W22 epoxy- choice for repair of fender to frame.

[Mach4]

Hello everyone, the exhaust system works after the gasket/bolt r&r, I am looking at the right front fender where it came loose from the frame. The epoxy let go and if anyone has done this repair please let me know what the way forward is going to be. What kind of Apoxsee should I look for that will bond the metal bracket to the fender. I’m more of a nuts and bolts kind a guy and I am considering drilling a couple of small holes in the appropriate place and mounting a decorative plate on the outside of the fender and riveting the bracket in the place it needs to be on the inside of the fender. Hope all is well happy RVing folks!
We are in a 2008 Winnebago W22, 35A

[Daveinet]

If you come up with a decorative metal plate, I would put rubber between the plate and the fender, assuming it is fiberglass. This would reduce the likelihood of it cracking.

In the boat world, everyone says that if you are going to seal something that needs to be taken apart again, don't use 3M 5200, as you will never ever get it apart again. It takes more than a week to cure. I might be inclined to use something like that, as it does stay slightly more flexible than an epoxy. I had a little off road incident with my Jeep. Amongst the damage, I put a tare in the rubberized fender. I ended up repairing it with 5200 and it seems to be holding up very well. I backed it with a fiberglass screen to increase the bonding area. That was almost a year ago.

[tderonne]

Probably posting in the wrong section. W22's didn't come with fenders.

The ABS fender coming loose is a known Winnebago issue:

Winnebago fender loose

Original attachment was foam/body tape. If it's epoxied, it's been repaired at least once already.

[mcroadrunner]

I've got 2007 Voyage W22 35L. Had same problem, was still in purchase warranty period (bought used), body shop at camp world repaired twice. First tried just reglue, came loose again, second time put metal plate in between support frame fender original build and plastic body. Screwed plate to frame which gave larger area to bond to fiberglass. As to what adhesive used they got the area 3M rep from their supplier involved because first attempt failed. What used cannot say, but has heldup for 2+ yr and over 20k miles. Just saying maybe frame surface maybe too small to hold. Good luck with your repair!

[Mach4]

Ok, it is a body panel.

[Mach4]

You know that sounds like a good plan, I may try to increase the area for the bonding surface and see what it does.

[Duner]

When the Winnie epoxy breaks loose, it is always from the metal. So it's important to sand the metal surface with coarse sandpaper and clean real good. Then use 3M 2 part epoxy, not the quick cure, but regular cures overnight. It 's not cheap but will last the life of the coach. I did mine in 2005 and put 100k miles since.

When I had to do my hood hinge bracket which has a lot of stress, I had to add two #10 stainless steel screws to each side plus the epoxy to hold.... that was 10+ years ago and holding strong.

[TW_Voyage]

I had to make a repair like you describe on my 2007 Voyage. I looked up what epoxy was used for this (mostly on corvettes with fiberglass bodies) and used 3M 08115 epoxy. It requires a special dispenser as it is a 2 part epoxy. Had to clean up old epoxy by grinding it away on metal and fiberglass. Also added L brackets to metal piece bolted to frame and the longer metal struts still attached to fiberglass. Seemed like a weak original design. To hold pressure against the metal and fiberglass during cure I used 5 or 6 Neodymium Rare earth magnets on fiberglass side (with cloth in between) as the cure time is long. Made several long trips since and it is still holding. Will try to attach images but if it doesn't work I could email some. Hope this helps. Tom

https://www.irv2.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1589851733

https://www.irv2.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1589851906

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by TW_Voyage

I had to make a repair like you describe on my 2007 Voyage. I looked up what epoxy was used for this (mostly on corvettes with fiberglass bodies) and used 3M 08115 epoxy. It requires a special dispenser as it is a 2 part epoxy. Had to clean up old epoxy by grinding it away on metal and fiberglass. Also added L brackets to metal piece bolted to frame and the longer metal struts still attached to fiberglass. Seemed like a weak original design. To hold pressure against the metal and fiberglass during cure I used 5 or 6 Neodymium Rare earth magnets on fiberglass side (with cloth in between) as the cure time is long. Made several long trips since and it is still holding. Will try to attach images but if it doesn't work I could email some. Hope this helps. Tom

https://www.irv2.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1589851733

https://www.irv2.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1589851906

I used something similar when I had to do an inner fender repair on my Corvette. I used the correct 3M 8227 epoxy per GM and the the same mixing dispenser gun. Once it hardens, it is as tough as nails but retains enough flex so as not to crack. Just make sure it is all thought out and in the right place, because once this hardens that's where it's going to stay!


3M has a very good catalog with the epoxies available and their use.

[Mach4]

Wow, great info there, thanks for the help. Working on it this weekend so I wii update then. Anyone use a aftermarket air filter? Just pulled mine off and I am looking at replacing it. I have the 2008 8.1 workhorse Voyage. W22

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by Mach4

Wow, great info there, thanks for the help. Working on it this weekend so I wii update then. Anyone use a aftermarket air filter? Just pulled mine off and I am looking at replacing it. I have the 2008 8.1 workhorse Voyage. W22

Personally, I would stay away from an Oiler filter like K&N, etc. The MAF is directly behind the filter and can be contaminated by any excess oil. I clean my MAF annually and change the filter with an AC stock filter. You can buy the filter for $10 so changing more frequently isn’t that costly.