How do the mfg's attach the house to the cab on a Class C MH?

[tommyt]

I did a search but couldn't find the answer.

How do the mfg's attach the "house" to the cab on a Class C MH?

Let's say you want a Class C motor home and you have some special insulation and storage needs. You've looked at used and new but nothing meets your requirements. You don't want a chassis and engine with too many miles or old to do a complete tear out so you start thinking about building your own RV using a new Ford or Chevy "Cut Away" van chassis.

Taking chassis flex into consideration, how do the mfg's attach the house to the cab on a Class C MH to join the two bodies to prevent leaking? This goes for the overhead roof cut out as well as behind the seats. Since most do they us a high strength polymer or epoxy type adhesives.

Does anyone have any pictures or could someone take a close up pic and post it if it's not too much trouble of those areas inside and out?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Ned]

Take a trip to a local RV dealer and look at a number of class C motorhomes and see how they're constructed.  It will give you much more information than any photos can.

 

[tommyt]

Thanks for your reply Ned.

I've look at a few. However, I didn't want to start pulling molding and trim pieces off to expose the seams.  ;D

Would rather know from someone who's done a remodel or actually built them. 

 

[Molaker]

You can check the photos on my rebuild blog (check the "globe" link under my user name on the left).  Click the "Blog" button at the top menu then go back to 2011.  There are some photos that might help.

For my Coachmen, there is just a simple panel of OSB with a Filon laminate on the outside and a vinyl coated panel on the inside that goes behind each seat from the bottom of the coach up to the bottom of the bunk.  It is attached to the back of the cab cutout with screws and sealed with caulking and a vinyl weatherstip and attached to the leading edge of the main coach sides with screws through an aluminum angle trim into the end of the side.  The bunk is screwed to the top of the cab cutout with several screws and a similar vinyl weatherstrip and caulking and the back edge of the bunk where it meets the two vertical panel behind the seats is connected with long screws through the panel and into the edge of the bunk.  There is no special super duper adhesive used anywhere and there seems to be little or no flexing to be concerned with.

Because of the steel framing added across the chassis frame and the aluminum framework used to construct the coach top and sides (not to mention numerous systems such as holding tanks, heating and cooling, etc.), I would think it would be much easier (and cheaper) to find a class C with low mileage and remodel it to fit your needs.

 

[tonyandkaren]

We had a class C custom built because we had to have it wheelchair accessible. Our builder screwed up a lot of things , including the cabover so Tony had to partially disassemble it to fix it. Here's a link with pictures - http://customclasscbuild.blogspot.com/2010/09/seven-month-update.html  It's kind of hard to tell how it was constructed from the pictures but hopefully you can get some idea.

Another reason that we decided on a custom build was to have the RV base on a truck chassis rather than a van chassis for more comfort when driving and the heavier chassis for more cargo carrying capacity. We made some mistakes especially when choosing a builder but overall we love the motorhome. Feel free to PM me if you have an questions.

 

[tommyt]

Tony and Karen. Thank you for your post and link to your blog. I appreciate it. I have seen Dodgen website before and had considered them to perhaps build me just the house on a chassis and I would finish the inside to my specs. I see from your blog that you are pleased with their help in assisting you with your issues even though they where not responsible or even needed to help you out. I like working with companies like that.

Molaker... Thank you too for your info and link. Looks like you did a great job of rebuilding your cabover. You have some very good information and pictures to assist me. I will spend some time reading your blog. I really appreciate it. 

 

[RTchr]

You can check the photos on my rebuild blog (check the "globe" link under my user name on the left). Click the "Blog" button at the top menu then go back to 2011. There are some photos that might help.

For my Coachmen, there is just a simple panel of OSB with a Filon laminate on the outside and a vinyl coated panel on the inside that goes behind each seat from the bottom of the coach up to the bottom of the bunk. It is attached to the back of the cab cutout with screws and sealed with caulking and a vinyl weatherstip and attached to the leading edge of the main coach sides with screws through an aluminum angle trim into the end of the side. The bunk is screwed to the top of the cab cutout with several screws and a similar vinyl weatherstrip and caulking and the back edge of the bunk where it meets the two vertical panel behind the seats is connected with long screws through the panel and into the edge of the bunk. There is no special super duper adhesive used anywhere and there seems to be little or no flexing to be concerned with.

Because of the steel framing added across the chassis frame and the aluminum framework used to construct the coach top and sides (not to mention numerous systems such as holding tanks, heating and cooling, etc.), I would think it would be much easier (and cheaper) to find a class C with low mileage and remodel it to fit your needs.

I’m interested in the connection between my coach and cab on my Coachman also. I don’t see rehab photos; maybe you can send a direct link? My biggest issue is the terrible squeaking from this area when we’re driving.

 

[Rene T]

This is a really old post. Don’t expect a reply from the OP. He hasn’t been back since September of 2012.