Front Bulkhead Replacement

[MaxxE]

Greetings,
Due to an accident with an electric gate closing mechanism (thank you Mr Gopher for chewing through the wires), my 2018 3730 FL sustained a nasty gash into the bulkhead when the gate closed prematurely behind my tow vehicle. I toyed with the idea of a DIY repair, but since we really like this unit, we decided to restore it to new condition and keep it as long as we can. (I was over-ruled by DW on this). Has anyone done a DIY on this material before? The material is a flexible sheet called TPO. It has some unusual properties of both plastic and rubber (it seems). Not sure how to proceed in a DIY and was wondering if anyone had experience with it.
Thanks in advance,
Max

 

[Carl n Susan]

Bulkhead v. TPO?? TPO is a roof product. How does this fit with a bulkhead? Pictures would help a lot!

 

[Mikendebbie]

I’ll bet he means “FRP”…fiber reinforced panel. I think the panel that covers the front overhang soffit and the front of the storage bays is FRP. I don’t recall ever seeing the installation process of this piece in any of the factory tour videos. In the screen shot below, the FRP has already been installed.

My guess for installation…this FRP panel is a single large floppy piece that is pre-cut to fit around the hitch pin box plus the compartment door openings. You can see the FRP sagging off the soffit framing, and bowing out at the door openings, so it is NOT glued to the aluminum framing…it has screws holding it in place around the panel perimeter + around the door openings and on the soffit. I tighten these screws on my soffit from time to time.

Maxwell - I assume the gate poked a gash into the FRP, plus maybe bent some of the aluminum studs, and you are debating whether to replace the whole piece, or to use a fiberglass patch kit. If it was mine, I would file an insurance claim and have the dealer replace the whole panel (soffit + front bulkhead), and paint to match.

In the factory, I will guess that two guys initially set and attach the panel in 5 minutes, then another guy comes and secures the panel with all the screws and molding trim…30 minutes total labor maybe??? No idea how long it will take a dealer to order the panel from Keystone, have it shipped, remove the damaged panel and install the new panel and then paint it to match. Their stock of painted panels for a 2018 is long gone by now. I’m thinking a good dealer will keep it 2 weeks. This would probably be a 1 week job for Affinity RV Repair in Goshen. Painting the panel is time consuming.

Home Depot/Lowes sell FRP - but not panels large enough to cover this area, plus the color is likely not a match to your RV. In commercial construction, drywall subs handle furnishing and installing FRP. It is typically used on walls in toilets, janitor closets, and kitchen walls. It is glued to the sheet rock as a wall finish. I would not trust any drywall sub I know to take on this install…no offense intended to any drywall subs out there!

 

[MaxxE]

I stand corrected - thank you. Yes FRP is what it is. Thanks to DW and friends at Keystone, we have secured the FRP in Oyster and the good people at Affinity will replace the panel as soon as I can get up there. Shipping to Texas was going to cost over $600.00 . My local repair shop was going to take 3 weeks and $5500 to replace! It is a 6 hour job (max) at Affinity. The stud wall behind the gash appears to be wooden. Since I stopped going forward (almost just in time) I dont think there is any damage to the studwall. I taped it closed since we were on our way out when this happened. I threatened to just tape it and cover it with a decal - I was over-ruled and insurance is taking care of it now. Thank you.

 

[C&P RV]

You will be happy with Affinity's work!! I had a "close encounter" with the steel U post that a typical rolling gate sits in when closed. Gashed about 3 feet of the dining slide and most of the entry door like a can opener. If I hadn't told you, you would never know.

 

[RMcNeal]

I had considered putting a diamond plate panel on the lower section of the FRP on my rig just to prevent rocks and road debris damage. It might be cheaper to just install some aluminum diamond plate over the bottom section of the front and call it a day. That you can buy from HD.

 

[foldbak]

I had a carpenters level go through mine. A smaller hole but I installed a compartment door. Google trailer compartment doors.
https://recpro.com/rv-baggage-door-and-compartment-storage-12w-x-16h/

 

[Rnjmurray]

FRP

How big is the hole?

 

[Rnjmurray]

Depending on the size of the go to an auto store by two reflectors. Put one over the damage the other on the other side and know will know the difference

 

[razahoryin@att.net]

I recently had to do a frame repair to my pin box frame that required R&R of the FRP. I did it but it was a fair amount of work for 1 person is reasonable for the R&R excluding the parts.

 

[Daryles]

I like the Aluminum Diamond plate idea. It will protect from future rocks etc.

 

[MaxxE]

THAT is a GREAT idea! We have secured the original FRP for the model and so we have a good excuse to travel to Indiana to get the repair done (then on to MN to grandkids). I was late looking back at this post - GREAT IDEA! Thanks, Max

 

[MaxxE]

It is a gash really - not a hole per se - covered nicely with duct tape but drives me cray looking at it . The gash is 9 inches tall and deformed the FRP 2 inches in width at the top. We will be back to normal by Sept. Thanks, Max