Water damage everywhere from roof leaks

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Chelsi.hal

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Apr 22, 2018
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Hello, we bought a 26' coachman cadet travel trailer about 5 years ago. When we bought it we knew it needed some work, now that we have the money and time to do it we went inside today and found that there is some pretty severe water damage. In the front there is a leak the goes all the way across and has damaged the entire thing up there. Floor to ceiling. The floor is bowing down because of how bad it is, it's rotted to the point that just poking it causes it to crumble up there. The middle part of the camper on the ceiling apparently has a horrible leak as well and has gotten so bad to the point that there is a bubble in the ceiling that has mold on it. The bathroom in it seems to be in perfectly good condition but I'm not really sure what to do at this point.. maybe gut the entire thing and start fresh? With all the damage it seems like it. This is the first time my husband and myself have ever taken on a project of this scale and I'm a little apprehensive at this point. Any tips you guys could share would be amazing. Thank you in advance!
 
Water damage will eat up dollars but once rot/mold sets in then you are dealing with health risks. 

 
Probably best to hope they don't charge too much to tow it to the graveyard while you shop for a replacement!

Ernie
 
I'm not as negative as the others, but its a big job.  Paying someone else to make the repairs is not going to be financially feasible, but with good DIY good handyman skills it could be repaired.  Should have been done years ago before the damage got so bad (and expensive), but that's 20/20 hindsight now.

Yes, you need to at least partially gut it.  The construction is simple, though, and well within the capability of someone who has the tools and some basic woodworking skills.  But if that's not you & hubby, then the towing it to the salvage yard is perhaps the better choice.

You also need a place to work on it, cause it is not a weekend job. Covered work area would be best, but you can manage with a big tarp to cover it overnight or poor weather.
 
This is not the best place for this question. Go to YouTube and search "RV roof renovation". You will find lots of videos that will give you a much better idea how to do what you need to do than you will get here. Good luck. It's a big job, but it is doable.
 
Yes it's a big job.  Ask me how I know. ::)

It's going to take a lot of time and some money. At least a grand, much more if the roof needs repair.

If you have a good place to work on it, preferably a large garage or barn, it will be a lot easier.

Pictures are needed if you want better advice from the forum beyond complete speculation.

If you decide to tear into it be prepared for a lot of work and more then you probably think.
It's likely doable with the right attitude.
 
Well, yes..it can be fixed. if your handy with wood working tools, have a ton of spare time, a way to keep it covered/dry while you work on it ?, then go for it !. i say this, because after 3 times on my camper roof..here i go again !..lol. by no means am i a rv tech !!, but..i do know how to cut down on cost when it comes down to either letting a repair shop do it ?, or me ?, i choose to do it myself. soooooooooo, for some tips : have help getting the ac off the roof !. in my case, i have a tree over my camper, i will use my winch on my 4 wheeler to winch it straight up to clear the roof. have a good tarp on hand, long enough to cover the whole rv. expect to buy a ton of new wood !!, you really won't know what all will need to be replaced, UNTIL you rip it all apart ?!. depending on how bad yours is ?, expect a min of at least 500 in material alone, just the rubber alone is the most costly, this i know !!..lol.
 
ricksca said:
This is not the best place for this question.

That's an odd thing to post on an RV forum.  From the replies I've seen so far, it sounds like this is a great place to post the question. 

ricksca said:
Go to YouTube and search "RV roof renovation". You will find lots of videos that will give you a much better idea how to do what you need to do than you will get here. Good luck. It's a big job, but it is doable.

Don't get me wrong, I love Youtube tutorial videos... but not everyone who records their projects there is (1) a topic expert, or (2) is skilled at making helpful videos.  ;)  I'd say a thread like this is a good supplement to searching for repair tutorials, to help the OP figure out if this project is something they want to pursue.
 
I just got done with something similar on my 1990 Gulfstream Ultra class C. Knowing what I know now, it would have been easier and quicker working from the outside in.  I could've avoided a lot of headache had I removed all of the vents, etc from the roof, replace the rotten wood, and laid new sheet metal. If you are handy with power tools, its really easy. If you are not handy, however, I would recommend not touching it with a 10 foot pole.

I found out that the previous owner covered all of the old sealant with another layer and the rotting sealant created pores/cracks that went straight under the new stuff, rendering it useless. This spring, I ended up tearing out all of the ceiling panels, spraying all of the studs with bleach to kill the surface mold (luckily that's all it was), and replacing all of the insulation. Since we have had so many issues with leaks on this thing, I was looking for a porous material to put inside on the ceiling. Inside has white FRP now with woodgrain cabinets, so I was considering cheap landscape fabric that allows water to wick through with white composite lattice for decoration. (Composite was only 1/8 thick instead of 3/8 so I wouldn't have had to move the cabinet doors.)

My wife decided on wood plank. Money was running tight after the repair so instead of buying proper 1/4" premilled wood, I ended up buying 30 - 8 foot 1x4 pine boards and running them all through my planer about 4 times to get them down to 3/8 (so I ended up moving the cabinet doors anyways). The picture below is the rear cab finished from the inside.  I still have to finish the front bunk which is where most of the water damage was. The leaks are gone, but I need to insulate and add the panels to the walls.

This past weekend, we did have a fair leak still, but im 90% sure that it was just the drip pan from the AC that catches condensation is plugged with dirt. I think I am going to install a tube from the outside that points to the drain hole. That way, I can either feed a wire or blow it out with air instead of having to take the cover off.
 

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We are dealing with the same issue.  There is a great you tube series on the site Jennies Garage. Below is the link to the first episode.  The series is called Vintage Shasta Camper Trailer Restoration. This series has been a God send to my husband and I. Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCHcoHtVGqw&t=700s
 
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