I recently bought a 1998 American Travel Systems 5th wheel am getting a learning experience in "things not to do/overlook next time". The previous owner had done quite a bit of renovation and claimed to have repaired some old water damage. Since receiving the trailer, I'm discovering that the repairs were largely cosmetic and some signs of water damage had been strategically concealed by furniture placement. My biggest concern is an area of delamination on one of the sidewalls near the front of the trailer. The previous owner pushed it back into place and sealed to the lower panel (which seems ok) with eternabond, but the 60 mile delivery trip caused it to separate again. The filon is mildly rippled and separated from the underlying luan, which is dry but at least partially rotted. I haven't ripped off the interior panels to see the condition of the framing yet. It's not currently leaking as far as I can tell. Photo here: http://imgur.com/fxN2YMl
The trailer was cheap and I purchased it to live in for a few years while finishing grad school. I have no intentions of traveling in it, but want to do what I can to maintain it and keep it livable for a few years. If I can rehab it to the point that it's sellable, even better (rent savings will offset the purchase price of the trailer in ~6 months). It's definitely not worth paying somebody else to repair, but I'm reasonably handy and willing to put time into it.
Any thoughts on whether this can be tackled cost effectively? I'm assuming that the kits people use to bond filon back into place would be ineffective or at best a temporary stopgap since the luan is rotted. Could it be feasible to renovate by only removing interior panels? It's just one section of a very large sidewall and I'd prefer not to remove the entire panel if possible. I'd appreciate any advice you have!
The trailer was cheap and I purchased it to live in for a few years while finishing grad school. I have no intentions of traveling in it, but want to do what I can to maintain it and keep it livable for a few years. If I can rehab it to the point that it's sellable, even better (rent savings will offset the purchase price of the trailer in ~6 months). It's definitely not worth paying somebody else to repair, but I'm reasonably handy and willing to put time into it.
Any thoughts on whether this can be tackled cost effectively? I'm assuming that the kits people use to bond filon back into place would be ineffective or at best a temporary stopgap since the luan is rotted. Could it be feasible to renovate by only removing interior panels? It's just one section of a very large sidewall and I'd prefer not to remove the entire panel if possible. I'd appreciate any advice you have!
