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Tape, Glue, Bubblegum?? What the best underbelly repair??

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:00 am
by CaboWabo
I replaced all the piping of our MH when we bought it with new PEX and I know that before fall sets in I need to do a few things to the underbelly. I made quite a few slits in the fabric and there was already some holes where critters decided to chew... etc. I'm getting together a "punchsheet" of items I need to finish during the warmer months and went to get prices on the mending tape and see there's a new Sheriff in town. Spray stickie stuff. "When the mending tape doesn't work" or something like that...

What's the best stuff to use? Who's used what?

It's hard enough to get my big assets squeezed under the trailer, I hope to only have to repair all the damage I did once :D

CaboWabo

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:41 pm
by Greg
Mark has the repair kits & tape in the store. See the "Books & Parts" section of the site. Greg

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:13 pm
by CaboWabo
Right, there's now 2 different types of repair kits, a tape and a spray glue. From the way the spray glue reads some people may have had issues with the tape....

CaboWabo

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:18 pm
by Greg
I personally have had luck with just the tape, but the surface has to be clean. I know JD uses the spray & tape method, and he does a lot more of this work than I do. Greg

RE: Tape, Glue, Bubblegum?? What the best underbelly repair?

Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:36 pm
by JD
I usually use a combination of the spray adhesive and mechanical attached, using roofing staples and strips of luan plywood, the $12 a sheet stuff. I like to use the strips to better secure long edges, when it is close enough to the floor joists. Sometimes I will add a little 2x2 blocking near the I-beams, to accept these strips. The spray works real well, but it will not have a lot of tensile strength. Still it serves the purpose of patching up the underbelly. If you go back to the repair a month later, you can pretty easily separate the glued pieces by pulling on them. But left alone, the adhesive will hold for many years. The spray will work on buffalo board too. I give two spray coats to buffalo board, letting the first coat dry thoroughly.

I don't think the tape will work well with buffalo board. On the polyethylene sheet, I have had better luck with the tape when I use a heat gun. I find that it is hard to get enough support from the back of the underbelly to press the tape on real well. The spray adhesive does not need much pressure.

JMO
JD