Author: Rae

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Overhang Overhaul

Whew, this weekend was work, and in torrid conditions to boot.

I’ve had a leak in a corner of my passenger side overhang for two and a half years now. The first time, I zapped it with caulking, but it came back with a vengeance that required a major interior overhaul. At that time, I applied Eternabond to the exterior, but the Eternabond didn’t work. I think that the reason for that was that it was just too cold and damp when I applied it and it never had a chance to bond.

This weekend, sick and tired of how terrible my rig looked with the Eternabond, I set to work to settle this damn leak once and for all.

As a reminder:

Now, I’d like to say that the way I handled the repair this weekend is not the way I would recommend going about dealing with a class C motorhome overhang leak. I am only comfortable having taken the steps I took because I demolished and rebuilt a good part of the interior, so I understand how the overhang is constructed and how water travels within it. Ideally, I should have gone ahead with this summer’s plans to have the passenger side pulled and replaced and then had all the seams recaulked. But that was a nearly $3,000 job which I really believe is not structurally necessary.

My class C has an aluminum frame construction. Therefore, water cannot wick through the frame to soak surrounding materials. The leak has always been confined to a very specific area. Moreover, the way the interior floor is constructed, all the weight is on the frame, not the fiberglass. The only evidence of the leak within the rig at this point is that if you tap the passenger side wall from the exterior right at the front lower corner, the sound is echoey, indicating that the fiberglass has pulled away from the insulation and luan. At some point this winter, in a dry location with time on my hands and a helper, I will consider pulling the passenger side window so I can rebuild the wall and caulk the seams from inside.

The first step to dealing with the leak this weekend was to remove the Eternabond. This was way too easy. The tape just pulled off easily, leaving a sticky grey residue not unlike chewing gum. I then applied some acetone (nail polish remover) to remove the stickiness and then used a putty knife the roll the residue into a little ball.

Next, I had to deal with the fiberglass flooring that had pulled away from the subfloor in one corner and was starting to crack from the strain. My mother had the idea to use an existing hole to inject an adhesive and then pry the floor in place until the glue dried.

So off I went to find some Gorilla Glue. While I was out, I also stopped at the very helpful Horizon Lussier RV in Marieville to pick up caulking, putty, and, since I was there, a house door window frame, and a catch for an exterior compartment. I had to take a detour to come home since the 10 Montreal-bound was at a standstill. So I ended up being gone most of the afternoon.

When I finally got in, my mother used a syringe to inject the glue into the hole. I then held a thin 1’x1′ piece of plywood up against the flooring while my mother jammed a 2×4 in tightly. It was then time for a well-earned beer and a seafood dinner!

When I went to check on the result this morning, I found the flooring most satisfactorily stuck to the fiberglass… as was the plywood sheet! Thankfully, the sheet came off without any damage.

Next order of business was to pull back the rubber covering on the mouldings that run across the front and passenger side of the overhang so I could remove part of them and apply new putty. It was very easy to see that the water damage never went beyond what I repaired inside. I removed the rusty screws and old putty, shoved some tooth picks into the screw holes to give the new screws something to bite into, applied new putty, and then rescrewed the mouldings tightly.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures; this was messy work that would have required a separate photographer!)

I then spent the day off and on cleaning the mouldings and fiberglass in preparation for caulking by my mother this evening. The Eternabond had left a dark yellow line where it was applied, so I used a ton of Poli Ox and elbow grease to mitigate the difference as much as possible.

When my mother got home, I went into helper mode while she caulked. We agreed that lots of messy looking caulk was better than a bit of neatly applied caulk. So up close, the job doesn’t look awesome, but it is MUCH better than was the Eternabond!

From a distance, my RV’s bad side is looking a lot less embarrassing!

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so I will be able to test the repair right away. Soon as we get a dry spell again, I will Poliglow the area and then I think it will look even better.

I’m going to go collapse now!

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Home Never Felt So Good

I packed up all my stuff from the house this afternoon, then did a Tim Hortons run for a quick dinner. When I got back, my mother was still out gallivanting, so I decided to get level on my own. The asphalt was still showing the marks of where the boards were, so getting leveled wasn’t too bad. It’s just a bit awkward since the driveway just got repaved and each time I turn the wheels, I damage the surface a little, so I have to get in with as few turns as possible.

Once level, I hooked up power, filled the fresh water tank, and got unpacked. I just have the food left, but the fridge will take into tomorrow to get cold. I gave it a head start on propane before leaving Boucherville this afternoon.

I am really irked that even though I cleaned and dried every nook and cranny of the fridge, there was still mould in it when I opened it up today. So I had to clean it again. I hope I never have to empty and turn off the fridge again like that, but if I do, I will figure out a way to securely leave the door ajar.

This weekend’s plans may change a little since my mother wants to finish up what we need to do to make it possible for Tabitha and Neelix to finally have their long overdue homecoming. But I am still going to squeeze in some time to work on the overhang. Miranda otherwise looking pretty good is a big motivator.

The service tech at Boisvert probably thought that cleaning and waxing the truck part was a small thing, but it’s major for me because it’s one less thing to do. Have you ever felt you had so much to do that you couldn’t get started on anything? That’s how the exterior project felt for me until I saw Miranda yesterday. I mean, I can even see myself in the hubcaps! Even rePoliglowing is no big deal now that the rig has been power washed already. Boisvert Ford made up for a lot of the frustration left by the morons and I am very grateful to them.

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Rear End Repair Work By Boisvert Ford, Boucherville

I called Boisvert Ford at 7:45 this morning to put in a request to have the passenger side of the bumper bolted and was told that the paint was drying! WOW, what amazing service yet again!

My mother and I drove out right after lunch to pick her up. The guy who did the work told me, in case I want to touch up other parts of the rig (um, yeah) that the white paint used is standard pure white Ford paint that is available in spray cans at Canadian Tire. Thanks for the tip!

He also said that he had some extra time and noticed that I was in the middle of a destriping project, so he thought I’d appreciate a hand. I am convinced that he saved me about 10 hours of work.

While the fiberglass portion of the rig looked pretty good with the stripes gone, the metal part looked terrible. I don’t think I ever got a picture of it. I got the stripes off the doors and hood, but there was grey glue left after. I haven’t yet found the project to get that stuff off without completely ruining my paint job. Mr. Boisvert Paint Guy did:

A non-cracked windshield is always lovely:

Now, this is what the rear of the passenger side looks like:

Bumper repair on the passenger side:

And this is the shiny rear of the driver’s side:

Now, the bumper. You can go visit the accident page to relive all the gory details of the damage, but here’s a good shot showing how bad the bumper and rear end looked:

The rear end now:

They even cleaned the front dash inside the cab. It has never looked this clean!

Another tech came to give me my keys and I asked him if he could drive the rig around to the front for me. Certainly! So getting out of Boisvert Ford was easy peasy and the traffic coming back to Chambly was almost a non-issue.

I found a dump station right here in Chambly that wasn’t, but is now on the Sanidumps site, at the Shell station. So I dumped the black tank before returning to my mother’s house.

Before parking, I Poliglowed the passenger side and then got into the driveway. My mother will help me level when she gets back from running errands.

I am thrilled with the work Boisvert Ford did on my RV and the level of service. My out of pocket costs were $388 for the windshield plus about $60 (!!!!!!!!!) for an oil change, plus tax, for a total of $512.

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Miranda Has a Screw Loose

As the hour for picking up Miranda approached today, I felt sicker and sicker. It’s the same feeling I’ve gotten before having accidents or other nasty events. I’ve always believed after the fact that the feeling would have dissipated had I changed my plans. Tonight, I decided that if I had an excuse to not retrieve Miranda, however small, I would accept it. Sure enough, something did, and as soon as I made the decision to retrieve her tomorrow, the knot in my stomach loosened. I am convinced that I avoided an accident on the perilous drive from Boucherville to Chambly.

Pictures of the repairs will wait till tomorrow since I did not have my camera, but I will give a major spoiler: she looks AMAZING. Boisvert did, at no extra cost, one job on the exterior that I have been delaying and delaying and delaying, and which makes a major difference. The only disappointment is that the left rear lower panel on the driver’s side looks brand new while the passenger side is, well, not lovely. I am going to ask them for details on the paint they used and see if I can spray the other panel myself before it gets cold out.

The bumper is being held with nuts and bolts and washers on the driver’s side, but there were only two screws used on the passenger side. One of them is loose and one disappeared. The body guy wasn’t there tonight, but the mechanic on duty said that even he can tell that the bumper will need to be bolted from the inside like the driver’s side and that there will be a smidgen of painting involved. He said that he would call the body guy tonight and that I should call first thing in the morning to confirm that the message got through. I am hoping that I can pick the rig up before noon to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic from Boucherville. The Thursday afternoon traffic was scary enough.

If I can get Miranda early tomorrow, I want to rePoliglow the driver’s side before parking (as I’m parked against a hedge), then do the rest of the rig over the weekend, including some work on the damn passenger side overcab corner that keeps leaking and looking like hell.

I doubt I’ll do any work on the electrical project, then, but I did receive the fuse I need and I’m pretty sure that the longest 1AWG cables from Canadian Tire will work with my project, so I am considering that I have found all the necessary parts. The exterior is a more pressing priority right now. Note to self: find a window frame for the house door.

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Not the Answer I Expected

I called Boisvert Ford this afternoon to get an idea of when Miranda will be ready. Surprise: they just have the oil change left!!!!!!!

This means they did not waste any time since there was about 24 hours of work to do, including eight hours for paint.

Even though I could pick her up first thing, I won’t be able to since I need to go spend the day with a client. Boisvert’s sales department is open till 9:00 on Thursdays, so I can pick her up on the way home. I hope that everything looks good and that I don’t have any questions that would mean delaying the pickup to Friday.

I should be able to start the battery bank project this weekend!