Hi folks. Newbie here. Have entered the world of campervans. Only had a small budget so thought I had a good buy with an autotrail comanche on mercedes 208d cab and chassis. Got a mechanic to check before purchase, is mechanically sound, good engine.
I knew there was damp ingress from 2 skylights but thought it a simple job. Negotiated more off because of this.
Now ive started to remove ceiling boards i am a bit intimidated by the spread of the damp. Most ceiling timbers are rotten, part of offside wall and all of rear wall. Rear floor rotten too.
I know the basics to do the work but dont know where to start. The units are pre fitted from assembly so need to cut units out.
1. Do I do one section at a time so as not to destabilise the walls?
2. If they remove intact can I reuse the units? How do I attach them to framework? Or better to splash out on new interior?
3. Can I patch new plywood into damaged areas if I cleanly cut out bad? Or best to replace in full sections?
Any hints, advice gratefully accepted.
To be honest I regret buying it. I have fitted kitchens and bathrooms in houses and never been intimidated by the work. This campervan intimidates me for some reason, the unknown I think!
Cheers Dave and Jacky
I would repair as you go to retain strength. You can butt joint plywood and use another strip , glued and screwed under the edge for the next piece of ply to adhere/screw to. For timber frame, similarly, carefully make end to end step joints and glue and screw where possible. This way you can break the job down into manageable "chunks". Try to maximise the size of the repair "patches" to maximise strength and watch you do not veer off the straight lines of the bodywork. Hope this helps.
------------- cramming for my finals in the twilight zone
I'd agree with Dinkum...Where possible,try to keep it to "manageable" tasks...
(Other wise if you rip too much apart at once, you may end up with a bl**dy expensive hen house! )
...If you've got some "damaged-but-saveable" timbers, that are perhaps too much of a job to replace, as long as they are dry, it may be worth slapping something like PVA on them and just fix additional strengthening timbers/battens to the sides of them...
The rigidity will soon be restored, once you start fixing(gluing & screwing) the ply sheets/boards in place...
As for removing any units, I would try to keep them as intact as possible..even if you do need to replace the odd bit of framework or mask any visible splits with a bit of moulding...
..and when it's all done, you'll be able to "decorate" it in as cool'n'groovy a style as you want!
Thanks Pepe.
What would everyone recommend for treating the pinholes. The ones in the bathroom caused most of the damage, more than the skylights.
Also any recommendation for joining the ceiling lats to the side wall lats?
I was thinking glue and small angle iron with small screws as I believe the stikkaflex is very strong anyway.
Is it ok to put new floor on top of old?
If the original floor is okay(ish) and dry but just wants "beefing up" a bit, then I would've thought overlaying with new boards/sheets would be okay...especially if ripping out the old one, risks doing more harm than good...
As for fixing the roof sticks to the cant rail, using premade brackets as you intend, will certainly make things easier(..although I can imagine that in certain positions the brackets may need rebating in, so that the panels will lay flush..).
Not sure what you mean about "pin holes"?...do you mean that the outer skin has holes in it? If so, you'd need to find what caused them first.If it's aluminium skinned and it's corrosion, then it would've probably been caused by the "rotting" timbers.
So...Are these timbers being replaced? If not, then the surfaces that are in contact with the ali' skin, could do with being treated/coated with something(PVA?)to help seal them, before squishing in some beads of Sika'...
As for sealing the skin from the outside..well,I'm not sure to be honest...Maybe brushing on more(undiluted)PVA would do it?
That is probably something you'd need to google...
I have read before now, of some "self-builders"(converting a horsebox etc), using products meant for flat roofed buildings("EPDM"?)..but I've no idea how successful or indeed tidy it looked though..
Ive found some info about a product called jb weld, a really strong epoxy resin that can be used on metals. The holes are tiny holes caused by a chemical reaction with the damp timbers. Been told you can also spot weld, solder or braze them to repair but not sure. Need to resolve these before repairing the timbers.
Anyone used jb weld?
I've never used it(or heard of it)but as long as it's suitable for aluminium, it sounds like it may do the job......
(..but I would forget any ideas of going down the, "spot weld, solder or braze", route because that's a real non-starter.... ).
Edit:
Just being a bit curious as what ali' corrosion should be treated with to stop it getting any worse and I came across various discussions which mention using phosphoric acid..
JB Weld. Epoxy quick metal.
Used it to repair water tanks in fire engines, alloy and iron castings. Used as a glue on heat exchangers. Built up thickness on worn aluminium.
It's a great, versatile product and not too expensive.
------------- I came into this world with nothing and I've still got most of it left.
It gets worse! When chasing the rotten timbers back the rot is right through, even into the bed timbers above the cabin. I change the post heading to now read total coach build interior!!!
Well just have to get on with it. Gonna do cab first and work backwards in stages.
Feel a bit sick!
Thanks for advice guys, guess I might be on daily! Apologies in advance.
Thanks amscerp. Looks similar to the state of mine.
My latest dilemma is the framework. The present one on the outer walls is 35mill x 25mill timber. The roof is 45mill x 25 mill. I can only find 50 mill or 38 mill from trade. I can use but this then complicates the insulation.
Trials and tribulations!
Hi, after many similar projects there are a few things learnt . Make sure all the main timbers you use are tanalized treated (green)... Go and buy yourself a cheap bench saw, you can then rip timbers down to suit your needs, this will save a fortune and will prove invaluable. When you redo the insulation, consider very hard to upgrade it to celotex or similar. As to treating the aluminium body!! Use a product " cromapol acrylic sealant with fibres" you can apply this internally and it will when dry create a impermeable reinforced skin. Maybe you should post some progress pictures, it's also a good record of the rebuild. Most importantly don't lose heart, all of a sudden it will come together and start looking good. There ain't many motor homes out there that don't leak somewhere, even if you can't see it! Good luck.
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Topic: almost a rebuild
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