mxracer9111
Member
Hey everyone, I wanted to post about our wing wall/bolt through cab/atomic fix. When I say “we” my father and I did these projects, and I could not have done it without his help. We knew this was going to be a big task.
Major Materials We Used:
Full sheet of ¾ Birch plywood
5mm x 4-ft x 8-ft Poplar Sanded Plywood (For Bolt through cab)
Two 8-foot lengths of 1x3 wood
OSI Sealant
3M 5200 sealant and adhesive
2-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Wing Wall/Bolt through cab)
3-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Atomic Fix)
4-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Wing Wall/Bolt through cab)
Spray Foam
R30 insulation
3M spray adhesive glue
My family owns a metal shop, so the aluminum strips were cut to size and jitterbugged for painting
Spray paint that was textured that matched our color pallet.
3M strip of rubber
Pool noddle
Prep:
We started off by disassembling the cabinet I have by the entry doorstep. We took photos of each switch and how it was wired. Each switch was bagged in a plastic sandwich bag with the screws in that respective bag and labeled. We then removed the leather and headliner of the front cab. We took off the seatbelts and the grab handle inside of the cab as well. Upon taking these off, the headliner was full of broken self-tapper screws laying inside of the headliner from where the cab of the truck attaches to the sleeper bunk. We inspected all areas and found multiple areas where we could see daylight. Daylight is bad for an RV when it is supposed to be sealed from the elements! No wonder people have trouble keeping the rig cool!!!
Through-Bolting the Over-the-Cab Bunk:
We removed all remaining self-tapers from the bunk area and realized that we needed to do it. We removed the two top pieces of the cab sleeper. The first layer was the trim and decorative wood underneath the mattress. The second layer of wood was a thin layer of plywood. This thin layer of plywood was glued down by Jayco to the metal frame that they constructed for the bunk. This metal frame is full of Styrofoam and when I say it was glued down, I mean the glue was bonded like no other. The plywood came off in pieces. If Jayco put that effort into the Wing Walls, we would all have to do this. (Haha). After removing the plywood, we cut out the Styrofoam the size of a 1x3 wood that would fit from the edge of the sleeper bunk cab to where Jayco used a piece of wood where they drove the self-tappers into; thus, creating a ¾ of a square around where the truck cab got self-tapered into. We used black 3M 5200 sealant and adhesive in all the corners of the bunk. We then used OSI Sealant (like Jayco recommends for the Wing wall fix) all around the cab. We then bolted the cab through with bolts and washers with locking nuts. We countersunk (recessed) the head of the bolt/washers where it was needed. After everything was bolted, we used the OSI Sealant to cover the bolt threads and lock nuts. We moved on from here and bolted the fiberglass to the truck cab with 4-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts.
Through-Bolting through the Fiberglass Cab Corner
We bolted the top corners of the fiberglass in the wing wall with 1-inch bolts, washers. We then smeared 3M 5200 around these lock nuts. Spray foam was sprayed into these corners after sealing any holes from the outside with the black 3M 5200.
Wing Wall Fix:
We cut our 1x3 backer and used 3M 5200 to seal it in the corner of the fiberglass and wall just as Jayco’s repair instructions say too. We then screwed the 1x3 into the wood of the wall. We let this cure for 7 days before continuing.
We moved onto the corners where the cab is cut and cut our new wing walls. The new wing wall on the left side had to have one hole in it due to where the cab was sitting to sit flat. The cab on the right side was higher so no hole was needed. This was also where we found out whoever sleeps up on the sleeper needs to lay their head on the right side of the coach due to the cab not being level. Our new wing wall was cut to the size of our truck (Jayco’s instructions were too tall). After getting everything cut, we smeared 3M 5200 in this area, added R30 insulation (Yes you could go less on the insulation, but if I could fit it, I wanted it, ha-ha) and then bolted the area with washers and locking nuts through the cab. Due to the new wing wall being bolted, we counter sunk (recessed) the head of the bolt/washer into the wood so we could make sure the decorative piece of the wing wall sat flat. We then used the existing self-tappers into the 1x3 for the corners of the new wing wall. We also had to move the pieces of wood used by Jayco where the edge of the cab meets, due to it being misaligned with the old wingwall.
**We did not keep the small pieces of wood Jayco used into the to offset the decorative wing wall**
We then used AC metal tape to cover the corners of the wing walls and the hole we had to cut for the left side of the cab.
Atomic Fix:
We followed the normal procedure as described in Class C Broads. The only three exceptions we had were the following:
1. We did not remove the cabinet that was on the right side of the coach. We cut the aluminum strip to fit inside of the cabinet and made sure to bolt through as close as we could to the bottom and top.
2. Removing the self-tapers that were not broken off and putting them back in the wood with OSI Sealant.
3. The head of the bolts. We cut them off to the nuts after installation. Since we did not like the idea of matching wood colors and or making a cover, leaving the bolts exposed could pose a problem with our toddler who could cut or impale himself. This is why we cut the end of the bolts off. My wife then taped off the area and used a textured spray paint that matched the inside walls of our Seneca quite nicely!
**If you are going to paint, please use Acetone to wipe off your fingerprints after installation of the Atomic Fix prior to painting the metal. **
Putting it all back together:
Bunk over Cab
We brought in the full sheet of 5mm x 4-ft x 8-ft Poplar Sanded Plywood and traced the cutout for the cab. We then Roto zipped the trace (outside of the coach). We then brought the traced piece of wood back into the bunk area. We put it in place and lifted the wood up that was closest to us and used 3M spray adhesive to the wood and the entire area with Styrofoam. We added small nails with a nail gun where we could into the wood.
While putting everything back together, some of the “pleather” Jayco used to cover the cab ripped. One side was actual leather, and the other side was leather with foam on the back which made the leather brittle (kind of like our Flexsteel furniture). We had to go to Joann’s fabrics and buy leather which matched our furniture to replace it with. Instead of using the broken pieces of wood to hold the leather back up, we used a pool noodle, which we cut and nailed it to the corners of the wood to make it round when the leather was reattached. We used 3M stripes of rubber to attach to the leather to give it strength to staple it to cut out area of the cab.
Conclusion:
I did not describe everything that needs to be done, but I wanted to help especially with the bolt through option over the cab. I have only seen that on one post, and they did not describe what was completely done.
Here are some links which helped me during this process as well.
https://www.classcbroads.com/blog/jayco-seneca-and-entegra-accolade-coach-separation-problems-and-fixes
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f64/seneca-cap-interior-failures-80909.html
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f64/wing-wall-plywood-104557.html
For all photos I took
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P9yScRn58cryQAUP8
Major Materials We Used:
Full sheet of ¾ Birch plywood
5mm x 4-ft x 8-ft Poplar Sanded Plywood (For Bolt through cab)
Two 8-foot lengths of 1x3 wood
OSI Sealant
3M 5200 sealant and adhesive
2-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Wing Wall/Bolt through cab)
3-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Atomic Fix)
4-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts (Wing Wall/Bolt through cab)
Spray Foam
R30 insulation
3M spray adhesive glue
My family owns a metal shop, so the aluminum strips were cut to size and jitterbugged for painting
Spray paint that was textured that matched our color pallet.
3M strip of rubber
Pool noddle
Prep:
We started off by disassembling the cabinet I have by the entry doorstep. We took photos of each switch and how it was wired. Each switch was bagged in a plastic sandwich bag with the screws in that respective bag and labeled. We then removed the leather and headliner of the front cab. We took off the seatbelts and the grab handle inside of the cab as well. Upon taking these off, the headliner was full of broken self-tapper screws laying inside of the headliner from where the cab of the truck attaches to the sleeper bunk. We inspected all areas and found multiple areas where we could see daylight. Daylight is bad for an RV when it is supposed to be sealed from the elements! No wonder people have trouble keeping the rig cool!!!
Through-Bolting the Over-the-Cab Bunk:
We removed all remaining self-tapers from the bunk area and realized that we needed to do it. We removed the two top pieces of the cab sleeper. The first layer was the trim and decorative wood underneath the mattress. The second layer of wood was a thin layer of plywood. This thin layer of plywood was glued down by Jayco to the metal frame that they constructed for the bunk. This metal frame is full of Styrofoam and when I say it was glued down, I mean the glue was bonded like no other. The plywood came off in pieces. If Jayco put that effort into the Wing Walls, we would all have to do this. (Haha). After removing the plywood, we cut out the Styrofoam the size of a 1x3 wood that would fit from the edge of the sleeper bunk cab to where Jayco used a piece of wood where they drove the self-tappers into; thus, creating a ¾ of a square around where the truck cab got self-tapered into. We used black 3M 5200 sealant and adhesive in all the corners of the bunk. We then used OSI Sealant (like Jayco recommends for the Wing wall fix) all around the cab. We then bolted the cab through with bolts and washers with locking nuts. We countersunk (recessed) the head of the bolt/washers where it was needed. After everything was bolted, we used the OSI Sealant to cover the bolt threads and lock nuts. We moved on from here and bolted the fiberglass to the truck cab with 4-inch bolts, washers, and lock nuts.
Through-Bolting through the Fiberglass Cab Corner
We bolted the top corners of the fiberglass in the wing wall with 1-inch bolts, washers. We then smeared 3M 5200 around these lock nuts. Spray foam was sprayed into these corners after sealing any holes from the outside with the black 3M 5200.
Wing Wall Fix:
We cut our 1x3 backer and used 3M 5200 to seal it in the corner of the fiberglass and wall just as Jayco’s repair instructions say too. We then screwed the 1x3 into the wood of the wall. We let this cure for 7 days before continuing.
We moved onto the corners where the cab is cut and cut our new wing walls. The new wing wall on the left side had to have one hole in it due to where the cab was sitting to sit flat. The cab on the right side was higher so no hole was needed. This was also where we found out whoever sleeps up on the sleeper needs to lay their head on the right side of the coach due to the cab not being level. Our new wing wall was cut to the size of our truck (Jayco’s instructions were too tall). After getting everything cut, we smeared 3M 5200 in this area, added R30 insulation (Yes you could go less on the insulation, but if I could fit it, I wanted it, ha-ha) and then bolted the area with washers and locking nuts through the cab. Due to the new wing wall being bolted, we counter sunk (recessed) the head of the bolt/washer into the wood so we could make sure the decorative piece of the wing wall sat flat. We then used the existing self-tappers into the 1x3 for the corners of the new wing wall. We also had to move the pieces of wood used by Jayco where the edge of the cab meets, due to it being misaligned with the old wingwall.
**We did not keep the small pieces of wood Jayco used into the to offset the decorative wing wall**
We then used AC metal tape to cover the corners of the wing walls and the hole we had to cut for the left side of the cab.
Atomic Fix:
We followed the normal procedure as described in Class C Broads. The only three exceptions we had were the following:
1. We did not remove the cabinet that was on the right side of the coach. We cut the aluminum strip to fit inside of the cabinet and made sure to bolt through as close as we could to the bottom and top.
2. Removing the self-tapers that were not broken off and putting them back in the wood with OSI Sealant.
3. The head of the bolts. We cut them off to the nuts after installation. Since we did not like the idea of matching wood colors and or making a cover, leaving the bolts exposed could pose a problem with our toddler who could cut or impale himself. This is why we cut the end of the bolts off. My wife then taped off the area and used a textured spray paint that matched the inside walls of our Seneca quite nicely!
**If you are going to paint, please use Acetone to wipe off your fingerprints after installation of the Atomic Fix prior to painting the metal. **
Putting it all back together:
Bunk over Cab
We brought in the full sheet of 5mm x 4-ft x 8-ft Poplar Sanded Plywood and traced the cutout for the cab. We then Roto zipped the trace (outside of the coach). We then brought the traced piece of wood back into the bunk area. We put it in place and lifted the wood up that was closest to us and used 3M spray adhesive to the wood and the entire area with Styrofoam. We added small nails with a nail gun where we could into the wood.
While putting everything back together, some of the “pleather” Jayco used to cover the cab ripped. One side was actual leather, and the other side was leather with foam on the back which made the leather brittle (kind of like our Flexsteel furniture). We had to go to Joann’s fabrics and buy leather which matched our furniture to replace it with. Instead of using the broken pieces of wood to hold the leather back up, we used a pool noodle, which we cut and nailed it to the corners of the wood to make it round when the leather was reattached. We used 3M stripes of rubber to attach to the leather to give it strength to staple it to cut out area of the cab.
Conclusion:
I did not describe everything that needs to be done, but I wanted to help especially with the bolt through option over the cab. I have only seen that on one post, and they did not describe what was completely done.
Here are some links which helped me during this process as well.
https://www.classcbroads.com/blog/jayco-seneca-and-entegra-accolade-coach-separation-problems-and-fixes
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f64/seneca-cap-interior-failures-80909.html
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f64/wing-wall-plywood-104557.html
For all photos I took
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P9yScRn58cryQAUP8
