Running Board question

[Asphalt Addict]

2008 PW Lexor. Similar to RT 190.

Hi All, I have been working on my running boards/rocker panels fixing cracks and dings and coating with truck bed liner. Very pleased to the way it is turning out.

I removed the anti skid plates at passenger and driver steps. I had a couple of bubbles after I rolled on the truck bed liner. They seemed to be about where the screws for the plates were even though I cleaned and used Bondo to fill.

I cut out the biggest bubble to repair and there was water underneath so I drilled it out eliminating what ever the screw that held the plate was in. It was moist and a little water dripped out. It appears the fiberglass step is double thickness. Meaning the top and bottom are two different sheets of fiberglass possibly 3/8" between. I am trying to dry out the hole but it is still moist.

My question is, if you should choose to answer it, what is between the top and bottom fiberglass? Could it possibly be formed over plywood? I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom to let it drain and dry and something moist was on the drill bit but no water dripped out.

I'm guessing that the screw holes allowed water to seep in. Some screws went missing over the years.

Any ideas they form the fiberglass running boards and how to dry it out?

Safe Travels,
Jim

[booster]

Originally Posted by Asphalt Addict

2008 PW Lexor. Similar to RT 190.

Hi All, I have been working on my running boards/rocker panels fixing cracks and dings and coating with truck bed liner. Very pleased to the way it is turning out.

I removed the anti skid plates at passenger and driver steps. I had a couple of bubbles after I rolled on the truck bed liner. They seemed to be about where the screws for the plates were even though I cleaned and used Bondo to fill.

I cut out the biggest bubble to repair and there was water underneath so I drilled it out eliminating what ever the screw that held the plate was in. It was moist and a little water dripped out. It appears the fiberglass step is double thickness. Meaning the top and bottom are two different sheets of fiberglass possibly 3/8" between. I am trying to dry out the hole but it is still moist.

My question is, if you should choose to answer it, what is between the top and bottom fiberglass? Could it possibly be formed over plywood? I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom to let it drain and dry and something moist was on the drill bit but no water dripped out.

I'm guessing that the screw holes allowed water to seep in. Some screws went missing over the years.

Any ideas they form the fiberglass running boards and how to dry it out?

Safe Travels,
Jim

Roadtrek put some plywood in theirs, but can't speak to others.


If there were cracks the entire board is probably wet and with it sealed now will be pretty hard to dry out. I don't know what kind of bondo you used, but if you used the normal auto store type which is usually a whitish color until you put the activator in it, you will find it is not waterproof. Any moisture in the board would soften the body in a screw hole or crack and make it fail. With standard bondo you also need to have a 100% seal to keep out water as the water will soak through the bondo to whatever else is around. The best way to go, which is too late now for the most part because bedliner is almost impossible to get off, is to use the short fiber reinforced waterproof filler that many auto stores do sell. It used to called "kitty hair" but now most stores carry other brands.


You many need to cut a hole up from the bottom big enough to see what you are dealing with. If the board has been wet for a long time it could be so weak the step will not be strong enough and would recrack, which is likely anyway if the cracks aren't ground out and glassed over to reinforce them.

[Asphalt Addict]

Thanks booster, the cracks are from me hitting rocks, etc., mostly hairline spider cracks. The structure is sound. I stuck a rag into the 1/4" hole I drilled. Next day the rag was damp and most of the wetness in the fiberglass was gone. Patched with Bondo and painted with Monstaliner truck bed coating. No more bubbles. I think it will last.
Jim