Filiform Beltline Rail

[Steve97365]

Hi, Ive been reading about the filiform issue and have some of my own. I live right on the beach and despite washing and waxing frequently, and storing it in Arizona over one winter, I have lots of it.

I've cleaned and brushed the worst of it and have used Corrosion X.

I've seen here that a few have installed a belt rail over the midline to at least hide the rivets that have a filiform problem.

I contacted my nearest dealer (Sutton RV)2 hours away and was quoted $1000. I thought that was high so I contacted a relatively new dealer in Portland and was quoted $600. I then called a branch of the second dealer in Seattle and was quoted $875.

I'm not wealthy. What should it cost and why the difference in quotes.

I have a 2008 25 ft Safari. Thanks, Steve

[rodsterinfl]

I have a 2006 Safari that I posted pics on the forum of my filiform that were scary! I fixed it myself but I was quoted just under $1000 from the dealer. The problem is that it has to be removed, treated and sealed then the rail and insert applied. The rail cost me about $260 and the insert was $109 I believe. The fasteners were also tricky. One gentleman that looked at it said to used rivets but then questioned that once he saw the clearance through the rail. My father mentioned that he would use stainless metal screws. I was unsure if metal nobility would be much of an issue but I went ahead and used stainless screws to attach the rail after treatment of first, two coats of corrosion X then wiped down and then three coats of Krylon (hard to stick formula) surface clear paint. My only afterthought concern is the metal nobility-aluminum to stainless screw. The screws cost about $30 for two boxes. The paint was about $40 for two cans - about $440 total. What you want to know also is how they plan to seal (paint) it because it has to be done too.

[Steve97365]

Thanks for your prompt reply. I questioned Tom at Suttons (where I purchased the rig new) and he stated that the job would entail what you went through. I imagine the other quotes would take some shortcuts somewhere.

Since I am the least handy person on the planet, I learned long ago that it was ultimately less expensive to take it to the pro's in the beginning than it is to pay the pro's to undo my stupidity and then fix it right.

The more I think about it, the more I think that I'll just keep after it with Corrosion X and live with it. Would save a lot of money!

[Steve97365]

What do the rest of you think concerning this fix. Should I spend the money to have it fixed correctly or should I bite the bullet and work on it as is? Resale value concerns down the line?

[rodsterinfl]

I am not the "rest of you" but I will comment. I am not that handy either but I am learning to be. As a matter of fact, my father, a mechanic by trade, gets a kick out of me working on my ole silver trailer (as he puts it) I have been so happy to be able to do some of the things on it. I mention this specifically because even this beltline issue was greatly bothering me. Mine was severe. It looked awful, especially on the front left side. I did not know what to do but I learned. I found out that I could bend the rail around with my hands to match the sides! (see what I mean) Why you should fix it is because it will only get worse. I had it bad around the door handle too That fix is not as pleasant as it has silver paint and well, doesn't match BUT it is my baby and it is better than having the rotten look. See the old

[Steve97365]

I didn't mean to offend you by asking for more opinions, I really am a horrible repair person. Did you drill holes to attach the screws or were they self-tapping? Did you need to mask off the area to be painted? I don't have a rivet gun or even a decent drill at present. Mine isn't as bad as yours was, but if I stay here on the coast, I'm sure it's a matter of time. I appreciate both of your responses. Just trying to sort out options.

[rodsterinfl]

I am not offended, just having fun with your words! I drilled a pilot hole then a larger hole smaller than the screw of course. The screws were not self-tapping. Yes I masked off the area to be painted but focused on the middle area spraying as little as possible at the edges of the blue tape. I did not use a rivet gun but you would need a drill. Basically the Corrosion X really took the powder off. I bought a drill fitting sanding wheel made of plastic that lightly scraped the loose clearcoat off and that made the corrosion x work even better at cleaning off the powder. I ended up doing three runs of sanding and spraying before actually sealing with paint. I will say that it is a lot of work, at least in my case. I went all the way around and sealed the under-edge of the top shell as well. You know your limitations but I too would not consider myself too mechanical and yet I am learning. I believe owning one of these or any RV seems to require a certain level of this type of this work or money. I am learning what I can for this reason. I contacted Airstream and asked what I could also the dealer. The dealer said to use #6 stainless screws. I returned for specific screws, ended up using philips flat-head and had to drill starting points in the insert rail to make a hole and to make room for the screw head to lay flat enough in the inner grove on the rail with a large drill bit. Altogether, there were four drillings for each fastener - pilot, actual size, large bit head clearance on rail and then finally, fastening the screw. What you might to is do the cleaning and sealing yourself then have someone do the attaching that has done it before.