Wildernest Restoration

Saw a thread like this, but never got finished so I'm making one! Just picked up a Wildernest Camper in salt lake for a good price and am planning on restoring the whole thing and replacing my current canopy with it! Things in decent enough shape, not too much rotting and doesn't look like it needs too much fiberglass work. Today just cleaned off the outside pretty good and planning on replacing the hinges and the bulb seal sometime soon.

 

First issue we've run into, 3 of the hinges function fine right now but one of them is halfway removed and we can't remove the hex bolts. We tried an hand held tool and no luck, so we are gunna try letting it sit in some WD40 and try an impact tool with a hex attachment. I'm new to all of this, if anybody's got any suggestions feel free to let me know.

 

Goo off gets that rust color off of the paint for when you get the brackets off. I just restored a Leer which was in a beach town so everything looked similar to yours. Now looks brand new

 

Try some pb blaster for the rusted hardware. They say 50/50 auto trans fluid and acetone is the best to get seized bolts moving but I’ve never done it. I work on boats and it’s really hard to get rust stains out of fiberglass…but that’s on a gelcoat so you may have better luck with the painted shell

 

Cant wait to see what come of this! I picked one up last summer in slightly better condition but it badly needs love. Maybe I'll finally get the motivation seeing this

 

I'll try it! I got a tip to try a drill first with a hex-bit attachment, maybe try an impact drill, and then if nothing is working might try a 1/2 in rachet with a large bar and try to get the right torque to crack them. Honestly, rust stains weren't that bad coming off, wire brush did the trick I got most of them out.

 

Spray painted the metal trim and I'm slowly replacing all the screws with stainless steel. Trying to figure out the best sealant for the screw holes, probably will go with silicon as I've heard that's the best thing to use. These hinges are a real PITA project for me, we got the correct size, they are 1/8in hex, but still no budging from them. I'm going to coat em with PB blaster today and wait a few days and try em again.

 

Subbing, just bought a wildernest and gonna do a small resto as well.

 

Don't go too apeshit on those hex bolts. Otherwise you'll either snap the head off or round it out.
Have you checked on the inside of the topper to make sure there aren't any nuts on the backside?
Could also try a bit of heat on them as well.

 

Kroil is the best penetrating oil I've found for rusty/stuck bolts. Far better than PB blaster, etc.

 

One of those came on my truck when I bought it. It's way too heavy for our trucks and setting up the tent portion was the most terrifying.

Sold it and put the money towards a GFC.

 

Copped a Wildernest a couple weeks ago. The fabric is dirty and has a bit of mold. Does anyone know if getting it steam cleaned would be a good idea? Would rather do that then get a replacement canvas if I can.

 

Hey dude, how did your replacement hinges go? My hinges are a real PITA and I can't seam to get the nuts on the bolt on the top half of the hinge (see Pic) I'm finding that there's not enough room to put my hand in there, any suggestions?

 

Hey all- older post, but I have a spreadsheet of document replacement parts.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YBEHh_X0_cce5Xh4r30DBpZiwAdcrNHtntXn6_NidrI/edit

 

I've had a Wildernest for about a year now and done lots of restoration on it. What kind of metal trim is that? I'd like to replace my old one with something like this.