Cabover rebuild project

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We made the final bend around the leading edge today.

First picture shows the propane heater at the far end and ceramic heater nearest, that warmed up the .06 filon to make it easier to conform and reduce chances of cracking.

Second picture shows the 2X4?s that held it underneath after sealing and screwing the edges (Stainless steel countersunk screws)

Third picture shows how we kept pressure on the leading edge. This was my dad?s idea and it worked great!

Just alittle sealing of the edges with 3M 5200 caulk and apply the eternabond tape to the edges, seams and we?re finished!
Hope to have a final picture this week-end. Depends how fast my double back eternabond tape ships.

Heating the filon to reduce stress

Bracing beneath filon

Leading edge bracing
 
That is a lot of work and its going to look great.

What happened to it that you had to do all that?
 
PatrioticStabilist said:
That is a lot of work and its going to look great.

What happened to it that you had to do all that?
When we bought the unit, I negotiated the price down from the private owner by $2000, due to some heavy caulking on the edge, knowing it had issues with the wood in the cabover. The mileage was low (42k) but I knew I had some work down the road.  After over a year of ownership, I decided to "dig into" the issue and my work was literally cut out for me.  :) Since we're doing a 2 week trip next year to Minn, I decided to take care of business now.
 
That looks awesome!  Hopefully if I ever have to do that to our Jayco, I can do half as well as you've done with this one!
 
Is your trade autobody or did you work for an RV company?

I have a class A 99 Fourwinds Windsport 30Q with some slight de lamination at the very top front right side  - Any thoughts on best way to repair?
I was told to drill small holes through, then inject with autobody resin - Brace with a 2 x 4

Amazing Work!!



 
jeverden said:
Is your trade autobody or did you work for an RV company?

I have a class A 99 Fourwinds Windsport 30Q with some slight de lamination at the very top front right side  - Any thoughts on best way to repair?
I was told to drill small holes through, then inject with autobody resin - Brace with a 2 x 4

Amazing Work!!
LOL! No! I'm an IT project manager by day, and a pretend-wanna-be-body guy at night! Seriously, I just did it myself to save some bucks after getting quotes between $3000-$5000 to have the work done by an RV shop. Thanks for the ultimate compliment though! I probably overbuilt it more than I needed to, but that's how the company I work for builds its airplanes. :)

I'm not really qualified to give advice on your issue, but a photo of the problem area would certainly help.  If you live in the greater Seattle Tacoma area of WA state, you're more than welcome to bring it over and we can assess what needs to be done.
 
Awful nice of you, but I am just north of you in Kelowna, B.C. (7 Hours on a good day)

If I get outside before spring, I will take some pics - Not a major concern, just on my list.

Thanks for the response, talk to you later! ;D

Jason
 
Hi Sportsdad,  I am new to the rv forum and I found your post on the rebuild right away.  I am hopefully near the end of a similiar rebuild on my 1993 Tioga.  I chose to use Kitty Haur fiberglass resin in place of the corner molding/screws/butyl rubber.  I will keep you posted as I get back into it this spring.  One challenge I have is I used one sheet of high impact poly styrene on the horizontal sheet over the windshield.  I did this because I did not want to spend $200 for a 4x8 sheet of fiberglass from Fleetwood.  I found that the Kitty Hair fiberglass resin is not bonding easily to that portion where it has to stick to the poly styrene.  I will try roughening the surface next.  I did use mnariane grade 3/4 plywood on the horizontal portion of the rebuild.  ANd I used pressure treated wood around the large window.
 
blueseagull said:
Hi Sportsdad,  I am new to the rv forum and I found your post on the rebuild right away.  I am hopefully near the end of a similiar rebuild on my 1993 Tioga.  I chose to use Kitty Haur fiberglass resin in place of the corner molding/screws/butyl rubber.  I will keep you posted as I get back into it this spring.  One challenge I have is I used one sheet of high impact poly styrene on the horizontal sheet over the windshield.  I did this because I did not want to spend $200 for a 4x8 sheet of fiberglass from Fleetwood.  I found that the Kitty Hair fiberglass resin is not bonding easily to that portion where it has to stick to the poly styrene.  I will try roughening the surface next.  I did use mnariane grade 3/4 plywood on the horizontal portion of the rebuild.  ANd I used pressure treated wood around the large window.

hello and welcome!

What a coincidence, I've not been back to this thread until today.  As you know I was using a temporary eternabond solution around the trim as you can see in this picture

It is holding up very good. It likes to peel up in small areas after long trips, but just a quick re-pressure and it re-sticks.

This past week-end I started removing it and am in the process of replacing it with fiberglass kitty hair-type bondo. I did a test area yesterday and it's looking good, so I'm spending the next few week-ends doing all the edges this way. Will post a full report and pictures when completed.
 
I've made some progress over the week-end .Here is where I'm at on my exterior trim. It is not going to be flush, but rather a cap.The reason is the joggle siding, its a bear to get it flush. I'll shoot a 2.5 inch strip with awlgrip trim paint when finished.

1st pic: Removing the eternabond tape (this is what I started with), which held up well through the winter "ski-camp" months as well football tailgaters earlier in the fall.


2nd pic:Next was to sand a 45 deg angle and rough up some edges.

3rd pic: Fiberglass stick tape and trim tape.


5th pic: Fiberglass bondo, by this time I'm going "oh crap, I don't do this for a living and I'm frightened".


4th pic: Electric sanding with 60 grit and guaging radius.


I'll go over it with finer sand paper then paint it.
 

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Finished one side. Came out okay! 2 coats primer, 2 coats finish paint with 2 clear coats on the trim:
 

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Hi Sportsdad,

Sorry for the late reply.  I finally finished my fiberglass project in mid August.  Here are a few pictures towards the end.  My basic method was to start with long glass fiber filled bondo, then on the corners I added a layer of cloth; then another layer of glass filled bondo. then a final coat of regular bondo.  Prime, then paint.  And a lot of sanding in between!
 
Hello all,  I'm ron of "Memoryroads" that got Sportsdad going on his project back in late 2008.  I haven't heard from him in some time however,  since he mentioned my blog's entries concerning Cab Over Rebuilding and Roof Rebuilding on my Class C, I'll remind anyone interested that my blog still exists....with photos.

Years have passed and I have added many travel photos and a few more projects, so if you go to (link in signature line).

.....you will be entering the Home Page showing what I'm doing now, but....  On the Right Side of the page is an index.  Go down to 'Projects' and begin with Project #1, and then Project #2 and so on, or trust your instincts and  luck! ;)

I hope sportsdad comes back and updates his photo journey but hopefully, my documentation will help anyone in dire straits.
 
Ron,
Thanks for updating what you can.  I am in the process of rebuilding my cabover now and have a question about your fiberglass trim pieces.  How well are the holding up?  I have a concern on my MH about those trim pieces and the fact that they are not long enough on the "leg" side and was going to do something similar to what Sportsdad did.  Do you think they would hold up well to the movement of a MH or do you think they would crack?
Thanks
Toby
 

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