1989 FunChaser restoration

Wall skin after cleaning


Wall skin as it came off camper


What was left of the upper door after the frame and outer skin were removed. Prior owner had "repaired" it by putting a piece of drywall in place of the missing frame at the bottom and covering the inside with contact paper.


View of the inside of the driver's-side wall with the inner wall panel and insulation removed. Notice the Hi-Lo logo on the outside of the wall has transmitted into the mold pattern on the cardboard inside.

Passenger side view with walls removed


Fridge vent after removing wall. Nasty!


View from the rear prior to removing the front cap


Pass-front view with walls and caps removed. Locations with blue tape on frame will get replaced with new steel

Mount for lower awning bracket. 5/16" nuts welded in place. Will have to notch wood beam to clear the inner mount.


Support for upper awning bracket. Angle steel welded to steel frame to provide extra support behind wall panel. Threaded inserts (install similar to pop rivets) placed in frame for awning bracket bolts (replacing the lag screws that were used originally).


Driver's front corner of camper on the inside. Wood beam was completely gone.


Rear wall of camper. Wood beam and bulb seal completely missing.

A large colony of ladybugs had met their demise inside one of the cabinets.


General view from the door near the beginning of the de-construction, with cabinets removed. Notice the delaminating walls.


View toward the front. More wall delamination.


Gross. Gross. Gross. This is what it looked like behind the outer wall skin under the front passenger side window.

What's left of a screw that was "holding" the camper together


Pile of rotted wood dust that remained after one of the wood beams had been laid on the ground


Looking toward the rear of the camper from the door. Inner wall panel and wood beam removed. What's left of the screws that at one time held the wood beam in place, hanging tough.


The first trash day after demolition began.

Wow!! serious rot and delamination.

Our job is to cheer you on and tell you how brave you are to tackle this job. It will be better than factory. Can't wait to see the finished pictures.

I've been through this too - you're doing great.

One day the smell will be the dirty laundry instead of the camper and it will all be worth it. skills not bills!

Went through something like this only no nearly as destroyed. Replaced the door side wall and new ceiling throughout. I wouldn't have nerve to tackle what you have. Hope you don't tire out before your finished. I'm sure you will really appreciate it when done. It eventually becomes a Labor of Love. Hang in there Jack

jjharris - Are you finding any pinholes in the outer wall? I have an
'84 that I've been rebuilding that the corrosion has eaten through the aluminum. I still haven't decided on a solution for this; was wondering if you are seeing this and what your solution is.

I'm putting on a new roof, as well, but will use EDMP, there.

Thx,
Susan

Susan, if you have access to the inside of the wall, you can "paint" it with Bondo to stop the galvanic corrosion and to seal the pinholes. I saw in a recent post that sam's husband did this on their trailer and I thought that was a brilliant idea. He basically just spread a thin layer of Bondo over the surface, I think with a putty knife?

- Jack

Just a thought.

Possible you will have to replace with new aluminum for your exterior walls. Plan B purchase two part epoxy at Walmart or any auto store. Put the Bondo on the interior side of the aluminum. This will seal up holes or pinpoint holes that you can't even see. We did this on our 1990 25ft. Classic HiLo. No holes were visible. Never had a leak after this. Best of luck with your repairs.Have the windows wide open and wear an industrial respirator. Use a disposable paint brush. Air out for several days before you go back in again.

We must have been posting about the same time.

I like to give credit where credit is due. J&R in OHIO told me to use the Bondo. Great advice as it worked. No leaks after that. Can't quite remember it must have been a liquid as it was applied with a disposable paint brush. Look up 3M Bondo on the internet.

Keep up with the going on

JHarris you got an update it’s been a week...

pin holes in walls of top

thanks all to who replied. I will try the bondo as well as waterproofing the new plywood underneath.

Susan

Hey, folks, I'll respond to a couple of things that are in this thread. I'll also put some more pictures below.

@Susan, I didn't notice any pinholes in the outer wall, but mine is fiberglass, not aluminum. I think that's where you're asking about. I have seen @sam's recommendation to use the liquid bondo. I think (not sure) what they're referring to is the resin that you'd use to make a fiberglass repair, as that's the only "liquid bondo" I've seen. I didn't go overboard, but I did have some fiberglass repairs to make, so I just used whatever leftover resin I had in each batch to "paint" the inside of the fiberglass wall panels.

As for corrosion in your aluminum frame (if that's what you mean), your only option is likely to cut out and replace. Fortunately for me, my frame is steel, so that was relatively easy to do. A welding shop and a lot of other amateurs could do the same with aluminum, but it's not as straightforward. I guess you'll have to be the judge if yours is bad enough to need that done, or can be put back together as-is.

Sorry if I completely mis-understood what you asked.

It's been a week he says...

For the record, I do have a day job. And I live in Indiana, and don't have access to covered storage. So I only have evenings and weekends and clear days to work on this thing.

That said, there has been some good progress.


Damaged steel replaced, all frame parts wire brushed and primed


First side clamped in place. I was thankful it was on the cooler side this day, so the Gorilla glue didn't set up too quickly and we had time to get everything clamped up. We poured the glue into a plastic cup and used chip brushes to brush it onto the frame, then lifted the side in place and clamped. It helped a lot that we had the front and rear caps off. Also, the deep reach clamps from Harbor Freight that someone else recommended were a big help.

One other thing to point out in this picture: with the wall panels removed and the upper section only supported and the very front and rear, there was a fairly substantial sag in the middle. I used a floor jack and a piece of wood to support the upper section in the middle while we clamped the wall in place.


View from the "port" side with the "starboard" side glued back in place and clamps removed.


View in through the door. The 2nd side has now been glued in place, and the first piece of insulation board is glued and clamped in place. This will be a longer, more tedious process than I'd hoped.

Couple of other pictures that may be helpful for those doing this in the future.


Clamps and cauls. You can never have enough of 'em, and have them ready to go before you start putting any glue down. As I was placing a block of wood on the wall to spread clamp pressure, I tried to be sure any bow or bend in the wood would work with the clamp placement to apply as even pressure as possible. In other words, if I put a clamp on each end of the board, I wanted the middle of the board to bow toward the camper.



I used the cable attachment points to mount a block of wood. I used this as a "shelf" on which to set the wall panel when we had it in place, so we wouldn't have to have one of us try to hold the wall panel while the other attached clamps.

Good job!!

Harbor Freight has many tools that came in real handy for our water damage restoration. Love the 20% off coupons.

thanks for the update... I get it I'm eight years into my rehab. thanks again for the photos they are worth a thousand words..