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Old 11-10-2015, 08:24 PM   #1
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Fueling station door corrosion

Anybody else with a Voltage have this happen?

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Old 11-10-2015, 09:11 PM   #2
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Looks like your Florida weather is eating the thin aluminum sheeting.
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Old 11-11-2015, 09:52 AM   #3
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How old is your unit?
Rusty
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Old 11-11-2015, 10:42 AM   #4
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Looks a lot like filiform corrosion. Something may have been under the paint coat or the paint coat got damaged and the corrosion got a foothold under it. Only fix is to replace the section or put a repair patch over it. I would cut the old stuff out first though.

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Old 11-11-2015, 01:05 PM   #5
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Only fix is to replace the section or put a repair patch over it. I would cut the old stuff out first though.
The corrosion is confined to the fuel station door. If I can find some stamped tin stamped in the same pattern, it will be easy to replace the entire door. This 3950 is 4 1/2 years old.
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Old 11-11-2015, 01:49 PM   #6
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Is the base metal aluminum? If so find someone that does house sidings and trims. That stuff looks just like what they use. I have some floating around, but not in that color. Mine is white or beige.

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Old 11-16-2015, 05:29 AM   #7
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The corrosion is confined to the fuel station door. If I can find some stamped tin stamped in the same pattern, it will be easy to replace the entire door. This 3950 is 4 1/2 years old.
If that black material is any sort of ferrous metal, with the aluminum trim, you could be seeing the results of galvanic corrosion. Basically two dissimilar metals with a little moisture and your sea air giving it a little boost, you have a nice battery.

Of course if it's aluminum, then what wahoonc said.
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Old 11-16-2015, 12:17 PM   #8
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I think it's aluminum - it's the same material that the whole skirt is made of. Could be very thin steel I suppose.

I fondly refer to it as 'tin'.
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Old 11-16-2015, 03:32 PM   #9
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I think it's aluminum - it's the same material that the whole skirt is made of. Could be very thin steel I suppose.

I fondly refer to it as 'tin'.
I get confused very easily, DW asks me to get the tin foil. I look in the wrap drawer and can't find the tin foil, so I ask her if the aluminum foil will do.

It could be either or, the skirt is usually steel, but the doors could be Aluminum. Most likely aluminum, now I look at you picture in the daylight, I see corrosion not rust.

Back to what wahoonc said!

If you have a rust/corrosion problem with humidity and salt air, there are a couple of preventive measures you can take. There is an 12V electronic module that stops the battery effect. Then you have my favorite that dates back to my life as an autobodyman, that was before technicians.

If you have a source for metal products, you can use zinc strips as a sacrificial lamb. As the zinc corrodes it is drawing the corrosion away from the other metals. Once there is a break in the zinc unscrew it, replace with new one and repeat.

Our instructor in our theory course warned us under pain of death, if he ever found one of us driving a car with undercoating, rather than using the zinc strips, well he wasn't the most pleasant guy, but he made an impact.
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Old 11-16-2015, 05:04 PM   #10
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When I crunched the rear quarter panel on my 3800 I replaced the aluminum with a sheet of what the sign makers use. This was painted white so all I had to do was get some black vinyl that is also used on signs to match the graphic.
It is smooth but I don't think a smooth panel would look all that bad given it's such a small area. Definitely will look better than the disease infected panel that's there now.
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Old 11-16-2015, 05:05 PM   #11
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I needed to make a body repair to my 2015 3970 and did quite a bit of research to find the right metal. I found that a company called Rigidized Metal out of the Buffalo NY area makes an excellent match. I was in a hurry and bought a 4x8 ft. sheet from Amazon.com. I could have purchased a smaller quantity from the manufacturer, but it would have taken longer. The pattern number I needed was 1SLG. Hope this helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Rigidized-Patt...aluminum+sheet
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Old 11-16-2015, 08:34 PM   #12
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When I crunched the rear quarter panel on my 3800 I replaced the aluminum with a sheet of what the sign makers use. This was painted white so all I had to do was get some black vinyl that is also used on signs to match the graphic.
It is smooth but I don't think a smooth panel would look all that bad given it's such a small area. Definitely will look better than the disease infected panel that's there now.
OK I take back what I said bout the skirt being sheet steel.

Like I said I get confused easily, when I was crawling around under the camper installing my brakes, I see all these fine braces Dutchmen used.

They used bits and pieces of left over trim moulding for braces, half of which have corroded to uslessness.
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Old 11-16-2015, 08:56 PM   #13
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I initially thought it was tin also until I saw where the screw holes were torn and after I took it down and looked on the backside to see it was in fact aluminum. That's not to say there's not some tin on the skirts.


Think about it though, if they used tin it would have to be rust proofed and painted on both sides (hopefully), to prevent rust.
If it was painted on both sides the blind installers wouldn't know which side goes out..............
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Old 11-17-2015, 12:53 AM   #14
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I initially thought it was tin also until I saw where the screw holes were torn and after I took it down and looked on the backside to see it was in fact aluminum. That's not to say there's not some tin on the skirts.


Think about it though, if they used tin it would have to be rust proofed and painted on both sides (hopefully), to prevent rust.

Makes sense, I'm just not used to the idea of aluminum used where it's subject to road debris, and not get beat up severly.

If it was painted on both sides the blind installers wouldn't know which side goes out..............



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Old 11-17-2015, 01:11 AM   #15
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I was poking and prying on a pretty nice fifth wheel this past weekend that has the same type of metal for the skirting. It looked to be aluminum and appeared to be the same color. I would think it shouldn't be that hard to come by a piece of it.

To prevent future similar corrosion I would consider putting a thin plastic layer behind the aluminum and perhaps under the moldings to act as a corrosion barrier. In other words... isolate dissimilar metals. I am beginning to wonder if the plywood had something on it, or possibly was pressure treated? Normally it takes a good bit of moisture and something else to eat aluminum like that.

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Old 11-17-2015, 02:07 AM   #16
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I was poking and prying on a pretty nice fifth wheel this past weekend that has the same type of metal for the skirting. It looked to be aluminum and appeared to be the same color. I would think it shouldn't be that hard to come by a piece of it.

To prevent future similar corrosion I would consider putting a thin plastic layer behind the aluminum and perhaps under the moldings to act as a corrosion barrier. In other words... isolate dissimilar metals. I am beginning to wonder if the plywood had something on it, or possibly was pressure treated? Normally it takes a good bit of moisture and something else to eat aluminum like that.

Aaron

The plywood blank isn't pressure treated, on mine anyway it isn't. Does make you wonder what's eating the skin though.
Since the problem only appears to be on the door it is possible the wood had something on it at assembly.
Kind of makes a guy want to cut a new blank while the door is off.
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Old 11-17-2015, 03:00 AM   #17
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The 'wood' is particle board. There is a plastic sheet on the fuel side, then about 1/2" particle, then the 'tin'.
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