Another rebuild...Clueless in Colorado -Help!

[Hobie1026]

Hi,

Lurked here for a while and thought it was time to say hi and plead for help. Last year I bought my first pop-up truck camper. It's a 6.5 foot Coachman. Taking it off the truck last Fall, I noticed the rear L-bracket where the corner jack attaches sagging. So this weekend I tore into it and....well there's a lot of rot. It's going to require gutting and rebuilding. I have no experience doing anything like this and little mechanical aptitude so this will be interesting.

Just to get me started though, a question hopefully someone can help me with. The first piece of wood I need to replace is the drivers side wing that sits on top of the truck bed rail. If I rip that out, do I need to support the entire sidewall of the camper somehow? I wanted to know if I need to brace things up before I tear out the counter, sink, furnace and stove to get at the rotted wood. Pics to follow later today, I need to download them off my camera.

If any one is interested I can take pictures and keep this thread updated on how the repairs are going. I haven't found any information on the Coachmen brand popup TCs although they look just like the Palamino and Skamper popups with the Heco lifts and stick and staple construction.

Thanks in advance,
Hobie

Side view:

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Rot and missing wood:



Rear view:

 

[bruue1]

When you're trying to do stuff like this the hardest thing is having the guts to go ahead and get started even though you might make a mistake. There's always more than one way to skin a cat, if you take your time and think it through you should be able to come up with a solution that will work for ya. That said, you also have to understand that you will make some mistakes and might have to redo some things twice or even thrice before you have it the way you want it.

The biggest temptation is to try to do a minimal fix, don't be afraid to tear it down far enough to fix the entire problem. Through the tear down you will learn a lot about how the camper is put together/framed and how the different systems work too. Take pictures and label/number everything before you tear it down so you can have an idea of how to rebuild it, its hard to remember the first step ten steps down the road. Break big projects into multiple smaller projects, even make a list. This way you can work through a huge undertaking taking note of your progress instead of feeling overwhelmed by the enormity.

These statements/tips are true for any project you might do, camper, engine rebuild, house remodel.

For easy fix just screw a bunch more painted plywood around the corner all over the outsed, that should shore it up too.

Good luck, have fun.

 

[1stDeuce]

Check my Hallmark thread in my sig. I had the same sagging and rot problems at the jack mounts. I moved the brackets inboard a bit after replacing the underside plywood on the pass side and reinforcing all four mount points. It's just wood and screws. The overlay panels were my way of not having to replace the plywood on the driver's side... It wasn't quite a rotten, and it would have been a lot more work!

The biggest problem is when the rot goes up into the wall and you have to tear into that too to get something solid to screw to.... Use lots of liquid nails and good screws and pre-drill your holes. Then paint it all with some porch and floor paint and go camping to enjoy your work!
Chris

 

[Hobie1026]

Project creep...

Check my Hallmark thread in my sig. I had the same sagging and rot problems at the jack mounts. I moved the brackets inboard a bit after replacing the underside plywood on the pass side and reinforcing all four mount points. It's just wood and screws. The overlay panels were my way of not having to replace the plywood on the driver's side... It wasn't quite a rotten, and it would have been a lot more work!

The biggest problem is when the rot goes up into the wall and you have to tear into that too to get something solid to screw to.... Use lots of liquid nails and good screws and pre-drill your holes. Then paint it all with some porch and floor paint and go camping to enjoy your work!
Chris

Thanks for the info! Tonight I pulled the staples on the outside and peeled the tin back to get a look. It doesn't look like rot has gotten into the wall yet. And other than another soft spot in the middle the rot seems mainly confined to that corner. I pulled everything out on the inside and plan to replace the cardboard and staple construction in there with hardwood faced plywood and fasten it with glue and screws. For the wing board, anything I can coat it with to keep it watertight? I'll post more pictures tomorrow, sorry about the quality on that last one.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[bearman512]

Here is a good rebuild by Scoutman.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/43623-Scoutman-s-new-Starcraft-Pine-Mtn-on-Dodge-3500

 

[kerry]

I'd coat the wood with epoxy.

 

[Gaius]

Thanks for the info! Tonight I pulled the staples on the outside and peeled the tin back to get a look. It doesn't look like rot has gotten into the wall yet. And other than another soft spot in the middle the rot seems mainly confined to that corner. I pulled everything out on the inside and plan to replace the cardboard and staple construction in there with hardwood faced plywood and fasten it with glue and screws. For the wing board, anything I can coat it with to keep it watertight? I'll post more pictures tomorrow, sorry about the quality on that last one.

Thanks again,
Mike

Post some pics of what you're having to do. I'm getting a Coachmen myself and the front corners are seperated, I'm guessing I'm going to have to replace some wood under there.

Do you know ho makes the lift system for it?

 

[Hobie1026]

The work continues...

Post some pics of what you're having to do. I'm getting a Coachmen myself and the front corners are seperated, I'm guessing I'm going to have to replace some wood under there.

Do you know ho makes the lift system for it?

Following the advice from Bruue1, I'm taking pictures and labeling everything. It hasn't been pretty but it will work for the season. First, I took everything out that I thought would be in the way of getting the rotten wood out. The stove, the sink, the heater, the water tank, some little shelves that were in there.









Then pulled the old wood. I tried to get it out in one piece to use as a template for the new piece of wood. First piece of 4'x8' I measured wrong. $25 lesson in measuring and cutting.










Tonight I got the brackets for the jacks installed. They seem sturdy enough. Now I have to put the interior back together. I ran power from the converter to a deep cycle marine battery so I'll have the heater working but I need to install a digital thermostat like in one of the other builds on here and I want to install LED lights in the ceiling. Also a fan and a USB jack.

I bought a scrap of corian counter to replace the old particle board and plastic one and 3/4" plywood to replace the particle board used for the cabinet containing the fridge and sink.



Things I've had to buy not listed are new trim, because the old trim was brittle and cracked apart when I pulled it off. I had to take off the corner mouldings to get the tin back far enough to get out the staples used to hold the wood together.

I also got more butyl tape and Dicor lap sealant for every place it looked like water might be able to get to the new wood. I'll keep adding pictures as I put the inside back together. Once that's done I need to fix the 2 back corners of the roof. The whole roof is going to need to come off and have the wood replaced but since this has to be done in 2 more weekends I'm going to go with Git-Rot and a lot of sealant. Then next winter it's all going to get torn apart again and the frame redone and hopefully repainted.

The lift system is a HECO brand. The lift system got messed up when the PO backed into the garage with the top up (his story anyhow) and when fully raised the front is 3 inches higher than the back. Well that's next summer. For now it's finish the wiring, seal up the roof corners, and finish the inside.

More to come. Thank you for all the help and comments and links!

Mike

 

[kerry]

I find a 'garage' thermostat superior to standard thermostats for a camper since it allows of control of heat at lower temperatures. Most standard thermostats won't go below 50 degrees so waste energy at night if all you want to do is keep your water lines from freezing while you're snug in your sleeping bad.