- This topic has 15 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 5 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hello fellow boat/camper builders. I recently finished building the CLC camper (just to build it) and put it on the market. I’m located in CA and sold it to a couple in Durham, NC. They arranged a shipper to transport the camper from CA to NC. Along the way, it appears some bumps were hit and the galley shelf has partially detached from the wall behind the galley. The couple who bought the camper are not versed in epoxy or finishes.
Is there someone located near Durham experienced with epoxy/finishes who could repair the crack on my behalf? I’ll gladly pay for the labor and material.
Thanks,
Matt
The camper was new before being shipped to Durham. I’m at a loss for how such force could have been applied to shear the galley flat under the galley module. I originally thought maybe the weight of the battery may have bounced and made the module sag, but the galley module is secured to the wall separating the galley and cabin in several places so??
@savageml, that weak point has been a problem in the past for others. The current kit instructions mention that the battery caused this failure in a past design so the recommendation is to wrap fiberglass tape around that corner on the interior of the camper.
Good luck!
Jason
Matthew,
The base model for the camper sells new from CLC for $19,795 (https://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/recreational-vehicles/new-assembled-teardrop-camper.html). That doesn’t include basic electrical (+$1,129).
I don’t know the market price for one built from a kit or sold used. I’m sure someone else here has bought or sold one.
Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Anyone know someone in the Durham, NC area that can do a repair?
Thanks,
Matt
I think the weight of the battery is on the galley flat, so even though the galley insert is secured to the bulkhead, the weight of the battery potentially bouncing on the galley flat seems like it could cause this failure. If the only thing securing the galley flat to the bulkhead is the fillet on the galley side of the bulkhead (and not a strip of fiberglass on the corner beneath the shelf on the interior of the camper), then the fillet might not fail, but the glue between the top layer of plywood of the galley flat and the next layer can fail, which appears to be the case in the photos. They plywood of the galley flat looks like it has de-laminated along that seam.
Gene, Thanks for the response. After looking at the photos during construction, I can see your point and it makes perfect sense. I’m curious what your thoughts are on an effective repair? Thanks, Matt
@savageml, if this happened to my camper, I’d probably try to inject some epoxy thickened with Cell-o-fill into the delaminated areas and then jam 2×4 braces between the floor and bottom of the galley flat to compress it back to the original position as much as possible. Let that set then sand down all the squeeze out. If there are any large gaps remaining, I’d fill those with thickened epoxy then sand down. And to make sure it doesn’t happen again, I’d apply a fiberglass strip as is currently recommended but I’d probably double up with two layers and maybe even go with a wider strip cut from a sheet (not just the 3 inch tape) to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Thank you for the insightful response. I bought my camper kit before the edit to add the fiberglass. I like your idea and this seems consistent with the construction process (using cell-0-fil) for glue ups. Much appreciate the clc camper community feedback on this topic.
Just need to find someone who can do the job. I estimate it will be a couple days to effect the repair, maybe 3 given the time to let the epoxy cure/cleanup.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.