I've had some good, some bad, and even some ugly....but today I was introduced to....

......COYOTE UGLY!  

It wasn't bad enough that the bathroom toilet had not been "cleaned" before getting stored in the woods and weather, but I discovered the other day that the dark water had not been drained. That had sat in there for a minimum of three years, and I'm thinking closer to 5.  I dealt with that.

Today, I took on trying to get some support under the shower floor so I could repair the crack. There is no support under the center of that unit. When you step on it, it sinks down. No use trying to repair it without the support under there:

My only real access to get something under in any way was through the storage area in the back side of the camper.  That was crowded up with two large batteries and some home made wooden trays to hold them (gotta wonder on that....) on top of two layers of carpeting and lots of wires...and some wallpaper that extended down from the bathroom hiding the back that was in really sad shape.

I removed everything...and that's when things fell apart. Considering how good the walls in the bathroom looked, solid....fresh plywood...I did not expect this.  Literally, things fell into heaps of compost and rotted pieces of wood. Wet, nasty stuff.  The more I ripped stuff the more rot I found.  There was a piece of particle board shoved behind the bathroom enclosure, that was hiding the rotted frame pieces.  I yanked those out and they fell apart in my hands.  The floor in that area was the same, wet composted wood. That explains the frames that were made up to hold those batteries.  The floor was too squishy on it's own.

Here's the first pile I took out:

So, I just had to crawl under the closet area and look at the other end of the back...and yepper....same thing:

I cleaned out as much as I could on the storage compartment end, there seemed to have been very little lumber in there, 2x2's was pretty much it. The rest of the very back wall had the 2" foam, and those were heavy and soaked to the hilt.  I have a fan blowing in there now to dry up what is left and I will check things over when it's dry.

At this point I'm in the boat that Russ was in with his MMP.  I really don't know if this is something I want to continue with.  One positive is that whomever did the partial rebuild in the back/bathroom did do a nice job, but stopped short about 3 feet. Below that is all the bad stuff.   So, it isn't the whole back end that's a problem, it is the lower end.  Good and solid blonde wood where the window and all that is.

I am going to think this over, and after things have dried out, I'll make a decision here.

Comments, suggestions welcome..but here's what I won't do. I won't be pulling the back open by removing the siding/window/etc.  That's where I will stop any future restoration.  That's way too much work for just myself and this thing is too old to be worth it to take that on by myself.

Hope everyone else is having a better day.  LOL

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Comment by Tina on July 16, 2017 at 5:48pm

Well, ya'll...encouragement is a good thing. Thank you. :)


After a long trip to the RV surplus place, I had time to think on this and I'm going to continue with it.  I spent about $60.00 on the little things that are needed, I found the prices for the major components to be high there. I'll be better off ordering online.  I picked up a 50' roll of eterna-bond for the roof, that did save me about twenty bucks as opposed to ordering online. And I got the two air vents for the back of the trailer.  They weren't very expensive at all.

After I get my dinner in me, I'm going to head out and remove the closet base/floor. That will give me a lot more working room, and I'll be able to access the back much easier.

I'll do a blog post on progress sometime this week or over the weekend depending on how the time goes.  Thanks for the responses, it is truly appreciated!

Comment by Ken and Cindy Haney on July 16, 2017 at 10:54am
Hi Tina, sorry to hear about the bathroom. I hope you find the fotitude to see it through after all the work you have done. I just wanted to let you know you are one of my inspirations to take on what we just found in ours. We figured if you can persavire on your own so can we. Good luck with what ever you decide.
Comment by Rich Thomas on July 16, 2017 at 9:35am

Hi Tina, I really feel bad about your findings and I sure hope you can find a solution. I'm with Russ on this one, some times we have to step back and re access . Good luck on what ever you choose to do.

Comment by Gary Rowe on July 16, 2017 at 12:27am

Hi Tina Sorry to hear bout your rig found a lot of the same thing in mine I stayed the coarse and got it fixed as for the crack in the shower Lowes sell a marine caulk made just for fiberglass it's expensive but worth every penny just wish my old brain could remember the name I used it on my roof ( it's fiberglass ) it's about $20 a tube hope this helps God Bless Gary

Comment by Tina on July 15, 2017 at 9:59pm

I hear ya Russ.  The only thing I have any dollars out on is the material for the cushions etc., and what lumber I have had to buy so far.  Most of the lumber I had here already, but I had to put out for the plywood, expensive stuff.

Everything else I have found has been right here in the house that had been planned for other projects through the years. So.....I won't be out too much if this comes to a halt.  It can all be put away for maybe a different RV at some point, something with a whole lot less damage.  Dunnoooo............

Comment by Russell E Johnson on July 15, 2017 at 9:43pm
Knowing when to cut your losses is key. Jumping too soon and the material you got is just sitting there. Not soon enough and frustration becomes the main focus. It is a tough place to be and make good decisions. I firmly believe that you will be just fine and do the best thing.
Comment by Tina on July 15, 2017 at 9:40pm

And and idea just hit me on how to fix that cracked shower floor without getting under it......it is shaped perfectly for what I'm thinking.  Just need to figure out the drainage.  Hmmm.....

'scuse me whilst I think on the keyboard. LOL

Comment by Tina on July 15, 2017 at 9:35pm

Thank M K,

I'm still rolling this around.  Maybe it will look better once I've had a nights' sleep on it.  I've taken on so much already with this, I'm wearing thin. LOL

So many plans.  I found some beveled mirrors and was going to inscribe one of them for the back wall above the window in the bathroom with "The Diggity Dodge" on it.  I dug out some old stuff that would be perfect in an older camper, the material is here waiting for the cushions/curtains/drapes. I found some vinyl wallpaper I had planned to use that is beautiful stuff and I have 11 yards of it....I have the linoleum for the floors....

I dunno....It's come a long way. Do I really want to give up now?  Dunnoooooo......LOL

Comment by M K Wilkie on July 15, 2017 at 9:13pm
Tina I am so saddened to hear and see this. You've gone the extra mile alone with your rig and I know you think its decision time. That is so discouraging.
So sorry.
Comment by Tina on July 15, 2017 at 9:03pm

It's got to look better tomorrow, we are heading for the RV surplus supplies place in the morning. It's two hours away, and if I think this is not worth the effort and costs then I won't waste the time going.

I dove into the passenger side end where the closet is.  I did manage to get to the bad corner and was able to remove the rotted frame wood that goes up to the roof. I had to cut out some of the 2" foam to get in there, and now that I have room I think I can put a replacement board in there. Once secured to the channeling (I always forget what the metal framing is called outside, so I call it channeling), then I will cut some fresh foam insulation and replace what I cut out.

The 2x2's across the back are between the foam squares and are not screwed in. I assume it was glue, so I might be able to just remove the rotted ones and slide in some fresh ones with lots of glue on them.  That's if there is enough working room to get them in there. That foam insulation is not budging, it takes a ton of effort to get it to release from that aluminum siding. That's a good thing.  Either way, that rotted stuff has to come out. All I have to do is pull on it and it falls apart.  LOL

Tomorrow morning I will look at the other end, and make a decision.  The corner piece up to the roof looks pretty good except for about a foot on the bottom of it. I have zero chance of getting to that one if it had to be replaced. So hopefully just one section of it....then the floor....arrrrgggg.....

 

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