New "Dropped 5th Wheel Club Member"

[EagleRunner]

Well, it was my Montana but it was not me who did it, nor was it my truck that was damaged . I loaned my Montana to a very close friend who was having a family reunion. To help my friends save money on motels for those coming long distances, I loaned them my 5th wheel. My friend is another 5th wheel owner who has towed his 5th wheel now for over 10 years without a mishap, ... well until he tried to move mine on his lot. Normally he follows a set of checks on hookup but was only moving the trailer so he bypassed some of the more critical checks that would have ensured the pin was latched. Unfortunately, his truck was at an angle and not straight in when the Montana dropped onto the rear corner of his right truck rail. The damage to my Montana was bad. The nose took a nasty penetrating crack, approximately 6" long starting from the point it is screwed to the bottom panel toward the front of the cap. The securing channels on both sides were bent along with some minor scuffing of the underside panel and approximately one foot of vinyl trim was torn away and later lost when towed home.

This could not have happened at a worse time. We are heading out on a trip to the Oregon coast around mid September. This damage will not be fixed by then. Rather it will be a sore reminder to both myself and our friends who will be joining us on that trip. I'll have to temorarily seal the crack to keep moisture from penetrating the cap area.

Anyone have any experience or know of anyone having any success with patching the nose cap on one of these trailers? My dealer recommends replacing the entire cap but the insurance adjuster is leaning toward a fiberglass patch job. Will a patch hold or will the pressure, put on the cap at highway speeds, result in causing the crack to "creep" over time?

[Cyrus]

I had a crack repaired by a body shop man that does work on fiberglass boats and you could not tell where it was. Perfect job and color match. Even the repair guy was impressed with the color match. He did reinforce the area from the backside so the stress was not on the crack itself. Took him one day to do the job.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Sorry to hear this, but as always no one was hurt which is good. Most good body shops can fix fiberglass, usually the paint match is the problem. Good Luck. GBY....

[HamRad]

EagleRunner,

For a temporary patch there's nothing like good old Duct Tape! I'd be inclined to use that for a good temp fix. It does come in different colors and white is one of them.

As for the permanent fix a good fiberglass place should be able to make it good as new. Just make sure the underlying structure is OK. If it is then a patch ought to do the trick. If done correctly you can hardly notice where it has been fixed and you should have no problem with the cap. If done correctly there will be no "creeping" of the crack.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

HamRad

[bsmeaton]

I had the rear cap repaired at a body shop, and can't even see the spot anymore. It may discolor over time, but I'll probably wreck it again by then .

Just make sure it is a shop that repairs gelcoat, or you will get paint.

[Fire5er]

And now Duct Tape comes in colors, like white! Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope the friendship last through this incident.

Karl

[Bill-N-Donna]

Wow, I bet your friend really feels pretty bad. Hope you can still have an enjoyable trip! Do you have any pictures to remind us how easily something like this can happen?

[stiles watson]

Bummer. No fun in that. Sounds like you plan to make the best of it.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

By all means have it repaired at a boat shop. They are the experts. Consider the pounding a boat gets in rough water against the stiff breeze against the front cap of a 5er. There is no comparision. These guys are good at their profession after all someone may drown if they didn't know what they are doing.

[Waynem]

I am so sorry to hear about this. I "was" always concerned that someday I would drop the 5er.

Now I just have to worry about pulling up the leveling jacks on the MH.

There is always something to cause concern.

Good luck and maybe you can consider renting something to pull or drive for your trip.

[cdaniels]

I would recommend drilling a small 1/8th inch whole at the top of the crack where it stops. This will stop the crack from going any further. Silicone the crack, and then put the white duck tape on it until the repair. Good luck. I can not imagine how your friend feels. I would not have wanted to be in his shoes telling you. Sounds like you are a true friend. Friendships are easily damaged over things like this, hope you both make it through it being buddies!

[TLightning]

As noted...go to a boat repair shop...I would not go to a car body shop.

[bsmeaton]

The shop that repaired mine does over the road trucks, boats, and RVs. The majority of the over the road truck bodies are fiberglass, and I must admit the shops employ some of the best body guys around if you've ever seen one of those rigs after getting a $20K makeover.

[Trailer Trash 2]

Sorry to read about the damage to your baby, I agree with the others as far as a body shop doing the repairs, and the idea of duct tape sounds like the hot temporary fix, make it look like a band aid and put ouch next to it. then whe you get back get it fixed.