# Cracked back bumper



## petersr76 (Mar 27, 2014)

Hello
I'm a newbie so please forgive me for starting off by asking for help and advice. But the thing is I lent our Elddis Autoquest to son and heir and he brought it back after reversing into a supermarket wall  

I've fixed the cracks in the plastic bumper with good old Gaffa but missus is complaining. 

Please could anyone give me any tips about how I might make some sort of better repair to cover over the cracks? Son and heir should pay but there's no chance of that happening !

Many thanks
Robert


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

unless someone is happy to cough up for the repair, I'd talk to your insurer - but was he insured to drive it??

I had a repair done on my m/h last year (not Elddis) - slightly more damage than yours to be fair (I reversed into a snow bank) and that cost c£1500.


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## petersr76 (Mar 27, 2014)

OMG ! Good job I was sitting down when I read your post. It is tempting to lose the no claims but of course then the premiums go up too. At the moment there isn't a lot of actual damage other than just several cracks, superficial and cosmetic damage really ...


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

I was pretty amazed when the quote came through - I was expecting something like £5-700. but as I said I had more damage so I guess it's relative

my insurer (Comfort) doesn't operate a no-claims system now - if you have an accident, then they cover it (excl excess of course) and then charge a one-off fee - in my case that was about £40. the renewal premium which I just paid was hardly any different to previous year. that was my 1st claim on m'home insurance in 10 years.

my repair is superb though - you really would find it difficult to find any issues and the paint job is excellent (grey - not easy to match) so I guess it was money well spent

you might want to contact one of the plastic repair companies that abound these days and see what they say before talking to a m/h dealer??


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## alphadee (May 10, 2009)

It may be worth talking to a boat yard or GRP repairer if there is one near you.
They are experts in dealing with these sort of materials.

Good luck.


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Hi,
If you want to make any sort of repair then you'll have to take the bumper off. Depending on what it's made off you may be able to find a glue that will weld the cracks together and then reinforce with glass fibre from the back.
If you manage to do that then it is relatively easy to rub the surface with fine and very fine wet and dry paper to a point where the cracks are level and then spray a bit of white paint
£10 should cover the costs and the end finish is directly proportionate to the care and effort you put into it .

I fixed the one on my van in that manner and have since picked up a spare on ebay which I keep in the garage for next time.


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## pomme1 (May 19, 2005)

That looks like a fairly new 'van to me and I'd be a bit reluctant to devalue it with a botched repair.

It may be time to bite the bullet and speak to your insurance company.
Alternatively, check the price of a replacement panel with Elddis and fit it yourself.

Roger


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## alexblack13 (Feb 10, 2013)

Hi guys,

I took the plastic front locker door from my caravan to a local motorcycle repairer. They repair plastic abs type components all the time. They welded the cracked areas and the finished repair was undetectable.

You would need to remove the damaged part though.

Might be of help.... :roll: 

Alex B ...


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## Jimblob44 (Oct 26, 2013)

A good tip if repairing a cracked GRP panel is to drill a small hole at the very ends of the crack before repairing with filler, this will stop the cracks getting longer. It would be better if you can take the bumper/panel off the van, then you can strengthen the repair from the back with P40 or some other fiberglass repair kit before carefully filling the cracks/dents with an appropriate filler.
preperation is 90% of a good repair, so be patient and go easy, a couple of light coats of filler (rubbed down between coats) is better than slapping on a heavy coat which can take ages to rub down after it hardens.

Or else you could just take it to a repair shop but it could cost loads.

Good luck.
Jim.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I'd certainly have a go at repairing it as Jim describes

Says she smugly having repaired and reinforced all the cracked shelves in the fridge with fibre glass

If you can remove the panel and no bits are missing you have nothing to lose

Just take your time

aldra


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## lifestyle (Apr 27, 2008)

I agree with Jimblob44.Drill small holes each end of the cracks to stop it spreading.
Also be aware that you may have broken the seals on the skirt, which will allow water ingress to the floor.(happened to me  ).
Don`t leave it to long to be repaired.

Les


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## petersr76 (Mar 27, 2014)

Thank you everyone for taking the time and trouble to write out your tips, I would have had to pay a fortune to get specialist advice like this and you give it for free!

I only bought the MH three months ago and had to start with just a 10% introductory no claims, so not much to lose. I will get a price for an insurance claim and if it's too much then I will have a go myself. 

I'm sure I can get the bumper off and I like the idea of fibre glassing from behind. I think the paint job will be beyond me but your advice to find a local m/cycle repair shop sounds good and maybe they can just spray it and won't be too dear. 

I hope to be able to post a new pic of it all nice and repaired in a few weeks time ... :nike: :nike: :nike: :nike: :nike: :nike:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

The rear bumper on my Moho got damaged when a small tree unexpectedly jumped out behind me  

The bumper was relatively easy to remove, which I did and took it to a car bumper repair specialist.
They made a first class job of it using a plastic welding technique. 
Slight problem sorting out the paint colour for the respray as there is no paint code similar to normal vehicles. The sprayer matched the shade himself which is undetectable from the original.
Cost for the complete job was around £300.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Any decent bodyshop will make it as good as new. Don't mess about drilling holes, just whip it off, get it repaired and send the bill to sil. It should only cost a couple of hundred squids.


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## rugbyken (Jan 16, 2006)

Using the reversing camera I backed up to a traffic cone on a CL site not realising it had been dropped over a concrete bollard the resulting fibre- glass damage was repaired to an invisible standard by a mate who is a pattern maker and sprayed by another mate top job.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

I very gently touched my bumper a while back with my car.... not a mark but after a month or so fine spider-like cracks appeared and began spreading. This was a glass fibre bumper and the gel coat had crazed, this was invisible until dust and dirt showed it up. £200 and it was sorted by a local body shop.
If it is an ABS plastic unit, it can be welded and re-polished like new, or you could investigate the cost of a replacement piece, your nearest Swift dealer should be able to give you a price. This is what an insurance company would have done.
Insurance companies tell you that you should report any accident, even if they are not paying for the repair, however this may then categorise you as accident prone and encourage them to put your premium up.

Alan


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## mentaliss (Oct 23, 2012)

petersr76 said:


> Hello
> I'm a newbie so please forgive me for starting off by asking for help and advice. But the thing is I lent our Elddis Autoquest to son and heir and he brought it back after reversing into a supermarket wall
> 
> I've fixed the cracks in the plastic bumper with good old Gaffa but missus is complaining.
> ...


 Im prone to backing into things! go down to your local yaughting chandlers or GOOGLE product...you need the plastic padding used for repairs to FIBRE GLASS boats etc...works for me and very strong!!!


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## BBJ (Jan 23, 2009)

I reversed into a post, bumper damaged,, also scuff on front bumper from previous excursion!! Contacted Revive Auto Innovations Ltd. Not sure if there is one near to you but suggest you look on their web site www.revive-uk.com. They did an excellent job, reasonably priced, at home at your convenience.


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