Rebuild: roof cab over, rear end

[hollyrae24]

1986 Dolphin. Rear bath. Aluminum roof.

ok. It leaks. The rear below the window is wood dust. Roof leaks at least the drivers side cabover area. Looks like it’s been leaking from all 5 running lights across the top of the cab over. And sagging roof with leaks at some point around the 2 vents (cabover escape hatch and vent in the middle between the cabover and AC.

 

Question:

one suggestion was to remove the aluminum roof, rebuild rotted wood and glass it over with fiberglass.... no more seams! Sounds good to me.... flex issues maybe? This would be done for the rear and cabover as well. The only seems left would be on the bottom which will eventually have to be taken care of. 

 

(If I do this I will be having the guy slightly curve the roof in the middle so water runs off.

If this is a bad idea.... what are your suggestions? 

 

[WME]

Old poorly maintained RV have a bad reputations for leaks and rotted wood. So basic choice is seal all the leaks, make temp repairs and enjoy it until it collapses. Or the other choice is spend the big bucks.

Ya can't put a good roof on bad walls. You need a very good inspection to see what is going on. You can remove the inside trim on the vents and look at the ceiling/roof and see how bad it is. A bore scope might help. Go to the Wal-Mart web site and search for "Lizard Cam". Remove a few windows and frames and inspect the inside of the walls too.

From the Peanut gallery remove EVERYTHING from the roof, strip it to bare metal, put a crown in it and spray a pickup bed liner on it for a permeate no leak seal.

Additional searches, 1. How to use Borax to kill wood mold. 2. Fixing rotted wood "Rotdoctor.com". 3. There are posts here about putting braces on the outside of the roof and putting a crown in the roof to stop some of the leaks.