Welding Repairs

[bigdog]

Amongst other things wrong on my Tradewinds, I just found that one of the body (?) braces in the engine compartment is broken free from the box frame. I'm figuring that the only to repair this is to weld it back together, but I remember reading awhile ago somewhere, that there are certain things you have to do before doing any welding on your motorhome.
So, does anyone know of any restrictions,etc on this?

[gatorcq]

Make sure the ground cable is very close to your work.
That is all I did when re-building a new battery compartment

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by bigdog

Amongst other things wrong on my Tradewinds, I just found that one of the body (?) braces in the engine compartment is broken free from the box frame. I'm figuring that the only to repair this is to weld it back together, but I remember reading awhile ago somewhere, that there are certain things you have to do before doing any welding on your motorhome.
So, does anyone know of any restrictions,etc on this?

Best to remove ground from all battys.
Grind area close to weld for good ground.

[Dutch Star Don]

The big issue is possible back feed into your engine or transmission computer. Many say to remove battery cables to prevent this back feed. I never have, just did as others suggested, have the welding ground as close to the work as possible. This way, there is little electricity being transmitted down the frame.

Another thought, if you're going to do it yourself, buy one of the cheap welding blankets from Harbor Freight to lay over the engine or other nearby parts.