Hihosilver Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Can anyone advise how most RV's are constructed as while replacing a tail light bulb I found a bare unpainted 2 inch timber plank at the base edge of the side fibreglass walls which had rot in it. Runoff is apparently able to get under the cosmetic plastic skirting panel and into the floor as there are watermarks when seen from underneath. The stained flooring is about a foot square. I am wondering how the skirts come off as i extracted all the relevant screws from the skirting and wheel arches and they are not coming off without a bit more effort.. Do builders glue these things on? :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Very constructive post from Dave Newell on the subject here: http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/tech-mech-general/56676-removal-interior.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 It's perhaps worth saying that Hihosilver lives in Australia and (presumably) his 2007 Fiat 3.0litre motorised RV will be Australian-made. If that's the case, it may be difficult for UK forum-members to provide specific advice regarding its construction. Motorhome construction methods vary, but using adhesive to bond bodywork components together is commonplace. If a high-quality constructional adhesive has been employed, separating the bonded parts may well prove to be very challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Mark, if you can post a few more pics of that area of your van it may be possible to get a better idea of how it may have been assembled. The side walls are commonly assembled as "sandwich" panels with a timber frame core that has insulation inserted between the frames, faced on the outside with sheet aluminium, and the inside with thin ply or MDF, both bonded on. Rear walls are either similar, as yours looks to be, or GRP mouldings. Skirts etc are commonly screwed in place and sealed to the walls with adhesive sealants. Some are non-setting variety, more recently they tend to be modified polyeurethane compounds (Sika, Henkel, etc) that stick like the proverbial! If the former, it should be possible to gradually ease the skirt away from the wall, which will leave an unpleasant clean-up job to do before new sealant can be applied. If the latter, it will probably be better to find a way in and then cut through the sealant to release the skirt. If you contact the manufacturer of the van, they should be able to tell you what flavour they used. If you remove as much of the old sealant as possible (probably by cutting, I don't think there are solvents you'd want to use on the isdes of your van) and can get new sealant of similar formulation, it should bond satisfactorily to the residue of the original. You'll need to check product compatibility with the sealant manufacturer for complete peace of mind. If you can stop the wet getting in, providing the floor hasn't gone spongy where it has been wet, why not use a proprietary DIY rot repair system to stiffen the rotten timber and then fill it with resin? I assume these are available in Aus? If it stays dry, it should be fine, as it doesn't look too major a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hihosilver Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Thanks for your information..i have been researching caravan and RV repair sites and they list horrible examples of new and near new models with serious rot, fungus and electrical problems from shoddy construction practices. I am just stunned that my RV was built in such a way to allow water easy access to bare timber at the base of the walls. A recipe for disaster but likely not of concern to RV builders keen to sell more. i am investigating underfloor sealants to reduce the possibility of future rot problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Your info pretty useless without some context...what make and model of van (^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hihosilver Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 2007 Jayco Conquest based on a Fiat Ducato 160 3l manual chassis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hihosilver Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Apologies for the horrible pixilation from the compression software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Other information here http://jayco.rvpoint.com.au/d/j/jayco/JAYConquest.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hihosilver Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Yes the 23 layout -1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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