Raptor Liner on wood sides trailer not holding up? How can I fix it?

[lacofdfireman]

So I built a custom off road style Teardrop trailer and decided for exterior to use 1/4” Baltic Birch Plywood. After the trailer was built we filled in all the screw holes with bondo then sanded the wood and sprayed the bare wood with Raptor liner. It when on think and dried super hard. I thought with as much as we put on this was going to be bullet proof. But seems with Heat, cold and rain the wood is contracting and shrinking and causing the Raptor liner to crack and now I’m seeing bare wood and having seam gaps. At this point I don’t want to have to take all the wood off because it will destroy the trailer because the screws were counter sunk and bondo’d over and I’ll never get them all out. Is there anything I can do to save this trailer? Is there a light weight fiberglass or something I could put over the top of this or do I just keep piling on the Raptor Liner. I was considering maybe trying to find some type of rubber seal like Flex Seal and just painting the entire trailer with a bunch of cans of that but not sure if that going to work either. Any suggestions?

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[opp]

Flex Seal can not be panted But seal flex can it from RUSTOLEM. If you do sand down and cover with fiberglass PAINT IT pol. lets water in exp. UV kills it. Flex Seal NEVERS GET HARD

 

[FireMedic82]

Dang. Hate to hear that. If you can get it back down to wood, my first thought would be to coat the wood in resin, then respray. That will give you a nice rigid shell between your wood and liner.

Since it's not structural rigidity that you're needing, adding additional weight with a fiberglass and resin combination wouldn't be necessary.

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[motoboss]

To save it, you need to remove the Raptor Liner and seal the wood. Or replace the wood.

Raptor Liner is made for solid surfaces, which sealing would accomplish. Expanding and contracting wood separate the material and let's the wood delaminate, which is very evident in the pictures. Use a asphalt remover type application like Sem-Solv or 3M General Automotive Cleaner, soften the liner and scrape off. Power sand any remaining residue and seal the wood with an oil based wood sealer, reply any finish you want after that.

Use Silaprene seam sealer in the joints and you're good to go.
https://www.jdindustrialsupply.com/silaprenem6325.html

I have used a heat gun to remove areas off metal but not to sure I'd use it on a wood surface. Piling on more liner isn't going to remedy the problem, sorry.


Or replace the skin. Good luck!

 

[brp]

You could look for a UV resistant FRP panel. That would be a cheap, easy and durable way to clad the trailer.

 

[luthj]

You could look for a UV resistant FRP panel. That would be a cheap, easy and durable way to clad the trailer.

This would be my suggestion. FRP panels are used on thousands of trailers and RVs every year. The plastic or gel coat exterior is UV proof, and its water proof as well. Bond it on with epoxy or contact cement. Seal the edges/seams as needed. That could then be painted with whatever you like.

The material you need is often called fiberglass skin or siding.

 

[lacofdfireman]

This would be my suggestion. FRP panels are used on thousands of trailers and RVs every year. The plastic or gel coat exterior is UV proof, and its water proof as well. Bond it on with epoxy or contact cement. Seal the edges/seams as needed. That could then be painted with whatever you like.

The material you need is often called fiberglass skin or siding.

Where could you source this material? This sounds much better than having to sand down my entire trailer and start over.


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[luthj]

Been a few years since I bought any. But a quick google has some options. Take a close look at the texture. The gelcoat covered ones are smooth, while others can have slightly visible fibers.
https://www.recpro.com/rv-fiberglas...YHaTK8Cqsq4ffbVWBPf673bUlH61J0yRoCIaIQAvD_BwE

https://amzn.to/2XhFRIK

Another option is to see if a RV dealer or repair place is nearby. They will possibly have material on a roll or sheet for repairing damage.

 

[lacofdfireman]

Thanks for the help. I’ve also been doing some Google research and people are saying you can purchase 5x8 sheets from Lowe’s of FRP. Not the Filon stuff your showing but actual FRP. Some say that it is not recommended for outside use but seems most are posting results contrary to this. One guy has over 7 years with over 22k miles with zero issues. This might have to be the route I go. I’m just not sure how you cover the edges, specifically the bottom edge and what do you use between 2 edges on a seam?


But this option sure seems a lot better that having to redo my entire trailer.


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[ottsville]

Were those cracks caused by raptor liner shrinking or the wood swelling? Looks more like the raptor shrunk.

Got a buddy who does applications of a liner product(I can't remember the name). Saw a sample of plywood the had sprayed and then broke the plywood by bending - the liner stayed intact and simply bent.

 

[luthj]

Plywood needs to be perfectly sealed before applying anything over it. Otherwise it will pull water through any small pores/breaks and swell/shrink.

Home store FRP panels should work. As long as they don't degrade in UV. You can always paint them for that purpose. Edging can be done with FRP extrusions. Butt joints can be sealed with quality sealant. Corners can have some aluminum angle bonded over them, and sealed with sealant.

 

[motoboss]

FRP/Filon board is absolutely the best way to proceed. Way less labor intensive and more cost effective.

https://www.recpro.com/rv-fiberglas...MI__HTzO7I4AIVnbrACh2cAAF_EAQYBiABEgI4n_D_BwE

 

[lacofdfireman]

FRP/Filon board is absolutely the best way to proceed. Way less labor intensive and more cost effective.

https://www.recpro.com/rv-fiberglas...MI__HTzO7I4AIVnbrACh2cAAF_EAQYBiABEgI4n_D_BwE

The Filon would be nice but not sure I want to spend $700 on it. I think I could aluminum sheet it cheaper than that. I think I’d Ned about 30ft to cover my entire trailer. And an 8.5ft by 30ft roll is around $700.

Considering just either using FRP that’s about $33per sheet

Or maybe just trying to remove the old plywood skin somehow without destroying it and then replace again with plywood and sealing it with deck sealer or something and then using the Glidden gripper paint over the sealer. At least I’ll know the Wood is sealed and shouldn’t have issues with water penetration. Although I guess it still could. But less likely than what I’ve originally done. I’m just not sure how big of a job it’s going to be to try and remove all the deck screws that have been counter sunk, bondo’d over and then Raptor liner over that. Could be quite a job.


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[motoboss]

The FRP directly over the exterior should work fine without any real extra effort.
I think as long as it's sealed at all corners and seams it would be waterproof and hold up well. What method of adhering are you considering, screws, bonding adhesive.......... ?

 

[old_CWO]

It's at least worth a try to prep the failed areas and touch up with something like duplicolor spray can bed liner. No harm trying a low cost attempt before proceeding to a more complex and costly solution.

I believe the best answer is remove the bed liner and start over, but boy that's a monster job.

The other idea, FRP or aluminum skin panels is good too. That's what's on mass market RVs and it holds up well when properly sealed at the joints.