restoration thoughts and suggestions

[motorpig2342]

I recently started back on my 98 restoration. The roof and upper walls in my unit need replacing and I'm in the process of tearing those out. I've removed some of the windows and plan on removing them all. Like some of us I noticed many pin holes in the aluminum roof. After cleaning the roof thoroughly I put tape (EternaBond RSW-4-50 RoofSeal Sealant Tape) over every hole I found after injecting it with (Dicor 501LSW-1 Self-Leveling Lap Sealant). After taping all the edges of the roof, around the skylights and vents, I'm now going to paint the roof and over the tape with a couple of thick coats of (KST COATINGS KST063600-16 Elastomeric Roof Coating).

Once this is complete I will be moving back to the inside demo. I'm tearing out all the rotted wood and even the foam in the areas I have rust on the framing. Plan on polishing the metal and getting all the rust possible off before painting the framing with Rustoleum. I'll then replace the foam and install 5mm underlayment (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Underla...ual-0-196-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-431178/203183010) as my walls and possibly the ceiling. I was planing on using something else more water durable such as (https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-ft-x-8-ft-White-090-FRP-Wall-Board-MFTF12IXA480009600/100389836) on the ceiling but its kind of expensive. What do yall think? Would you use the same underlayment on the ceiling as on the walls? I was just thinking about if I were to get another roof leak the more expensive stuff would stand up better. But its much more expensive. If I do use the underlayment throughout, I plan on trimming out all the joints on the ceiling with an accent color. Would you paint the ceiling white or leave it raw? Would you paint the side of the underlayment thats facing the roof with anything to weatherproof it? I'm just kinda torn on the look I'm going for I guess.

The lower portion of the camper needs nothing. The floor is solid and the factory wood looking panels and cabinets look great. I was considering painting all the factory wood looking panels though with maybe a cream color, then the upper areas will be the before mentioned raw wood look. Any suggestions?

 

[sam-HILO]

HiLo restoration

Motorpig, Good you are getting back on your project. When we did our water damage repair DH just coated the rusty frame with rust oleum. We might have used a primmer. Many products for painting rust. Just trying to save you some work. This was the advice given to us by J&R. Our walls consisted of 1/8 underlayment then foam panels..Then we used 1/8th wood with wallpaper on it. The paneling was from Georgia pacific. We used Lexel caulk and expanding great stuff to fill in any air gaps. If you are going to strip all the way back to the fiberglass then J&R told us to coat the interior fiberglass with 3M Bondo. This will seal up any holes you can't see. 3M has a web site on this liquid product. You will need to use a industrial respirator and it can be applied with a chip brush. DH used heavy duty liquid nails to put all the wall layers together. He purchased a floor roller to help with pressing the wall layers together. It did not eat the foam.Cheapest at wallmart. Start by covering your floor and counter tops with cardboard and duct tape. Plastic covers on the coach. Glad you are going to take out all windows and reseal with butyl tape and Lexel caulk. If you are able remove the wall board in big pieces to use as a pattern. If not then do measured drawings. Take pictures so you remember cabinet placement 6months from now. DH used his multi tool quite a bit. Harbor freight has one that is reasonably priced. I think you will be fine with underlayment,foam then more underlayment for your walls. You might want something more waterproof for the BR. We don't shower in our HiLo. The space serves us better for storage. We didn't have roof damage so I can't advise you on that. When you rip the wall out where the awning support is you will want to insert a piece of metal to reinforce the area. That way you have something more solid to put awning hardware. Take your time and all with be worth it when you are out camping and are Hi and dry!! When you think you are all done you may want to tackle replacing the gasket between the top and bottom of the HiLo.

 

[motorpig2342]

Yeah, I'm hoping the 5 mm underlayment works out on the walls and ceiling. I was a little worried about it being thinner, although its closer to the factory thickness. My worry is that it'll be prone to not lay as flat as the thicker stuff. I'd hate to get everything up and glued to discover that you can see humps in the walls. I'm a little worried about the ceiling too. I'm thinking that when I remove all the rotted wood and then the foam, the wood layer between the foam and the roof will be to deteriorated to be able to glue new foam to it. If I cant get the foam to hold, then I obviously wont be able to get the ceiling to hold to the foam. Last night I started removing all my corner trim off the outsides and cleaning all the factory "calk" off the painted surfaces. That's a pretty though job by itself. I'm removing and putting fresh paint on all the outer trim and then installing with new Butyl tape, Dicor and stainless screws and new inlay. I'm probably going a little overboard I guess, but I enjoy doing this stuff. I've owned several campers and have restored one prior to this one. I still have a 30 foot Conquest bunk house that is my primary camper. I'm hoping that once I complete this one that I'll be inclined to sale my Conquest. But if not then I'll be learning how to do this stuff on cheaper campers and will be better when working on more expensive ones.

 

[sam-HILO]

Renovations

We didn't end up with any humps in our walls. You should be fine as long as you use materials the same thickness as what you take out. Don't know if you saw this. look on photobucket 9-3-2013 Link to 3Sam TLPX's library of restoration. Words and pictures. Keep us posted.