New Exterior Siding

[spritz]

Really? I have used Bleach White for tires on a lot of stuff around the house beside tires. FYI "Don't" use on white curtain rods it stripes the paint right off. Had to re-spray
Does it repell the water in a rain storm? Sounds alot easier that the buffer and wax's.
Thanks, Tim

[Daveinet]

Originally Posted by spritz

How do you like your Koni's? I might have to settle for Bilstiens

I have mixed emotions about Koni. First off, I will tell you that from a design standpoint, the FSD is the 8th wonder of the world. Making the damping inversely proportional to the speed of travel does everything you ever wanted a shock to do, without hurting the ride.

Here is the bad news. I wore out my front FSDs in about 30K miles. They have a lifetime warranty, but refuse to honor the warranty because I bought the shocks directly from Koni. They insist that I must contact the dealer who sold them to me, but when I tell them they are the dealer and I tell them I am contacting them, they just repeat themselves, so I get stuck in an endless loop of non-sense.

So its a great idea, but Koni as a company are jerks.

[Piker]

Ya, I know I started and stopped this thread months ago.. but today I was out washing the RV, and I noticed how quickly the corrosion of the siding is spreading. I'm thinking in 2 or 3 years it's going to be so bad we won't want to go anywhere in it. It's just progressing that fast.

So I had one more question that maybe someone here has some experience to be able to answer.

The reason I decided not to attempt putting new thin gauge aluminum siding on the RV was because of the lamination process... but what about corrugated aluminum? The picture of that Barth motorhome on the last page looks pretty sweet in all it's vintage-ey glory... Maybe I could do something similar with this one? Just replace the center strip of aluminum between the top smooth piece (which is still in pretty good shape) and the bottom storage compartments (which are also in pretty good shape) with corrugated just like the Barth... Then paint the whole thing?

At this point, even thinking about another rig is out of the question. To sell this one would mean a loss of about $10k, not to mention another 30 or 40k just to get something decent, that will undoubtedly still need some work somewhere. It's just not going to happen. But man if I could just come up with a plan so that maybe in the next 2 years I could fix up the exterior for a couple thousand $$, I think I'd be set. I really like this rv... but the shell is just simply falling apart...

Thoughts and opinions welcome...

-cheers

[MO Fred]

Go to barthmobile.com. You may find something there you might like within your budget. We are proud Barth owners. I would recommend not putting on new siding. Too much labor and the cost could get out of control.

Fred

[ahicks]

Piker, why don't you start a new string describing what you're seeing? Maybe include a few pics? Re-skinning a smooth sided coach like yours shouldn't be THAT big a deal. -Al

[wblynch]

Well these days they bond metal car quarters back together. Is it reasonable to consider bonding a new aluminum or Filon skin right on top of the existing siding?

[ahicks]

Very reasonable...

[KoolBell]

Originally Posted by Piker

I was advised by a person who sells both aluminum and filon sheets that I should use filon instead of aluminum. He said that the old HR's with the aluminum siding were known for sweating behind the exterior paneling, and thus creating corrosion of the aluminum from the inside out.

That being said, I also know how brittle the Filon can be, and how it can tear easily when working with it. Booo.

He also said that I should do away with the seam that runs end to end separating the 32" top panel from the 48" lower panel, and make the entire sidewall one piece. Makes sense to eliminate a seam from the perspective of water infiltration, although it seems like the materials would be more difficult to work with in that size... I suppose I could use the trusses in my garage to hang one 80" x 35' long panel when it comes time to attach it to the RV.


I was also told that there would be huge gaps between the aluminum frame members in certain areas, and that I should install additional perlins to make sure I have a stud to glue to every 18".

So far I am leaning towards laminating luan to the back of .045" Filon myself and replacing the old sides... then of course prepping everything for paint. A few things I'm worried about though...

*I'm not 100% certain how to make sure the luan is pressed or rolled good enough when laminating it to the filon... seems like I'd need a big rubber roller the size of a lawn roller. My garage floor is flat, but not perfectly I'm sure... maybe laying down some sort of foam sheet on the floor under the filon will take up enough variance in the floor that I could actually use a lawn roller?

*Of course, laminating the luan to the filon seems easy in comparison to gluing the entire panel to the aluminum studs. I'm not sure how to get that properly rolled/pressed. Turn the RV on it's side and use the lawn roller?

*I'm nervous how much damage I'm going to do to the interior panels of the RV when the foam insulation between the aluminum framing members tries to stick to the old aluminum when I pull it off.

*I'm concerned about how much work this is going to be, and if I'll ever finish it. I guess I don't have to worry too much right this instant... we have some more trips planned for later this year, so I can't even think about starting this until we get past those... basically, I have to look at this as a "feasibility study" for now.

cheers

Here's an idea. You can tell me to bug off if you want.

Get some of the material used for vinyl wood flooring underlayment. I use Lowe's, but you can choose any distributor. Lay it out larger than the area needed for the laminate.
Go to Sears and buy one of those water filled yard rollers, and use it as your press/roller.

Might just work for what you are trying to use. total cost should be less than $250

[Davdeb1]

Here is a different thought. Being your age, and your goals for this unit. You have a young family.
Prep the unit, apply some aluminum primer with a roller or Wagner power painter. Pick out a color theme with your family, design it yourself. Roll or spray an epoxy paint in that theme. It will fill in lots of the rough spots, it will shine like crazy, and the kids will always remember it. If you get three years out of it, what did it cost?

You mention you have a body shop painter friend. Run it by him just to see how feasible.

You 94 may be vintage, but keeping it "Vintage" may be too high a price to pay.

I have a 2000 HR that was oxidized on one side when I bought it. There is no rubbing or polishing that could bring it back. I just did the red max pro floor sealer thing, and made it shine. I love this unit so much, I will do what I am suggesting when it reaches the Vintage category.

Just another thought"

[ahicks]

Here's some thoughts/ideas, also along the lines of extending the coaches life, not perpetuating it.

If the old siding is still on there in a solid manner, not loose/delaminating, you can laminate another layer of aluminum right over the one that's there using contact cement. I wold use the same stuff used for Formica, but there may be some other ideas floating around.

Yes, quite a project, but nothing like what you are talking about. I would re-use that upper mldg., and put it to work holding the top of the new aluminum sheet. Properly reinstalled, chances of it providing a place for water to get in are slim to none. Removing it makes about as much sense as removing windows? All that mldg. is doing now is covering up a row of rivets used in many/most of the coaches using HR's aluminum superstructure. It's how the sides are hung!

So you would end up stripping that area of the motor home that needs the work. (No idea how extensive your problem is. I can't see it in the pics you've provided). On the passenger side, you could do just from the door forward, or from the door back easily. Once the area has been stripped of all affected opening trim, awning arms, mldgs. etc., just prep the original alum. the best you can. Make sure there is nothing sticking out that's going to telegraph out on the new metal. Figure out how you're going to hang the metal, maybe do a mock run prior to applying the cement? It's going to be like applying a big decal. If not applied perfectly it's going to want to wrinkle easily, and this cement I'm thinking of is not going to give you a second chance, so you need to get this process down pat in your head (much like laying a new Formica counter top?)! This is why I would encourage you to do as small an area as practical. The bigger the panel, the better your chances of a screw up.

This metal can be ordered from any (decent?) RV dealership that does insurance work. It comes coiled, and normally you'll need to cut it to size. I would not use filon over alum. Your coach is not set up for the different expansion rates it has vs. alum.

Properly applied, the new alum. will be insulated by the layer of glue, and should last MANY years before oxidation occurs, if it ever does.

If the metal in the areas your concerned with has delaminated, you could cut that area out, repair as necessary, and use this same process to seal it? FWIW, -Al

[Daveinet]

Ok, so here is an idea, clean the surface up good and coat it with bed liner. They sell it in white. Not only would it seal off the aluminum, but would also have some tensile strength to hold things together is the aluminum corrodes away completely.

[Mitchyb]

Originally Posted by Daveinet

Ok, so here is an idea, clean the surface up good and coat it with bed liner. They sell it in white. Not only would it seal off the aluminum, but would also have some tensile strength to hold things together is the aluminum corrodes away completely.

Gotta say this is a heck of a good idea ! From 5 ft away it wouldn't even look any different. Probably would give a similar look to the late 80's textured sides. I bet with good looking vinyl graphics you could even be on some advertising for rhino lining.

[Piker]

I just want to thank everyone for their input on this. I'm not exactly sure which direction I'll take just yet, but if we continue to go rv-ing we'll have to do something at some point. This thread gives me a lot to think about.

One thing no one had mentioned was "Duck" tape. My kids do all kinds of crafts with all the different colored and designer duck tape that's available now... I could cover the whole rv with it and make some pretty cool designs. Maybe Duck brand tape would lend me the tape just for the advertizing... lol.

cheers

[Daveinet]

Make sure you use the 100 mph stuff. You would not want that coming off all over the highway.

BTW: An interesting link on how duck tape got its name:
Urban Dictionary: 100 mile an hour tape