Exterior Hole Repair on 64 Compact

[MapleRiverShasta]

I was wondering if there was any way of repairing the 8" diameter hole on the curbside of my camper. I think it is a furnace vent? & won't be needing it. Don't really want to replace the skin either. I also have a few cuts on the same side by the waterfill that need to be repaired also. You can see then in pic #2. They were covered with a vent cover.....imagine that! Any suggestions?

i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh211/maplerivercandle/1964%20Shasta%20Compact/3f8af2bf-def2-42f0-ad43-6ce0a1b0bcd5_zps6f7eef82.jpg

i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh211/maplerivercandle/1964%20Shasta%20Compact/DSC00171.jpg

[harrison429]

It's pretty common to see vent covers being used to hide previous holes but usually they are less conspicuous than that! What you want to look for is a louvered vent cover and then make sure to put some screening behind it to prevent bugs from entering.

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[cowcharge]

Or you can use a patch inside the hole and Bondo outside.

[mobiltec]

Feb 14, 2013 11:15:07 GMT -5 cowcharge said:

Or you can use a patch inside the hole and Bondo outside.

I've done that for smaller stuff like the gouge she is talking about. But an eight inch bondo patch will crack. The aluminum skin moves a lot on the road. In that case I would patch the hole like Cowcharge says, and then cover with a louvered vent panel.

[cowcharge]

Well, I have to disagree IMO, FWIW, a screen patch like they use for auto body repair, shaped to match the skin brake pattern and overlapped outside the edges of the hole on the inside of the skin, and then thickly impregnated with Bondo from both sides, will not crack. The whole repair becomes a rigid spot that doesn't flex inside of the area where the patch overlaps the edges of the hole. Worked great when I moved my water tank filler and had to fill the old hole. Not quite 8", but maybe 6". It's a little tricky sanding the brake pattern of the skin into the bondo, though.

[schweetcruisers]

A patch is always going to be a patch, meaning it's always going to be visible. I suggest you take it to a small mom and pop body shop, have them make the patch panel, then have them "Panel Bond" it to the trailer.

Panel Bond is a adhesive that is made by 3M, only body shops can get it, but once cured it's permanent. It's made for fixing Uni-Body cars,

[vikx]

An electrical hatch works great and gives extra storage or an outside plug...

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[vikx]

Here's another style. This one opened into the closet and gave access to a plug.

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[vikx]

Square the hole if it's round. You can build a little box to contain keys, wallets, etc.

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[vikx]

Here's the finished trailer.

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[mobiltec]

I got rid of a one foot gash by adding another baggage access door there. Just happened to be in the right spot for it. Made it a lot easier to get to stuff under the bed too because of having a door on each side. There's all kinds of ways of using or taking care of or hiding holes. 8 inches of bondo may work for someone who knows exactly what they are doing with it but I would try something else first.

[cowcharge]

It's not done yet, I still have to finish sanding the brake pattern into the Bondo (my '76 has a very tricky brake pattern, yours would be simple by comparison) and paint it, and if I had a chance to redo it I would do a better job on my second try, but it works... I used the same technique to patch the hole in the roof where a tree landed. If you want to see the process, it's here, on page three, halfway down: vintageshasta.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=shastaownersrestorations&action=display&thread=648&page=3

You can also keep the old vent and fill the hole with spray foam insulation... Whichever method you use, good luck!

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[MapleRiverShasta]

Thanks everybody! I will let you know what I do! I like vikz's idea about putting a compartment for keys, etc. I definitely will not be putting an aluminum vent over it to hide it like they did by my water fill. I appreciate your help ;D