Folks, I've been lurking here for over a year. We bought a 1989 Fun Maker last summer, knowing it had some water damage. I have learned so much from reading through the stories that several of you have posted on here of your own restoration.

I've just gotten started on my restoration. It's in worse shape than I had realized. I thought I'd share a few tips of my own experiences, as I know there will be others who will find this post--hopefully I can contribute a small piece to add to the huge amount of info that is already here.

Those darn square drive screws. They are a pain. I rounded out a bunch of them trying to back them out. The method that gave me the most success was to remove the bit I was using from my impact driver, place it in the screw, and use a hammer to drive it as deep into the screw head as possible before then (without removing the bit from the screw) using the impact driver to back it out, while applying a lot of force on the driver toward the screw. This obviously helped with engagement, but it probably also helped a bit with loosening the corrosion between the screw and the steel framing slightly. I still had quite a few that I had to grind the heads off of, but this helped. Also, mine had two different lengths of screws holding the walls on: 3/4" and 1". I wrote on a piece of masking tape affixed in each location where each length went, so I won't have to remember when I'm ready to re-assemble.

I had to take the fiberglass walls completely off of the camper, as the plywood (actually some sort of hardboard/MDF/particle board) between the frame and fiberglass was completely destroyed and moldy. I'm sure the detailed steps are on this site somewhere, but I haven't come across them yet. First, separate the top and bottom halves. Then, I had to remove: the windows and upper door and door frame, the awning mounting brackets (top and bottom), the awning itself, and the rail at the top that the awning fabric slides into, the insert trim aluminum frame along the top and the bottom of the walls, and the screw trim cover and rails (vertical trim at front and rear of walls on the outside that covers the joint between the front/rear fiberglass caps and the side walls). I also had to remove the inside wallboard and foam insulation. Then, I got a pry bar between the roof and the wall (on the outside) to loosen that joint. I don't think there was sealant there, but there was corrosion. I did a similar operation between the front/rear caps and the side walls, where there was a small amount of sealant. I also had to remove the trim along the bottom of the front and rear fiberglass caps, so that I could at least push the bottom of the cap out far enough that the fiberglass side wall could slide down. There was a single pop-rivet at each bottom corner of the side walls that I drilled out. Finally, I made sure (gently, with my pry bar) that the adhesive between the steel frame and the wall's plywood was broken, including at the very top by the ceiling. After all that, I was able (with a helper) to slide the wall straight down off the camper.

When I was separating the upper half from the bottom half, I used the method that others have described on here with supports under one end, using the tongue jack to raise and lower one end at a time. The part that surprised me slightly was when I had the rear already separated, and was separating the front half, the upper half was hanging up on the lower half. I overcame this by slipping shims between the two, so nothing would get torn up. Even so, there was almost zero tongue weight at this point, since the top half in front was being supported by the ground, but the top half in the back was being supported by the very back of the bottom half. As I lowered the tongue jack, it actually came off the ground. Fortunately, my own weight was enough to pull it back down, so I applied some weight to the tongue as I separated the front half.

Last tip: it would be handy to have a long list of expletives handy, so you don't have to think one up on the spot .

Thanks again to all the others who have already posted so much helpful info on here. I'm going to do my best to provide some updates (and pictures) as I go along.

You really tore that HiLo extreme apart. Welcome to the club of water damage repairs. A few things we did in our repairs. Paint the inside of the fiberglass with liquid bondo(Walmart). This will seal up any pinpoint holes that you can't even see. DH put all the wall layers with generous amts. of Heavy Duty liquid nails. Cheapest at Walmart. He used a floor roller to smooth the walls out between each layer/caulking. We purchased our screws at Mcfeely's. Some have gotten them at Fastenal. Probably need two boxes of each size..100each. My HiLo fried had to change the cables in the three HiLo's he owned. He warned me about inventing new words. Haven't had to do this repair. Take advantage to reinforce the awning bracket.See this post reattching awning bracket. 7-31-2010 by Sam Shields. Ask any questions as you do certain stages of repair. We can advise on materials.

Sam, thanks, your posts have been really helpful! I'm going with stainless steel screws in the rebuild.

Also, I've given a lot of thought to the awning bracket reinforcement. The lower brackets were (sort of) attached with lag bolts. That was my first clue to the problems when we were looking at buying this thing. The front bracket was barely hanging on. Before I put the wall panels back on, I plan to drill through the bottom steel cross-member and weld nuts on top, so I can use a bolt to hold the outboard side of the awning brackets on, similar to how the lift cables are attached.

For the wood beams, I have some 1-1/2" cypress that I plan to use. Light weight and water-resistant. I don't like the factory plywood, as any fastener going into the "edge" of plywood is likely to come loose. In addition, I plan to drill a clearance hole for the bolt on the inboard side of the lower awning brackets so that I can use a t-nut on the top side, and again use a machine bolt rather than a lag screw.

When we had our seal replaced at J&R they placed some metal to reinforce the cable area. Perhaps someone can explain it better. Seems like you have a good plan on the awning reinforcement. Welcome to the forum. Would love to see some pictures.

Ive had some bad luck with stainless screws and having a consistent hardness. I had to start buying just a few and see what happens before I bought the box.

I got simple household projects with fifty dollars in stainless in them

Would you add the Thread Starter Title or other help to find the "reattaching awning bracket post 7-31-2010 by Sam Shields"

I'm probably having a senior moment but cannot find it in my forum searches.
thanks

I'm not finding it either. But, here's a thread that has what might be of help: https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f25...brackets-1054/ Check Post #3, where changing the way the post is attached is discussed.

- Jack

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Hi-Lo 1707T - Tire Minder TPMS on Tow Vehicle and Trailer, 300W Solar Battery Charger, Equal-i-zer WDH, Progressive Dynamics Converter, Fan-Tastic Fan, LiFePO4 battery 12V DC Electrical System
2014 F150 Platinum 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost SCrew

Hey, folks. I finally got some pictures posted in the Photo Album section. I'll try to keep replying to the same thread there as I go. I'm sorry they're not in a better chronological order.
https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f2/...toration-7514/

As you can see, the demolition of the upper half is mostly done. I'm down to the frame. I've put in about 20 linear feet of new steel, but am not done yet. I'm hoping to finish repairing the steel and get it all wire brushed and painted this weekend. I had to go buy more steel, as I've decided the entire lower frame rail on the driver's side needs to be replaced. When I'm done, I'll have more than 40 feet of new steel.

I have the new 1/8" plywood glued to the back of the fiberglass panels. I did have to repair a couple of tears in the fiberglass.

Thanks again to all who have posted the great advice on this forum. It has been invaluable in my efforts.