Help: Plywood top separating from side?

[Martinjmpr]

Well, we've had some good long trips with Bubbles this year, but after coming back from our last camping trip, I was alarmed to notice what appeared to be the top curved plywood piece pulling away from the side. This is below the hatch on the left side. Here's are some pictures:







So my question is, what do I do to keep this from spreading? I can't really clamp this, so what I'm thinking of doing is injecting some glue in there, and then using some small, skinny nails to tap it back into place. Does that seem like a good idea? I would use screws except I'd be afraid that screws wouldn't "bite" as well into the 3/4" plywood of the sides since it would be going in between the plys.

Also, what kind of glue should I use?

Thanks in advance!

[citylights]

Nails won't do anything, don't bother with them.

Check for water intrusion and rot that might be causing the separation. You have to kill the rot to stop the spreading first before you repair. Cut out bad wood, spray on bleach, and let it thoroughly dry.

It might just be stress and mechanical separation or glue failure. In that case you can just repair.

If it is glue failure, you really need to get the bad glue off to make a good repair. That means stripping off the outside, sanding down the glue and reglueing, or reglueing a new piece.

If that sounds too extreme, You might use ratchet straps and wood wedges to clamp and re glue as it is.

You might also drill out where your screws will not bite, glue in dowels and re glue and screw from there.

Good luck.

[KCStudly]

What citylights said, and you might actually be able to clamp that.

Find a radial line from the place that you want to clamp (center of the problem area), then place a clamp on or clamp a block to the trailer frame. This should give you a foothold that you can hook a bar or pipe clamp to allowing you to pull the skin in.

But you really should investigate and fix any "bad stuff" that may be going on. If it can be built, it can be fixed. Take the time to get it right; you have so much time already invested that it will be worth it!

[H.A.]

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[cuyeda]

The seams of the plywood edges look vulnerable for water intrusion. My best guess would be to add additional coats of epoxy resin, then add an aluminum extrusion on the corner. Caulk it with a polyurethane sealant. If you want to retain an all wood look, then you would have to fabricate a wood molding trim. With a trim piece, you could use a few more staples or screws underneath to pull the joining pieces together if needed.

[doug hodder]

From the pics it appears that the glue is failing and the ply is starting to split. You can doctor it, but the glue that hasn't failed, probably will over time, this probably is just the start. While others may disagree with me, you may need to do some fiberglass tape to hold that joint together mopped with epoxy and an entire seal with epoxy on the trailer. You can inject glue to help, but there is probably more issues to happen as the rest of the original adhesive fails. The more screws/ nails you sink into it will only allow more water intrusion without some sort of serious sealing.

I've torn apart lots of old trailers and typically doctored up quick fixes are just that, they seldom cure the problem...You could buy some time with a quick fix and then do a rebuild when you want a new trailer. Cliff is right...an aluminum extrustion might be a real help, depending on the thickness of the material. You'd want the material to be covered by the lip on the edging. FWIW. Doug

[Kody]

This is my original answer.

This is a reply I posted not many days ago about waterproofing this critical and sensitive area. For me, this is the only way to fix a situation like you describe. It is easy to do the second time but the first time will not be very difficult to do at all. The hard part is keeping the bias cut glass remaining at the width you want. It will very easily stretch out and become rather narrow. Take your time with it, there's no rush and mix the resins in a wide flat container like an ice cream container. To stop the resin from setting up too fast, don't have it in a cup shape container. By spreading out the resin in as thin a layer as possible the working time of the resin is very greatly increased. I had some in a coffee cup one day and it went hard in 10 minutes liberating so much heat the cup melted. Before the resin sets, wash the brush in white vinegar and also your hands when finished. The vinegar destroys and removes the gooey resin in seconds.
Check this out:-

"I have mentioned this before (a very long time ago) but I will offer a gentle reminder of how to fiberglass the corners.
I have never used F/G tape more than once to seal an external or internal corner, it was a disaster. The doubled fibers on the outer edges of the tape leave a horrid ridge that has to be sanded and faired back to the original surface. Not fun by any stretch of the imagination. Secondly, only half of the threads are holding the panels together. The threads that run lengthwise offer no strength at all to the joint or edge. A much better way is to cut a strip of cloth, 4 or 5 inches wide from a roll and cut the strip on the bias. That is, cut the strip at a 45 degree angle across the width of the roll. When this is now applied to the corner, both threads of the glass cover the overlap at 45 degrees. This offers vastly superior strength and is very easy to get the F/G to bend over the outside corner and stay where you want it while the resin is curing. Don't forget to apply a sealing coat of resin before placing the F/G strip on the seam/joint. The sealing coat must be fully cured so you can place the strip easily. You can use two coats to seal the wood as this is where the edges of the strip are sanded down to flair into the panel/s with a minimum of fuss. This method is by far the very best to use for interior corners as well. The glass will push fully into the corners without springing out. The edges of the external corner should be sanded or routed to form a 1/8" or 5/32" radius before applying the glass. This makes laying the F/G around the corner "a piece of cake". If you want a square corner, an extra strip of glass can be applied to build up the edge and then sanded back as needed. If you want/need more than one layer of glass, cut the first strip 4" wide and the second strip 6" wide. This will flare into the panel much better with a minimum of sanding to finish it. This is how I will be building the sides, roof and inside joints of my TD."

A search through my posts will reveal more info for you. However, if you would like more info, contact me via this forum or send me an email. Glassing is not something to be scared of doing, it is quite easy. All you need is confidence and believe in yourself.

Kody

3 September 2013
If the sealing coat is not cured, the bias cut cloth may not be easy to position. To help keep it in place, you can hold it down with masking tape .

Kody

[Larry C]

If you want/need more than one layer of glass, cut the first strip 4" wide and the second strip 6" wide. This will flare into the panel much better with a minimum of sanding to finish it. This is how I will be building the sides, roof and inside joints of my TD."
Kody

Kody, I agree with almost everything you have stated. I have tried to convey the same methods in the past, but everyone keeps using the much more difficult to work with tape instead of cutting their own bias cut strips from cloth.

Unless I read your post wrong, the one thing I disagree with is when using two layers of bias strips, you suggest cutting the first at 4" and the second at 6" To me that's backwards. The first layer should be the 6" strip followed by the 4" on top.


Larry C

[Kody]

Hi Larry, Thank you for your info and thoughts. I prefer to lay the 4 inch wide strip first because the second wider layer covers the entire edge/s of the first layer and is (IMO) so much easier to finish sand. There are no fraying edges to stand up as they are covered with the second layer of the bias cloth. The two applied strips can be rolled down using a specific roller and consolidated very firmly so that very little sanding is required to finish the job. I find a 4" roller is the perfect size for doing this. If there is a problem of build up because of the thickness of glass, the plywood can be lightly scarfed out/away to accommodate this extra thickness of glass so the finished job has very little buildup of glass showing. The layers remain quite intact and the original contour can be recreated.

I don't know why more people don't use the bias cut strips. It produces the strongest method of layup because both the "warp" and the "weft" are both carrying the stress of the joint. When glass cloth is laid this way, it is much harder to cut along its length if something should hit it. Bias cut cloth is far superior to the tape style of glass, it's ever so much stronger and is so easy to lay around the outside corners, and as for internal corners, there is nothing to compare with it. I have used this technique to strengthen two vertical walls and the floor where everything was joined. The internal corners are a piece of cake to do and again, are far superior.
Hope this helps you,

Kody