Top half.

[Laurie79]

1991 31' HiLo BonVoyage. After our dust here in El Paso, TX my little duct tape has gotten worse. The foam insulation is coming down and like on the adjacent side by the door, the frame has rusted. Any suggestions on fixing this or just reweld the entire top half?. My daughter and I live in here year round. The previous owners due to health left her up and accessable to years of "desert" rot. This is a beautiful trailer. Love it but having so much problems.

 

[JackandJanet]

Laurie - I'm sorry you're having this problem, but I'm having trouble understanding what it is. You say "duct tape" but the pictures show something kinda shiny blue and white below the window. Is that the tape? It looks to me like the outside skin might be pulling up away from the frame at the bottom, is this what is happening? If so, I suspect you could push it back and secure it with a strip of EternaBond tape all along that edge, horizontally, not vertically, the way it seems you may have applied the tape.

When you say the foam insulation is coming down, do you mean inside the trailer? That's a whole different repair.

It IS possible to replace a portion of a frame that has rusted with new metal, but if the strength has not been compromised, it can probably be salvaged with the rust stopping coating from POR-15, which you can get from Amazon here: Amazon.com Rustoleum also makes a rust-stopping paint that you can probably find at Home Depot and it is much cheaper. It comes in spray cans or brush-on, and I suspect brush on would be easier for you to apply there.

If I'm misunderstanding your problem, blame it on my advanced age (84), and try to explain it so I can understand. I, and the rest of the HiLo family would like to help you.

- Jack

 

[sam-HILO]

I'm with Jack. Just get a roll of externa bond tape off amazon and do a patch. We had to strip our 1990 Hi Lo on the rear side of the door back to the fiberglass. The frame had broke. DH had to tear out the wardrobe. If I remember correctly he had to put a pipe inside the pipe to boost the side up and make it strong. He also replaced all the screws on the underside of the top half with stainless steel screws. My heart goes out to you. I always wish i lived closer to help out. Niagara Falls, NY.DH was in a bind to get repairs done as we were leaving for camping the next day. I was sick and had to be hospitalized that evening. I told him to go anyway and have a good time with our HiLo club. The Nurses took care of me. Take Care

 

[Laurie79]

This is the outside at a far view and this is the inside. I have started rewelding the frame, interior ceiling is fine, but all the walls are the same...
Weather damaged. Bottom half is perfect, floor and bottom wall.

 

[JackandJanet]

Yup, looks to me like there has been quite a bit of water damage (which causes the wrinkling on the inside walls). I think the window needs to be taken out and resealed, but I suspect the wall it's in is a goner. The wall CAN be replaced, if you're handy and since you say you've started welding repairs, I'm guessing you are.

- Jack

 

[Laurie79]

Yup, looks to me like there has been quite a bit of water damage (which causes the wrinkling on the inside walls). I think the window needs to be taken out and resealed, but I suspect the wall it's in is a goner. The wall CAN be replaced, if you're handy and since you say you've started welding repairs, I'm guessing you are.

- Jack

Thank you. Yes the roof is shot and all the windows and doors are just the same. Basically I got to redo the entire top half. I appreciate the help thank you.