I Swear, The Tree Uprooted Itself And Jumped In Front Of My RV!

[scottkeen]

Please tell me I'm not the first one here to run into something with their RV and do damage to it.

After 3 years weekend RV'ing, I had my first "Oops".

I clipped the side of a young tree (about 6" diameter tree) on the right side as I was pulling out of the campsite and trying to make a sharp turn.

I also ran over some very large rocks bordering the campsite with the trailer tires on the left side trying to make that sharp turn. I have Sailun tires. I hope they didn't get damaged. I had a 2-hour drive back to the RV storage lot. The TPMS did not show any loss of tire air pressure.

Damage done from the tree:

1. Scuffed the edge of the nose-cone about 4-feet long
2. Four 1"-2" rips in the edge of the rubber roof
3. Bent the awning arm or popped it off track, can't tell
4. My pride, of being RV accident-free for 3 years since I bought it

I figured I could:

• Clean and buff out the scuffs on the nose-cone
• Cover the rips in the roof with Eternabond tape
• I hope I can bend the awning back. It looks like it popped off the guide but I'm not sure

Any suggestions or recommendations for this repair, besides "Scott, you are a menace to the RV world, just sell it and buy a boat"?

[scottkeen]

As soon as I got to the RV storage lot today, I started work on repairing the damage.

I cleaned off the scuff marks with Simple Green and a shop towel. That work pretty good. Can't tell any damage done.

I first covered the four rips in the edge of the roof with four pieces of Eternabond tape but that looked bad and plus there was still the "tiger stripes" on the roof edge that I couldn't clean off. So I covered the whole section with one 27" long strip of 4" Eternabond tape. I didn't have alcohol or mineral spirits to clean the surface with first, so I cleaned it with Simple Green. Hope that works.

The Sailun tires that ran over the big rocks (about 100 lbs rocks) seem to be OK after the 2-hour drive. They were 95-97 psi cold when I started and were up to 105-107 psi while on the highway, same as the other side tires. But I guess we'll have to see in about 1.5 weeks when I'm going back out to the storage lot again.

I have not yet addressed the awning issue.

[Daryles]

Looks pretty good so far. Maybe try bending the awning back into place?

[scottkeen]

Thanks.

As you can see, it looks like the awning arm popped off the fixed guide, but I'm not sure if that's all.

In 1.5 weeks I'm going out to the storage lot and will see if I can pop it back on the guides or bend it back into shape, or both, whatever is needed.

[Dam Worker]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate exit out of your campsite. It can happen, sometimes you need to get out the same way you got in. At least you did not follow the directions of the camp ground host who then runs you into a tree. The following year I told him no thanks I will do it myself. Hopefully your awning is fixable and it will just become another memory.
Happy and safe roads to you.

Tom Marty

[jimcol]

Don't be too hard on yourself. I consider myself a fairly proficient RV operator and have self inflicted damage to my rig. If you use them you are going to scuff them.

[Slow Hand]

There isn't anyone who hasn't done something to there rig. You need to go to the paint shop and get some denatured alcohol. I use that stuff for everything. It cleans very nice and doesn't hurt the paint. They use it to clean plastic. Repair looks nice. The awning arm should be ok. You may have to buy a bolt or something for the botom. You can get parts for them.

[Dave W]

We have all done something that makes us scratch our heads as to "Why me". Ours has a roof patch from a low tree in a Santa Fe CG and a ding next to the stair opening from our seasonal in Upstate NY. It happens.


That awning looks like a conventional A&E/Dometic manual. Take a look on ebay as there are some used pieces available. Also, with those manual awnings, most parts are readily available at a larger RV store or can be ordered.

[scottkeen]

Good idea on getting parts for the awning on eBay.

I didn't have denatured alcohol or mineral spirits with me at the storage lot to clean the roof area before applying the Eternabond tape, so I cleaned it Simple Green.

Should I remove the tape (if possible) and clean it with denatured alcohol and put a new piece of tape? How long does it take for the Eternabond tape to "set" and become permanent? It was a cold day yesterday working on the roof, so it may have not stuck so well, but it's gonna heat up today to 85-degrees so maybe the heat will help it set (?) or maybe a brief couple of passes with a heat gun would heat up the adhesive to get it to bond to the roof?

[BB_TX]

Yep. Steel column at the storage facility jumped out and grabbed my rear cap while I wasn't looking. $14,000! Thank goodness for insurance.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by scottkeen

Good idea on getting parts for the awning on eBay.

I didn't have denatured alcohol or mineral spirits with me at the storage lot to clean the roof area before applying the Eternabond tape, so I cleaned it Simple Green.

Should I remove the tape (if possible) and clean it with denatured alcohol and put a new piece of tape? How long does it take for the Eternabond tape to "set" and become permanent? It was a cold day yesterday working on the roof, so it may have not stuck so well, but it's gonna heat up today to 85-degrees so maybe the heat will help it set (?) or maybe a brief couple of passes with a heat gun would heat up the adhesive to get it to bond to the roof?

Eternabond recommends using acetone for cleaning though denatured alcohol should work too but wouldn't use mineral spirits. If the tape is 'stuck' leave it alone but seal the edges with Dicor (also recommended. Did you roll the tape down with a wall paper roller too? It sets up almost instantly - just try to pull it away it from itself if you touch one sticky side with another. Temp wise - you should be fine. It couldn't have been that chilly in VA yesterday - we were about 60 here in Upstate NY



I use Simple Green for lots of cleanup chores so it should work and remove any chalking of that roof rubber.

[scottkeen]

Good tip on sealing the edges of the tape with Dicor!

I did not do that, but I did think of it, but I wasn't sure if that would work if the self-leveling Dicor would just run down the side of the RV.

I think Dicor might make both a self-leveling and a non self-leveling product (more like caulk?).

Is there a Dicor product you are specifically referring?

EDIT: I see that Dicor makes a non-sag non-leveling product. I haven't used their products before, so not sure which color to get to match the roof. White or Dove Gray? If the Dicor color will match the roof color better than the Eternabond tape, I'll just use a spreader and cover over the tape as well.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by scottkeen

Good tip on sealing the edges of the tape with Dicor!

I did not do that, but I did think of it, but I wasn't sure if that would work if the self-leveling Dicor would just run down the side of the RV.

I think Dicor might make both a self-leveling and a non self-leveling product (more like caulk?).

Is there a Dicor product you are specifically referring?

EDIT: I see that Dicor makes a non-sag non-leveling product. I haven't used their products before, so not sure which color to get to match the roof. White or Dove Gray? If the Dicor color will match the roof color better than the Eternabond tape, I'll just use a spreader and cover over the tape as well.

All I used was the self leveling version since I had some in kinda roof matching gray. I put a glob on a corner then spread it with a finger. It will spread easily and that way wont leave any ugly ridges. Unless you are looking, you wont even see it after a few weeks. Just don't forget a rag to wipe your fingers

[WeBeFulltime]

Originally Posted by Dave W

We have all done something that makes us scratch our heads as to "Why me". Ours has a roof patch from a low tree in a Santa Fe CG and a ding next to the stair opening from our seasonal in Upstate NY. It happens.


That awning looks like a conventional A&E/Dometic manual. Take a look on ebay as there are some used pieces available. Also, with those manual awnings, most parts are readily available at a larger RV store or can be ordered.

I think you're mistaken about it being manual. Looks just like all 3 automatics I have had. Keystone was putting automatics on as early as 2008 as standard. A friend had a real problem finding parts for his auto last year. People had them new and used but wouldn't part out. He wound up having part custom made by another friend.

[scottkeen]

If by "automatic" you mean that there is a button inside that I push to roll the awning out or in, then that is what I have. I just have a rocker switch inside by the door to activate the motor to roll the awning out or in.

I sure hope the arms only just popped off the base that's attached to side the of the RV, and I can just pop the arms back on the base. I don't see any missing bolts. Those bolts in the arm that are spaced out every 1-foot or so look like they just help guide and lock the arm to rest into the base.

AFAIK, the motor with axle just rolls the awning in or out and the arms are there to give shape and support to the awning. Hopefully the motor didn't get damaged or the axle get bent. I guess I'll find out a week from tomorrow when I take the rig out again.

[scottkeen]

I was thinking how to "pop" the awning arms back onto the base attached to the side of the RV. Or bend it back, whatever needs to be done.

I could try and muscle it. But not sure if it's going to need more strength than I can provide.

How about use a ratchet strap with one end attached to the tow hitch on my truck? Or I could just pull the strap with my truck if I go really slow. Yes, I can see the requests for a YouTube video pouring in now...

[WeBeFulltime]

A poor choice of words on my part. "Power" would probably be more accurate but it's not manual anyway.

[laverdur]

We all have those days. No matter how vigilant we are, every so often something gets by us. I rely heavily on a visual inspection before pulling into or out of a site and my spotter on the other end of the phone.

[HalH]

If you use your rig enough you are going to encounter a mistake here and there. There are just too many moving pieces to keep an eye on all of them unless you have a top notch spotter and GO SLOW WHEN IN TIGHT SPACES. Ive had minor (not always cheap) dings to both truck and trailer by doing things I look at later and think, "How could I have missed that?" Welcome to the club!!

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Yep. Steel column at the storage facility jumped out and grabbed my rear cap while I wasn't looking. $14,000! Thank goodness for insurance.

Lol!! Been there, done that. I’m feeling better the more I read this string. I have brothers out there!!!