Fiberglass roof untucking

[wavedave]

Hey y'all! I bought my first RV. Yay! I have one little problem. My 2002 Winnebago journey's fiberglass roof came in tucked on the left side. After washing the roof, I noticed one spot that was popped out about 12 inches long and decided to glue it in or some other method after the rain stopped. Unusually high winds came later that night and popped the whole thing out, full length. I was able to zip it back in, but I need to secure it from happening again. Was thinking of using white roof tape. I am assuming that it must stay flexible?

Dave

[FormerBoater]

Have read quite a few threads about this regarding Winny roofs.

Suggest you post on the Winny owners forum for advice.

[wavedave]

Hey, sorry. New user here. Just figured out how to find what I was concerned about. It appears that this is a common problem. I have a game plan now.

[FIRE UP]

Wavedave,
While we do read about it on occasion here on the forum, it's not all that common. But, when it happens, then some measures have to be taken to insure it doesn't happen again. The advice given to just about any and all new Winne and Itasca owners is to definitely get up and inspect that roof-to-gutter seal/edge very diligently. You lightly push on the fiberglass and, it there is any separation of any type, then action must be taken immediately.

The appropriate thing to do is, get whatever tools are needed, plastic scrapers, metal scrapers, semi-blunt flat blade screwdrivers etc. and get all the original sealant/adhesive out of that groove. Once every bit of it's out, them the entire groove mush be wiped thoroughly with either Alcohol or, something that will not leave any residue.

Then, Winnebago has a call-out sheet for just what's to be used, in your particular model coach. For full body painted coaches, its' different. But, for standard, there's a few products that have been listed on here. As has been stated, there's plenty of threads on here and other RV forums about this issue Good luck.
Scott

[DryCreek]

The adhesive-sealant called out for the roof seams is Manus Bond 75. I used about a tube and a half doing our 30 foot Sightseer. I applied it liberally too. I do believe that there was a time period where the roof overhang was cut a bit too short and that caused the "untucking" along those seams. On our Winnie, the end flap tucks neatly all the way down into the channel and touches the bottom. That leaves plenty of bonding surface area. The urethane will bond well to the aluminum channel along the side.

While you are cleaning out the old adhesive from the channel, make sure that the weep holes along the bottom are cleaned out. If the previous owner(s) did not keep the edge sealed, there is a good chance that dirt and debris has washed into the channel and plugged the weep holes.

If you do decide to use the Eterna-Bond tape, make sure that you get the edges done first. There is a post you can follow on the Winnebago Owners forum where someone else had that same type of repair fail years down the road. Removing the sticky residue was quite a challenge for him.

[marjoa]

Yeah, that roof repair failure can be read here:

Part 1
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/roof...-a-362225.html

Part 2 Removal
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/roof...al-362438.html

Part 3 Repair
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/roof...ir-363138.html

Keeping these seams well sealed and maintained is a very important issue. It requires inspection & maintenance if necessary every 6 months. Because the whole MH twists and flexes and is exposed to hurricane force winds as you drive, you need to use the proper flex sealant in those areas not only to allow this flexing, but also so these areas bond correctly. I highly suggest you go online and download the proper "callout sheet" for what your MH calls for. Others here that have gone through this may make suggestions on what they have used, just be careful. Many in the past have used the wrong product or process, only to regret it later. These factory callout sheets specify what type of sealants to use where. There are many areas throughout the coach that need sealing (not just the area you happened to notice at this time) and some areas require a different kind of sealant than others. Bay doors, windows, roof line, front & rear cap, roof vents as examples. DO NOT use silicone. As a side note: On a Winnebago, you can use silicone IF you have full body paint. You need read & study more about this caveat if it applies.

It's not hard to do, just time consuming to do it right. To get the new proper sealant to bond correctly and do it's job, a lot and probably most of that old sealant will have to be dug out first. But once it's done right, then maintaining it from there is fairly easy.

Here's what I did to my roof when we first bought our MH:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/fina...ne-316925.html

BTW...do yourself and us a favor by putting your MH and Toad information into your signature
This will really help in all your future posts, so you won't have to type it in each time.
You do this by:
1) Going to the top of this page and click the top left tab named “User CP”
2) Look at the menu on the left and scroll down to “Settings & Options” and click “Edit Signature”
3) In that text box type all the information about your MH, Year, model, length, mileage, any aftermarket extras installed, your toad and so on.

Good luck my friend.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

wavedave-

First off,




A while back, Scott ("FIRE UP") posted a link to a Winnebago roof cove maintenance video made by Lichtsinn Motors RV. I'm reposting it here.

Roof Cove Maintenance, LichtsinnMotors on USTREAM. How-to

Here is a link to the Winnebago Product Information Web page. Here is a link to the sealant callout sheet for your 2002 Journey. Here is a link to the parts catalog, so you can look up the part numbers.

Here's a link to a Winnebago Service Tip on sealants.

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Wavedave,
While we do read about it on occasion here on the forum, it's not all that common.t

I beg to differ on that. Three of us in our local group own\have owned Winne's. All three experienced the issue. Two to a minor degree but the third lost about half the roof returning from a trip. Do not drive the rig particularly in wind until you get this under control. Fixing the seam is relatively easy. Fixing the roof after it rips off is not. Preventative maintenance is the key. As you have found lot's of info on how to repair on the forum. Not bagging on Winnebago. All coaches have their issues. This seems to be Winnebago's achilles heel.

[Charlie 5320]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

I beg to differ on that. Three of us in our local group own\have owned Winne's. All three experienced the issue. Two to a minor degree but the third lost about half the roof returning from a trip. Do not drive the rig particularly in wind until you get this under control. Fixing the seam is relatively easy. Fixing the roof after it rips off is not. Preventative maintenance is the key. As you have found lot's of info on how to repair on the forum. Not bagging on Winnebago. All coaches have their issues. This seems to be Winnebago's achilles heel.

And that's the reason when I was looking for a different coach Itascas and Winnebagos were NOT even looked at. They have had this problem for years and continue to build them, like that. An engineering problem they refuse to accept as a problem. A molded roof could maybe keep this from happening, at least to some degree. If the wind gets under any roof, it can come off but you just don't hear about this problem with other manufactures.

[DryCreek]

Originally Posted by Charlie 5320

And that's the reason when I was looking for a different coach Itascas and Winnebagos were NOT even looked at. They have had this problem for years and continue to build them, like that. An engineering problem they refuse to accept as a problem. A molded roof could maybe keep this from happening, at least to some degree. If the wind gets under any roof, it can come off but you just don't hear about this problem with other manufactures.

Well, actually it was a problem only for the first few years starting in 2000. Once they realized the roof overhang was being cut too short, they fixed the issue. When I finally did our roof a couple of months ago, I would guess that almost 2/3's of one side was not sealed. Here in Texas we have some pretty stiff crosswinds to contend with, and my roof never "untucked", even when being passed by large trucks or meeting them on two-lane roads. As I mentioned, if you press in on our roof cove and look down into the channel, it touches the bottom. From what I've seen in pictures where they were documenting their roof cove failure (or just popping out of the channel), the edge does not extend more than an inch into that channel.

[mike brez]

[TomandGloria]

Had the same problem with my former coach, 2007 Itasca Suncruiser 35A.

[REDEYE50]

we had the same thing happen. Roof came untucked all the way from the front to the back about 1/2 way to the middle up against the ac units. I checked out all the videos and tips about how to repair it. I could not find any auto repair or RV shop that would tackle the job. I took it to a RV dealer who installs Rubber roofs. waiting on estimate(Insurance Job). This is a 1992 Winnebago.

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by DryCreek

Well, actually it was a problem only for the first few years starting in 2000. Once they realized the roof overhang was being cut too short, they fixed the issue. When I finally did our roof a couple of months ago, I would guess that almost 2/3's of one side was not sealed. Here in Texas we have some pretty stiff crosswinds to contend with, and my roof never "untucked", even when being passed by large trucks or meeting them on two-lane roads. As I mentioned, if you press in on our roof cove and look down into the channel, it touches the bottom. From what I've seen in pictures where they were documenting their roof cove failure (or just popping out of the channel), the edge does not extend more than an inch into that channel.

The issue is not the length of the roof extension but that once the seal fails water will migrate up under the roof and de-bond the adhesive that holds it to the luan underlayment. I think people would be surprised at just how thin the fiberglass sheet is - paper thin. Like I said all coaches have their quirks and this is Winnebago's. Overall I think they make a great coach however I don't think this issue is resolved but just that the newer coaches haven't had enough time on them to develop it. The key is to be very diligent about maintaining the J channel seal.