Palomino sucks hard!!

[xtremexj]

So, after being very happy with my Bronco 800 camper, I've had a major issue with it that Palomino is offering absolutely no help for. I recently got back from a trip to Moab from Edmonton to do some rock crawling with the XJ, and after arriving in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho on our 2nd night of travel, I got out and looked up at the camper to find this. Well, it seems that they only us OSB on these things and there has obviously been a problem with water sealing from day one. I guess the 70mph highway speeds combined with the 50mph headwind from Montana to Idaho finally softened things up enough to come apart. I am the 2nd owner of this unit and have only used it 6 times since May/2009. I have e-mailed Palomino numerous times now and left messages but they can't even be bothered to return either anymore. Does anyone have any good suggestions as to what type of materials I should use to try and repair this? Also, the left front tip of the vertical roof side is also rotten. I am desperate for some ideas so I can try and get this fixed before the snow flies here.

[njtaco]

That doesn't look that bad, but probably is worse than the pictures show...

Figure on replacing the obvious front damage, and possibly along the sides on the pop-top with plywood. Use butyl tape to seal the joints and corners under the aluminum extrusions, and silicone/caulk on top. Upgrade to stainless fasteners while you are there. Clean and adhere the aluminum skin with whatever Palomino or your local RV shop recommends, I'm not up on the latest products. Other than 3M=good, of course.

The longest part of the job is dying it all out. The rest can be done (my somewhat educated guess, of course) by two people that work well together in a warm dry shop in a long day. With the right tools and carpenter skills, of course.

If the damage to the "left front tip" is intruding into anything that supports the top when it is up, change the whole side as one piece, don't scab in a patch. If not, being creative with a patch is fine as long as it is strong enough to hold the front together.

If the water damage is into the TOP of the pop-top, things are much harder to work on and the time is stretched out.

Do you have insurance on it? It may be covered water damage. It is NOT warranty though, in case that is what you are talking about with the manufacturer. Resealing annually is an owner's responsibility.

ETA: Consider buying a new extrusion for along the bottom edge of the top. It is a PIA to clean out all the sealer/tape in the "groove" the plywood will lay in. Your time is probably worth more than the metal, and you are short on time.

[xtremexj]

Thanks for the reply njtaco. I will have a closer look at it this weekend and see how much difficulty I will have removing the OSB from the roof plastic. Any suggestions on how to remove the OSB from the roof plastic?
For the repair, I was thinking of using pressure treated lumber for the front face and possibly putting some resin over it to make it completely waterproof before I re-attach it to the roof material. Thoughts?

[njtaco]

The treated lumber may not take the adhesives as well as un-treated. As long as you keep the water out, regular plywood will last just fine. Marine grade plywood is the best of both, with water resistant glue and a surface that will accept other adhesives. As long as you don't mind the price of a sheet, only to use a little of it. Of course, by the time you buy treated wood and resin you would be over the price of marine grade anyways.

The roof material is plastic? Hard to tell in the pics, but it is usually very thin aluminum, painted on one side. Try to ask Palomino what glue they use and figure out a solvent from there. Start asking in their parts department, not customer service. If it is plastic, (possibly fiberglass) do the same but be more cautious that you don't melt it with the solvents you try.

In either case, be ever so mindful that you don't stuff the scraper through the material, or your hand... The glue gets slippery once the solvent starts to work.

I have to reiterate: find a way to let it completely dry before putting it back together. Otherwise keep the patterns you make, you will likely be doing it all over again!

ETA: I've heard good things about Sikaflex as an adhesive...maybe someone else here can comment on it, as I have not used it myself.

[eugene]

You don't want pressure treated in a camper, the chemicles will offgas inside the small enclosed space. I used cedar 1x material its water resistant and lightweight.

[TBRV]

Palomino was bought by Forest River serveral years ago. Forest River is 2nd Largest RV manufacturer in North America. They seem to be more geared to selling units than helping service older units.

The roof is very fixable. I have done many. If the sides of the roof are also rotten, the roof needs to come off and new pieces laminated from plywood and properly sealed. If the sides are not rotten a new piece of plywood in the front and reseal while roof is still on the unit. We see this problem on Tent trailers all the time. Should get it handled before winter. If the OSB is wet, the -40 tempertures will destroy the OSB and in the spring you will find that the problem will be much worse.

I have worked in the Edmonton Area as a RV tech for many years. If you are not comfortable doing the repair there are some good shops in the Edmonton Area that can do the repair. As things are slowing down for winter in the RV industry, I'm sure someone would do it as a winter project.

[Piet]

I have rebuilt a roof for my tent trailer. A mixture of pine for the frame, solid core styrofoam insulation, thin plywood for the covering and the sheeted with tin.

You can get any RV repair place to get you a sheet of tin to cover the whole area.

Cheaper than a whole new camper.

[njtaco]

You can also try All-Rite for materials. I'm not sure if you can buy directly or if you need to go through a dealer.

[xtremexj]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I FINALLY got a hold of the service manager at Palomino/Forest River and he gave me some advice as well, which is similar to what you guys have already suggested. He did concur that judging by my pics it was a problem with the construction from day one, but it still doesn't help me as the 2nd owner of the unit. I am running out of warm days here (already down to 50*F) so I could have a problem with finding glues that will adhere and cure at these low temps. Any suggestions on that end of things?

[njtaco]

I would try calling 3M customer service and see what they say...1-800-362-3550 from the US, 1-800-364-3577 from Canada.


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Or store it for the winter in climate controlled storage. As TBRV said, don't let it freeze while its wet...