Stress fracture repair
Hello everyone. Our caravan body work has split , apparently due to a stress fracture. It isn’t covered by the insurance. We’ve been quoted over £5000 to replace the whole back panel . The split is about 300mm long . My question is, has anyone had a caravan repaired by staples and plastic weld. Most repair companies we have contacted are advising against this type of repair saying that it doesn’t last . However, the assessor from the insurance company said this sort of repair was ok . I would love to here your experiences on this subject, thanks
Comments
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Stress cracks or those as a result of damage in plastic, GRP in particular, are frequently repairable. A hole is drilled just past the end of the crack. When the crack reaches the hole the stress point has been removed so it cannot grow any further. The crack then then be stitched together with wire and resin or you could bond a panel over the effected area. This would be better if done inside and out, but I do not know if it is feasible.
If the insurance company assessor has said a repair is OK then I would imagine he is thinking along a similar or the same line. If the appearance of such a repair is acceptable, I would be tempted to take this less invasive approach as a first step as it would be a lot cheaper.
I would consider getting a second opinion and an estimate from a boat builder/repairer as this is there area of expertise.
Colin
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We had a smaller crack in the top curved area on our rear panel, which let in quite a lot of water. I appreciate ours was smaller but we used a Sikaflex mastic and it lasted several (3-4?) years and at least 5000 miles towing with no further issues until we sold the caravan. It might be worth a try in the first instance perhaps?
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