Repairing cracks in fiberglass body?

[arrow782001]

Hello Everyone,
     I am new at the RV game, but I have lost my house due to the economy . I purchased an 86 Elandan (THANK GOD my wife is excited about it LOL) I found one in good running condition, but, I am in trouble. It is a 37 footer, and has been gutted. My problem is this. The water connection for the hose is broken, and there has been a leak for awhile. When driving it home the thing split. It is only about 9" long and I also saw a secondary split about six inches away from this one. It is completely through the fiberglass and I was wondering if anyone can help with tips, tricks, ideas etc. I cant pay a shop to do this. I am pretty handy with tools and I will be rebuilding it "house" style and putting some home plumbing furnishing, and rebuilding it from the inside out. What would be the best way to repair this? Thank you
Al

[ibdilbert01]

Hi Al,

Welcome aboard.  I'm not sure I understand exactly what split.   The water connection split or the side of the RV?  Do you have access to a camera and the ability to post or upload some pictures to help us out?

[GWINGER]

If you are talking about the fiberglass, do an internet search for "repairing fiberglass" and a lot of info will come up. Also you can use info from a fiberglass boat site. The public library has a wealth of info on repairing fiberglass also.
J

[arrow782001]

Thanks for the replies. I will try to load some photos at the end of the week. I am away from home right now. When I am standing outside the coach, I see two cracks on adjacent sides of the water inlet. One of them is bad enough to see the wood behind it. The other is a crack. Not as bad as the worst, however, I can still see it has cracked all the way through.I am thinking of posting a restoration page, as I think that will help others if they have the same problem.

[Oz]

So, your rig's side panels are fiberglass. 

Go to Wal-Mart and get a package of the fiberglass body mesh cloth (the thick, heavy stuff, not the thin, cheese cloth type) and a can of the the fiberglass repair putty.

You will also need:

250 grit sandpaper
500 & 800 grit wet/dry emery cloth for finishing.
Rough rasp.
A bowl large enough to hold enough fiberglass putty to cover the patch on both sides plus a little to extend 1" beyond the patch on all sides.  Use a bowl you won't mind throwing away.
Mixing sticks.  (You can get them free from Lowe's paint department, in most places or use something you don't mind throwing away).
Plastic, body filler smoothing tools or something somewhat flexible with a wide enough edge to use to compress, smooth, and feather the fiberglass putty.


Pre-prep:

Cut the cloth 3" wide.  This will give you 1½" on each side of the crack.  If the filler tube goes over the crack or the cracks radiate from the cut-out for the filler tube mount, you'll need to remove the filler tube and,after you've made the repair, you may have to notch the sides a bit so it will fit flush on the body surface.  Cut the lenght of the cloth to 1 ½" beyond the ends of the crack length.  If the cracks radiate from the edge of the filler tube cut-out, you will need to cut the cloth long enough to overlap into the cut-out opening

Rough sand the area around the cracks with 250 grit a 1" beyond the area on which the fiberglass patch will be laid.  Clean the area and let dry.

Making the repair:

The fiberglass catalyst is usually in a small tube and the liquid in it is often separated from the suspension goop so, knead the tube for a couple minutes to make sure the catalyst and suspension goop mixes thoroughly.  When squeezed out, it's usually a red-brown color.

Scoop out the fiberglass putty in to a bowl.  Make sure you have enough fiberglass putty to cover both sides of the fiberglass mesh and and additional 1" all the way around.

The fiberglass putty I use is a dark green.  Mix the fiberglass putty with the hardening catalyst.  Do not use too much or the fiberglass putty will harden too fast.  Too little and it'll take forever to harden.  Try mixing small amounts on a piece of heavy cardboard to determine your workability time.

Lay the fiberglass patch mesh down on a discardable surface such as a piece of plywood.  Put a thin coat of the mixed fiberglass putty on one side making sure to cover it thoroughly.  You need to move quickly so the putty doesn't begin to harden.

Lay the coated mesh over the crack and give it a quick press down, working from the center and outward to the ends to eliminate any air pockets.

Liberally apply remaining fiberglass putty over patch to @ 1/8" thickness over the surface and around the patch over the edges.

Smooth the putty with your smoothing tool to get the surface reasonably smooth and feathered onto the body. 

Let dry completely.

If there are thin spots or gaps in the work, you can mix a little more putty and apply it.

Once dry, use the rasp to eliminate high spots and ridges.  Lightly sand with 250 grit sandpaper, then  use the wet/dry emery (wet) to finish the surface and to blend the feathered edges to the body.

Allow to cure 24 hours.  You can spray primer over the patches and paint the area to match the body.

This isn't going to have a prfessional, even with the body surface finish but, it's quick and will fix the problem, and won't look bad at all.

You could use a dremel and cut along the cracks to widen them to no more than ¼" wide and just fill them with the fiberglass putty.  However, due to body twist while moving this repair may not work but, without actually seeing the damage, it's impossible to tell which method would be the best or simplest needed.

This info is from my own experience with fiberglass repair.  As GWINGER stated, there is tons of info on the internet covering the process.

[Froggy1936]

Mark pretty well covered the repair one thing omitted was to drill a small 3/8 hole at each end of the crack to stop it from reoccuring after repair Frank

[Lefty]

Froggy beat me to it.. Gotta relieve the stress on the cracks by drilling a hole at the ends of them.... otherwise they will return later.
Other than that, he was spot on with the procedure!

[Madathlon]

The Fiberglass repair is only part of your problems here. You may have a Upper body failure that needs looking into. See on a lot of there the upper body is under stress and it acts like a suspension bridge. Once this starts giving out the lower frame bends, you should relieve this stress and reinforce the upper body. Most likely the roof stringers are giving out. These run from front to back. Also make sure that the frame hasnt cracked at all.

[Oz]

I viewed your photo.  It looks like you're not going to need to drill any holes in this particlular case as it appears the two cracks radiate from the edge of the filler tube cut-out down to the edge of the wheel well, and the other, from the filler tube cut-out edge, horizontally, to the edge of the compartment cut-out. 

I would guess that this is old damage and the plywood behind the and below the cracks is rotted.  You would need to replace that and the mesh repair method would be the appropriate repair.

If there is excessive water damage to the roof joists and sidewall framing, this could be the cause. 

However, it is a known weakness that the rear frame extensions are the Achille's heel of the Chevy, 36' and over sizes.  Particularly in the Elandans.  Due to the cracks running both vertically and horizontally, it may be indicative of a failing frame on that side. 

  Please check that area, and the other side, thoroughly to determine if it is a problem before you drive the rig other than moving it gingerly for short distances.

[arrow782001]

Hi
     I checked the other side of the coach, and it seems that the fiberglass is in good shape. By that I mean to say that there are no cracks which are of the same type. I am looking into the rotten plywood, but, I have to ensure that the roof is sealed well first, if it isnt the water inlet like I thought. I am still overwhelmed right now, because it looks as though my tag axle has given way as well, the wheel isnt straight. It looks like it is canted up and in. Sigh. But, I think I am going to be able to bring her back. I will post more photos as well.

[Madathlon]

If the trailing axle is bent it can cause a vibration that will cause cracks and even axle failure. It can also wear the tire out at a high rate. If the other wheel seems to be aligned correctly then most likely you have a failed bearing. Still will cause issues.