Checking In - and in need of advice

[NeNiteHawk]

Hi there! I am a fairly new RV'er I have stored, used and maintained my fathers 87 Bounder for about 3 years since he was an OTR truck driver. Last year he cut back his driving time and of course wanted his RV back home closer to him. This put me in the market for my own since my wife and I had grown pretty used to having Dad's rig at our disposal. But of course, we were on a shoestring budget.
Our purchase: 1984 Midas 30 ft Motorhome that had been sitting for more than 5 years. Now the owner had done minimal upkeep during this time, start the engine and generator periodically, etc... just the very basics. Knowing that a lot of TLC was coming our way, we paid $2500.00 and drove her the 4 blocks home. No I did notice a definite problem, a bounce from the passenger rear duals. I am pretty sure this is a broken belt or such, definitely in need of a replacement very soon. We spent the night loading gear for our maiden voyage, Midwest Bikefest, a total of 5 miles from town. Well, one new coach battery, a fair amount of elbow grease here and there and at 11p.m. we were ready to set out! Shift to Reverse, start backing out of yard, Oh yeah, reach down and hit the lights..... and dead. So its off to WalMart for a new chassis battery and as luck would have it, in my hurry I grab a top post rather than a side post... which I promptly noticed as I hoisted the battery into its resting place under the hood of our new purchase.... grrrr Back to Walmart exchange the battery... At 3 a.m. we were ready to set out... only my wife had decided waiting for my battery fiasco wasn't interesting enough had fallen asleep.

8 a.m. we set out! Swung by the local Park to flush & fill, then 5 miles out of town in the opposite direction to fill with propane since I was told the tank was empty... A total of 2.4 gal filled the 60 gal tank. Remember that bounce in the passenger rear I mentioned? Well we held our speed down to about 35 which was rough enough, however on the way back in, it got louder and rougher and louder and rougher... then... gone! My Wife though this was wonderful, however, I was not so enthused. Pulling over and checking the tires... we had thrown all the tread off the inside dual. cheapest (and only) tire in town that would fit $280 each... we limped to our destination 7 miles from where we lost the tread as we were...

What an experience! Well 4 days later, we found a 2 pair of used tires, which have that solved. Everything works well except the water heater which I think I can fix yet. Overall we are happy! Then we find a more major issue... The roof leaks around the forward AC unit. Looking closer the flat pancake roof is sagging about 1 1/2 inches. This was last summer. I have demo'd the interior stripping the front 12 ft of ceiling out, leaving only the aluminum skin. I have a good plan that our local RV sales and service says has potential, even though he has never heard of it being done this way. So plan in motion, we are going to rebuild the ceiling from the inside leaving the existing aluminum skin in place. I plan on giving our sagging flat roof a 1 1/4 arch and rebuilding the pancake construction. We got demo finished, new braces bought... plywood, insulation, new lighting, adhesive all purchased just before winter set in. I have had the rig tarped all winter waiting for warm enough weather that I can start rebuilding. Well it is here!!! and today is my first day of the rebuild! umm question....
I have searched online for this answer a couple times since last fall, but I still don't have it. Can someone tell me??? As I start rebuilding the ceiling from the top down, the first layer will be 1/4 luan which I will slide in above the existing supports and will eventually glue the 1 inch foam insulation board to, then an inside layer of luan. Should I glue that top layer of luan to the aluminum skin? My thought is no.. that the wood and the metal will expand and shrink at different rates and I am asking for trouble if I try to glue it... however of the people I know, I have the minority opinion. Considering no one chiming in on the subject here at home has ever done anything like this, I pose the question to a more experienced community... You!! Help? Suggestions! To Glue or Not To Glue!!! That is the question!

LOL You Gotta Love me!

[JohnRR]

Good luck with your project.

[Skip426]

Boy have you got a project on the go.
Sorry I can't answer your question, just wanted to say , Hi & good luck and Safe travels once your mobile.

If you don't get an answer here in the check in, maybe repost the question, about the glue application, in the vintage RV forum. Lots of the members there have been doing the type of major repairs your in the middle of.

[NeNiteHawk]

Thanks! I seem to get myself into these kind of things... 11 years ago I moved a 107 year old house to save it from demolition.. Another ongoing series of projects there!

[TonyDi]

Sorry I can't help. But, Happy Trails when you get your project finished.

[MSHappyCampers]

Welcome to IRV2! It's great to have you join the gang!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Medico]

Welcome and glad to meet you!

You might want to post in the appropriate forum to get answers. Many of those experts do not frequent the new member forum.

The general consensus is 7 to 8 years on an RV tire, then replace it, even if it has good treads. I would definitely check the date code on ALL the tires. When they blow, they can cause lots of other damage, in addition to chancing an accident when it happens.

[bdickson]

[cwf]

Careful with "glue" of choice. Silicone will corrode your aluminum. Better to place wood and make it long enough to put glue blocks on wood to retain position. Pictures are necessary.

Good luck!

[Chiefbvfd]

Welcome and good luck on your project...