2007 XT200 Ramp door repair

[herdbull]

So out of the blue the fiberglass panel cracked near one of the hinge mounts. This is a "new to me" camper as of last summer. Currently it is set up 3 hours away so I can't get any more pics. I'm heading back to it tomorrow but unfortunately have very sporadic and weak internet service. But I figured I'd throw it out to get the ball rolling.

Anyone ever tear into one of these ramp doors? Not sure of the construction and what I'm dealing with here. Nothing feels soft or rotten but is there even much in there to rot? The only reason I ask is because I see the little bead of caulking along the bottom of the door between the aluminum and fiberglass panel has rotten off and water could get in there.

I'm fairly handy and have no problem opening this up to repair/replace as I think this would be a very costly repair at a repair shop. With a little luck it's just the panel that cracked. But then again, why? I also did notice that a few of the hinge bolts that go through to the inside flanged nut type fasteners were a bit loose. Hopefully someone here has tore into one of these before and could offer up some insight as to what to expect.

EDIT: I did throw some duct tape over the cracked area before I left just to keep any precip from getting in.

 

[APD]

That's one of the hinges with the spring assist anchored around it. Probably under more tension than the outside hinges. If the bolts were loose I'd hazard a guess the inside has got soft over time, the bolts loosened and allowed the hinge (under pressure from the spring) to twist causing the crack. I don't own a hauler but my guess is there is/was wood in there.

 

[herdbull]

I finally got around to fixing this. Had to wait for our annual spring pilgrimage to Colorado and then I wanted at least 2 days of bluebird skies to start the repair.

It went quite well. Hardest part was being smarter than the ramp door to remove and install without 4 people. I managed with a little ingenuity. Helps being a retired mech engineer.

I did find about 6"-8" of delam on the bottom of the door and another 1"-2" of wet paneling/material above that. I removed what was really bad and let the sun hit the rest for a few hours. Dry as a bone here in the mtns of Colorado. I ended up removing 15" of the fiberglass just to be safe and replaced with diamond plate. This should help with nighttime tailgaters too.

Sealed everything back up and added a .13" x 2"wide piece of aluminum at the seam. Surprising how little structure there is in these ramp doors. Rated for 2000lbs but all it is is styrofoam sandwiched between the laminated panels. No cross pieces or runners for structure.

The culprit appears to be that some of the sealant between the fiberglass panel and the aluminum "c" channel on the bottom was letting water in. The "c" channel, which is facing upright just held the water and eventually, the what looks like paneling backer absorbed it and caused the delam. I added a few small weep holes to the "c" channel so if water ever does get back in there it will drip out. This is the same concept on all modern vehicles and there doors.