Community Forums

Dr Dega · 10-16-2019, 03:36 PM

I am wondering if anyone has experienced what’s happening to my 2000 Bounder 36S on a Ford chassis. The equivalent of the “A” post on the passenger side is severely corroded from what I can see. As a result, the right side and right front window are moving about 5/8”up and down relative to the dash as the coach moves.
The tubing is 1.5-1.75” steel but really thin. I believe a leak in the top has run down inside this tube and caused the corrosion. It is sistered to a same sized tubing of the dash/ firewall but they appear to be separated. I believe this corner of the coach is only suspended from above.
Has anyone experienced and repaired successfully? I suspect repair isn’t possible. If so, how does one sell a coach that runs well but is no longer usable?
Thank you for any suggestions.
(My first post, hopefully the pictures uploaded)

egwilly · 10-16-2019, 03:48 PM

Unless you're willing to junk it out, I would take it to a good RV repair facility that can evaluate it and offer repair suggestions(if any). If you live near southern california, I can recommend one.

I find most things can be welded, hammered and bolted back into place. Experience from years offroad in the desert.

Dav L · 10-16-2019, 04:22 PM

Hard to tell exactly what the issue is from the pics, but my same 2000 Bounder required similar surgery. And yes, it can be fixed. Just takes some fabrication skills to do so. Beyond a casual DIY'r. You would need to clean the metal (wire wheel / sand blast), reposition the parts that are corroded, cut out the affected metal, make replacement tubes (probably 1" square or so), and MIG / TIG weld them together. Then clean the welds (wire wheel / right angle grinder) and prime / paint.

And certainly fix the leak.

Mine might have been more extensive damage and it took a full day of work. But well worth the effort because it radically change how the RV drove and sounded. A rewarding fix.

The amount of rust in the pics doesn't look too bad. Certainly this doesn't total the rig (unless there are lots of issues).

Hard to give more specifics over a forum. Requires hands on view to assess and repair.

agpopp · 10-16-2019, 07:16 PM

That's nothing. You can definitely have it repaired as the other guys have said. Agreed that I'd stop the leak first, then tackle the structure.

Dr Dega · 10-21-2019, 06:58 PM

Thank you all for your input. I thought this was irreparable but with your encouragement I was able to make contact with someone who has done similar repairs, recommended by an local RV dealership.
Going for an assessment later this week. Big job to remove the front cap and he won’t be able to say for sure if he can fix it until he’s neck deep but I will find out if he thinks it’s worth proceeding.
Thank you all!

Dav L · 10-22-2019, 07:14 AM

Hard to tell from the pictures of exactly what is wrong, but it would be very surprising to me that the front cap has to be removed at all. And yes, that's a big job. If you can take a picture of the joint, then a decent welder / fabricator should be able to get in there and fix it.