Fixing Stress Crack

RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

Well when we got the trailer there was a stress crack in the fiber glass right by the slide in the MB.
After a ton of research and talking to rv dealers, and rv reparis shops, found that its a very common point and a know issue. To the point that the new RV come with this mod already.
So here is what I came up with and so far so good, problem solved! hope it helps someone.

RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

here is the crack

RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

Got the Dremel with a cutting disc and did a 1/8 cut

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then I made sure that is was a clean cut

mlpeloquin · Jan 18, 2018

I have a stress crack at the top of my bedroom slide. I talked it over with the owner of my independent rv repair service. He showed me eleven others, none of them Heartland, that all had them. He stated it was not structural. If repaired, it would most likely occur again. He said to finish the crack so as to make it straight and then make it water tight. I did not open it up as you did, but made it a thin straight cut. I sealed it up by covering it with White EternaBond RoofSeal repair tape. I first pulled the calking out of the top and bottom areas to allow the tape to run the full length of the crack. I then calked after applying the tape. Many ways to fix a crack caused by continuous flexing going down the road.

RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

got a piece of trim from ebay (1ft for less than $2) and trim it for a nice fit

rxbristol · Jan 18, 2018

RawFaith said:
got a piece of trim from ebay (1ft for less than $2) and trim it for a nice fit

Great idea...that trim will provide a nice finish.

RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

1)filled the gap with caulking
2) placed the trim into place
3) applied some pressure to it for a couple of days

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RawFaith · Jan 18, 2018

here is the final look

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jhardin · Jan 18, 2018

Awesome job! Great idea, thanks for sharing.

wdk450 · Jan 19, 2018

The RV repairer I used found a crack in the aluminum casting under the fiberglass crack. He attempted a repair by welding a thin steel plate across the aluminum casting crack then refinishing the fiberglass. I paid about $6000 and the fix did not hold up. They had no previous experience in welding steel to aluminum, but researched the subject.

Here's a picture of the metal crack under the fiberglass: The bedroom slide front lower corner is at the top right, the aluminum casting sits on top of the steel frame. Whether the frame is cracked or not is undetermined.

It looks like this downloaded picture loaded sideways (a known forum bug).

BTW, my current fiberglass crack is about 1/4 inch wide and is covered with white Gorilla tape.

jimtoo · Jan 19, 2018

Weld steel to aluminum???

jnbhobe · Jan 19, 2018

Since when can you weld steel to aluminum ????

wdk450 · Jan 19, 2018

jnbhobe said:
Since when can you weld steel to aluminum ????

I was told by the repairer that with special materials and welding tips you could - but it evidently didn't work. There are posts on the internet about welding steel to aluminum.

If I ever get enough money again to address the issue, I would push for some aluminum plate of aircraft grade aluminum. I was also looking at aircraft grade epoxies (they use these to assemble commercial airliners) with shear strengths of 2400 psi instead of welding. There are a lot of square inches in the contact areas.

RawFaith · Jan 29, 2018

mlpeloquin said:
I have a stress crack at the top of my bedroom slide. I talked it over with the owner of my independent rv repair service. He showed me eleven others, none of them Heartland, that all had them. He stated it was not structural. If repaired, it would most likely occur again. He said to finish the crack so as to make it straight and then make it water tight. I did not open it up as you did, but made it a thin straight cut. I sealed it up by covering it with White EternaBond RoofSeal repair tape. I first pulled the calking out of the top and bottom areas to allow the tape to run the full length of the crack. I then calked after applying the tape. Many ways to fix a crack caused by continuous flexing going down the road.

Well, this idea is actually not mine. As you I was at a RV repair facility and just mentioned to the owner and he actually told me and show about 5 units with the same problem and then showed me some new heartlands. The new units come already with this trim in place.
He described the process and the $350 cost of the repair. Having everything need it for the job except the trim I just decided to go for it!
How is your fixing holding up?

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rxbristol said:
Great idea...that trim will provide a nice finish.

jhardin said:
Awesome job! Great idea, thanks for sharing.

thanks guys!
Sorry for the VERY delayed interaction, just got super busy and not very happy with the tapatalk ...

Fixing Stress Crack

RawFaith

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