Need advice on restoration project

wvcurhunter · 08-14-2015, 07:05 AM

First off I hope I put this in the right place. I have a 1985 Sunline Coach I'm trying to bring back to life after it set for years. It has a lot of water damage, I am going to rip out the ceiling and walls (floor seems to be ok, now). I want to use luan board for both ceiling and walls. My question is the studs are they liquid nailed in or something else? Also would I use liquid nail for the luan board as well? Thanks for any advice.... Nathan

**Sunline Fan** · 08-17-2015, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcurhunter

First off I hope I put this in the right place. I have a 1985 Sunline Coach I'm trying to bring back to life after it set for years. It has a lot of water damage, I am going to rip out the ceiling and walls (floor seems to be ok, now). I want to use luan board for both ceiling and walls. My question is the studs are they liquid nailed in or something else? Also would I use liquid nail for the luan board as well? Thanks for any advice.... Nathan

I think they were probably just glued with wood glue and then screwed together. The luan was also, and stapled in the seam area, where the seam tape went over and covered. I would personally liquid nail and staple/nail/screw everything back in to prevent the panels from warping or drooping.

Each ~10" tall section of exterior aluminum is stapled on to the stud at each stud. I don't believe there's any glue used there, just the putty tape on the corners. The siding is interlocking and won't leak when properly hooked together to itself.

Keep in mind, the wall sections were built in another room from where the trailer floor and cabinets were assembled. The walls were brought over and screwed down after the cabinets were in, and then the roof was put on. So you will have a very hard time deconstructing from inside out, but it can be done. Just note that the wall panels will overlap the roof. All the cabinets will have been screwed into through the wall luan, from the outside, before it was insulated and before the tin was put on.

wvcurhunter · 08-18-2015, 06:35 AM

Thanks for the help. So I can rip the ceiling out first then the walls and if the cabinets are ok, I can just work around them? Sorry for all the questions but this is my first camper and first remodel too... Thanks

**Sunline Fan** · 08-18-2015, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcurhunter

Thanks for the help. So I can rip the ceiling out first then the walls and if the cabinets are ok, I can just work around them? Sorry for all the questions but this is my first camper and first remodel too... Thanks

No worries, they can be a bit daunting if you've never worked on one before. The ceiling section is also assembled down below, so the ceiling panel is sandwiched with the rafters and then attached to the top of the walls. So you'll have to cut the ceiling panel along the wall edge if you want to remove it. Or disassemble from the outside in, the reverse order of how it was assembled.

What exactly do you have going on inside that needs repair? Maybe we can suggest the best way to tackle what to do first.

**Sunline Fan** · 08-18-2015, 04:03 PM

Just saw your pics in the other thread. Wow, that interior is a mess.

I think you need to start by somehow getting the air conditioner off the roof. With as rotten as that thing is, you don't need it coming down and hitting you. It could do some serious damage to you... Then I'd start by clearing out the ceiling, or most of it, anything that's rotten. Make sure you have some good tarps or a shelter to store it under while you do that. Once you get the roof metal off and all the rotten wood, then you can see what's what and inspect the top of the walls. If they still look ok, you might be fine to rebuild on top of that. But chances are they aren't. But I'd start by making it a convertible Sunline, and then work down. The roof looks too far gone to be able to save the wood. Just be careful when you remove the staples from the roof metal, so that you can reuse it. You may have to scrape off some roof sealant before you can get to them too, and keep in mind that you'll have to put new down once you have it all reassembled.

wvcurhunter · 08-19-2015, 07:38 AM

Wow, sounds like a lot of work...lol. Good thing I didn't give a lot for the camper. So you think the whole top will have to come off? I was hoping to just rip out everything from the inside and leave that part on and just reseal it with some kind of sealant or that sealant you paint on tin roof tops. The walls feel rotten when you touch it. I'm wanting to take everything out and start new.

**Sunline Fan** · 08-19-2015, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcurhunter

Wow, sounds like a lot of work...lol. Good thing I didn't give a lot for the camper. So you think the whole top will have to come off? I was hoping to just rip out everything from the inside and leave that part on and just reseal it with some kind of sealant or that sealant you paint on tin roof tops. The walls feel rotten when you touch it. I'm wanting to take everything out and start new.

Yeah, I do. I mean, you might be able to avoid it, would have to see more pics, but I think you'd actually make more work for yourself trying to do it all from the inside. Also, it rotted already, so that tells me there's a roof leak somewhere. You'll need to reseal it anyway, so why not pull it all off and make your life easier.

If the walls feel rotten, hate to tell you, that's not a good sign. You can peel back more of the vinyl/paper on the wall to see the wood, but it probably is already gone. Good news is, pull the siding off the exterior and unscrew the cabinets that way, you should be able to save them.

sep · 08-20-2015, 08:10 PM

Nathan,

Can you get me some pictures of the roof? I'm curious to see what it looks like from the outside. I'd also suggest that you remove the A/C because of the weight and you really don't want to be working under it if the roof is really rotted. I've done work on a 76 Shasta, 78 Prowler and my latest, a 2000 Sunline. I've had luck doing everything from the inside but you never know until you start poking around. I've got plenty of pictures as reference or at least to see that things aren't so bad once you started "getting dirty". Except of course if you just finish one and an 80' oak goes thru it but that is a different story. Steve

sep · 08-20-2015, 08:20 PM

Hey,

My post stuck this time!! I had wrote a book the other night and it didn't load. In that post I had mentioned that my Sunline has u shaped staples holding the interior panels to the studs. You can get a cheap pneumatic nailer from Harbor Freight. That is what I use. For the Shasta, I replaced most of the ceiling with the white shiny board with brown backing from Home Depot. It was light but sturdy. For the seams, I just used some thin trim pine painted white. Oh and I used the rigid pink insulation instead of the fiberglass bat stuff. On the ugly brown paneling walls, I took off all of the window trim and used commercial wallpaper with heavy duty glue. For the floor, I sintered in pressure treated studs and regular plywood. I think that is it for now. Steve

wvcurhunter · 08-21-2015, 07:19 AM

Thanks everyone for your comments. Sep, thanks for your help as well very helpful info. I can try to have some one take a picture of the top (I can't just had back surgery and still in my brace). I would also like to thank Sunline fan for all the help you have provided me. I know I have a huge project in front of me, but I only gave $300 for the camper and feel it's worth fixing up. I like to fix up things even though I ain't no carpenter. We have a house built in 1903 and we have worked on it and it's coming around and things we have done really looks nice. So I feel that this will be fun, even though my wife said "this is your project, I'm out." I think I can turn this thing into the camper I would be proud to pull.