The RV fiberglass exterior can be repaired by following a simple DIY project. First, inspect the entire surface, put on safety gear, clean and sand the surrounding surface, replace insulation if necessary, apply fiberglass resin, paint and polish the affected area, and join the Fiberglass RV Community.
To maintain a sleek, weatherproof RV exterior that saves gas and is easy to maintain, follow this DIY guide. Steps include applying the primer coat and letting dry, applying two coats of decorative paint, and applying a protective topcoat (optional).
Replace aluminum siding on your RV, both corrugated and smooth, with the process varying for each type of siding. To paint aluminum siding, ensure that the paint will adhere to the aluminum and wash your RV and let it dry. Create an aluminum siding patch by cutting a piece of aluminum sheet to fit over the damaged area.
To remove oxidation damage on the RV, use a product called Poli Glow or Zep Wet Look floor polish. Home Depot sells Zep Wet Look floor polish, which takes a couple of hours to apply after thoroughly washing your RV.
For boat owners, SofScrub-With-Bleach or BarKeepersFriend are popular tools for cleaning fiberglass and removing stains. RV siding restoration begins with a thorough washing, followed by Gelcoat for a glossy finish.
To repair fiberglass on an RV, follow these steps: 1) DIY under $500, 2) buy new fiberglass through a local RV dealer, and 3) use the ZEP heavy-duty floor wax remover to remove old wax from the trailer.
📹 RV Siding Repair/RV Living/RV Maintenance
I’m an RV enthusiast, with a family of six, who enjoys getting out camping on the weekends and taking some longer trips a couple …
How do you get black streaks off RV siding?
The Bio-Kleen Black Streak Remover is a quick and safe solution for removing black streaks on RV exteriors. It doesn’t require brushes or water, just sprays on the vehicle and wipes clean with a soft cloth or towel. It also effectively removes black streaks from vinyl decals found on most RVs and campers. The Bio-Kleen Amazing Cleaner is an all-purpose cleaner that effectively removes dirt and stains from vinyl, leather, and fabrics. It also removes chalk residue on rubber RV roofs, mold and mildew stains, and helps break down insect debris on the vehicle’s front. This all-purpose cleaner is perfect for RV, boat, or car cleaning.
Is renovating an RV worth it?
The market for renovated RVs is smaller than for stock RVs due to the desire of those interested in renovating them themselves. This makes selling an RV that has been renovated difficult, as buyers may be hesitant to buy an RV that has already been renovated. To make selling easier, it is recommended to keep your RV as close to original as possible. However, if you are not concerned about preserving your rig’s resale value, renovating away may be the best option. To keep your renovated RV safe, consider storing it with goHomePort, which offers storage options and can be contacted for more information.
What does oxidation look like on a RV?
Over time, the gel coat on your RV can become cloudy, chalky, and yellow, making it appear old. This is due to the natural process of oxidation, which occurs when the gel coat reacts with oxygen in the air. Factors such as excessive sunlight, heat, air pollutants, and too much water accelerate this process. Regularly covering the fiberglass gel coating with wax can slow down the oxidation process, but this protection is temporary.
To restore the luster and shine of your RV, All RV Custom Coach and Collision offers extensive care to remove the impact of oxidation on the fiberglass. Their skilled experts focus on restoring the oxidation effect, polishing, and waxing, restoring the shiny look of your vehicle at cost-effective prices.
Can you redo the exterior of an RV?
In order to install a new RV skin, it is essential to proceed in a methodical manner, addressing any issues that may arise, such as interior wall damage, in order to create optimal layers for a durable and long-lasting exterior. It is advisable to undertake RV repairs and remodelling in phases. By discussing and addressing issues at each stage, it is possible to ensure that the project remains on track and that every part is completed carefully and correctly.
Can you clear coat an RV exterior?
Nyalic is an environmentally friendly, no-wax, no-polish, and no-brushing RV clear coat that protects RVs and campers from corrosion and harsh weather conditions. It forms a clear seal, preventing water, dirt, and corrosive chemicals from reaching the underlying metal or painted surface. The Nyalic RV Kit includes 2 qts of Nyalic, 1 Nyalic aerosol, 1 qts of Simple Prep™ degreaser, 2 qts of Right Rinse™ cleanser, 1 qts of Tuff Prep™ 3. 5 Pound Gel, 3 scrub pads, and a hand brush.
What does oxidation on fiberglass look like?
Oxidation is the chalky, porous appearance of unprotected or neglected gelcoat or paint, primarily caused by UV ray damage. It can cause major issues for vessel protection, especially when improper washing is not done to keep marine life out of cracks and surfaces. Incorrect product choices can strip waxes and protectants from surfaces, making them susceptible to UV rays. Gel coats and paints oxidation happens faster due to their porous nature, making it crucial to protect them to maximize their life span and appearance. Selective cleaning, protective products, and equipment are necessary to maintain their luster.
How do you remove black soot from siding?
To remove soot from concrete, use an acid or alkaline cleaner, which can be found at hardware stores. Scrub the surface, rinse with water, and allow it to dry. If stains remain, repeat the process until all traces are removed. If oil or other chemicals are present, use a pressure washer. Wear gloves when applying chemicals, as they can irritate skin if in contact for too long.
To remove soot from carpets, vacuum the soot out with a low setting and then use a wet/dry vacuum to suck it back up. Add baking soda or cornstarch to absorb grease and oil that can leave stains on the flooring. Wearing gloves is essential when applying chemicals, as they can irritate skin if in contact for too long.
Should you wax or polish a fiberglass RV?
RV-grade wax and polish are essential for maintaining the exterior gel coat of your RV, which is a protective layer that protects the vehicle from various elements such as sun exposure, inclement weather, bugs, grime, dirt, and debris. These waxes and polishes are designed to work with the fiberglass gel coat, ensuring its longevity and preserving its appearance.
There are two main differences between RV waxes and polishes: RV-grade waxes and polishes work with the fiberglass gel coat, while polishes fill microscopic pores in the surface. Waxes are used after this step for a long-lasting shine. After a thorough cleaning of your RV’s exterior, it is recommended to apply a polish to the gel coat. RVbyLIFE’s PolyShine® Premium Fiberglass and Composite Polish is a top-rated fiberglass cleaner that not only shines and protects the gel coat but also works well on chrome and stainless steel hardware and fittings. This product can be applied by hand or with a buffing machine.
How to restore faded fiberglass?
There are numerous products available on the market that claim to be the best solution for dull, faded gel coat. One-part cleaner/wax products, which combine wax with mild cleaner, abrasive compound, and lubricant, are effective on mildly dulled or chalked finishes. Restoration/wax compounds, on the other hand, have a more aggressive rubbing compound and may have an abrasive that breaks down when applied, producing a finer finish.
Another class of products is acrylic or similar coatings, which are thin and easily applied, leaving behind a waterproof coating that fills the gel coat surface to form a shiny layer. However, due to their thin nature, multiple coats are usually required.
📹 How to Repair the Aluminum Siding On Your Travel Trailer! DIY!
Have you ever experienced corrugated aluminum siding separation on your travel trailer? This happened to us and we decided to …
Thanks for the article. I have a Thor 28A, and the sidewall is separating from the flooring. I can see daylight and the ground from inside the coach’s bedroom. I think it only needs to be screwed in with longer and maybe more screws. I was just wondering what your opinion is. I plan on taking it in to a pro, but if I can’t for some reason I was going to do it myself. It doesn’t seem to complicated, just screw the wall back in.
If you are using stainless steel screws then they won’t rust when you get water intrusion so they will hold longer. By the time you can see something is wrong you will have much more water damage than if you use regular screws. If you do alot of maintenance on your RV and are vigilant with it then you would probably be ok. If you don’t do your own maintenance then you might have a bigger problem than the stainless steel screws are worth. Just a little something to consider for us DIYers
You article is just what I needed. I have similar siding on my 2017 forest River Toyhauler. It freaked me out when I noticed it in my side mirror. I pulled into the next town and did a temp fix with aluminum ductwork tape. Good stuff for the emergency kit. I’ll start my siding repair when AZ cools back off. Your vid is my diy motivation. 🤙🏼
You could have put a piece of wood between the studs, secured with pocket hole screws, then attached the siding to that with screws. I am having the same issue with my trailer and having been researching how to repair it. Thank you much for the article! It’s always great to see other people’s ideas for repairs.
For re-attaching the corner trim I’ve seen a lot of people put down butyl tape on the back of the trim piece (what was there) to seal the corner then re-attach the trim. Before using silicone on the edges, use painters tape about 1/8″ or 1/4″ away from the corner trim. Put down your silicone right over the painters tape butted up to the corner trim, let it set a while but not fully. Then remove the painters tape and you will have a nice crisp bead that wont look sloppy! Hopefully you wont have to do the other side or anything though!
Great article! Just thing though. The tin and studs allowed you to make a repair at home relatively easily. The fiberglass sides can come apart too. When that happens the repair can be very extensive. My buddy just clipped a mailbox with his aluminum sided travel trailer. We are going to replace a few aluminum panels and all is good. If it was a fiberglass sided trailer the repair would be very difficult at home.
Great job repairing it I’ve had a similar problem with my Forrest river trailer and once I exposed the problem I cut some furring strips and sandwiched the existing stud with the furring strips applying liquid nails to both sides and securing it wit screws . This Gave me new wider wood surfaces to attach the panels to. I used truss head lathe screws to attach the panels to on either side of where the staples ripped out and it has held up perfectly.
Great job fixing it! Just as good as the warranty department would’ve done except about 6 months sooner! Unfortunately the price point of the pioneer leaves a lot of quality to be desired. Fiberglass siding would be much better, but unfortunately you really don’t understand why until you’ve experienced it. I’m learning myself… thanks for another great article!
We have this issue right now. We can’t go above 65 mph or the siding really flares out. Tahnk you for showing this process! We pay all this money for these cheaply built trailers. Sorry to say but they are all made this way. Even the fiberglass trailers. I had a guy tell me to seal the trim up the sides in front and along the roof back 4 feet or your roof siding will blow off. On the new fiberglass modesl also.
You were saying about “why staples” – I hate to say it, but it’s about speed vs money. I used to work for a trailer manufacturer, and a lot (!) of people asked why on earth we nailed the interior paneling in, vs using screws. It took approximately 15 minutes to nail the interior in. 3-4 HOURS (depending on the length) to use screws. So it added over $400 to the wholesale cost of manufacture (time + screws are more). Nobody wanted to pay that much more at the retail point.
Thanks for your article. Those plates don’t actually go through the panel and might pull out? Maybe? I had this issue driving through high wimds and will probably intall wood side pieces to screw or staple in multiple areas instead of the single staple per stud. Now I know how they fit together. Thanks.
great information! we have a 2019 forest river grey wolf with the same siding. we came back from the outer banks a few weeks ago and today while we were at the trailer just checking things out we notice the siding was bowing out. of course we panic and assume the worst. after perusal your article, i think it will be an non expensive fix.
My comments are from 50 yrs of campers and camping. Campers as a whole have always used staples and I has a 50 yr. Old vintage camper along with a 5 yr old camper. On the 50 yr old no siding has came loose. On the 5 yr old I have the same issue as these folks. One panel that is loose. Do not use screws as a screw has no flexibility and will eventually rust leaving a streak down your camper unless you use a brass screw. If you use a brass acrew make the siding hole a little larger than the screw shaft to allow for flexibility. You best bet as others have said was to triple up the stud and staple it in 2 places. One on each side of the previous broken staple area. The reason they do not run a bead of anything on camper studs is flexibility. If it cant flex, it will break. The next part is and it wasnt mentioned is the term silicone. Any person repairing a camper should know to use a caulk to seal a camper. Flexible, lasts longer and seals better . I know this was your attempt and it will last for a while. Might even last as long as you own the camper but this is not my idea of a permanent repair for mine. My thought is the aluminum siding is thinner now than when my 50 yr old trailer was made as being the issue as they try to make them lighter so not staple, not liquid nails, not screws just make the aluminum thicker and their problem will be solved.
Same thing happened to ours. I just noticed. We have had nothing but issues with our 264bh Jayco that I wish we wouldnt have purchased it. AC unit stopped working 3x, hitch light doesnt work, tail light has moisture in it, backflow valve for black tank leaked, and now a orange runner light flrew off on road and siding popping out. Very poor quality camper. We will never buy another.
They make them this way so that they’re not heavy that’s why they’re cheaply put together. Everything is pretty lightweight inside of them and they do it for weight purposes. That’s why they make it so cheaply made they want to save on the weight of the unit that’s the general ideaand I would caution people about getting a weight distribution Barr put on your RV or travel trailer because it causes from what I’m seeing on YouTube articles. It causes the A-frame to break eventually because the weight is distributed differently than what it was created for so be very careful with weight distribution bars.
The level of cheap construction wherever they can hide it from your view in and out of a travel trailer is UNBELIEVABLE. I decided to fill in all the cracks and voids in the floor and walls to lock out bugs. the crap that was left behind and under panels in my travel trailer and utter disregard for quality work and good parts…. just absolute garbage construction.
Hi. Really appreciate your article. I put away my 20’ 1985 Sunline (slapped together exactly like you mentioned yours seems to be) in 1998 when I bought the RV love of my life, a GMC Motorhome. The Sunline was in like new condition when I put it in long term storage in a far corner of my property and I had a great time using it long ago and have a new use for it again in the near future. I live about 75 miles from where they were made and watched the process close up (think sausage ) and had them fix problems on mine when I used to use it. I could not get over how they slap these things together. I know I will have a lot of work ahead of me when I dive in to fix whatever ails it after all this time and your article helped me remember how they did a similar repair on mine 25 years ago. One issue solved. Probably 500 more to be discovered and dealt with.
What an awesome article!!! New to RV life and this happened to us after one trip we had to take it to the show and had to cancel two trips because it took weeks. We’re 60 in pretty good shape should have done better research we would have purchased a Lance vs a Keystone. Not sure at this point if we’ll purchase another one 😕 but great article!!
I enjoyed this article. I am searching for how to repair the very bottom of the walls?? It doesn’t have those strips sealing the wall that runs along the bottom up over the wheel well does but not where the bottom runs all the way down after n before the wheel trim. Any help with this would be appreciated
Literally this exact thing happened on our trip this weekend, in the same place and a Pioneer. I have not been happy with the quality but like the camper. I was hoping it was something that I could do and not a huge issue. Our trailer spent the better part of last year in the shop getting “fixed” from manufacturer issues that prevented us from using it. I was very leary about taking it back again, who knows how long they would have it. Thanks for the article! I am new subscriber now.
Fiberglass Traikers also delaminate. I read that 90% of people that work in the RV Industry do NOT own RV’s. They are ALL Junk. And even most of the super expensive RV’s are JUNK because they are all using the same manufacturers for components. Only a small handful of companies make the parts then the MFG’s just assemble the parts. Want to good trailer. Buy a full Aluminum CARGO Trailer then spend an eternity building it out. The benefit is you can eliminate the things you really do not want in a floor plan like the rediculous tiny sinks in the bathrooms or the useless short dinette bed configurations. install a REAL Shower stall and REAL Cabinets. Be sure to not skimp on the AC unit. After adding up the cost of RV’s, the maintenance, storage, insurance, etc. unless you really use them a lot one is better off just renting or investing in a sweet day tripper vehicle VAN w/fridge and sink) and getting a Hotel. My opinon. My 2 cents (And thqat’s all it is worth). I have owned a few RV’s and I have spent 100’s of hours “fixing” them so that they are usable. I also built out a steel frame cargo trailer only to have the frame rust out wiyhin a year due to poor manufacturing and poor undercoating. Airsteam ($$$$$). Oliver Trailers ($$$$). EscapeTrailers ($$$$). Bigfoot Trailers ($$$$). Look at the Excape 23 it’s about $60 K and if you take care of the fiberglass should go 15-20 years (Still going to have appliance issues over time). They do have good resale value…but people hold on to them.
Another great article. Thank you. While I agree that quality of construction is lacking, I rather like the ability to repair the aluminum siding myself, as opposed to something going wrong with the laminate siding, and having no choice but to take it in. I know the newer laminate is supposed to be better than the old, but I just can’t get past the older ones bubbling like I’ve seen so many do. Perhaps I’ll change my mind someday but I love the aluminum for that reason :). Thanks again!
I’ve had both kinds of trailer, and stick and tin is definitely better, because you can repair it so much more easily. With a fiberglass sided trailer, if it somehow gets wet inside the wall, the fiberglass delaminates, from the extremely thin plywood, and foam core, and you might as well just throw the trailer in the trash. Symptoms are, wrinkles and bulging in the siding. It is then a more than major repair. My Rockwood Minilite, only lasted 3 years, before I noticed it. I saw nothing wrong with the seals, and the floor totally rotted out under the slide out. I spent enough on the trailer, without spending another fortune 3 years later to fix it.
It’s the nature of the beast. I have a corrugated trailer that we use hunting and fishing for the boys, I’ve had it for decades. I’m constantly tweaking things here or there and repairing something. It’s a 1984 Prowler by Fleetwood, 19 ‘ bumper pull. We also have a 2013, 28’ Keystone Bullet bunk house bumper pull rv, that we use for family outings, it’s a little more girl friendly than the old hunting trailer. It’s fiberglass and you have similar issues also, fiberglass tends to buckle in the front after a number of years especially if you store the rv outside and the decals fade fast in the sun. If you own an rv and want to own the same one for years you have to do constant maintenance. Once a year I take a screw driver and pliers and walk around the outside of the trailers and tighten everything back up. Things come loose often when being towed down bumpy roads. None of these RV’s are made the way they should be or the way we think they are when you first buy one. Mark up on all of them are extremely high. They are still a lot of fun, you just have to know what you’re getting into and be willing to do the maintenance. Two things you don’t want in your trailer I’ve learned over the years the hard way are mice and water. Thanks for the article.