Water damage Q. I know it's prob the 100th on here.....

[MPLS Pop-up!]

I have a 75 Palomino hard sided pop-up. It has water damage in all four corners of the base(?). Looks like the little flappy thing that folds up after the beds are pushed in isn't doing it's job. All four corners are soft or have holes in the wood. a wee bit of day light shines in the storage areas and it feels soft when you push on it. The exterior metal is still in decent condition.

I don't mind caulking up the outside/inside so it no longer leaks. I used roofing caulk on the leaky roof last year and it is holding tight, but I'm worried the dry rot is going to cause structural problems.

The camper has lift arms that are attached to the metal trailer base so I'm not worried about those coming off. Is there another reason that the corners should be re-enforced? Or am I ok just sealing it up and preventing further damage?

Any advice would be helpful!

[wavery]

I have a 75 Palomino hard sided pop-up. It has water damage in all four corners of the base(?). Looks like the little flappy thing that folds up after the beds are pushed in isn't doing it's job. All four corners are soft or have holes in the wood. a wee bit of day light shines in the storage areas and it feels soft when you push on it. The exterior metal is still in decent condition.

I don't mind caulking up the outside/inside so it no longer leaks. I used roofing caulk on the leaky roof last year and it is holding tight, but I'm worried the dry rot is going to cause structural problems.

The camper has lift arms that are attached to the metal trailer base so I'm not worried about those coming off. Is there another reason that the corners should be re-enforced? Or am I ok just sealing it up and preventing further damage?

Any advice would be helpful!

You are right to be concerned that the wood-rot will cause structural damage because it will.

Wood-rot is a living organism. It continues to eat/rot all of the wood that it comes in contact with until it is removed 100%. If you even leave a little bit, it will start over again. The longer you wait, the bigger the job will be.

The decision that you need to make before you start is how much $ & labor that you are willing to invest in a 35-year-old camper. At some point, it only makes sense to put that $ into a newer camper but only you can make that call.

I don't know how much $ that you've already put into this camper but if it isn't that much, this may be the time to bail out. A camper that old can become a money pit real fast. Take inventory of what it will cost and the time involved before you start. How old is the fridge, furnace, stove, canvas, roof, lift system, corner stabilizers, tires, brakes, wheel bearings, propane tanks & hoses, battery, water pump, wiring, converter, upholstery, cushions, mattresses, curtains, floor? The list can be endless but now is the time to figure that out. Once you take on a job like that, there's no turning back and you may end up with as much $ in that camper as you could buy a 3 or 4 year old one for.

[hoppy]

Another possible problem that may occur is the lift system failing.

 I owned a '78 Palomino, and the lift system was built by L&W stamping up in Chicago.
 This lift system design has all the lift cables bolted at the four corners inside the PU. Once the floor has rotted, the pulley mounts in the corners break lose from the floor. Once this happens, the floor totally will need to be replaced. This involves pulling out all the cabinets and such and replacing the floor. Some have added metal plates and patched the wood in these areas,  but in time, these could fail also. The rot in the corners was the reason my PU was laid to rest. RIP.