Travel Trailer repair

[pyrobow]

My dad's trailer has some water damage on the front corner. He wants to us to repair it ourselves. Has anyone attempted this? In particular how is the outside skin attached?

[esp]

If it is aluminum it is stapled to the studs. You will have to unscrew the corner trim first and peel it back. Then start at the bottom and carefully pry the siding off. It is pretty easy,just take your time and if you have any carpentry skills it is not too difficult.

[expressfish]

its always a p i t a. but what esp said. Kool seal is good stuff after you get it all buttoned up. There will probably be alot of rotted wood in there when you open it up.

[Winman]

Ain't nothing simple about a travel trailer...I think they build them from the ground up...literaly... the floor pan goes down first,then the insulation,then the floor then the wall studs,then the outer skin...and most use that awful particle board....if it gets wet it desintigrates into a mush...I had to replace a large section of floor in our lease trailer due to water leakage and it was a real pain...but we got it done...

[Full curl]

You can find help on you tube.

[pyrobow]

If it is aluminum it is stapled to the studs. You will have to unscrew the corner trim first and peel it back. Then start at the bottom and carefully pry the siding off. It is pretty easy,just take your time and if you have any carpentry skills it is not too difficult.

I think we have the skills, We have built 3 of our families homes from the ground. Dad has rebuilt the corner of a cabover camper ( but it was a while back and it was old.) The main thing was I dd not know where to start.

We even have a planer to use if the lumber is not a standard size.

[Brazos Hunter]

I did my own and it was easier than you would think. Maybe Careybirdwell will chime in...

[jsrickert2]

i had a leak finally after doing roof sealer over and over i just put a big tarp over it and it solved the problem!

[Snakelover]

The main thing was I dd not know where to start.

Even harder can be figuring out where to stop! Seriously, if the framing is rotten it can be very hard to tear out the bad materials and yet find a good solid stopping point to provide something for the new materials to firmly attach to. It can turn into a real can of worms if you're not careful.

[careybirdwell]

A lot of great replies. I have done a good many. Like Snakelover said. You just don't know where to stop. It is very easy though.

Start be taking off both corner trim pieces. There might be a bottom piece, and depending how high you are going , you might have to remove the top trim piece.

Starting from bottom, remove the staple or screws from the metal were it connect on the sides & on the bottom of the piece of metal. Work your way up. I always like to take a marker, and mark where each piece of metal start on frame. You will have to transfer that to the new framing. Also remember the order of the piece, because they are not all the same size. Good Luck

[bigdaddyd]

I have repaired several,and it is indead hard to find a stopping point at times.Just start taking out the damaged wood and replace one piece at a time .Good luck