Oh No!!!!! Pits or chips in the front of my 17B - Yikes!!

[PleinAirCedar]

Hi Everyone,
Oh No! I was washing and waxing my 17B yesterday and noticed a number of these pits or chips in the finish on the front of my 2018 17B. They are tiny and at first I thought they might be caused from smashed bugs but that may be giving too much credit to insects.


I know I went down a 20 mile stretch of dirt, washboard and shelf-rock with scattering of gravel on top road last fall in wilderness Utah. (What the heck was I thinking,, yes yes, I've heard the lecture numerous times but my Tacoma was fine...) Could this be the cause of the pits/chips in the fiberglass?


What is the cure? The surface is cleaned and waxed and shiny now. Got the winter's worth of dirt and bird poo cleaned off the whole unit. Will this just be the start of trouble similar to water seeping into rocks and before you know it you have the Grand Canyon type trouble?

Thank all for help.
Also a shout out to cpaharley2008, Vermilye, Iowa Dave, escape artist, John in Santa Cruz and many others for your suggestions and insight into all things detailing the clean 17B and taco TV in my yard. Much thanks!

[HABBERDABBER]

It looks like chipping of the gel coat from road gravel. A cosmetic issue only, not a precursor to more injury.


On a previous Casita, I patched larger road rash chips with Marine-Tex, an off white, 2 part epoxy that matched the gel coat reasonably well. This material is used on fiberglass boats for the similar purpose...cosmetic gel coat chips.

As small as your rash is, a repair would be barely visible, I suspect.

[escape artist]

Hi: PleinAirCedar... I wax the area with a good paste or thick liquid wax but don't buff it all out of the "Pits". It's the easiest way to deal with them!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[PleinAirCedar]

Much thanks for the wax tip!

[PleinAirCedar]

Thanks for the patching tip!

[brroberts]

Another easy, but not cheap option is Magic Ezy

https://buy.magicezy.com/

[HarleyD]

https://www.amazon.com/MagicEzy-Seco.../dp/B00LCAFP6Q

[PleinAirCedar]

Originally Posted by HarleyD

https://www.amazon.com/MagicEzy-Seco.../dp/B00LCAFP6Q

Well the last trip resulted in a pit through the gel coat to the dark color stuff underneath. Ugh. And I was not off road! But on a small county highway in a blizzard with sand being thrown on the road for traction. double Ugh.



What color does the ETI use? Snow white or Matterhorn white? Thanks!

[Ops]

Originally Posted by PleinAirCedar

But on a small county highway in a blizzard with sand being thrown on the road for traction. double Ugh.

Sounds familiar to what the highways dept did in Manitoba during the winter. Anything smaller than 3/4 inch was called SAND...

[EdColorado]

Something along this line will help protect the trailer from road debris being kicked up.

Or simply mud flaps on each wheel.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk

[PleinAirCedar]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

Something along this line will help protect the trailer from road debris being kicked up.

Or simply mud flaps on each wheel.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk

Thanks EdColorado. I have mud flaps on the TV. Its the oncoming traffic and also the vehicles in front of me that send the damaging stuff into the air. My TV looks pretty beat up, too. Thank goodness for touch up paint and window chip repair being covered on my auto insurance.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by PleinAirCedar

Thanks EdColorado. I have mud flaps on the TV. Its the oncoming traffic and also the vehicles in front of me that send the damaging stuff into the air. My TV looks pretty beat up, too. Thank goodness for touch up paint and window chip repair being covered on my auto insurance.

Hi: PleinAirCedar... Any trip through the "Pits" usually results in the "Chips" being down. It seems our fellow travelers don't care how much you love your TT. They speed by and fling stones with abandon. When I complain of dings in the Gel-coat, my wife says I should have bought 2- 5.0TA's. One to use and one to start a museum!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[PleinAirCedar]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: PleinAirCedar... Any trip through the "Pits" usually results in the "Chips" being down. It seems our fellow travelers don't care how much you love your TT. They speed by and fling stones with abandon. When I complain of dings in the Gel-coat, my wife says I should have bought 2- 5.0TA's. One to use and one to start a museum!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Hi Escape Artist,
Yup, so true about the speeders. They also like to coal roll aka fumigate with diesel exhaust just as their tailpipes are by the driver's window. Ugh
I ordered some MagicEzy 9 Second Chip Fix (Snow White) so I hope that does the trick. I will take any leftover with me in the freezer to deal with any road chips on my long vacation this summer.
Thanks for you help and input in the past, too.

[Geni]

how was the colour match for you? I have a chip I'd like to fix on my 17B and am debating which "white" will work.

[rog mich]

Do you have the storage box on the front of your trailer?

[UncleTim]

Yes but look where you get to pull that 17B. So many fruit districts and wildernesses so close. You live in an area with lots of dirt roads and aspen groves.

Coming into August I bet the peaches and apples are looking good. I was in Palisades a while ago and the grape crop is coming in. These seems to be mild optimism nearing harvest.

Later this Fall I am going to hitch up and spend a night or two at some wineries. A sheer delight. Harvest Hosts is great at getting us right out there in the vineyards.

It sounds like the pits are fixable and I hope you spend most of your time enjoying your slice of Heaven. Others are wondering if the season is over already. Kebler, Ohio and McClure Passes are about to light up in Fall colors. The mountain air is going to start smelling like a million dollars per breath and snow starts to fall within 30 days. Those mountains are glorious in the autumn. CDOT will start dropping small pitting rocks to improve traction soon.

I think I 'll wax up the 5.0 and try and get out there before the snow starts closing down drainages and passes. The Ragged Wilderness has been on my mind lately. Fix it up, we'll tempt HarleyD and let's go look for some pitty roads.

Happy camping.

[HABBERDABBER]

Look around your home, furniture, vehicles, trailer.....and your body. Got any nicks, scars, abrasions, stains, dings and the like? The fiberglass type are the easy ones to hide or fix. I got an old scar on my nose from a head on vehicle collision. Try fixing that with some "Miracle in a Bottle" ju-ju, voodoo concoction. I've tried. Guess I just acquired, over the years, that "shop-worn" patina from that incident.


It's cosmetic, even your big, new ding. Patch it. It merely becomes a badge of road rash honor.

[AKCamper]

Speaking of chips and scars from age I came across this:

AND THEN IT IS WINTER You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams. But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like. But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change....Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's NOT over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!

Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.
LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY! HAVE A GREAT DAY!

REMEMBER:....
"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
"LIVE HAPPY IN THIS YEAR AND EVERY YEAR! Sent from my iPhone

LASTLY, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
~Your kids are becoming you.......
~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!
~You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!
~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything
~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.
~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..
~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... "what?" .
~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!
~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
~Everybody whispers.
~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.
~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!" Send this on to other "Old Friends!" and let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!!
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.

[HarleyD]

Excellent Eric,
So, so true.
If you don't do what you can today, it may not get done.
Live in the present it is the only one we have.