Repair Truck Camper Sidewall

[RVtrek]

My truck camper has a sidewall that seems to be falling apart.  I'm sure the construction in most travel trailers is likely the same, so I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions on how to either fix it or shore it up so the corner of my camper doesn't fall apart.

It seems like the wood is rotting away, the sidewall is separating, and I'm starting to notice little issues on the inside that might be related such as gaps between pieces forming.

I dont' really care what the repair looks like cosmetically, I just want it to be functional.  I think the "proper" repair would be to basically rebuild the entire sidewall (and perhaps bottom wall) of the camper, but I just don't see that happening.  I don't have the skills, and the cost on this 14-year-old camper surely isn't worth it.  Maybe I could get someone to weld together a couple pieces of heavy metal into a support brace and we bolt that onto the side?

Any suggestions?

 

[bullfrog]

First you need to determine if it is water damage or stress damage or both. If water damage look, find and fix the leak first. If stress damage due to off road travel it is probably beyond your ability to fix as that is the base of the wall.

 

[highdesertranger]

looks like water damage to me. you need to find the leak and you need to open up that wall and bottom to see what the damage is. highdesertranger

 

[tbair]

I will go out on a limb and say that it is both water and stress, I have a very similar issue on mine. The stress works the caulk along the edge, then water gets in then you get rot. This combined with the fact that that area gets quite a bit of stress means it is hard to fix. 

My solution was inelegant, a combination of angle iron on the inside, lots of west sys. epoxy and some replacement plywood. 

I wish you the best of luck because it is a hard repair, mine is pretty strong but not cosmetically attractive.

This is why I will never buy another wood based PU camper. Probably other issues with aluminum but at least I won't have to deal with rot.

 

[rvpopeye]

It looks like rot from leaks from that jack (bolts).
What's on the inside there?
You will have to remove all that and open up the wall there.
Take off the jack.
Probably take off the aluminum piece on the outside too
You will then be able to see how much wood to buy.
(Do this while the camper is on the truck or supported on heavy saw horses or right on the ground)
Take out the rotted wood (and insulation) and replace with new maybe using adhesive in place of the staples / screws that held on the siding. Replace the jack and aluminum trim , use lots of sealant (butyl tape ,not silicone!)
That's it !
Re-do the interior cabinets etc and smile , you fixed it yourself !

 

[highdesertranger]

I have found it easier to do the repairs from the outside. usually less destruction is done and less to remove. highdesertranger

 

[rvpopeye]

Never thought of that !
Do you have to remove much siding and how hard is it to do ?

 

[highdesertranger]

the trim is super easy as are doors and windows after all you are going to want to reseal them. once those are off the skin usually comes off easy. most of the time it is stapled around the edges and windows and doors. just take it slow and easy. usually the staples pull out with a screwdriver or a broad head rigid scrapper between the siding and the wood it's attached to. be very careful not to tear the siding up. only peel back as much as needed to do the repair. then replace the bad wood and put it back together. actually when you put it back together you can reseal everything better then it was. I have a thread on here somewhere were we did this repair, I will see if I can find it. highdesertranger

 

[highdesertranger]

here it is, this was on Lisa's(missnout) trailer. I have done others this way, I would sure hate to try to do this from the inside.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-repairing-water-damage

if anybody has any questions ask away. highdesertranger

 

[rvpopeye]

I do remember that now!

 

[RVtrek]

highdesertranger, you know your stuff! I am pretty well convinced that if I took on this project by myself, it would end up looking terrible in the end, and I'd really not do a very good job with it, (mostly due to lack of experience).

I think you guys are right, it likely started with a water leak (previous owner) and then stress helped make it worse (likely from my travels).

The disintegration of the wall seems to be progressing slowly, so I'm pretty sure I'm not in imminent danger of structural collapse. Hopefully it'll hold out for a while and I'll get more warning signs before it fails.