Under Belly Fabric Repair

[Meanjean73]

Had to get a picture of my frame tag and found the plastic was torn. Can’t help but think a worker at the factory thought “they will never see this” and mounted the light right over the damaged area.

Any suggestions on how to fix this for a water tight seal?
This maybe?
Roof Tape

 

[Ox262]

Amazon sells special underbelly repair tape, about $15.

 

[Meanjean73]

Amazon sells special underbelly repair tape, about $15.

I found roof tape and update my post. Is that the same thing?

Or this?
Underbelly tape

 

[Ox262]

Yup, that's the one and it matches the underbelly fabric.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Any chance you drove over something that caused that damage? It almost looks like something like a stick was poking up and caused that damage in a straight line in three places

To fix this, I would cover the LED with tape and then spray with black flex seal. Two coats would be plenty.

 

[Meanjean73]

Any chance you drove over something that caused that damage? It almost looks like something like a stick was poking up and caused that damage in a straight line in three places

To fix this, I would cover the LED with tape and then spray with black flex seal. Two coats would be plenty.

I didn’t that I know of. I don’t see any marks on the light so I’m not sure when it happened or how long it’s been there. The wood underneath is wet a little but not rotten or discolored. That makes sense because we just got home after driving home in the rain.
Who knows?
I’ll dry it out and give the tape a try if that doesn’t work flex seal is next.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Meanjean73]

Yup, that's the one and it matches the underbelly fabric.

Thanks,

 

[Oregon_Camper]

I’ll dry it out and give the tape a try if that doesn’t work flex seal is next.

Tape might last 4-6 months.

 

[Meanjean73]

Tape might last 4-6 months.

Well, inspecting the underside. I noticed a puddle under the RV in the shop and water dripping from the underbelly. We may have a bigger problem than just a little tape repair.
I did drive home yesterday torrential rain, but this definitely seems to be leaking from the other side of the underbelly. A leak? Rain water penetration?
How do you remove these rivets to drop the material?

They had small squares screwed into the bottom side of the belly, and when I pulled them off, there was no access to anything

 

[RockDr896]

Having recently cut my underbelly into removable sections, I found this to be the quickest and easiest way. Put a small pry bar on plastic head...tap it with a hammer and break off plastic head cover...get the right socket and run them out with a drill. I believe the head size is the same as the removable bit holders, so no socket is needed. Now you are going to need to go buy some replacement self tapping screws......put hose on the list when you figure out the issue. I used #12 screws, after having #10's snap off. AND buy a creeper if you don't have one

 

[RockDr896]

Here is a picture of how I sectioned my underbelly, so I could easily get to just one area of my underbelly. I just butt 2 pieces of angle together. I ended up taping over the joint. It is not pretty, but I know it will save me loads of time, fixing future problems.

 

[Meanjean73]

Having recently cut my underbelly into removable sections, I found this to be the quickest and easiest way. Put a small pry bar on plastic head...tap it with a hammer and break off plastic head cover...get the right socket and run them out with a drill. I believe the head size is the same as the removable bit holders, so no socket is needed. Now you are going to need to go buy some replacement self tapping screws......put hose on the list when you figure out the issue. I used #12 screws, after having #10's snap off. AND buy a creeper if you don't have one

Thanks for the advice. I cut into the areas after realizing they are where the drain valves are located. There is water in the back side of the underbelly but all connections I can see are clean and dry. Is it maybe normal to get water in there? We did 150 miles in absolutely drenching rain.

From the looks of it I will be able to remove about 500 feet of excess wire too!!!

 

[RockDr896]

Thanks for the advice. I cut into the areas after realizing they are where the drain valves are located. There is water in the back side of the underbelly but all connections I can see are clean and dry. Is it maybe normal to get water in there? We did 150 miles in absolutely drenching rain.

I don't think so. I will let others with more RV experience speak to that. I have not experienced that with my rig and have driven through strong rain storms.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Thanks for the advice. I cut into the areas after realizing they are where the drain valves are located. There is water in the back side of the underbelly but all connections I can see are clean and dry. Is it maybe normal to get water in there? We did 150 miles in absolutely drenching rain.

As a fellow Oregonian, I can tell you first hand we also had some water get into the underbelly during a big ole' Oregon storm.

I'd keep an eye on it and see if the drip comes back on your next trip, hopefully driving in some dry conditions.

 

[Meanjean73]

I’ll take it down a little bit further so I can see all of the plumbing. Everything is wet so hopefully it was just from road spray but since I’m here, I’ll tidy up some wires and give everything an inspection.

 

[2 Allies]

Thanks for the advice. I cut into the areas after realizing they are where the drain valves are located. There is water in the back side of the underbelly but all connections I can see are clean and dry. Is it maybe normal to get water in there? We did 150 miles in absolutely drenching rain.

From the looks of it I will be able to remove about 500 feet of excess wire too!!!

Meanjean,

We too worried about a leak but found it just to be rain from the roadway. Happened a couple of times and goes away when not driving in heavy rains.

Good luck,

 

[Fishfnatic]

Meanjean,

We too worried about a leak but found it just to be rain from the roadway. Happened a couple of times and goes away when not driving in heavy rains.

Good luck,

Same here. Happened after driving in rain for 5 hours

 

[Meanjean73]

Meanjean,

We too worried about a leak but found it just to be rain from the roadway. Happened a couple of times and goes away when not driving in heavy rains.

Good luck,

Glad to hear!

 

[Meanjean73]

I found a factory drain hole in the center but there was so much cable laying on the underbelly it pooled in that area and had no drain hole there.

I cleaned up and supported the wires with zip ties, re-routed the dump valve cables (much smoother). I found a ground wire to heating pads had a cut in it.
Searched and no indication of a leak anywhere.
I’ll dry it out and put it back together tomorrow.

 

[M and E]

remove about 500 feet of excess wire too!!!

Actually funny!!