Hi everyone. Newbie here. I took a crash course in HiLo 101 this past weekend. I sort of inherited a 2009 TowLite T17 because my parents were no longer able to use it. Overall it's in pretty good shape other than the walls around the side windows are bowing out from water damage. I'm looking forward to learning the ins and outs here.

Welcome to the forum jackrabbit. I am not qualified to offer advice for extensive repairs, but others have gutted their units with major overhauls. I am sure you will be hearing from a number of them. And good luck.

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Fantastic Wife
2005 Toyota Tundra V-8 4.7L
2705T Tow Lite
1999 21T Tow Lite

Hi Jackrabbit - turns out I inherited a HiLo from Iowa too a couple years back. I think mine may have been more of a basket case than yours but you can certainly fix those soft spots.

How far down below the windows has it softenned? You'll find that pulling the windows isn't too bad and regular maintenance consists of making sure those seals are always good and caulk is fresh. The windows seem to be a common point of failure on these trailers from what I can tell.

The wall is a composite "sandwich" with the fiberglass outer glued to a 5mm piece of plywood, 1" thick inner foam core, then another piece of wood on the inside just under the wall paper. Here's a quick link to an album I put together on flickr (which is way way more damage than what you're talking about, but you'll see how the walls look and go together which might be helpful to you):

https://flic.kr/s/aHskGjjPyn

Keep us posted - there is a lot of great help here. The group was really helpful walking with me through the mess you see collected on Flickr there.

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2000 24' Classic, "We have the technology, we must rebuild it"

Also in the garage, some stuff to pull it:
1999 3/4 ton 'Burb
1993 Roadmaster wagon (well, it probably won't pull it)

I'm in the water damage club. Our has been fixed by DH and my self. Correct the windows are a large cause of water damage. You tube has a video on removing the windows and resealing with butyl tape and Lexel caulk. The wall layer description is correct. Tear your wall apart and you will see how they are put together. I found HD Liquid Nails to be real good for puttting the layers back together. You have the right attitude for repairs. Some with Towlites have had to brace inside while doing repairs. We are here for any questions you may have.

Thanks guys, I think I'm gonna need all the help I can get.

Welcome! We are also in the midst of rebuilding our HiLo. I have a fairly decent post with links to all my pics from demolition to rebuild. We replaced a good deal of our walls. DH is very talented and I'm stubborn enough to not give up while learning along the way. You are in good company.

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Kathleen & Joe
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1993 22L Classic, "Myrtle"
Eastern Kansas

It is sad to say, but in my case of leaking windows and rotted walls and beams, it was that the opening in the wall for the window install was cut too large and in an irregular rather than uniform shape. Window manufacturer says there needs to be at least 3/8" overlap between the wall and the window frame for the butyl calk to seal the overlap. In fact, the opening had to be exactly the size of the window in order to achieve the 3/8" overlap between the opening and window trim. In my case there were places where there was only 1/16" overlap and therefore the butyl calk was totally ineffective at the top of the window. I ultimately had to build closure pieces into the wall to make the opening smaller in order to seal the window. Unfortunately, you may have the same problem.

Only way you will know what is going on is to get in there and take a look. I have a 1969, and even then, the plywood is super thin and easily warps and degrades. The most important thing is to get the leak stopped sooner rather than later, get a tarp over it or something until you can get in there to take a look. I was lucky with mine, the plywood was junk, but I was able to get everything dried out and just used liquid nails to put "decorative" plywood over top of the junk plywood inside. My walls are painted so it's hard to even tell it's there.