September 2020 Tire Blowout Damage Repaired
After weeks of anticipation, the parts to repair my precious home finally arrived!
By far, the hardest part of this whole process was finding a dealer repair shop that was not only willing to order the parts sight unseen, but to also allow me to order the parts without using their service department for repairs.
I initially wanted this repair job to be someone else’s problem but after talking with our nearest repair shop, I realized how astronomically expensive it is to rely on someone else. The cost wasn’t just in the parts, shipping, and labor but also in the lost work hours for Chris and the hundreds of miles we would have to tow x4 to get the job done. After throwing ideas around on what would be required to replace the metal skirting and fender ourselves and with a little insight from my Dad, we felt comfortable with our abilities to repair the blowout damage ourselves.
The metal skirting arrived to us unfinished which meant that we would need to make 3 cuts so that it fit our specific rig.
First, we had to take the bay storage door off. By taking off the door, we would be able to slide the metal into place and not have to take the seam of the front cap off! Once the door was off, all of the residual caulking adhesive needed to be removed and the seals around the bay door needed to be replaced.
Then it was onto the first cut. It is insanely scary cutting up a piece of metal that cost you hundreds of dollars and 4.5 weeks of waiting, but it had to be done. Because the angle that I needed to cut was hidden behind the seams of the front cap, I traced the outline of the front cap onto the metal skirting.
With a jigsaw, we were able to cut through the sheetmetal with relative ease. Then we slid the skirting into place to test the fit against the front cap. It was perfect and we knew that was the hardest cut of the day!
Next, we got to work with tracing out the remaining cuts. First the bay door opening, then the wheel well.
Once all the cuts were made and a final test fit was performed, we sighed in relief that all looked like it should! All that was left was to screw the metal skirting into place, reattached the bay door and caulk around it, and add the fender.
It had been a long process to get to this moment, but we couldn’t be happier that it is finally finished!
Now that The Imagine is in one piece once again, we look ahead to the adventures that are sure to come! Keep following along as we prepare for the holidays and look forward to Travel Nursing Contract #5!
