# Another Diamond Plate Mod!



## ckibbe (Dec 17, 2008)

http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/pp129/ckibbe/

Mod took about 2-3 hours, mostly cause I had to move the marker light up a few inches, and I went slow removing the trim pieces. Kind of scary when you get them off and see how little is holding these things together.

Had to buy a whole 4 x 10 sheet of the dimond plate though. Any ideas or examples of other mods for the outback?


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## kemccarthy (Apr 19, 2009)

ckibbe said:


> http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/pp129/ckibbe/
> 
> Mod took about 2-3 hours, mostly cause I had to move the marker light up a few inches, and I went slow removing the trim pieces. Kind of scary when you get them off and see how little is holding these things together.
> 
> Had to buy a whole 4 x 10 sheet of the dimond plate though. Any ideas or examples of other mods for the outback?


This does look very nice,, just wish my bubbling was in the same place, so we could do the same mod.....


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## ckibbe (Dec 17, 2008)

kemccarthy said:


> http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/pp129/ckibbe/
> 
> Mod took about 2-3 hours, mostly cause I had to move the marker light up a few inches, and I went slow removing the trim pieces. Kind of scary when you get them off and see how little is holding these things together.
> 
> Had to buy a whole 4 x 10 sheet of the dimond plate though. Any ideas or examples of other mods for the outback?


This does look very nice,, just wish my bubbling was in the same place, so we could do the same mod.....
[/quote]

Replacing the front cap is the only other solution I know of, and that is $1000+ for the dealer to do I think. If you are relatively handy I think you could probably replace it yourself (with a couple of buddies helping), from the looks of it with the trim pieces off it doesn't look like it would be that big a deal, just scary. Sorry your damage is too high for the diamond plate. If you do a search on this forum for delamination you will find A LOT of information about it, the history and what caused it. Hopefully you can still enjoy your camper, we love the layout of our 25 rss and enjoyed the heck out of it even with the delamination. But belive me I understand your frustration.


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## lanceracs (Oct 29, 2008)

ckibbe said:


> http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/pp129/ckibbe/
> 
> Mod took about 2-3 hours, mostly cause I had to move the marker light up a few inches, and I went slow removing the trim pieces. Kind of scary when you get them off and see how little is holding these things together.
> 
> Had to buy a whole 4 x 10 sheet of the dimond plate though. Any ideas or examples of other mods for the outback?


Very nice job. I need to do same as it will cover my delam. issues. A couple of ? if you don't mind.
1. Did you have to collapse delam. bubbles? Mine stand-up & will have to be flattened so the plate will lay down.
2. How exactly did you fasten the plate to the Outback?
3. You mentioned removing trim, so did you install the plate behind all trim on sides & bottom?
4. What did you use for trim on the top of the plate?
5. Did you use steel plate or the plastic?
Thanks & again looks great.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Nice job ckibbe!









What did you use to fasten the diamond plate to the cap? Adhesive of some sort?

As far as what to do with the left over, I have seen a storage box for the rear slide rails made out of diamond plate that attaches to the top of the rear bumper.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## ckibbe (Dec 17, 2008)

The diamond plate is 3003 bright finish aluminum, 0.063" thick. This can be cut with any circular, table, or jig saw.

I removed the screws from the side trim pieces up to about a foot above where my diamond plate stops. Enough so I could pull it away from the front cap and not kink it. I also completely removed the trim along the bottom and the platic trim piece near the propane bottles. The diamond plate was cut so that it went up to the edge of the front cap along the sides and bottom, and is 24" tall to cover my delamination.

I did not do anything to flatten the delamination spots, I just pushed the diamond plate against the fiberglass and replaced the trim on the ends, running the screws throught the trim piece, into the diamond plate, through the existing holes in the front cap and on into the aluminum framework. Same thing on the bottom edge. For the top edge I bouight a piece of flat trim from the local RV dealer and cut it to length. I then put screws every 6-8 inches (pre drilled holes in trim piece) directly into the fiberglass. These do not grab any aluminum framework, but I think the fact that both sides and the whole bottom is anchored into framework it should be OK. I think this is how the factory is doing it now, and was recommeded by a dealer. I used putty tape behind all trim pieces and used silicon to caulk every edge. I did not use adhesive, as I was afraid it might get damaged and be really hard to replace one day.

I did have to move the marker light up 2 inches so that the diamond plate could be tall enough to cover the delamination. I filled the old hole with putty and caulk and it is further covered by the diamond plate, which is caulked everywhere possible.

Good luck!


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