Looking for input - Winn mini - barn roof snow fell on cab over

[Moab]

Over the winter the barn roof failed due to excessive snow and displaced the top of the RV roof above th over cab bed. The roof is bowed down about 6" in the center. There are no breaks or cracks in the roof membrane and water is not entering, the crank open window is still above the low point which is toward the front of the vent. From the ground you barely tell the roof is bowed down, and inside you can barely tell. The sides of the cab over are still vertical and do not show and defl cation inward.

It appears the roof now has the memory of the droop as it is not showing any interest in returning to normal flat status. When you place a 2x4 across the cab from drivers side to passenger side the center of roof is easily 6" low in the center.

So the question is, is this repair worth completing? My biggest concern is trying to get the wood structiure to bend the other way. I had planned to simply position a long 2x10 across the roof on the outside, add a short 2x6 on the inside under the vent hole, then use a C clamp to pull the 2 beams together. that should provide the force to reduce the bow, but I am reaching out for your ideas on how to keep that original flat position once the clamps are removed.

I also thought of adding side clamps to each side of the cab over and then placing a column under the low point and jacking that up from inside to "pop" the roof sagging bubble out, but with it being wood instead of composite, the bubble or bow I am afraid is not going to simply "pop" back to normal.

I am very handy with tools and very creative, but have never taken the skins offf to see what is inside of the front cabover sleeper. I am new to MH and assistance would like be great. If this was metal I would just pound it out, bondo, feather and paint.

The rig is an older 1996 Winnabego Mini 24 in otherwise excellent condition.

ANy links showing the internal structure would be helpful too. I have looked and have not found the perfect image yet detailing the structure.

Thanks

[APhotoWizard]

While I never owned a Winnebago, I owned a Lifetime of that vintage and many if not most class a motorhomes were all made alike. The only difference is that Winnebago began using aluminum frame somewhere along about that time.

The construction is to build a boxy frame using either 2x2 wood or 2x2 aluminum box material. The frame members are on one to two foot centers. The area between the frame members is filled with 2 inch styrofoam sheets. The aluminum skin is glued to the outside and a 1/4 plywood skin is glued to the inside to create a solid structure.

If you have the aluminum frame, it may be possible to jack it up as you suggest and if you jack it slightly past flat, it will likely come back flat and stay. Hopefully the glue did not break so the skins will stay attached.

If you have wood, it is likely broken or at least badly warped. and you will have to peal off the inside, replace the broken/bent pieces then replace the plywood. Not impossible, but not an easy task either.

If I were faced with the problem, I would use the jack from the inside floor. It just might work and even if it does not you can always:

1 - Ignore it.
2 - Build an exposed beam supported from the sidewalls to hold it in place.

Sounds like a fun project either way.
- Jerry