Back fiberglass pulling away from 177 HRE

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

   Greetings!

My wife and I just purchased a 2012 R-Pod 177 Hood River Edition.  We LOVE IT…it’s perfect for the two of us!  

Unfortunately, we should have inspected it a little more closely before we bought it.  There appears to have been some water damage in the past in the rear below the pass-through storage.  The underbelly is no longer attached to the back of the camper.  That’s what caught our attention.

Since I don’t know exactly how the R-Pod is built, I’m not sure exactly how to fix it and thus this post.  I have not yet consulted my local dealer I bought it from as I was hoping to repair it myself.

The wood below the floor in the very back is not protected by anything and gets wet when it rains and of course if/when we drive in the rain.  The wood has some water damage and is somewhat soft.  At first I was hoping to just seal it up and prevent any further damage, but I’m thinking now that I might need do some additional work because it appears the back bottom of the camper fiberglass has/is pulling away from the camper itself. 

So, I have uploaded some pictures to my Microsoft One Drive for you to look at to offer me any suggestions.  The link to the pictures is:  https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aus-snDEGLMPqwvNdE2GZwv5JGic?e=Hd9p3l.  

Picture 1 shows the back door-side corner where the back has pulled away from whatever it was anchored to.

Picture 2 shows the bottom of that corner where you can see corner damage.

Picture 4 shows where the that bottom wood piece is no longer under the L-shaped trim piece that runs along the very back bottom.  I’m assuming the “white” I see is foam as some small white “pebbles” have been seen around that gap.

The other pictures just continue to show that the underbelly is no longer attached and some of the damage.

At first my thought was to remove the back trim piece, seal/harden the plywood bottom and then use some Flex Mend tape to help extend the underbelly to the the fiberglass back/roof piece and then replace the trim and seal up the corners.  However, then I noticed the back/roof piece pulling away in the corner (picture 1) and I’m worried that if that’s all I do, that corner might continue to pull away and not solve my problem in the long run.

Is there “something” I can do to pull the corner back in (and it stay in) and then seal it back up.  What is that corner attached to?  Do/should I also removed the bottom side trim pieces too to help with sealing it back up?  I don’t see any water damage in the pass-through storage area and nothing is soft in there…only the bottom where the underbelly is no longer attached and the corners, especially the corner where it’s pulling away.

Any help you can provide would be very welcome and appreciated.  I can post additional pictures if needed.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
Yedi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Topic: Back fiberglass pulling away from 177 HRE Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 2:00pm
	Greetings! My wife and I just purchased a 2012 R-Pod 177 Hood River Edition. We LOVE IT…it’s perfect for the two of us! Unfortunately, we should have inspected it a little more closely before we bought it. There appears to have been some water damage in the past in the rear below the pass-through storage. The underbelly is no longer attached to the back of the camper. That’s what caught our attention. Since I don’t know exactly how the R-Pod is built, I’m not sure exactly how to fix it and thus this post. I have not yet consulted my local dealer I bought it from as I was hoping to repair it myself. The wood below the floor in the very back is not protected by anything and gets wet when it rains and of course if/when we drive in the rain. The wood has some water damage and is somewhat soft. At first I was hoping to just seal it up and prevent any further damage, but I’m thinking now that I might need do some additional work because it appears the back bottom of the camper fiberglass has/is pulling away from the camper itself. So, I have uploaded some pictures to my Microsoft One Drive for you to look at to offer me any suggestions. The link to the pictures is: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aus-snDEGLMPqwvNdE2GZwv5JGic?e=Hd9p3l. Picture 1 shows the back door-side corner where the back has pulled away from whatever it was anchored to. Picture 2 shows the bottom of that corner where you can see corner damage. Picture 4 shows where the that bottom wood piece is no longer under the L-shaped trim piece that runs along the very back bottom. I’m assuming the “white” I see is foam as some small white “pebbles” have been seen around that gap. The other pictures just continue to show that the underbelly is no longer attached and some of the damage. At first my thought was to remove the back trim piece, seal/harden the plywood bottom and then use some Flex Mend tape to help extend the underbelly to the the fiberglass back/roof piece and then replace the trim and seal up the corners. However, then I noticed the back/roof piece pulling away in the corner (picture 1) and I’m worried that if that’s all I do, that corner might continue to pull away and not solve my problem in the long run. Is there “something” I can do to pull the corner back in (and it stay in) and then seal it back up. What is that corner attached to? Do/should I also removed the bottom side trim pieces too to help with sealing it back up? I don’t see any water damage in the pass-through storage area and nothing is soft in there…only the bottom where the underbelly is no longer attached and the corners, especially the corner where it’s pulling away. Any help you can provide would be very welcome and appreciated. I can post additional pictures if needed.

Ben Herman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2018 Location: Gr Junction, CO Online Status: Offline Posts: 355	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 3:30pm
	I'm sorry to see your problems. I can't be of much help, but I recall that some months ago someone else had this problem (or similar) and posted a long thread about how he repaired it. You might try searching for it, more than likely someone else in the Forum will come along shortly with more assistance than I am able to provide. The members of this forum are a very helpful bunch.

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2627	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 3:48pm
	It looks like the problem is at the rear, under the bed/passthrough? If possible, you will probably have to open up the passthrough and try to get in there far enough to see what sort of structural damage there is to the floor under the passthrough.
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

David and Danette Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 24 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 3:49pm
	It looks like part of the floor will need to be replaced by the photos. The dealer should have told you about the damage before they sold it to you. I am sure they had inspected camper if they took it in on a trade.
	2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

Yedi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 5:14pm
	https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aus-snDEGLMPqxS4U75dNLcFB9cs Above is a photo of a 2010 factory tour on another post on another R-Pod owners site. My damage appears to be that bottom layer of plywood and possibly the corner. I don't know about the board running horizontal. Nothing is soft in the floor of the pass-through area under the bed which is directly above where my damage is, so I don't think I have any damage to the flooring board and vinyl.

DavMar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 5:27pm
	My advice is first listen to GlueGuy. Your going to have to get "into" the floor of the pass through to see what damage you have to the floor. I hate to say this but I would think it will probably require you to remove what ever is above this area inside (not familiar with your floor plan layout). Because it looks from your photos to me that the floor is rotted where it joins the fiberglass wall shell. Once your in there you'll see how the floor is joined to the wall and most likely its either glued or screwed or both. It looks like to me that your water proof fabric under-lament pulled loose from the joint seam which caused the water damage. Once the floor is repaired you have a couple different options on sealing the bottom from water with the easiest being maybe reusing the present fabric seal by using a product such as what you suggested flex-seal tape to join the fabric back to the rear seam. I think its rather shoddy of the dealer to sell you this Pod with this obvious defect. You can try to get them to do a repair to YOUR satisfaction but don't hold your breath on it because they will probably say "sold as is" sorry but then maybe their one of the few stand up dealerships? If you think this repair is above your pay grade and the dealership won't cover the repair my strong advice to you is take it to a couple INDEPENDENT RV repair shops and get their recommendations and cost estimates. Best of luck to you and let us all know how it turns out for you. Hope my advice helps you in some small way?
	Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 02 Jun 2019 at 5:36pm
	Viewing the pics. It looks like an issue I had with my 2015 178. On the right front corner. Almost like the bottom had come unsecured from the upper enclosure. I also did not have any internal issues. I removed the trim. I added a piece of aluminum that attached to trim and then extended out to bottom. I added longer hardware and then resealed the bottom, that was two years ago and no further issues. To me, it looked like the bottom did not secure to the upper enclosure. So I braced it. Welcome to send me a PM and a phone number would be happy to discuss. You're call.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

Yedi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Posted: 16 Jun 2019 at 7:45pm
	Okay, my wife and I spent about 8 hours Saturday repairing our 177. We took the back trim piece off and then wrapped Flex-Mend tape on the fiberglass back and then back under to the existing underbelly. I sprayed a little Flex Seal on the wood prior to doing that. When we applied the tape we pushed as hard as we could to the back of the camper to make it as tight as we could get it, although as you would expect it was still not pulled in all the way. The we attached 4 metal straps from the bottom of the trim piece to the bar that runs side to side that the spare tire is attached. Again, pulling in as tight as we could, we were able to pull it back to where it should be...or pretty close. We added more Flex Mend tape to the bottom and added fresh caulk. I will probably need to caulk some more. So, we have the complete back almost back to where it should be and everything is sealed back up. I added finished repair images to my OneDrive folder at https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aus-snDEGLMPqwsgtubXZEwWe7zf?e=63oMJe

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586	Posted: 16 Jun 2019 at 8:24pm
	Nice work. Hope it holds up for you.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

Yedi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13	Posted: 06 Aug 2019 at 12:56pm
	Just a quick update. The dealer ended up giving us our money back on this 177 and we bit the bullet and bought a new 2020 195.