Well, the scariest thing happened that could happen- the camper fell off the hitch. I rent my camper on Outdoorsy and THANK GOD everyone was ok. The ball thread failed and lesson learned.. inspect it every single trip. The hitch punctured a hole through the front in the middle of the lower section of couch. I am going to do the repair myself. I purchase the West System Fiberglass repair boat kit, is there anything else I will need? Any tips from anyone who has done a patch? It is about 3 in x 3 in.
Thank you in advance!
I'm assuming this happened to a renter. Scary, but I'd look closely at how tight the Outdoorsy contract is since the ball failure was the renters equipment which is hard for you to regulate, unless you supplied the stinger and ball as well. Liability would be my greatest concern with renting a trailer. Glad no one got hurt, but that might not always be the case.
Ball failures like you describe are actually not that uncommon. So this is a great post for folks to be alert to getting a new ball periodically. I personally like to get a stinger and ball combination with a 6000 lb or higher rating, even for the Scamp 13. Stay away from any 2" balls with a shank size less than 1" and I'd go larger when purchasing a new one. I just purchased this new one in June and try and replace it every couple of years. https://amzn.to/3j6vP7l
I also change my couplers out to a Bulldog coupler which are a much safer coupler for towing. 360 clamp under the ball and positive locking. https://amzn.to/3aRygYt
Ok, on to the repair. Need to see a picture of the damage before commenting. Do you have FG experience and have done gel coat before?
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I do not have experience. Also, my ball is 1 7/8.
It looks like the ball failure occurred when they jack knifed the RV. If the ball failed first the safety chains would have saved it. Nothing parties like a rental !
it actually slid under the back of their truck, so the chains wouldn't have helped I don't think? Basically, it dropped to the ground and the hitch poked through the back.... I think! the propane tank top was bent to which led me to believe he was not lying, as the truck would have done that.
Lucked out on that damage.
If a 2" bulldog coupler replacement with a new 2" stinger/ball you could upgrade that to 2" which would be a solid recommendation. My old 81 Scamp 13, that is exactly what I did and never regretted it. The 1 7/8 ball probably had a 1/2" shank which contributed to the ball failure.
It looks like there is a spray on Truck Liner type material???
My top recommendation would be to take it to a Marine shop and get an estimate to see what it would be.
The actual glass repair wouldn't be that difficult, but getting the correct depth for the finish work, and the gelcoat work is not easy. In addition, you'd want to match whatever the black surface is and get rid of the label.
It appears from the pic you might be able to do a wink wink repair. Is the piece that is pushed inside salvageable where you could push it back in place and put a FG mat and resin behind it on the inside to lock it in. Then you could fill any cracking with some repair stick and spray over with the black to mask the repair. Not factory restoration, but might work since there is some kind of coating that could hide it.
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The damaged piece is still pretty usable, I think I could push it back into place. It would not be super smooth though. I was thinking of doing the repair on the outside and had no considered the inside.. Might be easier. I could also put a new propane sticker over the patch and no one is the wiser!
Your mat and resin should be on the inside and then working out. If you have a pretty intact piece still there, I think it would work well to set it back in position with a mat and resin backing. You could fill and sand it smooth on the exterior after it all sets up. The new label covering if it's big enough would work or just respraying the black coating.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
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I use this to fill on the exterior and then it can be all sanded within about an hour. Easy to use.
https://amzn.to/31prAOf
Oops thats the steel repair stick, this would be a better choice
https://amzn.to/2FMp5wU
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale