Something’s not exactly right here…

September / October 2014 ---

After a few days rest and we start digging into our new (to us) camper purchase.

To start with, when we unloaded the GrassHoppah SxS, there seemed to be a spot on the ramp door that didn't have the same solid feel as the rest of the door.  After doing a little poking and prodding - we realized that we had some dry-rotted wood underneath the rubber mat that was glued to the door.   This was to be a preview into many months of rehabilitation and updating.. 

Peeling it back - YUCK!  Mold and rot... Randy's allergies immediately went off like a bottle-rocket on the 4th of July.  

Trying to peel back the rubber with the intent on trying to save it turned out to be futile.  Whatever glue they used was actually stronger than the rubber.

This is just a close-up and was our first indication that this camper was not in as good of shape as we had been told and thought.

 

An hour or so later and most of the wet moldy insulation GUCK is removed.

 

With all the wet insulation and mold removed that we could dig out without destroying the outside of the ramp door - we start the decontamination. We used a 50/50 Bleach-Water solution and soaked the remaining wood that you see to the left here.  Warm (actually HOT) weather during this time is welcome as we don't have to use a heater to evaporate the moisture.

This is 3/4" thick Chip-Board which is not water resistant.  We'll fix it better than new.

We've dried, primed and sealed the somewhat damaged Luan plywood with multiple coats of oil based machinery paint that will protect it going forward. Then we cut fresh treated 2x4's to be joiners under the original door wood and then up at the edge of the ramp door for additional support. These are drilled and tapped to fit perfectly.

We decided to insulate the cavity of the ramp door with closed Cell foam. It actually expanded to just a bit higher than the wood joiners and the steel ribs - so it was cut down flush after this pic.

Below: We used treated 3/4” Plywood and 1/8” Diamond Plate Aluminum to finish the rebuilding of the ramp door.  It’s starting to cool down now as autumn is here, so we need to start looking into winterizing so we can store the camper.