thanks for the advice on the dent

wayne.yl · 10-29-2003, 07:54 PM

Thanks to everyone who offered advice on how best to fix the dent on the 77 land yacht! I will attempt to pull out the dent myself. If I'm not satisfied, I will take the trailer to Ohio. I do haave a question for Uwe though. Where would I rent a dent puller? I have asked around at various body shops and am striking out. I hope this course of action is fruitful as I could really use the insurance $ on the trailer brake system and my latest development. The transmission on my tow vehicle just died. I couldn't take the trailer to Ohio or next door until that gets fixed. If it sounds like I'm whining, not really, I wouldn't trade anything for the fun laura and I and the kids have had with the land yacht. Its the greatest and so is this web site

uwe · 10-29-2003, 08:25 PM

Wayne,
I borrowed the dent puller from a friend's body shop. It worked out very well for my kind of dent, and from the looks of it, shoul d do a good enough job for yours, at least to get the worst out.
Just make sure and take your time, don't yank too hard, and lightly tap on the surrounding metal with a soft mallet.
I would try a tool supply, like Harbor Freight Tools etc., search for suction puller or the likes of it. Just buy a couple or three.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40993
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46900

The two sizes they have listed might help with different areas of the dent.
If you pull, and see a crease develop, stop immediately and try a different spot. Some have suggested to wait until the metal is very warm, which makes sense. It's always warm here during the day, so I did not pay attention to this.
Anyways, good luck!!

Davydd · 10-29-2003, 08:29 PM

I don't know how good they are but this web site has very inexpensive suction cups and dent pullers.

http://www.cvfsupplycompany.com/sucusucupdep3.html

I plan to try them. It would probably cost me more in gasoline to drive around town to find something locally.

j54mark · 10-29-2003, 08:43 PM

I have both the Harbor Freight suction cups. The small one is useless as a dent puller - might be ok for handling plate glass. The large one would be ok on flat panels, but is not stout enough for the curved end panels. Of course, anything curved is a bit of a problem with suction cups anyway. And then there are all those pesky rivets!

Body shops have a source for a much better suction cup with a aluminum plate as a backing material. I have no idea where one can get them, but would like to know.

Mark

thenewkid64 · 10-29-2003, 08:57 PM

Look at these:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/pro_d...re&dir=catalog

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/pro_d...re&dir=catalog

Still cheaper than replacement

uwe · 10-29-2003, 09:03 PM

The one I borrowed was a SnapOn.

wayne.yl · 11-06-2003, 10:07 PM

Thanks again for the info on the dent puller from snap-on.
I purchased one after first trying the cheapy at Haarbor freight.
I was able to pull out 90% of th e dent but I was left with a 2inch crease that the tree branch left. Looks like I will have to live with the crease, its not that noticeable. Anyway th e insurance payed off and the grand wagoneer has a rebuilt transmission now. I guess its time to focus on another a/s project, the brakes are almost working the way I would like but still need some attention. I don't know what I will do when all is fixed up on the trailer. I getting into this airstream stuff!
Wayne

j54mark · 11-07-2003, 12:40 AM

"Looks like I will have to live with the crease, its not that noticeable"

Not so! Not if you can remove the inner panel. See my post on removing a crease at: http://www.airforums.com/forum...ghlight=crease

The results are quite suprising, but it takes great patience.

Mark

thenewkid64 · 11-07-2003, 06:23 AM

Glad to help. One other thing to know. Since the crease is in the cap the heating and cooling of the cap in the summer sun will sometimes help it self heal some more. It will not be perfect, but in time it may go away some on it's own.

Beware: Once you get it all done your eyes wil wander to the backs of barns and storage lots looking for a "project'. It is the disease and there is really nothing that you can do but manage it.