Heartbroken

[Thomas G.]

I took a 1" thick ice sheet off the top of a motor home, on edge into my windshield at 70mph. Not fun.

[Pam Garlow]

How awful after you did all that work to make sure it was in good towable condition So glad that no one was hurt.

[JohnF]

I'll start the bidding on the incarcerated beagle at $20.
Can he pick locks also?

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by Darwin Maring

Be thankful. A couple of years ago here in Virginia the top of a BarBQ that was in the back of a pickup flew off and caused a multiple accident that killed several people.

The daughter of a buddy was injured when a Coleman Cooler came adrift off the top of a mo-home, and the idiot kid driving the car she was in swerved to miss it and rolled the car. 2 teenagers killed, 3 injured, including my buddy's daughter. The moho just kept on trucking, didn't stop. I had forgotten all about that until Darwin posted to the thread - must have been about 15 years ago, just outside of Bellingham, Wa.

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by JohnF

I'll start the bidding on the incarcerated beagle at $20.
Can he pick locks also?

I suspect that the jailbird is actually Gina's cat.
Yes, cats can pick locks (both of mine can, at any rate!)

[John_M]

I'm sorry Gina, that truly sucks. I've been in love with that trailer since the pics of it were first posted, so I can imagine how you feel.

[Gina D.]

Scampbum, yes I host. National Forests in the NW, Forest Service.

Dave.. the cat is very well trained and purrfect. That is a Dog in the jail. He is a stinker.

$20? hmnnn.. tempting.

I did go back this morning. What I found was a comedy of bad timing. Several miles of very clean siding and median and big orange loaded Cal Trans trash bags every 1/2 mile or so. I had to pick the night before freeway litter patrol was scheduled to clean sweep. I stopped at a few bags that looked like they were sitting on top of a big flat thing..all turned out to be cardboard, or plywood.

If it was there, it was busted to bits inside one or more of those bags, or the crew truck carried it away.

Time to quit crying and fix the problem at hand....see below..

[Gina D.]

Went to Home Depot to cruise the "Long Flatish Thingy" sections to see if I could come up with something tht didn't look too dorky. I found this stuff, an extruded aluminum Drip Cap Door Sweep that is 1 1/2" high by 3' long. Good shape and look, + I didn't need to cut anything. I needed exactly 6' of whatever thingy I decided on. I bought 2 and tossed the pictured rubber sweep, not needing that part. They were 7 bones each.

It has a flat mount, yet is a little bendable, and the extrusion has a little "Foot" in it where the rubber sweep slides into. It sits on the coach perfectly and covers all the holes left by the missing rivets.

[CindyL]

Our Uhaul did not have a window covering when we got it. The hubby would not have one now unless it was transparent. He loves being able to see the traffic behind as he drives.

CindyL

[Gina D.]

First things first. Its all in the prep (I hope!)

I pounded the leftovers from 3 broken rivets down below the level of the fiberglass

Then I pulled off the 5 lbs of old butyl, dicor and Silicone that had been sealing the piano hinge mounting area/rail.

*Note. Old butyl cleans off effortlessly with vinegar and water. Dicor peels away easily with a sharp chisel to coax it along and the thin "Footprint" of the left over dicor can be sealed over again after it is cleaned with acetone.

Fortunately, the silicone was above the area I need to work in, so I did a reasonable clean off of the "wads and chunks" and will try the nifty 3m stuff mentioned in another thread to get the footprint off when I get more settled (Fixes on the road are SO much fun!)

With most of the surface cleaned with vinegar and water, and a good cleaning with acetone over that, I filled the holes with Dicor NON leveling sealant. I know this should have been glassed over, or at least epoxied, but it will all be covered and when it comes time to reseal, I will hopefully be in a better place to do proper glass work.

I dry fitted the first Drip Cap, marked where the mounting holes needed to be, drilled pilot holes for the #12 1/2 sheet metal screws I got. (Yeah, it DOES seem silly to drill new holes when you have just spent so much time fixing other holes right next to them!)

I fitted the back of the drip caps with butyl and mounted the caps with the screws after dipping the threads in Dicor.

Here is the first one mounted.

[Gina D.]

Next, I did the same for the other side. I grumbled a bit as it seems I got pieces that were from different dies and the nice curvy flange is not the same radius on both. I will have to find a trim bit for the seam. I think I have one, but I need to wait.

I can't finish the job completely without self leveling Dicor (For the top of the Cap) The one and only RV supply store here is closed for the holiday weekend! I also need cap covers for the screw heads. I have only seen silver ones at RV stores.

Anyway, It looks like it was always intended to be there, It covers the holes AND it will actually serve its drip cap purpose over the window..somewhat.

and this is what those of us in the used RV business call.."An old Gypsy Trick" For the holes where the arm was and on the other side (I am pulling that one off) I will mount reflectors. I will patch those holes with dicor and eternabond.

[Pam Garlow]

For 'fixing on the road' I think you did a pretty nice job!

[Daniel A.]

Your handy nice job.

[John_M]

That really does look like it was always supposed to be there. Looks great!

[theresa p]

looks great, gina! those products you used--would that be sufficient for me to use to repair a small pea-sized hole from a stone hitting the front of our trailer? i intend on coating the front with grizzlygrip but i know i need to do something to repair this hole..but i don't have any experience in glass repair.....any ideas?

[HikeSticks]

Hi Gina,
Sorry for your mishap; there's always something.
My Trillium arrived without the front rock guard. I had the local machine shop make a frame from 1/2" square tubing with one central cross brace; plenty strong. I covered it with fiberglass roofing; inexpensive and durable. Not factory but functional. I had a shop in Michigan make up a full length offset aluminum piano hinge; perfect.

Your 'on the road' repair looks great. Good luck.
Barrie

[Mike Magee]

I would so like to cuddle your beagles! They are the cutest.

It's a good thing you know how to do all this stuff. You sure can make the lemonade.

[Gina D.]

Thersa, I assume you are talking about the Dicor. Dicor is not really intended to fill holes, it is designed as a sealant for around items IN penetrations, such as roof vents, ac units, etc. It is also used as a pliable adhesive to hold things in place, such as wires on roofs from solar panels, antennas. (Not really designed for that, but it is a side effect that is commonly used) It is a Lap Sealent..it makes a nice barrier wher the seams of the skin on stickies come together, and it is also good with ridgeline seams on motorhmes where the sidewalls meet the roof, as well as around the seams from wall to roof on stickies with gutter rail. If you have an awning, you will no doubt find a bead if it all along the top of the rail the holds the canvas in.

There are two kinds of Dicor like this. Self leveling, which is thinner than the non leveling stuff I used. It actually seeks the lowest points (Like water) and oozes down into open spaces. This is the good stuff for roof sealing points, and anything on a horizontal surface. If you squeeze a 2" diameter lumpy blob an inch high on a horizontal surface and walk away.. when you come back in 5 mins, the blob will have nicely leveled itself into a 3 inch diameter smooth surfaced thingy with a skin on it. Thats why it works so well "Up Top". This is the stuff I need to finish the job properly at the top of the drip cap. It will seek and find any gaps not filled by the butyl and will seal the butyl as well.

The non leveling stuff is used on vertical surfaces. It does not seek lower ground and is pretty much gravity defiant. It stays where you put it. It also makes great "thread lock" that is removable. Thats why I dipped the screws in it, and it forms a nice little gasket under the head when some of it gets pushed out of the threads when tightened down.

The problem wilth filling holes on a cosmetic surface is that it is not very pretty. It doesn't sand easily, if at all. I used it because it was something I had on hand, and it was going to be covered up by a chunk of metal. No harm, no foul. Eventually, it will need to be resealed. How long, I can't say.

When exposed to air and the weather, Dicor will become hard and crack in about 3-5 years. It needs to be redone..this is the dreaded roof sealing stickie owners get to do as due diligence. The GOOD news is that you can simply dicor over the old stuff as long as it is clean and free of loose bits. This can be done several times, but eventually, the whole wad will need to come up and you start from scratch. Unlike silly cone, it is not all that hard to remove and it comes off cleanly.

After all that..my answer to your question is, no, I wouldn't use it for YOUR repair. The surface you are fixing needs to be smooth. I would see what I could use as a dowel in there, cut as flush as you can and use fiberglass resin over it and sand flush.

[theresa p]

gina---what an excellently-explained tutorial. i thank you immensely. i fully understand these products' use now and i will explore further the resources to complete my repair before the grizzly grip is applied.
thanks so very, very much.

[Robin G]

Awww Gina, sorry to hear of your lost F glass part. But your repair looks great! Enjoy your summer!