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MuddyPaws1
A State
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Joined: 02/06/2010
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Which trim piece? I used several different kinds from surprising places depending on what one you are looking at.
I used several tools...several paint scrapers....some light and bendy, some very stiff. And one with a 5 inch wide razor as the blade.
That white goo sucks for sealing. I used a ton of dynaflex....duraflex....one or the other. All over. Any place I could put sealant. I bet 10 times more than the factory put in. LOL
Cut the filon with several tools depending on what I was doing. Air powered cut off wheel for some cuts, circular saw, jig saw, and even a set of air shears. For opening the holes for the doors and windows I used a router with a flush cut bit. Actually 2 bits. That FRP is tough on bits.
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xp8103
Maine
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Joined: 11/24/2004
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I'm making a new seam where there isn't one. As long as it's white and it covers the seam, I don't care which one it is!! ![[emoticon]](http://www.rv.net/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
Nik
2011 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD "Outdoorsman"
CC, LB 4x4, SRW, 6-spd Auto, 3.73LSD, Timbrens, TorkLifts and HappiJac QwikLoads
2005 Lance 1010
Member - Cape Lookout Mobile Sportfishermen
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Eric&Lisa
Scappoose, OR
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Joined: 07/11/2006
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bobndot wrote:When you replace the wing , you can leave one molding screw out at the bottom of the wing. That will be the lowest point of the wing and will act as weep hole. The wings usually rot because they hold water acting like a sponge.
Philosophical question...
Is it better to leave a weep hole (which can also admit water from road spray), or is it better to seal the wing up so tight water cannot enter in the first place?
Wood does act like a sponge, and every sponge I have seen will draw water into it from a lower point. The water never drips out of the sponge, it will only dry as it is exposed to air. A weep hole is a drain, not a air-drying hole.
When I had to rebuild my skirts, I sealed the snot out of them. A sticky, messy job. But I guarantee water won't get in.
See my post in the TCU for all the details. I would also put a sealer on the new wood to prevent it from every soaking in water even if some gets in there.
-Eric
Eric & Lisa - Oregon
'97 Silverado K2500, New HT383 motor!, Airbags, anti-sway bar
'03 Lance model 1030, generator, solar,
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bobndot
USA
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Joined: 08/21/2007
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Hi Eric. I always thought thought the same as you , that water would spray up into it . It does make sense to me,that , if you seal it up real good it will not allow water to penetrate into it . I don't know if most people will keep up with that .
I saw two dealers leave it open . One left the screw out,the other drilled a small hole. Both said they have better luck by allowing the water an escape route. They said they do this as a regular practice.
I guess they think gravity is beneficial and maybe they are betting on people not keeping up on the caulking . Maybe it's better to take your chances with water getting up into it than having it hold water.
I drilled a weep hole in mine . It's been three years , so far so good. I am always driving in bad weather , it seems to follow me. ![[emoticon]](http://www.rv.net/sharedcontent/cfb/images/frown.gif "frown")
I can tell you that i have seen a few tc's drip water from the skirt when a bottom screw is removed . One of the mechanics always makes a point of showing me that because i too questioned it . Those skirts looked like they were all sealed up but i guess water was getting in somewhere . Maybe from above, where the jack plates mount. If the jack plates are not sealed, water can get in and run down to a low point .
I was told that Lance makes a replacement skirt that just pops into place and the top molding strip gets replaced . This has been a recurring problem and now the fix is easier and less expensive.
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bobndot
USA
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Joined: 08/21/2007
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Eric, pre-sealing the wood sounds like a good idea .
I know a mechanic that did that when he repaired the A/Fox roof seam leak in the cabover . The edges of the filon would get sealed, so the cardboard like backing would not soak up water causing delamination. Those edges all got sealed, then it was put back together and over lapped with waterproof tape . Then it got caulked and capped and caulked again . Doing it that way worked very well for him and seemed to be a fix for the AF roof seam issue.
You might be onto something,hopefully that skirt fix will work out and stay dry.
Good luck to you xp8103, i hope all works well .
Bob .
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silversand
Montreal
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Joined: 09/12/2004
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Quote:Wood does act like a sponge, and every sponge I have seen will draw water into it from a lower point.
The problem is that wood has some moisture in it during the manufacturing stage and will always have moisture in it (even after kiln drying!). Wood desorbs (desorption) and absorbs water when it is out in the environment, and will ALWAYS seek to reach environmental equilibrium based on the environment the wood is living in (in the Southwest: no problem; in the east, no matter where in the east you live: BIG problem). When I use wood to build out-door structures (here in the East), I choose a wood that greatly resists decay (I like western red cedar), and I always dip every cut end in hot melted paraffin wax before they go into the structure (usually, a deck or outdoor structure).
IMO: camper manufacturers should make 2 camper models: an Eastern model for our incessant 75~99% RH all but one month a year (with no organic material in the structure whatsoever: use structural compounds that are synthetic and not from natural origin, and this includes glues that are subject to failure when moisture comes in contact with it!!); and a Western/Southwestern model (but not for Oregon nor Washington state buyers), with wood or wood composite materials.
With the above in mind, you can seek out the appropriate materials and re-build the wing(s) of your camper using said, with the old wing as a template.
Our camper uses Filon (FRP, but UNBACKED {read: no lauan backing}!) and inorganic materials (fully synthetic) in roughly 70% our our camper shell structure, using glue that will not fail if submerged in water/moisture.
Good luck replacing/rebuilding the wings. You'll get lots of help from Forum members that have done this for sure.
Cheers,
Silver-
* This post was
edited 04/20/11 05:45am by silversand *
Silver
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 6.0L Ext/LB Tow Package 4L80E Michelin AT2s| Outfitter Caribou
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xp8103
Maine
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Joined: 11/24/2004
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I sent Lance an email about their replacement wings. Will let you know what I hear.
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xp8103
Maine
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Joined: 11/24/2004
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Makes those aluminum framed campers look pretty nice.......
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MARKW8
Akron OH
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Joined: 03/09/2004
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I've done both wings and the rt side rear below the taillights on my Lance 920. Where the filon was still holding, I used a scraper. On the rear I used a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel to cut between the taillight opening and both edges. I was able to find some white, flat trim to cover the cuts. Both of my wings are now solid, exterior glue plywood.
Mark
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xp8103
Maine
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Just got a reply from Lance. Replacement wings are $230 plus a $30 crate fee PLUS shipping. But it included everything new needed including caulking, moldings, etc.... I'm going to slice off the piece of filon this afternoon with my dremel and a cutoff wheel and see what is to be seen under it. Not sure which direction I'm going yet.
* This post was
edited 04/21/11 11:46am by xp8103 *
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