OH MY MY, not what I wanted to see

[buehler740]

started cleaning out the trailer, the bathroom celing is drooping down a couple of screws came out and they were rusted and didnt seem to have anything to catch to, well climbed up on the ladder to see what I had for a roof , just some reallly old tar or rubber sealant across the seams, and thats it the rest was just bare metal, so what do I clean that with and seal that with, I figured it would have some sort of sealant, but nope, is there a board or something under the celing boards, like a frame or something? I am so bumbed to find it was leaking, wasnt told about that little treasure, this trailer is gonna need more work than I thought, well any sugestions on what to use to clean the roof and the rest of the trailer, especially all the stickers they put on it? and what to seal it with? figured they would have put something on the whole roof and not just the seams, I am just finding all kinds of things wrong with this trailer,

[rjf7g]

Hmmmm....what year and brand?

[buehler740]

its a 1974 Coachmen Cadet, they did some painting on it so it doesnt look like it but it is, not sure what to use to get the paint off or clean and seal the top, just dont know with what though you can see some pics of it here http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/5...vhost=outdoors

[Wallaby Dan]

I would cheat a little. Pull up the corners so you can see the area leaking, check for the damage and replace that and as long as the rest is intact leave it alone. after screwing the roof back down coat it with snow white.

[buehler740]

well I think its gonna be alittle bit harder than that, most of the leak and damage is in the bathroom area, I started scraping the junk they put on there, looks like maybe first some rubber stuff then some tar stuff and on the other seams to some alumum stuff, just all kinds of stuff, suprisingly only the seams are done and the rest of the aulumin on the roof is unsealed or untouched,, my hand hurt from trying to scrape that stuff off, I added some pics , not sure if I should just take the celing in the bathroom down, how hard is it to put up a new celing in there though? it weighs a ton from taking on water, and the weight from that hanging down might be why its caved in, not sure, and how bad will it be to replace the celing in there, still got alot of scraping to do in that section, thinking about getting the sander out for a more burtal approach, LOL, but I got to fix the counter sinking in that section or it will just keep puddling in that section, its rained every day and going to continue to rain off and on til friday, well it could be snow so I guess I should be happy, its just gonna be alot of work to do either way give it a look ant tell me what you think http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/5...vhost=outdoors

[Wallaby Dan]

Ouch!!!! New roof time i think!! Is it all soft or just in the bathroom area? I don't know what they used but it wasn't done correct!!! Looks like lots of work to me.

[fleamarketer]

Well it's been said a number of times-you will be very surprised how far the damage to a ceiling has traveled from the source of the leak.My best advice is now isn't the time to repair as little as you can.It will in the long run just come back to haunt you having you do over what you fixed and what you should have done in the first place as far as the ceiling is concerned.

[buehler740]

just in the bathroom when the celing is drooping and heavy I can tell its all wet under there, so do I have to take the whole roof and celing off? I have next to no money to work with on this right now, and this trailer may be home if we loose this house so I need to do it right, not sure why that one pipe vent is bubbled up so high, another treasure yet to be explored, I have spent hours just trying to scrap that one seam off , I am almost scard to look at it, LOL, no telling how many years it been like that, how hard is it to replace the inside celing?

[buehler740]

so what should I do, take the roof off and the celing to? I gotta wonder if the weight of the inside the celing, not sure what is under there but maybe that has weighed it down to cause that cave in in that section, got down to the metal on most of that seem, and if I go in and push up on the celing, I think it pops back in place, not sure, its hard to get help with it, I am on my own on this one, I'll have to take pics of the inside celing and walls in the bathroom so you can see closer, I will do that today, even the walls in the shower look bowed, I do believe that I will be opening up a can of worms so to speak. LOL

[buehler740]

I was kinda hopeing to do that, I got this kool seal stuff but I am not sure that is the rigth stuff to use on this aluminum roof or not

[fleamarketer]

I think what I am about to say makes sense.You've asked me a bunch of questions about replacing the total ceiling,the whole roof,patching the roof.Well a lot depends on the roof.Sadly,you might never I.D. all the leaks without removing the whole ceiling.These RV's where built from the ground up,so removing the ceiling is a middle point in which to find any faults in the roof.These RV's are also very old and you can't expect the roofs to hold out forever.Kool roof or Snow Roof is the right sealer for aluminium roofs.I had a RV repair shop tell me recently that he only seals where the leaks are and I am not completely convinced that is the right way to repair the roofs.His logic is if water gets under the sealer again,you might never find the leak without stripping the whole roof again.Kind of like saying I didn't seal the roof right in the first place-therefore I want a second shot at it.Or like I seal the leaks now waiting for the rest of the roof to fail.Either way,not the result I am looking for.The worst of it is the mold possibility with a improper repair and how the can effect your health.It just isn't worth the few dollars saved in the short term and money that you are likely to spent double in the long term.Now Snow Roof Systems is the best one of the two.

[buehler740]

yep all true, I have no clue what the former owners did, nor how many people owned it, it appears that only some stuff was put on the seams and nothing else, the area at the bathroom is the worst of it all becase it seems to be caved in along that seam, on one of the pipes that comes up through the roof that is in a closet next to the bathroom the alluminum is bubbled up higher, I think, not sure why either, so this is a new to me trailer and I am just looking for the best way to repair it, the hardest thing on the trailer is trying to figure out what they did and why , if it every stops raining around here for a few days straight then I guess I will try to finish stripping of the layers of different things they put on the seams, there are many things I dont know about trailers but am learning from people here, I have got to make that trailer liveable in case we loose our home, next to no jobs here so the trailer might be home for a while, they did tell me the water pump doesnt work, but they didnt need it being hooked to city water, some parts of the floor are soft and almost to where you can put your foot through it if not careful to, so Ifigured if I can fix the outside to not let any more water in I can work on the inside, just didnt know if I cant put a new celing up without having to take the roof off? I got tons of questions I am just glad there are people here who can help answer them and guid me through this process

[fleamarketer]

Well all I am doing here is speaking from the perspective of the motor home repair that I own and how in general water damage occurs.There certainly are a number of different designs that where in use for the older RV's.From wood framing for the roof supports to the square aluminum tubing bows that I have.I think you just have to expose the damage and see what you have.Pictures as you go will certainly help us advise you.

[buehler740]

ok I will do that,I am still trying to scrape off all the layers of junk put on that one seam, they have some rubber stuff then I think tar on that and then some alumum color stuff and thats just on one seam so far, have had alot of rainy days here and more to come, so I will take pics of things as I go you you can advise me what to do and maybe how to do it, My husband dont think I can fix it so I am on my own with this project, I'm sure the sink holes in the floor are gonna be a total delight as well, LOL but we'll go step by step and get-er- done, lol