Repairing Hail damage on Bambi 2004

[marchesi]

Thanks Rich! That's very helpful. Will the interior panels be sealed or will they come apart once I drill the rivets out? What will I find behind the panels? Soft insulation or is it foam spray insulation? Will for sure post my progress if I decide to take up the task...

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by marchesi

Thanks Rich! That's very helpful. Will the interior panels be sealed or will they come apart once I drill the rivets out? What will I find behind the panels? Soft insulation or is it foam spray insulation? Will for sure post my progress if I decide to take up the task...

Segments "cannot" be removed from the exterior, in one piece.

The bottom of each segment is riveted to a frame that you cannot see, because it's covered up be the window frame.

The top part of each segment, is riveted to a main bow, that's is covered up by the roof sheet, window sheets.

Those rivets are "blind" or flush rivets.

They can however, be sheared off, once you can get under neath each segment.

Then you only have to contend with the vulkem sealer, that's also an obstacle. However, it too, can be sheared, as long as you use a "long" putty knife.

Andy

[VIKING]

Originally Posted by marchesi

Thanks Rich! That's very helpful. Will the interior panels be sealed or will they come apart once I drill the rivets out? What will I find behind the panels? Soft insulation or is it foam spray insulation? Will for sure post my progress if I decide to take up the task...

My interior panels were just riveted on without adhesive. My Safari is a little older than your rig and things may have changed, though. Same with insulation. I found pink and yellow fiberglass batts in my shell. They fell out when I removed the interior panels. You may have something different, but I doubt it. You definitely do not have spray-in foam insulation.
The part of this that would concern me most is getting the panel replacement done really well. If you are going to go through with this you should approach it with the idea that it will be undetectable when done. Otherwise, in my opinion, it isn't worth it. You might want to contact someone on the forums who is near by to you, who has experience with panel replacement. The knowledge gained by a someone elses' experience can be invaluable. There are a lot of threads on here that deal with panel replacement also, and they are well worth reading. One that comes to mind is by Insideout, about replacing a side panel on an old rig of theirs with the help of 47weewind, Fred Coldwell.

Best to you,
Rich the Viking

[marchesi]

Finally met with the adjuster and the insurance will pay for all the damage and will not salvage my title. I am quite trilled! Since I am broke these days and need the money more than a prefect Airstream I will try to "fix" it myself by minimizing the damage on the back three top panels (the ones that got hit the hardest) by removing the inside opposite panels and cabinet (see photos) and using roller to push out. It should only be three inside panels. If I understand correctly I should only find insulation on the inside and should be able to access to outside panels fairly easily. I will not try to fix anything else. Does it still seem like a huge undertake?

[VIKING]

Not nearly as much work as before. If you can live with some minor beauty marks you will be able to spend a week in Hawaii recovering from the work. Not bad!

Best to you,
Rich the Viking

[snake]

If I were in your situation I would wait at least a month or two before making any decisions to repair any cosmetic defects.

If you can live with it that long, you can live with it forever as it is.

In the mean time I would put the insurance money in my 3G fund (Grub, grog and Gas)

Another advantage to having an Airstream that isn't perfect is that it isn't such a big deal if you should have another boo-boo while you are on the road enjoying life and travel while you can.