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2007 Chalet Folding Alpine Leakage Issues
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Hello, I am new to the group and I am writing with questions about repairing leakage issues in our 2007 Chalet Folding Alpine. We (my husband and I) have the following challeges with it that are likely contributing to the leakage issues:
-leaking skylight (remedially caulked by the previous owner)
-delaminating roof panels, maybe causing the leakage??
-side wall out of alignment/delaminating
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Basically, we feel pretty over our heads with trying to fix these issues.? Any recommendations/advice would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Erin |
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Yes, the roof panels are delaminating and there are bubbles on the outside surface.? I've attached pictures.?
Is there an easy fix for this?? The gist of it is that we'd like to sell the camper and we are hoping to fix the issues on it prior to that but we not sure how realistic that is, or if we just need to sell it as is.
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Thanks in advance for any advice! |
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The DIY fixes for the bubbles are tricky and not guaranteed to work.? The problem is caused by a bad batch of glue used by the factory.? That means you have deteriorated glue in there that may make bonding new glue a problem.
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If you do want to try and fix it, drill a small hole (1/16th inch) in a bubble to let the air out, and in the morning before the sun hits the roof and expands the bubbles, see if you can push the bubble flat with your hand with a reasonable amount of force.? If you can, then you can fix it by injecting epoxy through holes you make in the roof skin.
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?You're going to drill small holes through the roof skin every 4 inches or so, inject epoxy, and then press the bubble flat with a board.? You dont want to glue the board to the roof, and you don't want to cover the roof with epoxy that oozes out the holes when you squeeze the bubble flat.? You probably can't do the whole roof at once, because you can't pile that much weight on top to press all the bubbles flat, because that would be more weight than the roof can support, and you have limited working time for the epoxy.? So you'll have to work on 2 or 3 square feet at a time.??
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The way I did that for a small area of delaminatiin was to cover the area with blue painters tape, then drill the board with 1/4" holes about 4" apart, then lay the board on the roof, and drill 1/16th" holes in the center of the 1/4" holes through the roof skin.? Then cover the board with a piece of wax paper, and poke holes through the wax paper where the holes in the board are.? Then inject the epoxy through the roof skin using "dental syringes", push the bubble flat a bunch of times with your finger over the hole to squish the epoxy around.? After all the epoxy has been injected, lay? the board wax paper side down matching up the holes, and weight it down.? The excess epoxy will squirt up though the holes, but won't get on the roof.??
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After the epoxy dries, remove the board, and trim off the excess epoxy with a single edge razor blade.? Don't sand it off.? Sanding requires requires tons of work using finer and finer grit sandpaper and rubbing compound to get the shine back.? Then to paint the epoxy in the hole, I just use a dab of fingernail polish.
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Be sure to use 24 hr epoxy, not the 10 minute stuff.? 24 hr epoxy will give you maybe 30 minutes working time before it starts to set.? Put the epoxy in the fridge before you use it, and don't do the repair on a hot day.??
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My bubble was near the vent and I found a giant C clamp that I used to push part of the bubble flat.? Your bubbles are probably too far from any opening to use a C clamp, but you might be able to fabricate something with boards and bolts, if you find the bubbles are too stiff to push flat with weights.
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Another approach to the bubbles is to grind slits in them, so they lay flat much easier.? Then glue them down, sand off the edges of the slits, cover with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, then sand smooth and paint the whole roof.? But that takes skilled work and is a whole lot more time consuming.??
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Let us know what you decide.? I've seen some roofs that had so many bubbles I wouldn't bother with a fix.? Others have also replaced the entire roof, but that costs 6k and is more than the trailer is worth.
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Those loose plastic trim strips around the perimeter of the windows are not part of the seal.? If that was the only issue you would just put a little caulk underneath them and restick them down.? Caulk doesn't stick to that plastic well though, and that's why they come loose.? That plastic is there to prevent UV from degrading the adhesive that hold the window itself to the trailer.
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If you took off the windows and vents you could get at a lot of the delamination from the window edge.? You could push epoxy way up into the delam area with a stick or tube without drilling holes.??
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It's just a matter of whether you want to do all work.
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We replaced those plastic trim strips with aluminum carpet transition moldings that are sold in 8-foot lengths at the big box stores. As others mentioned, once you pull off those flimsy plastic parts, it reveals the sealing caulk that is actually holding the bubble skylights in place. Look carefully in the corners of the windows for stress cracks that are often the cause of leaks in these areas. The cracks form because the window parts were cooled too quickly when they were vacuum formed over a mold at the factory.
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The cracks can be fixed by drilling a small (1/16-inch) hole at the end of the crack to stop it from advancing further, and then filling the crack with solvent-weld glue that designed for acrylic plastics. This glue is super-thin and easily flows to fill the cracks. |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý? Here¡¯s a highly recommended acrylic crack solvent:? ? . ? Use sparingly, as it can mar acrylic surfaces. ? Dave ? ? ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ ? We replaced those plastic trim strips with aluminum carpet transition moldings that are sold in 8-foot lengths at the big box stores. As others mentioned, once you pull off those flimsy plastic parts, it reveals the sealing caulk that is actually holding the bubble skylights in place. Look carefully in the corners of the windows for stress cracks that are often the cause of leaks in these areas. The cracks form because the window parts were cooled too quickly when they were vacuum formed over a mold at the factory. ? The cracks can be fixed by drilling a small (1/16-inch) hole at the end of the crack to stop it from advancing further, and then filling the crack with solvent-weld glue that designed for acrylic plastics. This glue is super-thin and easily flows to fill the cracks. |
Don DeRyke
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