To peel the skin or not to peel it

[Ron Wendler]

I just became the proud owner of a 1969 14' Forester. Looking inside there are some signs of leaking around windows but the inside ceiling looks good and doesn't appear to be sagging. The outside skin seems to be loose here and there but it may be from snow weight between the cross members. The roof seams have been coated at one time but its chipping off. The areas around the vents appear to be, for the most part sealed. I don't know. Maybe I just take the windows out and seal around them and coat the roof with an RV sealer. I am new to this world. I would enjoy any advice. 

[Lakota Wolf]

Nice vintage find.....If you do take the windows out to reseal,, You can get a rough idea if you have water damage in the walls. The windows having a wood frame to support them, if they are heavily damaged,, its a pretty good indicator that there is some water damage below the lower framing. Your very lucky that someone coated the roof and made sure the vents were sealed,,, roof leaks are usually the *norm in aquiring older RV's. From what you posted,, it sounds like you have a decent rig to work with.. Take pictures of your repairs and restorations, we would love to see them as you progress.

[Russell E Johnson]

From my experience with leaking windows, you have got a problem if the walls show water damage they are gong to have to be replaced. There was one widow that was leaking in our MH and the wall is just rotten. I will be pulling the paneling out to assess the damage to the studs and probably will have to replace the insulation. What other damage i find will have to be repaired also. So do not presume that everything is fine, if the walls are soft or if there is damage when you pull the windows, you are looking at redoing the walls.  I wold say that since the skin is loose, you have a structural problem and are looking at a rebuild.  Sorry to put such a damper on your terrific find, but expect the worst and enjoy it when there is less damage than anticipated.

[Ron Wendler]

Does it work to replace wall framing from the inside without disturbing the outside skin? I would think there should be some damage to the inside ceiling panels if there were leakage. I'm guessing and know nothing of this. 

[Russell E Johnson]

The roof and ceiling may be just fine, you describe the seams being sealed along with the vents, etc. Is the roof where the loose pieces are located?  That will occur just from the metal stretching over time. I thought you meant that the looseness was in the wall panels.  The only way that I know to lift the sagging areas is to pull the ceiling panels and install studs in between the existing studs in the ceiling.  And as long as it is apart just as well install new insulation, I am partial to the spray foam insulation as opposed to using fiberglass insulation.  Its R value is higher per inch than fiberglass and will also help seal any holes in the roof and walls.  But there are those who have redone metal trailers that will be far more competent to speak to this topic than I am.  Hopefully they will chime in.  Brooke and her family are rebuilding a 1968 Jet trailer from the ground up.   Here is the link to her page, contact her, she may be able to answer your questions better than I can.  Brooke's Home Page

I would clean and seal the roof, pull a window and look at the wood supporting the window.  Side note here, use regular butyl tape when re-sealing the windows, Eternabond is way too hard to work with and leaves a mess that is hard to clean up because it is so sticky.  I used it on one window a year ago and am still trying to get the sticky mess cleaned up.  Eternabond is great for roof applications, but not for side walls where a neat appearance is important.  Then look at the wall panels inside, if they are soft then the panel should be replaced. If you replace a wall panel then you would assess the damage to the wall studs and insulation.  I am guessing here, but am fairly confident that you can replace individual studs without removing the outside skin.

[Dennis]

Water damage is like an iceberg..... if you can see a little, there is probably a lot more under the surface that you can't see. I started out thinking i could just replace the paneling inside mine without pulling off the skin, but it seems these trailers are constructed inside out. I wound up pulling the skin because the damage was much worse than I initially thought.

I did replace a small piece of birch by the dinette from the inside, just have to take a lot of time cutting and fitting.

[Ron Wendler]

I did some checking and I'll be pulling the skin.

[Ron Wendler]

Got some pics of the damage I'm finding. Looks to be the top edge wood and rafters on the ends that are bad. The wood in the walls around the windows isn't to bad.

[Russell E Johnson]

That is a real shame that you have to pull the skin, but one thing about doing that, when you are done you will have a whole new trailer with no weak spots. Also all the mold will be gone so you will not have that problem.  Good Luck.

[Ron Wendler]

Ya Russ I'll feel more secure about it knowing it is solid. I'm wishen it were spring or I had a heated garage. This will be tough to stare at all winter.