Raining Golf Balls

BogieMeister

We live on a Golf Course and I park the T@B in the side yard. It is mostly protected from errant golf balls. But, there is the occasional duffer that manages to hit a ball over the house and land it on the camper. I now have three significant golf ball size dents. Has anyone had success removing dents from the aluminum top of a T@B?

I'm considering a dent puller that uses hot glue, but don't want to make matters worse. Your thoughts...

[Deleted User]

Take the golfer inside the T@b and bang their head against the dent from the inside. 

BogieMeister

Thank You, I got quite a chuckle out of that.

Freespirit

Something I have had a little success with and not to invasive, is to get a can of compresses air(the type from Office Depot used to clean computer keyboards) spray the dent and get it really cold then using a hair dry set on hot immediately warm the spot. In some cases it will pop the dent out. Might be worth a try. 

vhollow

A specialist in pulling dents told me that the skin on trailers is too thin to pull out. It just creates more problems in the attempt.

Tabaz

"Take the golfer inside the T@b and bang their head against the dent from the inside."

After almost seven years of participating on this forum, this has to be the funniest response to a post ever! 

manyman297

What @TabbyShack said…

…so I had a couple of small dents in my roof from the factory. I attempted the pull the dents with one of those cheap hot glue dent pullers you can get from Amazon. 

What happened was I pulled too hard and actually made a convex dent instead. I had better success with a few subsequent dings I got from road debris on the front of the 400. The secret is to gently pull the ding. Even if the hot glue never releases just gently pull, remove the hot glue, check the dent and repeat. It’ll never be perfect but I’ve managed to make a couple of dings look pretty good 

I don’t think a dent repair shop would have much better success. They typically use tools to push the dent out by the backside. Can’t really do that on our campers. 

SLJ

My wife's first day on the job fresh out of college was the companies annual golf outing. Worst (her) gets partnered with the best (a partner in the firm). Her first swing slices the ball into the parking lot where it dents the partners shiny black Jag. She won a trophy for it and had a story to tell for years to all the new hires their first day on the job.

kottum

I come from the Airstream community where aluminum dents are always a threat, and happen all the time.  Unlike steel, aluminum is stretched when dented.  You can't use automobile techniques to remove them, only make it worse.  Usually caused by hail storms, the Airstream old-timers will tell you to park the dented side directly into the hot sun for several days, and they will magically disappear, or nearly so.  I suppose this depends on the size of the dent.

Doug

BogieMeister

Thank You everyone. It appears that I am stuck with these dents. As someone else once said "they will be pimples on a Super Model"

pthomas745

There are a lot of 'hail protection" threads.  I bet one of the yoga mat or furniture moving mats would really help mitigate the impacts.  
https://www.google.com/search?q=hail+protection+site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsYsga-9WlDpzvJ5farFSTAydglkKA:1651679854606&ei=bqJyYqLFJMbTkPIPq8qFsAE&ved=0ahUKEwiitJD4msb3AhXGKUQIHStlARYQ4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=hail+protection+site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EANKBAhBGAFKBAhGGABQxQlYtjVgpz1oAXAAeACAAVaIAYMTkgECMzOYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz

kottum

A brief comment on my earlier comment.  Setting he trailer dents into the sun doesn't "magically" take out dents, there may be some science to it.  Facing the hot sun the aluminum will expand and contract slightly though the day and night, this may be enough to pull out some or all of the dents.  So the old-timer Airstreamers claim.

Doug

BogieMeister

I have not been able to figure out how to remove the existing golf ball dents. But I did take a rather drastic measure to prevent additional balls from hitting the T@B. It only cost me about 2k and the entire Memorial Day weekend (plus a couple additional evenings) I picked this up at Sam's Club. It's 10x14 plus I had to add some 8" blocks to attain the height clearance. Next I want to find one of those luggage racks that come on the Boondocks to hide the "Bo-Bos". Any advice on where to find one would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jake_Elwood_and_us

I see a remodel in your future when you decide to upgrade to the 400.

[Deleted User]

That looks great!!  You've got me thinking now about something for my 400! I hate having to put the cover on after every trip, but hate the damage from the sun even more!

You could probably put up some black mesh netting on vulnerable sides too if that might be an issue.

Horigan

On the plus side, you're probably getting better gas mileage with the dents.  They put dimples on..., wait for it..., golf balls to improve distance.  

falcon1970

@BogieMeister
How is your canopy anchored?  I would like something like that but since I have a 400 I would need some taller blocks.  Plus we get some interesting straight line winds around here.

Denny16

 In most locations, a large structure like this needs to be anchored to its support base. I have used Simpson Tie post brackets to bolt support posts to a concrete base.  The bracket is casted into then concrete pier when it is poured into a hole in the ground.  Then post bolts to the bracket once the concrete has set.
cheers

YanniLazarus

Denny16 said:

 In most locations, a large structure like this needs to be anchored to its support base. I have used Simpson Tie post brackets to bolt support posts to a concrete base.  The bracket is casted into then concrete pier when it is poured into a hole in the ground.  Then post bolts to the bracket once the concrete has set.
cheers

@Denny16 is absolutely right to express his concerns. If/ when that blows off the blocks the damage to your T@B will be much worse than a golf ball dent. You MIGHT get enough hold- down and the 8" lift you need by having a welding shop make tall enough "U" shaped brackets with holes to bolt your raised legs into the bracket and holes for 1/2" expansion bolts drilled into the existing concrete driveway. Might be wisest to sawcut the driveway and set bolts into a new concrete pour.  I suggest you worry about this, unless I'm missing a hold- down system somewhere. Sorry... and best of luck to you!

Denny16

You can also get Simpson brackets to bolt directly to a concrete surface.  

Cheers 

GigHarborTom

Eleven thousand damage when shop tipped our restored 61 Avion onto drill press and milling machine. Major punctures and dents. Quit RVing for about a year and here we are. One T@G and the TAB later. 

Dutch061

Parking in the hot sun and using ice to "shrink the metal" may help too. I have a friend who is a world-class autobody technician and has used heat (torch) and water (wet paper towels) in the past to shrink the metal back. I have seen him fix hail dents on black vehicles and use zero filler to get it done. Granted, the vehicle needed to be refinished with the torch method, but the hot sun and ice cube might get it done without damage to the finish.

Brad