Scamp belly band leaking??? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-17-2011, 12:08 PM   #1
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Name: Jon
Trailer: 1983 13' Scamp
Massachusetts
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Scamp belly band leaking???

Hi all, I am starting to think that the belly band on our Scamp is leaking (I have replaced the windows and resealed). I have not pulled off the ensolite but I was under the impression this joint was fiberglassed over at the factory. Also below the belly band inside some of the ensolite has pulled away from the hull. Is this a common problem?
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Old 03-17-2011, 06:19 PM   #2
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It has occurred before. SCroll to the last photo of the Here a few yahoo scampers have reported it I think. Kamperbob there will know who it was.
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Old 03-17-2011, 06:24 PM   #3
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Thanks Ken, I looked again tonight and am pretty sure that is where the leak is. I have already replaced the rear floor since the original was totally rotten. Probably why water did not pool on the old floor, it just poured through... Well I guess this weekend I'll pull the belly band and try to fix from outside as I really don't want to pull the interior ensolite off.
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Old 03-17-2011, 06:34 PM   #4
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If it's the rear, check the bolts that run through the body for the spare too. I'd start there before pulling the belly band.
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:15 PM   #5
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Thanks for the tip, I think this camper leaked from pretty much every possible place . I have already removed those bolts and glassed over the holes (it seemed like a pretty poor way of mounting a tire). I am going to try a Harbor Freight tire mount bolted to the bumper. I have also removed all rivets and tabbed the cabinets in. Also, we pulled all the windows and resealed the front and the back and replaced the sides with radius cornered replacement windows. About all that is left is the band and I am pretty convinced it is leaking. The ensolite is firmly attached right above the band but right below it has pulled away from the hull. Maybe I'll take the time to polish the band while I have it off, it would look better with the planned new paint job.
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:29 PM   #6
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Actually Jon, the way the spare is mounted it's pretty secure. There's a piece of plywood fiberglassed to the inside of the back wall and the bolts run through that (carriage bolts with the heads to the interior of the trailer) at least on mine.

Be careful of hanging a spare off the bumper. The Scamp bumper isn't a heavyweight. When the trailer bounces, the bracket with a pretty heavy tire/wheel will flex on the bumper. Check it often for cracking or you may leave your spare on the highway somewhere.
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Old 03-18-2011, 12:56 PM   #7
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Hi Donna, on our 83 the threaded rod did not go through the plywood that the table connected to. They were actually below that plywood and the hull flexed a bit. There is some gelcoat crazing there. I glassed on a new piece of plywood for the table (yup the original was rotten) and added some stiffening strips from the bottom of the plywood to the floor. I do think though that our camper was a bit flexible when we bought it as the floors were all rotten. Anyway, I'll make sure to keep an eye on the mount.
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Old 03-18-2011, 01:05 PM   #8
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It's the belly band.
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Old 03-18-2011, 02:09 PM   #9
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Yeah, I am pretty convinced. It is coming off this weekend, hopefully I will be able to fix it from outside.
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Old 03-18-2011, 05:42 PM   #10
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Jon, if it's leaking, plan to fix it with fiberglass resin. I wouldn't suggest caulking. You want this to be a permanent fix, not a temporary (even if it's years) fix.
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Old 03-18-2011, 06:16 PM   #11
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I just got back in from pulling it off. I now have no doubts that this is the leak. In places there is an 1/8" gap (not all the way through though). It would have been simple when this was built to put something like 3M 5200 in there before they put it together. So, since I want to fix this from the outside (don't want to ruin the ensolite) I am thinking of filling the gap with bondo, then layering a couple of layers of light weight glass around the joint. There seemed to be some room left when the belly band was on. This might be a bit of a pain though as I do not have any thin fiberglass tape, will have to cut strips. I'll think about it more, maybe 5200 might be an answer.
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Old 03-18-2011, 06:26 PM   #12
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If you're going to use any caulk, be sure to take pictures, measurements, etc. If this should happen again, even if you're not the current owner, you'll want to know where you should start looking for the leak and share the info with anyone who may purchase the trailer from you. That would be a nice thing to do.
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Old 03-18-2011, 09:39 PM   #13
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Jon, go to autozone and get a quart size can Bondo Glass made by Bondo but it has fiberglass strand in it, it mixes like Bondo and it sands like Bondo but I think it is much better especially on an egg.
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Old 03-18-2011, 11:09 PM   #14
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Jon,

I had the same problem with my Casita after I bought it last Year...Removed the belly band around the whole trailer 2 pcs..Gap was about 1/8 " or less except the right rear corner where it was leaking 3/8" or more...Filled gaps with Lexel clear caulk and let set-up...Installed belly band in another bead of Lexel and reriveted...No more leaks...Lexel is made to use on fiberglass..Stickie stuff but works great...cleans up with lacquer thinner...

Good Luck
Steve
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Old 03-19-2011, 05:43 AM   #15
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Greg, yup that was the bondo I was considering. I think it would work well.

Steve, I am not familiar with Lexel. I'll look into it. What I was thinking of using (if I did not use the bondo) was 3M 5200. Althought referered to as caulk in a previous post it is far from that. It is a polyurethane adhesive and has been used in the boating industry for years for hull to deck joints and underwater thru hull fittings. Some of the lesser expensive boats even forgo mechanical fasteners and just use the adhesive. This is not considered a temporary fix and if you have tried to remove 5200 you would know that. I have, and ended up having to use a propane torch to soften it to remove a thru hull on a sailboat as I bent a 10" wrench trying to spin it out without using heat. If I used this stuff to put the belly band back on it would never come off again with out destroying the camper. My plan was to just fill the gap with it though, then use a less agressive sealent for the band.

Where do I draw my fiberglass experience from? 13 years of living on, cruising and outfitting an offshore sailboat. I also enjoy custom molding fiberglass parts and have extensively used both epoxy and polyester resins along with the associated fillers.

One last thing and I hope I do not offend, these campers were built to a price point. Given that, they are pretty nice and I am excited about ours. But, they were not built particularly strong (thin chopper gun fiberglass instead of hand laid glass, rivets instead of tabbing, OSB floors, and well, the way the belly band was done). Any of these would have raised the price of the camper, and in Scamps defense they probably did not think some guy would be interested in restoring a 28 year old camper. I am trying to rectify as many of these as possible in our refit.
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