How best to repair wood rot in the fame

[JackDriver]

Hi guys,

I've had my Prattline Lo-Tow from new and unfortunately I've had to park it on the front lawn as I had nowhere else to store it when it wasn't being used. After 23 years it's starting to show its age and has wood rot in all corners due to the sealant around the roof & side mouldings failing.

Luckily after having moved to the country I now had a good sized shed where I can work on it without exposing it to the weather. My plan was to remove the ply from the inside to expose the frame but leave the the aluminium side panels in place. My problem is how to successfully join any new timbers to the exisitng frame in situ. When I've done this in the past I've used screwed and glued half lap joints but I found these difficult to do in situ and wasn't very happy with the results. I would welcome any suggestions.

Cheers,
JackDriver

[masterplumber]

Personally, I would do it from the outside, as you need to clean and reseal the joints anyhow.

Gerry

[Old Techo]

G'day JD,

23 years eh. Much longer than most marriages

I have not done any of that type of repair (yet) but I am interested in possible techniques. Also my son is in the new van building industry.

Do you have any pics of the opened up damaged area to give us a possible repair perspective?

MP, I was thinking about that. Son recently said removing the cladding is a big job. He may have also said, somewhat destructive. We did not discuss it in depth but I guess it would depend upon the type of cladding.

[JackDriver]

Thanks guys,

OT, I don't have pics at present as I haven't started the repair job yet. Wanted to know how I was going to do it before I started.

MP, I didn't want to remove the outside cladding as it's done in narrow sheets with scores of staples holding it onto the frame. I did do another repair this way but found getting the sheets off and back on a real chore like OT has suggested. Besides, the ply is ruined anyway and needs to be replaced so it seemed like a good idea to go in from the inside.

Cheers,
JackDriver

[J.REEVES]

Hi Jack,
Is the rot in the top or the bottom half of the Prattline?

If you find that the frame is OK once you remove the ply then possibly use some kind of section like the example in the picture to cover the join over. This product is a Jayco section but you should be able to find something similar or even that ‘H’ shaped plastic section that slips under both sheets of ply. Bunnings should carry that ‘H’ section joiner, not sure what the correct name is.

The aluminium cladding is about 250mm wide as a rule and you usually start at the bottom and work your way up if you need to. Yes just slowly leaver the staples out and then pull out with pliers. As you have done this before you should know what you are in for anyway.

Only thing is to put the aluminium cladding back you need a staple gun and it is best to have staples about 20mm long and not very wide.

If the rot is in the bottom half as I expect then you will be lucky if it has not in the frame and also the floor.

I personally have remove some cladding off my old Jayco and found that it was not that difficult just slow. Fortunately there was only one or two staples per stud but I would dread taking the cladding off my existing van as it has five staples per stud.

finishing section.JPG

JR

[JackDriver]

Thanks JR,

Seems like you are familiar with the Prattline design.

Luckily for me the damage appears to only be in the top half. Because of this I was contemplating separating the top from the bottom and supporting it on stands. That way I should be able to get access to the bottom rails which are the most some of the most damaged parts of the frame.

Thanks for suggesting the 'H' joiners. Prattline used these to join the ply and I've seen these at the Green & Red store so getting new ones shouldn't be a problem.

I've also invested in an air powered narrow crown stapler (6mm wide) that can easily force staples through the cladding and into meranti to what ever depth I want. 18mm is no problem.

What I really looking for advice on is how to actually join new pieces of timber into the existing frame with the restriction on having access to only one side since I want to leave the cladding on as I previously mentioned.

I'd love to be able to do finger jointing or similar but I'm not sure that this is possible. Failing this, how can I make strong joints in the limited space.

Cheers,
JackDriver

[J.REEVES]

Never had any experience with the Prattline but have seen a few and remember when they were originally released and wonder why they never really took off that well.

As the join will not be visible it probable does not matter to much about looks just strength.

You could just lay your new stud up the side of the existing stud and glue it as there are some glues that are very strong. Even run a bit of meranti up both sides of the existing stud and the new bit in the centre. So the glue can dry just hold it in place with a G clamp if you have room or attach with a brad gun.

JR

[nsgnomad]

Jackdriver, you might find a pocket hole drill jig kit is what you need. It enables right angled butt joints thst sre very strong and done from the inside. There are a number of such kits, Kreg is one of them. Look on ebay. Also look on youtube to see some videos.
Good luck.

[shipwreck]

Im in the same situation with rot in the frame... I cut out a section of damaged ply thinking I could repair from inside but ended up taking off the whole side of the cladding top to bottom, and half way up the front too! It just makes it easier to replace the wood and marking out the angles etc. Plus its given me the opportunity to strengthen up any other parts that needed it.
Ive glued and stapled all joins and also added angle brackets for a bit of extra support. Once its all done I plan on painting the timber also.

[Old Techo]

Im in the same situation with rot in the frame...

You should know everything there is to know about timber rotting...... shipwreck