you will keep a better overall watch on your camper for leaks.
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toddsnorthriver
mcminnville oregon
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Did you order direct from seattle or do they have it in other rv shops? Camping world have it?
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Beaker
Brevard, NC
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Ordered from Seattle, expensive but otherwise I have have to take off the aluminum siding, which isn't going to happen.
I don't know where else you can find it, possibly marine store.
There is another product called Git Rot but the CPES works good and was shipped here in 3 or 4 days.
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