Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #125 – January 29, 2017, 09:42:20 pm T-man - quote...."So far everyone here with the type of structural damage that's being discussed has had their insurance pick up most, if not all of the cost. " end quoteAs much as I hate to contradict you, your statement is not completely accurate. As far as what you choose to do, it is your equipment and you can do what you wish. However, if your bottom "falls out" be prepared to have the sides of the coach crack from the basement floor to the roof and/or have the back end all off.Just sayin. Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #126 – January 29, 2017, 09:53:41 pm Scott,I am aware of what can happen to the coach if the basement floor is not kept intact, and I was just using a little poetic license with "the bottom falls out".My mistake on the insurance. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #127 – January 29, 2017, 09:57:09 pm Where to you get insurance to cover mechanical problems on a 14 year old coach? Quote from: Travelin' Man – January 29, 2017, 08:31:37 pmLike all RV's, FT's watertight integrity is primarily dependent on caulking................and there's a lot of caulking.My best assessment is that unless the coach has been in a salt-laden environment (ie: northern winter roads, a coastal location, orsubmerged from flooding on the coast) then damaging water penetration comes from above the floor in the form of a leak. So far everyone here with the type of structural damage that's being discussed has had their insurance pick up most, if not all of the cost. One of the greatest assets of an insurance policy is having peace of mind. If you don't have peace of mind then you should increase your coverage. Our FT is now 14 years old, with no sign of extended bulkhead or compartment floor frame damage to the original untreated steel.Being that old I'm sure there's some rust in there, and that it won't look brand-new if I tear it apart. So I'm going to go the other route; I'm going to do my very best to keep water from getting in anywhere, and if and when the bottom falls out I'm going to call my insurance company and file a claim, then get out to Coach Buck City and have it fixed. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #129 – January 29, 2017, 10:01:25 pm Water damage isn't mechanical. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #130 – January 29, 2017, 10:03:13 pm Quote from: Carol & Scott – January 29, 2017, 09:58:52 pm T-Man - Sign me up! How much on a 16 year old coach with 150000 miles. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #131 – January 29, 2017, 10:21:07 pm Scott,It most certainly is possible! The Roloks can fail about 1/4" to 3/8" from the head of the fastener from either road generated moisture thrown up by the wheels, freshwater overflow on the curb side, or freshwater or wastewater leaks from inside the utility compartment. The steel tubing forward of the bulkhead joint can pretty much only fail from utility compartment water intrusion, usually from penetrations in the top skin (most common, I would think), the bottom skin (less likely, unless in the case of high water), or leaky compartment door seals. In any of these cases, the route for water to get in there has got to be the result of caulking failure, either around any of the many penetrations or the seam between the bulkhead insulating panel and the floor of the basement (which is impossible to inspect without pulling a holding tank or freshwater tank depending on the floor plan), or possibly uncaulked penetrations (such as screws into the floor to hold down reels etc.). It seems that one way or another, water will be present inside the utility compartment at some point. If the caulking is well done and in good shape, you will likely find some small amount of standing water, but it won't have penetrated into the basement. I have it on my project list to put a couple of small deck drains through the basement floor in strategic locations (say behind the utility panel in the wet bay and near the water pump and manibloc area. Tricky to do well because it must be flush with basement floor skin to most effectively drain the water. I will likely have to fabricate something because I have yet to find anything of appropriate size (I have looked at marine products like deck drains etc.).Also, from your pictures, the transverse tube with the Roloks in it appears to be 1/8" thick walled tubing (11 gauge), not 1/4". and the outside dimensions of all the square tubbing is 1 1/2" sq. As far as I know, the thinner tubing is 18 gauge but of course, FOT could have changed that anytime. In my experience, 1/4" X 1.5" X 1.5" mild steel tubing isn't commonly available. The thickest I have been able to buy in that size is .120" what people usually refer to as 1/8". Now if you were getting 3" X 2" rectangular tubing, you can get that in 1/4" thick walled with no problem... well that is just my experience, but I am sure anything can be had for a price.The biggest factor in the rusty thinner gauge steel of the framing is were there were pieces of plywood (4 places) which had become soaked, rotted, and held moisture against the steel. I was able to removed most of the rotten wood using my hands as a scoop! So on ours, about half of the Roloks that I removed from the rear were broken just behind the head where they go through the angle iron (as Bret W. said), and half were broken where they went through the back of the transverse tubing (in which case the pointy end of the Rolok was rust welded to the back of the tubing). The double nut technique from the back only worked on one of the broken Roloks, for the rest, I had to weld a nut on the end of the bolt to get the remnant out. In one case, it entered the intersection of one of the longitudinal tubes. That last bit of info told me that these things were not installed to a template or that would not of happened. Anyway, be very vigilant on leaks down there. Water alarms, frequent inspection, any method you have to be sure there is not a chronic leak that goes undiscovered. I may even cut a couple of holes through the floor to install inspection ports to view inside the insulated area so I can check with a moisture meter. I also put in a couple of 3/4" or so holes in the outer most framing that looks into the transverse tube. I can get a borescope in there to have a look as I want to. they are sealed with plugs. Anyway, as I said earlier, I could go on a great length to describe all of the counter measures I took to ensure the basement is bullet proof. I am finally getting to the point where I can say with confidence that I have now spent more time actually inside the coach then under it or inside the utility compartment DonQuote from: Carol & Scott – January 29, 2017, 07:01:48 pm...Roloks, but if you look at the pics attached/below you will see that the large 1/4" wall tubing that the Roloks go into from the angle iron, appears to be rusted but not rusted through like the 1-1/4" X 16ga tubing that is the floor structure in both corners. Is it possible that even if the Rolok does not break that there could be heavy corrosion just beyond the 1/4" wall tubing? Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #132 – January 29, 2017, 10:27:29 pm Don - Upon review - you are correct in the thickness the that tube. It does appear to be .120 or 1/8". Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #133 – January 29, 2017, 11:08:42 pm Mike & Jackie, the plugs you show in picture are from the ends of tube for wet bay and when I pulled mine out a couple yrs ago to inspect inside tube FT had stuffed brown paper in then caulked with the black stuff. I filed away any rust then sprayed with oil before recaulking the holes up with good industrial caulk. I have since put an aluminum 1 1/2 x 1/8th U shaped piece around the opening with more caulk on it to really seal the sides up. I then rebuilt the whole wet bay and sealed it up good. I spent today cleaning up the framing around wheel wells and painting in Black enamel paint as I have those panels off waiting for the new air bags..JohnH Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #134 – July 23, 2017, 08:26:31 pm I presume MOT, Foretravel and Extreme all do inspections/repairs on the bulkheads and the framing underneath the bays. Is MOT the preferred shop to do the inspections/repairs? Thank you. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #135 – July 23, 2017, 09:02:26 pm Scott, How does one present the issue to their insurance to get the repairs covered? It is nice to know the presentation procedure.John M. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #136 – July 24, 2017, 12:57:54 am I recommend MOT as most experienced plus they developed the inspection process that has proven vital. They also developed the repair process.As for insurance, mine was not covered as it was viewed as non-event related but rather was lack of maintenance or such over a long time. I do not suggest yours will not be covered, insurance claims and companies do vary.You did not ask but I remind...if I were buying a coach, this would be a mandatory inspection. A repair is usually not a deal killing expense but it could be, though quite unusually, of such a magnitude that it would be a potential deal breaker expense to negotiate with a seller.Mike Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #137 – July 26, 2017, 01:03:11 pm Sorry to have not responded sooner. have been dry camping and now signals.John M. - I did not present this repair to the insurance company.At the time we had our repair done, only MOT and FT performed the Inspection and repair. Extreme performed a Courtesy inspection and would not perform the repair. Things might be different now. Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #138 – July 29, 2017, 12:01:34 am Thank you very much for the recommendations regarding the bulkhead inspection and repair. I greatly appreciate your comments.Morris Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #139 – August 11, 2017, 11:40:07 am Update - It appears that there have been more than 20 repairs completed by MOT since we had ours done. Mike H was #1 and we were #2 I believe. Quote Selected
Re: Rear Bulkhead Repair Reply #140 – August 11, 2017, 11:42:22 am I am interested in how they secure the newly created "team" on the fiberglass to ensure no water intrusion which would be equally problematic as the original design issues.Tim Fiedler Quote Selected
Topic: Rear Bulkhead Repair