This was the first indication of damage, I overlooked it at the dealer thinking that someone had spilled something in the cabinet. Turns out the cabinet had more than 2" of standing water in it for awhile.
I put a tarp on and raised front end so water would shed away from opening/damage.
Disassembly, Goals: "Do no harm" and "Don't use sawzall"
Before
After
Damage assessment
Road back
I started by getting the filon off the sleeper board. I used a floor scraper to break it free, then an oscillating tool to remove what was left. I hit the blade with a diamond hone every couple of minutes. The Filon is strong, but very susceptible to heat.
Repairing the sidewalls.
All new wood was encapsulated in 3 layers of System III epoxy before installation
I made clamps from 3/4" pine and some plumbers tape
Interior sidewall repair, 1/4" plywood used as "spring" clamps
New splice, butt joint with biscuits and screws, then routed two slots and installed 3mm plywood on both sides. Everything glued and then encapsulated in epoxy.
Rough cut opening. 1" thick material is hard on a pattern bit so I got as close to the line as possible with the saw.
I used the original board as the template under the new
I epoxied the Filon to the new board, 30 something clamps and every heavy object I could find.
3 coats of dye stain and 5 coats of urethane
1" plywood with a rabbit to hold 5mm plywood. The original was 3/4" with a 1/4" piece on top.
Installation of the front joint, I used the steel pieces on both sides of the wood almost like cauls and to keep everything flat. They were coated in packing tape to keep the epoxy from sticking.
I now believe that leaks in Class C cabover are a matter of when, not if, so I installed some weep holes in the front joint. The holes are threaded and have nylon bolts in them when closed.
Installation
The big lesson learned on install was, do not assume that the original install was square. I rebuilt everything to pretty tight tolerances and near perfectly square. When I put the board in it didn't fit and the screw holes I had pre drilled were not even close. Took it all apart again and the Aluminum frame of the RV was off 1/4" from the back of the board to the front. All the screws are self tapping and they were just shot into the RV at any old angle. So a screw that entered the board on one side can be 3/16" off coming out the other side. I ended up taking 1/8" off the board and re epoxying one end to get it in.
Everything installed. Ready for trim pieces.
Good news/bad news, looks just like it did before.
For more pictures
https://www.flickr.com/photos/15879404@N02/sets/72157648187787227/
The total time was around 30 hours.
Lessons learned
I took a lot of pictures but assumed I would have the project done in weeks, not months so videos would have been better. The little side cabinets are like a chinese puzzle.
The total time was around 30 hours.
Lessons learned
My big lesson learned was RVs are built as fast as possible, using a rough carpentry like style, I tried to approach it like a cabinet maker or machinist. I expected thing to be square, strait and even. In truth even the aluminum frame of the rig was not square. And I don't think they own a drill, everything is shot together with self tapping screws, so the holes can be almost anywhere in the frame or miss it altogether.
I had also never used epoxy to this extent(encapsulation etc). So it took me a while to get the hang of. The big lesson here for me was that 15 minutes is fevar ! you have time and don't need to rush even when working on the whole sleeper board. I rushed too much early on and put too much material. I set a timer and after I had the board covered in one coat I was certain it would have been 14+ minutes, it was 7. Also when using it on vertical surfaces use more thickener than you think you need, it thins a little as it starts to cure.
I took a lot of pictures but assumed I would have the project done in weeks, not months so videos would have been better. The little side cabinets are like a chinese puzzle.
