Fiberglass cap repair?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
G

Graycat

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Posts
248
Coming home this weekend, we had a piece of equipment between the fifth wheel and rear window of the pickup.  Turned a sharp corner and the equipment caught the cap of the fifth wheel trailer.  There is a tear about six inches long and maybe 1/2 inch deep.  How is a repair on a tear like that done?

I called the service department at the RV dealer and they said most likely would have to replace the cap.  That doesn't seem right for such a small tear.
 
Try an autobody shop. Many are able to repair fiberglass. The issue would be finding a shop that has a bay large enough to to effect the repair, and paint properly.
 
If it's just a gouge, it can be filled and re-painted. Any car or boat or RV body shop should be able to do it - fiberglass is common in auto body repair these days. Some shops won't want to work on an RV simply because it doesn't fit well with their facility or experience-base, but if you ask around somebody will do it.

The choices are to just do a "spot" repair & paint, meaning they have to match the surrounding color as best they can, or to repaint the entire front cap so it is guaranteed to match in color. That usually means new decals as well, so can get expensive (and decals are not always available either).
 
It can be repaired or replaced the cap.  The question is how much it bothers you.  Depending on how much it bothers you and the fix acceptable to you, it will mean cost.  Replacing the cap with new decals will be expensive. Fix, match color, and replace decal will be second expensive.  Fix the area only and find ways to hide the repair will be probably the next.  How pick are you going to be means $$$?
 
I did the exact same thing to my front cap a few weeks ago.  No one seemed interested in doing the repair. 

A friend, who has experience in body repair, saw the small damaged area and said he could easily fix the problem tomorrow.  We will see.  He intends to sand the area and mix up some "Bondo Glass" to fill in the damaged area.  Then he will sand it smooth and repaint.  He says Bondo Glass is perfect for a small area repair and is much easier to work with than fiberglass and resin.

If you want to send me your email, I will send you pictures and updates.  I am unskilled in using this web format for messages and pictures. 

bill1400atgmail.cam   
 
Yes, "Bondo" (a brand name) and the many similar products are widely used to fill damaged areas, whether metal or fiberglass. Bondo Glass is optimized for fiberglass repairs, while regular Bondo is designed primarily for metal. Either would work, though. Filling and smoothing is straight-forward and within the capability of any handyman. Re-painting in a manner that blends nicely with the rest of the surface is a more highly skilled task, but just how skilled depends on your personal standard for cosmetics..

There is no need to use fiberglass cloth and liquid resin on a simple gouge. It adds nothing to the quality of the repair.
 
Fix it yourself body filler and don't worry about matching the paint sand it smooth use light primer install a decal or graphic it work for me. 
 
A good boat shop will know how to feather the fiberglass and then match the gel coat color. 

Make sure the filler used does not contain talc as it absorbs moisture.

If the repair it painted it will not weather the same if the rest of the cap is gel coat.



 
Good point about paint vs gel coat. Many newer RVs are actually both, with a gel coated front cap that is painted, or at least clear coated. Some models, however, have only the gel coat and the color is embedded in the surface. Painting still works on that, but the painted area may fade differently over time.
 
I ran a small business for close to 20 years doing these sorts of small repairs, but on automobiles and trucks. We never wanted to work on a trailer or boat because it is just too complicated to move them.


As has been suggested, do the repair yourself with some Bondo, and keep the repair a small as you possibly can. As to finishing it afterwards, you can cover it up with a big decal or vinyl sticker. Doesn't make any difference what the decal says, as long as it makes you happy. :)


If you need to have it repainted, there are fellows that work out of the back of a pickup truck that will do spot repairs on site. Talk to a local used car dealer and they will be able to recommend someone to you. Just be aware that the color match may not be perfect, and that a spot repair will rock chip faster than the surrounding area.

Frank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,103 (members: 26, guests: 1,077)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,931
Posts
1,387,723
Members
137,682
Latest member
duckyw7528
Back
Top Bottom