Help! Water under the skin, delamination and damage.

[RachaelArcticFo]

Hi Everyone!
So happy to be here in this forum! I just bought a truck camper after dreaming of one for 20 years, and I love it. Unfortunately, it turns out it has some major issues I wasn’t aware of when I bought it, so would be grateful for your wisdom while I try to piece together a creative solution!

My camper is an 05 Arctic Fox cabover camper. I noticed some drooping and delamination on the undercarriage that hangs over the truck cab, and then saw some water leaking out of it as well, so I figured (and worried) there was water in there. I took it to an RV guy to see if we could take the skin off, but he said it wasn’t worth it, that it was probably already too late and instructed me instead to cut a couple of small holes and cover them with little grates. Well, I started cutting into it today and confirmed my worst fear, all the cardboard is waterlogged, but at least I didn’t see any mold yet. Although I only opened up a 1 inch hole. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this? Should I stuff desiccant packets In maybe? Or is there anything else anyone could recommend? The first thing I did was re-caulk all the places on the nose where the water could get in, so Hopefully more water won’t come. I am just worried. Since I just bought the camper, I have no idea how long it’s been waterlogged like this ??.

Greatly appreciate your tips!

[Lancey]

https://www.nroa2003.com/download/Northwood%20Brochures/2005-Camper-Brochure-pd-11-04.pdf

Once again, her 2005 Silverfox edition is aluminum frame, water intrusion on this camper will not effect its main structure and is quite repairable compared to its wood framed counterpart.

[Grit_dog]

Bad campers are out there. looked at a 2016 TT a couple weeks ago. Big rounded filon nose piece.
COuldnt see the wrinkles in the pics. Got there and it was SOFT from the outside. Said something to the seller, he said it's solid, they're all like that, check inside. But only push near the top! LOL It was soft on the inside too.
Told him to gfhs and maybe he shouldn't have neglected his camper for years, thanks for wasting my time....

[Grit_dog]

Sorry to hear this about your camper. I do believe 2006 was the first year of Aluminum frame, as that's what I looked for several years ago, but ICBW. Do your research on it.

I feel for the fact that you got taken on this deal. And it appears you're not the person who will be tearing the camper apart and rebuilding it. However, if the overhead area is solid enough structurally (no bows or wrinkles in the sides that would indicate the frame is actually sagging), just do what you can and go camping. I think venting the bottom of the overhead is a good idea, maybe it will dry out. If you can locate the framing, you could drill some small pilot holes and see if the framing is solid. If so, let it dry as long as you can "sagging" and then you could neatly re-attach the sagging filon skin to the framing with some small screws with fender washers.

This is all a guess, as I haven't seen it, but I can say have had 2 of those campers and both leaked up front, prior to my purchase, to varying degrees and I did some minor repairs, sealed the leaks (upper clearance lights mostly) and used them for years without any issue.
1 of which began leaking on my watch and I ended up drilling small holes to let the water out.

Bottom line, it's not good, but it may not be that bad.

[BurbMan]

I recommend getting a non-invasive moisture meter. It works like a stud finder and measures the moisture level inside the walls. This will tell you how far the water has traveled and how bad it is. I had several places on my camper that were 100% and water literally dripped out when I opened the wall up.

There is a link to my Lance rebuild project in my signature. These campers are always repairable, the problem is it's not worth it to pay somebody to do it if it's older then 10 years. Remember that the average life of an RV fridge is 12-15 years, so consider that as well.

[3_tons]

“I forgot to mention, 100% of the info you get on this web site is opinion” ....

Huh??.... I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that opinions was what the OP was seeking - lol

3 tons

[Joe417]

I bought an 05 990 in 2011 or 2012, I've forgotten when. It had leaks in several locations. I planned to repair all the issues "next winter".

I did maintenance and stopped all the leaks. I repaired the rotten areas under the battery box and gas compartment. I also replaced the bottom cover under the basement.

I never got around to repairing the front cap. After stopping all the leaks we have used it year after year. The skin of the front cap and beneath the bed is backed only by card board. Once it dried it still had a few waves/ripples in it but wasn't rotten and it hasn't fallen apart.

The only thing that I had to do was get the musty/rotten wood smell out, which turned out to be the two spots of rot on the wings. I think that would have dried too but I had no choice, the wife said so.

You need to stop the leaks first. No silicon. I use Dicor but any of the usual camper sealers will work.

On my AF, the front cap leaks were the clearance lights.

If you are handy with repairs, you can repair it to better than factory, but it does take a little work. In 2010 I replaced the roof and front cap on one with my wife's help. It took us 3 months of week ends.

There were a lot of examples on RV.net but they may no longer be available as we've lost photo storage servers. I'm sure if you ask specific questions someone can help.

I forgot to mention, 100% of the info you get on this web site is opinion, including mine, so read up on what you need to fix before drilling and cutting. One opinion rather than another may be better for your particular need. Once you've taken a particular route it may be hard to recover.

[mkirsch]

Geo*Boy wrote:
DO NOT USE SILICONE ON YOUR CAMPER. Use ProFlex RV sealant, it can be purchased on Amazon.

Agreed. Your everyday run of the mill Home Depot silicone is NOT designed to go bouncing down the road. Even the quality stuff that's designed for RVs needs to be refreshed every couple of years. The silicone will just fall off on your first trip.

[Kayteg1]

3 tons wrote:
..I see no reason why this can’t be addressed by a semi-experienced DIY’er..

Yeah. IMHO patient and careful DIYer will always do better job, than professional running on the clock.
Seeing how cheaply most of the campers are stapled together, I would never build it to such low quality.

[3_tons]

Done a bunch of home remodels myself...If it were me, I would fix it myself, and soend the savings on a camping trip!!...I see this as maybe butt ugly but I don’t see this as terminal...I would make a east to west very shallow cut (no greater than 1/8” to avoid the aluminum stringers) just aft of the front cap radius (on the under-cab), remove the entire panel (which is filon atop of cheap luan plywood), eliminate the filon and replace with new luan say atop conventional 4’x8’ vinyl sheet material from a big box store then permanently cover the cut seam with a caulked trim strip ...The damage likely extends down to the vertical section beneath the cabover as well, but the process is still the same...I see no reason why this can’t be addressed by a semi-experienced DIY’er..

3 tons

[Lancey]

RachaelArcticFox wrote:

KKELLER14K wrote:
Oh you are in trouble...they did not go to the aluminum frame until 2006...if it is a wood frame....well delam is your least of you worries OMG!!....you got a time bomb!

OH NOOOOOOO! Guess it just keeps getting better (sigh) Thank you for telling me. Such a bummer! Saved up all my pennies for a time bomb. Learning opportunities can be expensive! 😞

Don't listen to him, his info is wrong

[Lancey]

KKELLER14K wrote:
Oh you are in trouble...they did not go to the aluminum frame until 2006...if it is a wood frame....well delam is your least of you worries OMG!!....you got a time bomb!

Mid 04 if you want to get technical, all 2005's are aluminum, hence the "silver fox edition" that's what it means!

[Geo_Boy]

Rachael, I found the name of the repair shop. Curt’s RV Service & Repair in LaGrande, Oregon,
(541) 962-1020
62851 Philynda Loop
La Grande, OR 97850

[Geo_Boy]

DO NOT USE SILICONE ON YOUR CAMPER. Use ProFlex RV sealant, it can be purchased on Amazon.

[d3500ram]

I have done this repair on a previous camper. As folks have alluded, it is a big job but it can be done. I have the skills to do it but it is not fun when you want to be camping.

Be careful using silicon... it is not easily removed after put down. I would recommenced a latex caulk of sorts for any interim sealing you plan to do.

Please post pictures of your camper for us to see... it will help the very knowledgeable members better on their replies.