Not exactly a "new" topic - sorry. I've read about a dozen pages of responses on this topic and am trying to boil it down a bit with regard to "who" and "how much". I've seen MOT and Thomas Welding and someone else recommended Old Town, all located in the Nacogdoches area. I will have to have work done on my coach, hopefully this fall, and am looking for recommendations and am trying to get an idea of what to budget. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Sven
Sven,
Without knowing the extend of the damage, estimating is virtually impossible.
Could range from a couple of hundred dollars to a high of $30,000 another forum member experienced where the entire basement structure was compromised and had to be replaced.
I seems like there are a lot of bulkhead/subframe problem variations. Some from driving on salt treated roads and some because of a water leak. Without the ability to pull off sections of the underbelly, it hard to know or estimate how extensive the damage is. Ours was clean looking but anytime a coach is driven in the rain even without salt, the water seeps behind the big angle iron and starts the rust jacking process. We had several broken bolts and rust behind the angle iron but the tubing was OK. I put a borescope inside the tubing but just guessing about the rest of it. After you do make a decision on who will do the repair, you won't know the extent of the damage until the rectangular tubing is exposed. Seems like things always cost more than expected but never less. Frustrating!
Pierce
I understand the issues with what might be a problem and that the cost is dependent on the extent of damage. MOT gave me a rough estimate of $5-10k. I'm not sure what the relationship between MOT and Foretravel (which also has a service department), but MOT doesn't look too impressive on Google Earth.
If you explore your area, you may find a welding shop that can do an excellent job without the time and expense of driving thousands of miles to get the job done. Good welders can also be excellent craftsmen and with drawings and photos in hand, let you know if it's within their ability. I would ask custom hot rod shops who they use. These specialty restoration people know the latest in welding, painting, rustproofing, etc. You only have to go to a "cruise night" to appreciate the level of quality these people can do.
If you do drive a long distance to have the work done, you also have the expense of a round trip flight plus not being able to follow the progress as the repair is done.
Pierce
Sven I would give the RV shop n Temecula a call. They may not do it but steer you in the right direction. I can't recall their name but seem to be highly regarded. With all the heavy equipment in the LA area, there should be a shop that could do this work.
When you look at MOT by sat make sure you look across the highway to their expansion area.
Temecula Valley RV
This Bulkhead issue is getting to sound like a money maker for the shops that are willing to do it.
I shake my head at the possible cost of up to 30k for what is more a tedious remove and replace of various systems and wiring and some tubing and welding.. Copying the frame and making a new one should not be a 2nd mortgage for some but is starting to look like it.
Wish I had my younger body back as I would love to jump in and with my neighbour welders help this would be a nice side line for sure, and a finacially good one by the sound of it!
JohnH
John,
DO IT.
A new cottage industry.
30 k is a boatload of man hours, maybe they are doing the new frames in stainless.
I called Temecula (where I also got an estimate for repairing wheel well after tire incident) and asked about bulkhead repair. The rep I talked to had no idea of what I was referring to. They could spend a lot more time on the job, since they had not done this before, while charging me the same rate. There is no question that they would do a good job in the end.
We had planned on going to Nacogdoches for the "ladies" driving course at the end of October, so there would be a double purpose in making the trip.
If I had a shop, I'd learn how to weld, just to do this job. I will not pay that kind of money.
Something that is not generally known is that the bulkhead repair work done at Foretravel all these years was done by Wayne , who is now at Old Town . I didn't realize that until I spoke to Lance . Believe that is where I would head to . Brad Metzger
Brett, you know what, I would love to do it but at moment I am so busy renovating a modular, putting a kitchen in for neighbour and a wait list for others to finish work I started months ago. I was wondering why my back and shoulders would not mend after fall 3 months ago but all the crawling around etc is slowly doing me in.
JohnH
If you are near Colorado and need a repair please send me a message.
What always strikes me about these bulkhead jobs is why the original piecemeal framing is faithfully duplicated. Build a reasonable frame out of fewer, heavier members, have it hot dipped galvanized or epoxy painted, fill voids with structural foam (corecell or airex), vacuum bag glass top and bottom, install. Might even be possible to largely eliminate the steel is someone had the capable of running FEA on it. Make a production item out of it.
30K for this job is absurd... John is right in that a competent tradesman can see it for what it is....not relying on fear of uneducated owners to price a repair. This predatory pricing makes me sick.