American Coach: Basement Rust Repair

[Meames1]

Originally Posted by Jthigh

Good to know that it bolts on as well. Thought it would have been welded on. Doesn’t look like there were any hoses or cables that pass though panels so that’s nice not having to cut slots in the panels to reinstall.

The rear panel does not have anything going through it. Most of the rest do, propane line and slide bar. See pics above in post #3.

[SlowJoe]

Just a thought, but if you have access you should try to run a conduit(s) down the frame rails so if you ever need to run a wire or hose you have an access path once it's all closed up. PVC would offer a bit of flexibility but even a 3/4 garden hose could work if you needed more flex to avoid obstacles. I was able to get a stiff fish tape through my frame so I could pull a thermocouple and hose for gauges. It would have been lots easier if I had a conduit! Please take lots of pics and thanks for sharing!!!

[Meames1]

Originally Posted by SlowJoe

Just a thought, but if you have access you should try to run a conduit(s) down the frame rails so if you ever need to run a wire or hose you have an access path once it's all closed up. PVC would offer a bit of flexibility but even a 3/4 garden hose could work if you needed more flex to avoid obstacles. I was able to get a stiff fish tape through my frame so I could pull a thermocouple and hose for gauges. It would have been lots easier if I had a conduit! Please take lots of pics and thanks for sharing!!!

Already thought of that. I was going to run a wire harness through the rails with color coded drops here and there from front to back. However, once I got it all apart so I can see up there I found that AC ran fiberglass tubes the length of both frame rails to run all their systems and wiring. The tubes actually take up the entire width of the rails and are sealed front to back making it almost impossible to run anything new. I haven't given up on the idea yet though. I'll try and get some pics of the tubes to post.

[Meames1]

Bore some holes for the propane tank mounting with the mag drill. It's one of those tools I don't use often, but nothing beats it.



Cannot figure out why it's posted sideways

[Meames1]

Got one side of the S/S fitted and on. The steel angle iron I have clamped on is to help keep the frame straight while I rivet the metal on. There was a slight bow in it side to side from the welding. Nothing big, it will be fine once bolted into the coach. I just wanted to make sure the S/S bottom is fastened while it's straight to reduce any stress and buckling when it's installed. I also decided to fab the metal to hook around the outer frame. As this is the only part of the floor you see when it's on the coach, why not have it shiny stainless ??

[Meames1]

The rivets are 3/16's S/S "sealing rivets". Meaning the bottoms are solid and not open like normal rivets so they seal.







If you're going to install more than 1 or 2 Stainless rivets, better get one of these!

[SlowJoe]

Nice work. I am sure this information will come in handy for someone which needs to do this repair in the future, and that includes me!

[Meames1]

All the bottom S/S is on. The laps were sealed with butyl, horrible stuff to work with but the best water block as long as it's installed under compression. Once the floor assembly is installed I will prime the seams with a urethane primer and seal with a urethane sealant for extra protection.










Flipped it over and next is to cut and install the XPS insulation and FRP panels to the top of the frame. Have to pre-drill some holes for the slide compartment and the plumbing drains, then this portion of the project is done! Not looking forward to moving outside to repair the uprights.

[Meames1]

Insulation installed. I used spray adhesive, let it tack and stuck the insulation to it. Completely got rid of the tinny sound of the S/S bottom panels.
Bonding the FRP top panels next. Slow weekend, had a wrestling tournament all day yesterday 100 miles away. I was able to get some additional prep work done on the uprights still attached to the coach. Trying to decide if it's better to repair in place or bite the bullet and remove all the remaining systems (furnace's, propane lines, plumbing) and unbolt the uprights to rebuild in the garage. I'm leaning towards removing them completely

[Meames1]

Replying to an earlier question, took some pictures of the fiberglass tubes that AC installed the length of both frame rails to run the wiring, hydraulic, and A/C lines through. They are pretty packed now, bit I may be able to run an additional wiring harness with unused wires for future use / repair.

[Meames1]

So, I have been not quite happy with the new FRP panels that I bought. They are thinner than the factory panels. I priced a once piece hunk of embossed Filon so it wouldn't have any seams, but $$$! Also, the spray adhesive will eat the XPS insulation if sprayed directly on it. So, I would have to spray only the FRP panel and let it tack then stick it to the insulation and frame. That works fine, except I was worried about the adhesion down the road. My solution was to install a self adhered water proofing / vapor barrier layer that will both make up thickness of the original panel and aid adhesion. I work for a commercial roofing company and new products are constantly being introduced. They have a really slick (or is it sticky) primer that is water based and can be used on XPS insulation and is sticky as can be. Primed the insulation and frame and then installed the self adhered vapor barrier. The great thing is the spray adhesive I'm using (another great roofing-type product) can then be used directly over the vapor barrier. So I can spray both the panels and the substrate and the adhesion will be far superior than spraying one side. Panels next, I'm still not real happy about there being seams, but there is no way to bury them all under the mounting uprights because the compartments are 50" wide. I guess that's just being picky, if it bothers me too much down the road I could always carpet the basement.

[Meames1]

I also took advantage of the 60 degree weather yesterday and removed all the forward uprights to rebuild for re-installation. Now I only have one more full width upright and one half width to remove near the furnace's and all the uprights will be out and can be rebuilt in the garage. I knew it was the right way to do it, so I finally bit the bullet and removed them. Had to cut the propane iron line, but I wanted to rebuild that anyway at some time to add a drop at passenger rear for propane grill. Pics to come.

[Dale70]

Hello -- great looking work. I did some repairs on my 2000 Eagle, in that area but my repairs were a bit caveman compared to yours. Perhaps my rust was not as bad.

Again -- great work.

[Meames1]

Originally Posted by Dale70

Hello -- great looking work. I did some repairs on my 2000 Eagle, in that area but my repairs were a bit caveman compared to yours. Perhaps my rust was not as bad.

Again -- great work.

Thanks , I appreciate it. Although I knew it had rust I needed to repair when I bought it, I didn't expect it to be as extensive as it was. No worries though, the coach itself is in great shape. The damage was limited to the basement and it will be all new when I'm finished. Hoping to have this project wrapped up by the first of the year.