Inside the Cab-Over, front left of front window.
After I got our new/used!/Class C Tioga Motor Home, home; I started to look carefully. Yes, I knew upon seeing what I bought, that I had been screwed, but after a plane trip from West Florida to Philly, I was not about to tell my gal that the dream was dead. We enjoyed that which was good and kept it that way all the way to our front door.
The truth was, the motorhomes cab over was rotten!
The 'total dream' will be realized, as has been so true to my life, by my efforts, not smarts. It will take a bit longer....again.
OK! Here are a few photos of the External and Internal symptoms. Inside photos were taken after I removed curtains, mattress and side framew
ork in the Cab Over bed area.Front drivers side(left) and front of cab over. Crack in outer fiberglass panel had been siliconed as well as the corner moldings on each side.
Not hard to see, is the evidence of a WHITE panel around the front window, instead of the Original multicolored paper. The water damage, even after the apparent-past attempt at a fix, shows the persistance of poor quality construction from the get go.
Rot in the 3/4" base to the sleeping area. this is in the aft corner of the right side of the cab over.
It's hard to make an egg a helmet. I'm going to try to make this baby better, but understand that there is only so far one can go
within reason.Right front. Evidence of water and rot.
Mold and rot is evident all around the lower section of the Cab Over. There is a slight (1" maybe) droop, to the sides overall. Half inch to each side from center.
Outside, passenger side. Evidence of prior removal and rebedding of the corner molding.. as sure sign of stuff that is not good.This is not a critical thing and can be lived with. The window has to come out and I believe I will redo this MH without a window, as I believe it is a weak link. Side windows seem to be fine. but will see when I get deeper into this project. I'm not married to any aspect and while I want to make this MH solid for years to come, I'm not going to re-invent any wheels.
.Inside of lower front window. Note that this interior panel had already been replaced once!
Hope the initial photos show the problem and direction of future efforts.
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4 comments:
Thanks for the blog on the cab over repair. It really helped me fix our new to me class C (11 years old) that I bought off Craigslist with condition issues. The quality and quantity of the pictures and explanation of what you used (like 3m 5200 caulk, fiberglass and boat paint, ...) and removing the window gave me enough confidence to put it back together. My wife and 4 kids thank you too
This RV has been a learning experience for me. Good luck on your new rig.
hello anonymous and thanks for your comments. Glad all has worked out well for you and your family. I know how devistating it can be to find damage and 'not know what to do' so hope this blog will help others too. I have had private emails from folks telling me of their success fixing things after reading thru some of my fixes, but thanks for posting here. It helps others when they get feedback from those now happy with their attempts and successes.
Stay well and go camping!! :)
Ron,
First things first. Your blog is incredible!!
My wife and I fell into a similar deal as you and purchased a Tioga Montara 21.5 foot M/H. First time M/H buyers, and we got screwed.
Anyway, The cab over bunk isn't quite as bad as yours was, but it's still a mess and will require a complete rebuild. We would like to save the forward inclined window if possible.
We have the laminate all taken off of the bed platform as well as all the side rails with the luan sheeting.
My problem is the very forward portion of the bed platform structure common to the leading edge radius. Everything up to this point came out just fine, but the luan / plywood / 1x2 structure that apparently provides support for our inclined front window is very difficult to remove. Any ideas? Also I can't seem to find the fasteners that secure the 3/4" plywood bed platform in place. The exterior moldings are held in place with self tapping screws that apparently screw into a steel framework and don't apear to secure the 3/4" plywood.
Any direction you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Not sure if your model or year was built the same as mine was. I had to figure out what I was doing, as I went along and much of mine was totally rotted material. It seemed that on mine, there were many large 'staples' used to hold wood pieces together, so assume there was also glue of some kind in the joints/prior to the stapling.
I slowly disected one piece at a time, or one section, and often ONLY after removing something did I see how it was put together.
The self tapping screws went thru the 3/4" plywood base on mine and into the steel box tubing framework. Take your time and good luck Richard.
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