Travel trailer water damage questions

[closeanuf]

I bought a 2003 Aliner Cabin A.  This is not a fold-up camper but a box on wheels. I bought it knowing it had some problems but nothing like I actually found. I talked to Bullfrog and he talked me out of building a foamie (too much work and expense for my 71 year old body).  Anyway, this thing is basically luan glued to foam with an aluminum skin.   I'm wanting opinions on the best plywood or similar product that I can glue to the existing luan that is coming apart because of water getting under the vinyl wallpaper.   I'm peeling off the vinyl so the wood is exposed. Layers of the luan are peeling off in spots so I'm thinking glueing plywood to the luan seems like a solution, but I'm always open to better suggestions.   I would also like opinions on brand of glue to use. I'm thinking liquid nails because using a tube of glue in a caulking gun.  Thanks for any help you might give. 

I'm not able to post pictures but can text or email pictures.

Thanks

 

[wayne49]

I was going to say "walk away", then I saw the past tense of buy.

Viewers of "This Old House" will remember the oft repeated moment when they opened up a structural element, find hidden damage, and the host would say "You might as well..." and the cost and work effort would go up.

 

[maki2]

The first thing that has to be done is taking off the old wall paper so you can see all of the damage.

Make sure the plywood is very dry before you do any further remedial action to it

Sand the surface to level it down. If the plywood is badly delaminated in most areas you need to remove it and install new plywood.

The walls of that trailer are SIPs which stands for structural insulated panels. Each of the layers is bonded to the others. But here is why construction adhesive in a tube is not the answer. The glue bonds have to be evenly spread across the whole surface of each layer. Squirting out strings of adhesive won't turn those SIPS into a single structural unit. It takes glue bonds with no voids in the adhesive.

Perhaps you have seen a video or even put Formica top laminate onto a piece of plywood. You use a roller or brush to completely cover both surfaces with the adhesive then use a J-roller and pressure to push the materials together. 100% adhesive coverage plus pressure is what it will takes to make the SIP panels structurally sound.

If you just have some localized areas of damage then you can rebuild the plywood using some layers of glue and veneer wood. Veneer just means very thin pieces of wood. Really small areas can be repaired with a good quality wood filler. The standard yellow contact cement sold in cans at the hardware store is a good choice for the job because your bonds are nearly instant. Plus it can be brushed or rolled on and that is easier in a small closed space than using a spray glue. Follow the directions and do use the original formula with lots of VOCs rather than the water based formula. That original yellow glue will stand up to the heat without failure.

When you are all done with the repairs and have everything nice and smooth and sanded then coat the walls with a primer that both kills and prevents mold. Two coats would be best to really seal the surface. A good quality vinyl wall paper will act like a moisture barrier and be easy to clean. But paint works too. The enamel paint formulas made for use in bathrooms and kitchen resist mold and mildew get a really good quality paint, they contain more acrylic solids than the cheap brands have in them.

 

[closeanuf]

Yeah looking back walking away would have been the smartest thing to do and I don't often get accused of being smart and certainly haven't been convicted.   The only bright spot is my neighbor has a shop full of tools he is letting me use for as long as I need it. First thing I did was remove that stupid sunlight on the front and basically gutting the front half of the trailer.  It's been in the 90's and it's always dry here.

Thanks for the suggestion about contact cement. I haven't used any in a long time.  Is there one that holds better than another?  I've got an idea of basically building a plywood shell inside of the trailer. I'm gonna take lots of pictures and will figure out how to post them at some point. Please keep the suggestions coming. I'm in teardown mode right now.  Peeling vinyl wallpaper with the help of a blowdryer and it works real well.

 

[bullfrog]

The very first thing is to find out how the water is getting in and where. If you don't fix the leak you are just going to continue to have problems. Keeping the water out of the inside of the roof and walls of the trailer is the first and only solution. The sooner that is done and fixed the less damage will occur then drying it out and making sure the structure is intact is next. Look closely at floor where the walls attach especially at the entry door where the steps attach. As others have stated you may have to spend more money and have more work than you can do in order to fix this trailer. Realizing early repairs will cost more than buying another trailer with less damage can only be determined by doing a through inspection which will prevent you from spending money on a trailer you will not be able to repair for more than it is worth. A simple tarp and some fans with open windows can start the drying process but at a minimum cover it on rainy days to prevent even more damage. There are products out there for repairing slightly rotted wood and I have used fiberglass resin and cloth to reinforce repaired areas. There are plastic panels like what are used in custom showers that are water proof can be glued and screwed easily to plywood. All these methods are usually more expensive and almost if not more work than building a new box if the water damage has compromised the structure extensively. Most likely the damage you are seeing on the walls is minor compared to what you will find where they attach to the floor. On a lot of these trailers the floors are particle board and soft pine structure that really absorbs water. They were not meant to ever get wet and once they do they mold and continue to rot. If you look at what restored older trailers are going for a large part of that is due to the cost of materials and labor to fix water damage. Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[maki2]

Thanks for the suggestion about contact cement. I haven't used any in a long time.  Is there one that holds better than another? l well.

Weldwood contact adhesive is excellent quality. It is very easy to find in hardware and home center stores such as Lowes and Home Depot.

 

[1shemp]

Liquid nails also works good.

 

[closeanuf]

Thanks for the replies.  I've got it in a dry shop and have almost got the front half gutted.  I told one of my best friends about the trailer, and he has been plumbing and doing remodeling for 30+ years. He came by yesterday and doesn't think it's all that bad and he's gonna help me some when he's able.  The deeper I get into this thing the better I feel about it.  Getting someone who has some expertise look at it helped a lot.  Please keep your suggestions coming; I appreciate all the help I can get.

Another friend of mine reminded me I'm not happy unless I have a time consuming project.

 

[1shemp]

I've had two campers that I had to gut and restore portions of.The worst part is tearing out all the old stuff.Not really that big of a job to replace studs,rafters,insulation and veneer.Good luck.

 

[bullfrog]

When I asked my neighbors for advice they always say "You always do it the hardest way so I'll just go ahead and describe it without wasting our time! LOL!!!