Wheel wells? How to seal?

[mikeschn]

How do you guys do wheel wells on your foamies?

I've put in wooden ones, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to seal them. And the body is already bolted down so there won't be any fancy canvassing.

Any ideas?

[GPW]

How about that spray on undercoating ... That stuff’s pretty Tough ... We used that on the FS above the tires ...

Anybody tried “Spray and Seal" ( as seen on TV) ... ??? That should be tested huh ? ...

[mikeschn]

I'm back from the Orange box store. They had a piece of Aztek 7" wide, perfect for a water resistant wheel well!

I'll be doing that sometime today. At the moment it's raining, so I'm stuck putzing in the garage.

Mike...

[GPW]

What’s Aztek ? You’re gonna’ have to show us what that looks like eh ?

[Arothian]

I think he is talking about this stuff, 'AZEK' : http://www.homedepot.com/p/AZEK-Trim-3- ... /202970147

I've never used it, but I'm also curious about wheel well sealing. On my build, I'll have very small wheel wells raised from the standard floor about 1inch higher. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do. I'm tempted to make a small piece of foam, curve and canvas it to use.

[mikeschn]

Aro is right...

It's Azek

Azek is some kind of plastic...



Here's a shot of the end grain. Plastic thru and thru!!!



Mike...

P.S. Ripped out the old wheel wells today, didn't have a chance to get started on the new one yet.

[GPW]

Looks like a high density foam (plastic) board ... Hmmm ??? Could be useful for other trailer parts eh ???
Mike pray tell us more !!!

[mikeschn]

Glenn,

I'm planning on doing the new wheel wells this weekend. I should know more after that!

Mike...

[GPW]

That could be some Fabulous Future Foamie standard building material .... schmaybe’ ???

[mikeschn]

Herin lies the problem with building with azek... there's no strength... It's like a wet noodle!!!



Mike...

[GPW]

That's a bit disappointing ...

[KCStudly]

It's not a bad choice for what you are using it for. Short lengths will have enough to do the job and they won't really be under any load so long as the tires don't come unglued (so to speak).

The stuff is vinyl, right? Why not use window caulk to stick it together? Does it hold a screw worth a bean?

I used something similar, square vinyl trim stock, as curbing to locate the fuel tank in my boat, but I screwed down thru it into the wood sub-floor. Don't remember trying to screw into it, or screwing it to itself.

[mikeschn]

Hey KC,

The Azek PVC trim cuts really nice with a table saw and a chop saw. This material is soft and goes thru the blade like butter.



But try to cut it with a jig saw, that's not as much fun. The blade gets too hot and the material melts! That has to be cleaned of with a hacksaw blade or a chisel.



Drilling holes was easy, and just to be safe I predrilled the holes for the screws. The screws hold well, and there was no splitting.

I glued it up with gg. As far as I can tell, it's holding. But then it's all backed up with screws.

As for protecting the foam in the wheel well, just canvas and TBII.

Mike...

[GPW]

Thanks for the evaluation..... Do you think it could replace wood in a door frame ???

[GoTurtleGo]

Mikeschn,

Would it bend enough to make a curved wheel well, like a car has, but with no kerfing?

An opinion would be helpful. I am still in the thinking stages.

Thanks,

Kathleen