Water damage, the good the bad and other upgrades

[rvpopeye]

Knockin' down that to do list !

 

[shadow]

Knockin' down that to do list !

It seems like its a never ending list.

 

[rvpopeye]

In a way ....it is !
BUT you will get to a point that it's more like a wish list .

 

[shadow]

In a way ....it is !
BUT you will get to a point that it's more like a wish list .

I`m already there, I wish it was done, lol.

 

[rvpopeye]

Oh my goshk too funny!

 

[shadow]

I think that I can finally claim victory over the leak. After tightening down the roof a/c last weekend and then having several heavy rain
and wind storms come through this past week, there is no water anywere in the over cab bed area.

I did how ever find several other leaks today, so as soon as the weather warms up, I will be spending an entire weekend re-sealing all windows, lights, and what ever else that needs to be done. The leaks I found today are around the tail lights and basement door.

 

[shadow]

Once I got into this over cab rebuild, I started saving the receipts for all of the materials and what ever else I had to buy for
this project. I just added all of the together and it was just under eight hundred dollars.

I still need to get some wood trim, and that will put me at eight hundred dollars, or just a little over.

I am far from rich, and live paycheck to paycheck, so I bought the materials needed as I could afford them.
I am also not a carpenter by any means, I can`t even cut a straight line on a piece of wood, but I can get close enough
to make it work.

Right now I am being held up by the weather, I need to replace the front over cab clearance lights and rewire them, but its been
raining and cold here, with more rain coming. Once that is done I can put the over cab bed area back together and be done with it.

I have been working on other things for the rv. Right now I`m in the process of rebuilding a couch to replace the dining area that
took up to much space, and the couch will be more comfortable than the original dining area.

 

[Gary68]

yea.i shut my build down until warmer temps,you will get better results

 

[70vdub]

Looks great!
will be watching your progress!

 

[Charlotte's Web]

...I am far from rich...also not a carpenter...but I can get close enough to make it work.

Shadow, what an awesome undertaking & impressive outcome!

Without your progress reports I would not have considered a major water damage re-do.  I swore months ago I would find a little rig I could afford without water damage.  Now, it appears, that is highly unlikely.  Looks like I will have to "pay" for any rig I find with sweat equity.   
Thanks (I think!) for 

giving me the courage & step-by-steps for my possible, totally insane future undertaking.  Without you I probably wouldn't have considered the option. 
Goddess help me...
Charlotte

 

[highdesertranger]

Charlotte just remember Shadow's RV has a fiberglass shell. water damage on a aluminum sided one or one made out of fiberglass sheeting and is held up by 2x2's it is a lot harder to repair the water damage. highdesertranger

 

[shadow]

Shadow, what an awesome undertaking & impressive outcome!

Without your progress reports I would not have considered a major water damage re-do.  I swore months ago I would find a little rig I could afford without water damage.  Now, it appears, that is highly unlikely.  Looks like I will have to "pay" for any rig I find with sweat equity.   
Thanks (I think!) for 

giving me the courage & step-by-steps for my possible, totally insane future undertaking.  Without you I probably wouldn't have considered the option. 
Goddess help me...
Charlotte

Charlotte

As highdesertranger said, the front of my rv is fiberglass, so that made the water damage repair a lot easier. I have also discovered that
the walls and ceiling in my rv are framed with 2x2 aluminum, there is no wood framing in the walls of my rv, or at least I havn`t found
any yet.

I think that is what saved my rv from extensive water damage. The water damage that I am repairing now is bad enough, but it could have been much worse.

If you buy an rv that has water damage, just pick a place to start and go from there. take your time, and you will get through it, just like me, a little at a time on the weekends.

The demolition part of it is the hardest part of it, but once you start putting things back together that`s when you start getting that feeling of progress and accomplishment.

 

[Charlotte's Web]

...If you buy an rv that has water damage, just pick a place to start and go from there. take your time, and you will get through it, just like me...The demolition part of it is the hardest part of it, but once you start putting things back together that`s when you start getting that feeling of progress and accomplishment.

Shadow, you are a prince!
Months ago, I passed on shorty Lazy Daze because of WD.  
Now, I am sorry I did.  But that's OK.  It's given me time to learn more, especially about craigslist sellers & how to get the info by phone ahead of time.   I am also learning a lot about how to negotiate with sellers.

I am having a good look, so to speak, at a rig I like that, were it not for WD, would be ideal.  It is clean as new, low miles, perfect layout for me, brand new tires, mechanically sound, & was used for long distance travel recently by a senior woman.  At my request, many more photos were added to the listing to show, close up, the damage.  It seems to include bad leaks on major seams of the exterior, as well as window seals, etc.

This particular rig may not pan out, but I am learning a lot in the process.  I can see that, since almost all the Class C rigs in my price range are bound to have water damage,  I will make sure ALL other aspects of the rig are above average.  Lazy Daze have aluminum interior framing, but sellers won't budge much of asking price, even with WD.  So I may have to settle for something else. 

I have almost every carpentry tool in the book, so that won't set me back.  I am, however, bad at measuring!  I will make cardboard templates & go slowly.  You have been an inspiration to me.  You have to work with snow, I live in a rain forest.  Tarps are my friend on this one...

Cheers,
Charlotte

 

[VanKitten]

Charlotte,

Even the ones that don't show water damage are likely well on the way to major rot. Manufacturers put pink fiberglass insulation in them....this holds water and rots the inside. PLus, there is next to no actual structural integrity built into them.

This, and other reasons, it why I bought a completely trashed RV with a solid engine and low miles. Knowing I was going to rip it all out...I didn't want to be paying for what I was going to throw away. Opening the walls was a major eye opener for me. I had a lot of rot, but discovering how little structure they have was a shock.

Determination, time, and a willingness to learn. These are your most valuable tools. The occasional extra set of hands is good too.

 

[VanKitten]

Charlotte just remember Shadow's RV has a fiberglass shell.  water damage on a aluminum sided one or one made out of fiberglass sheeting and is held up by 2x2's it is a lot harder to repair the water damage.  highdesertranger

I am curious.   Why do you say that?   

I have now done both.   The beast is both fiberglass sheeting and aluminum.    
I didn't find one harder than the other..    it took two people to hold the sandwich together while screwing the exterior brace pieces in place.  

In both cases I have a lot of holes on the exterior to fill and sand (paint job too).   Marine Tex will work for both....and I have the faring compound for each.   

Only difference I found was driving screw through from the exterior was harder with aluminum

 

[Charlotte's Web]

Charlotte,
...I bought a completely trashed RV with a solid engine and low miles.   Knowing I was going to rip it all out...I didn't want to be paying for what I was going to throw away.

RK,
Solid engine, low miles, desired layout is what I am after too.  Willing to take on some WD but hope to avoid
a rig that's *completely* trashed.   Is time passed since leaks began a factor in overall damage?
It's been my experience so far that most sellers do not disclose WD issues.  It is always the first question I ask
when I talk to them.  And I know how to check out the rig in person, but is it ever possible to know, without
tearing into it, what the *extent* of the damage is?
Many sellers don't have a clue what happens with leaks inside walls.  And if they do know, many hope
to pass the rig off to some unsuspecting buyer. 

RK & Shadow:  Were you able to buy your rigs for a price that reflected the water damage?  And now that
you've been thru this process, are you satisfied with the overall outcome/cost?
Charlotte

 

[bullfrog]

I haven't torn into a class c but after reading of other peoples experiences it seems most were designed to fail. I'm concerned about mechanical limitations as well. There used to be a company in Utah that built campers on heavy duty pickup truck chassis before van chassis became so popular I assume because of over all length concerns. I think it just allowed RV manufactures to add more space without considering the overloading and flexing that would occur over time. I think the few members here that have the truck based class c campers have had fewer problems. Even though they cost more to purchase I think in the long run they would be cheaper to maintain.

 

[VanKitten]

It cost me more in registration and insurance than I paid.

In my case the water damage was so extensive ... I was surprised the rig managed to survive the 2000 mile trip to bring it here. See the pix in conversions....the beast. (I refuse to name it till is begins to look decent). Once I started to tear open the walls..I was shocked.

The layout? No layout. It it's last incarnation it was a mobile car wash. I took hoses, pipes, and 55 gal barrels out of it before I started the drive up from Florida. It went from Florida to N. Carolina....then this past winter came here to Colorado.

I didn't have an interior to throw out...but..I also didn't pay of an interior either. I guess the longer the leak exists..the further the rot can go. If it is just a bit of rot..you could try rotfix instead if tear out. But if the exterior has delaminates from the structure...you really have to tear it out and start again. This is what I did to one side of the rig.

So...the layout is completely my own choices. Each detail, my own decision (and there are millions of details!).

I am not through this process...yet. Just started the interior framing...reflectix in the walls. Wiring and plumbing is next. New tanks shipped last week. Then finish the insulation. Meanwhile...new roof going on.... solar panels should be delivered any day. And...a steep learning curve on electrical systems. Walls, furniture, and cabinets coming last.

 

[Charlotte's Web]

....The layout?   No layout.  
It it's last incarnation it was a mobile car wash.   

RK, that is the most astounding demolition/rebuild saga I've heard yet!

All this daily info has me tossing on waves of confidence only to sink into despair.
(If only I could just find something affordable & to my liking for little dough...)

You bet I will find your remodel thread & check it out.  I am new on this forum
& still finding my way thru the maze.

Once I've finally got a rig to sink my teeth into, I am sure discovering the gurus
of demo/rebuild are.  I find it frustrating, even exhausting, trying to find "the" rig.
Did you go thru this for a long time?  Or did you land yours quickly? 

Your thoughtful feedback is appreciated,
Charlotte

 

[shadow]

Shadow:  Were you able to buy your rig for a price that reflected the water damage?  And now that
you've been thru this process, are you satisfied with the overall outcome/cost?
Charlotte

When I went out to buy my rv, I was totally new to rv`s, and the seller flat out lied to me.
I bought the rv not knowing the owner was flat out lying to me just to sell the rv.

The rv broke down on the way home, after a $600 dollar tow to a repair shop and a $500 dollar repair, I picked the rv up from the repair shop and started the drive home again, only to have it break down again on the way home. But this time I was able to limp it home, just barely. I am saving money now to get it into a repair shop to have the problems it has fixed.

The previous owner told me the roof was resealed the year before, that was a lie. When I got it home and started going over things, I found that the roof had never been resealed anywere sense the rv was new (the rv is 33 yrs old). All of the roof vents are bad, and the a/c cover is broken.

The previous owner told me that they had the hot water heater replaced, but that they forgot to drain it before winter and the tank split.
This was true, I have to have the hot water heater replaced. I was told that the heater does not work. The rv is out of propane so I can`t verify for sure yet.

I was told that the fridge works, again not verified.
I was told that the stove works, again not verified.

I just ordered a new microwave, and I have a new range hood.

There is lots more to come, just doing what ever I can right now until the rain stops and the weather warms up.

Am I satisfied with the cost ?, NO, I paid $4500 for the rv because I didn`t know all the problems it had.
Can I fix it ?, yes, I can do a lot of the work needed, but some of it is above my pay grade so it will have to go to a shop for some of the work needed.

The one thing that I really can`t understand the most, is why would someone buy an expensive (when it was new) rv like this, and let it go to hell because they were to lazy to take care of it ???.