Need Advice on Replacing / Repairing Walls with Water Damage

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dbr63123

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Posts
6
Good afternoon all...
I purchased a 1997 Southwind Storm late last fall.  Vehicle is in good shape mechanically, (50K miles, new tires, and battery, and a nice working generator) and I am not looking to rehab the vehicle as an live in RV, but more for a party bus / tailgating vehicle / team building & travel vehicle.  My idea is to make it a hybrid that can still be slept in, but also used to move groups on day trips or for camping at state parks.  The vehicle sat in a lot for the past couple of years after the owner passed away.  It was kept by the owners wife hoping that her kids would want to use it, but none of them really wanted to use it.  The son sold it to me for a good price and said he would like to see it brought back to life and create joy for the new owner. 

Well, after getting it to my office, I realized that there was more water damage than I thought.  The rear of the vehicle is where the majority of it was, but there was also a little bit in the middle of the vehicle by the bathroom and around the windows. I tarped the roof and got to work.  I have parted out the microwave, fridge, stove/oven, sofa, bed, cabinets, and dinette - and all unnecessary items that won't be needed for my conversion. 

I am now at the point that has stopped me in my tracks.  When I started tearing off the wallpaper from the water damage, some came off very easy because it was damaged and some is still very taut.  My dilemma is what to do next?  Do I (a) try and pull the (luan) wood from all of the foam off of the walls, (b) remove the rotten luan and fill/float with some sort of heavy paint/caulk to make it even, or (c) look to removing all of the foam and the walls and replace? 

When I decided to take on this task, my plan was this...

1.  Strip Vehicle
2.  Demo Vehicle
3.  Access Water Damage
4.  Dry out vehicle
5.  Clean and repair roof with new rubber roll on seal and caulk windows
6.  ***Put plan in place to repair walls and floor*** where needed
7.  Replace bad wood, paint all other wood with kilz.
8.  Put new flooring in where needed. 
9.  Remove / replace any carpet with waterproof laminate flooring
10. Repair or replace toilet.
11.  Put in bench seating throughout the vehicle with possible modular bed in rear
12.  Use existing electrical components for new updated LED lighting
13.  Remove and replace TV
14.  Install nice indoor outdoor sound system with roaming WiFi and satellite components
15.  Tune up and hit the road for a test run with family and friends! 

I've attached pictures of where I am at currently and would love to know if anyone has tackled this same problem. 

I'd love to get on the phone with someone who has done this.  Thanks for taking a look. 


 

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Your going to want to strip it to the studs and get rid of everything.  If your lucky you might not find any mold.  Sadly the luan plywood sub strate under the siding is probsbly toast too.  Meaning you might have to rebuild the outside too.  You honestly might be better off scrapping it.
 
We too had to do some water damage repair, right down to the studs and even some of those as well. Our thread was titled ?Life of our lemon?. These are tremendous projects to take on. A lot of frustration, but much satisfaction once it was done. Any questions as you go, just ask. Best to you as you decide what to do.
 
Thanks for the response.  I contacted a local dealer and sent photos of what was wrong with the vehicle  They are going to repair the roof for me for $300 and also provide advice on the interior water damage  once they see it in person.  The great thing is that the local dealer was referred to me by a friend and said that they are extremely honest.  I don?t mind doing the work and the photos probably look worse than they are.  I?m excited about converting it to the plan I have in place, but also appreciate the great insight that the RV forum provides.
I will definitely provide photos of the progress and make sure to keep everyone informed of the work done to it. 
 
Bumped two of the other threads to the top for you. There are many pictures and progress reports along the way. Whatever decision you make, we wish you the best. Getting a camper with water damage can be discouraging, but it?s not always a lost hope. We felt defeated at first, but found how much we could learn and we are very happy with what we accomplished.
 
Wife and I bought our first trailer 18 months ago, no idea what was involved or what to look for (much more informed now). At the end of the year my had it out for the last trip of the season with a bunch of her friends and noticed there was water coming in above the tub, then I get the call that while they were sitting in the slide out seating the slide out dropped about two inches. Panic set in and off the the RV place (they don't sell trailers) to have it checked out. Well needless to say it had sustained years of water damage and the cost to repair was ridiculous but after finding out i am somewhat handy they offered that I could call any time to seek advise. Well so far i have ripped out the tile and carpet, replaced the wood sub floor  and stripped the one wall at the slide out. There was so much damage that the aluminum framing for the walls and floor had about six inches movement due to the screw rusting out. All is close to complete as far as plywood and securing the walls. Next is painting the walls and cupboards then the flooring (pretty sure it will be vinyl click lock). Quite the pain and absolutely no help from where we bought it as they said it was fully inspected. Cool thing is I am enjoying the repairs and can't wait to see it finished. I have seen a lot of good advise here but still cant seem to find out if the click tile will be an issue when extending or retracting the slide out.
 

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