Repair hole in wheel well

[GaryS1953]

We recently "flipped" the axels on our small fifth wheel. With the extra room above the wheels we've now found how the mice are getting in, through a large hole right above the tires. There is a hole on each side above the rear tires, I'm guessing caused by dips in the road when the wheels were closer to the well. I could just patch the holes which are roughly 5"x8", but I'm thinking of lining the whole upper part of the well with 5' x 10" strips of aluminum. My question is what's the best way to attach the aluminum to the soft plastic material of the wheel well? My thought is rivets, but not sure how that will hold. I read you should place a washer on the plastic side, but there is no way to do that in this case. Any thoughts?

[westend]

GaryS1953 wrote:
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas. I found a local place that will sell me 16 gage steel and cut it to size. $35 for both sides including the cutting. Figure I will just use self tapping screws as suggested, along with some kind of adhesive. Then I thought I would put something like flex seal on it to protect it from rust and seal it all up.

Good idea except for the Flexseal finish. If the steel is bare, clean it and prime. Follow up with a finish coat. I used a spray can Line X type of sealer. The best road debris finish I've used is 3M rocker panel spray. I don't know if that is still available or not but the stuff was bullet-proof.

The truck bed spray in my truck, Superliner, is the best material I've seen for pickup beds. That was installed by the dealer and they said it was so labor intensive (stripped the paint out), they would never do another. It is all in one piece after 12 years of construction trade use.

[3ares]

I have repaired a hole in the wheel well with roof flashing the same size as the well width. A lot of sealant and pop riveted into place. The hole was caused by a blowout. On my next trailer I installed jeep style aluminum fenders that were a perfect fit for the wheel well. Got'em at Tractor Supply. Had another blow out but, no damage.

Happy Travels

[GaryS1953]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas. I found a local place that will sell me 16 gage steel and cut it to size. $35 for both sides including the cutting. Figure I will just use self tapping screws as suggested, along with some kind of adhesive. Then I thought I would put something like flex seal on it to protect it from rust and seal it all up.

[DRSMPS]

I had made a repair following the damage from a blowout several years back. I bent some 304 stainless steel sheet metal and pop riveted it in place. Following that, I took the TT to the local Line-X pick-up bed liner dealer where they spray in bed liners. I had them spray both wheel wells with the Line-X. They did it for $50 cash. It keeps the joints water tight and I figure it will hold up well in the event I ever have another blow-out.

[phillyg]

In addition to sheet aluminum and pop rivets and/or screws, I'd use a structural adhesive to hold it in place. Marine M1 and 3M 5200 come to mind.

[IBcarguy]

Keep it simple. Use a piece of sheet aluminum and fasten it with pop rivets. I'd put a little sealer or caulking on it first.

[NMDriver]

I used 1x12 wood and deck screws. Several blow outs after the install and no real damage, some scars but no breakage on the boards. I did have my rubber fenders tear off but those just screw back on without breaking.

Have not had any blow outs since I switched to LT tires a few years ago.

[westend]

On the driver's side, adjacent to the electrical and below the galley plumbing, I used 404 steel sheet. I made a wooden box and attached the steel sheet with adhesive and screws into the box. This is the same plate that is used in garbage trucks and process chutes. I have full confidence that a spinning radial belt is not going to get through it, quickly.

On the passenger's side, I reinforced the plastic wheel well with conventional sheet tin. I attached it in two directions, hoping that the tire belt won't tear into the frame quickly. There is at least two inches of clearance before it can hit the wheel well frame or the plywood that encases the well.

[Redwoodcamper]

I broke out the spool gun and welded diamond plating in mine.now if I have a blow out it won't do any real damage.

[stripit]

time2roll wrote:
I reinforced mine with diamond plate attached with self tapping screws.

I went to the heating and a/c duct work company and had them cut and bend the metal piece so I could cover the entire area above the tires, and used the self tapping screws and then caulked over each screw head. Worked perfectly and never had any issues with water or critters.

[Lwiddis]

Time2roll has a good idea.

[time2roll]

I reinforced mine with diamond plate attached with self tapping screws.

[ScottG]

My first thought was rivets too. I would use washers on the plastic side.
You can get aluminum flashing in rolls so you dont have to use a bunch of pieces.