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Raise da roof!!! (18ft 1982 Sunrader in need of some roof repair).


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Hey all!

Let me just start by saying that I'm SO glad that this community exists. It is a huge resource and I super appreciate y'all's help!

I'll likely start a separate thread (and social media page) to track the progress of our transition/build out, but let's just say we took on a bear of a project, with a pretty tight timeline, a limited assortment of tools, only outdoor work space and we're negotiating the Pacific Northwest weather... so we're not in above our heads in terms of our ability, but maybe up to our necks! We're also super into it (we're great swimmers!).

We need to finish this thing by mid-end of July and so you'll likely see me on here a lot! Luckily, my boyfriend is technically adept, and can handle anything this project throws at us. We're just hoping to tap into the seasoned experts here! Hopefully we can give back to the community as we learn more, and with fun posts from our year on the road.

Anyway, we got this 18ft 1982 Sunrader in March and started gutting it immediately. Turns out it's in way worse shape than we ever would've known had we not removed all the cabinetry, seats, bathroom, etc... Of the hundred or so projects facing us right now, the biggest is our roof. It's sagging from age and the vent placement and, even if it weren't it'll be just a hair too short for my boyfriend to stand comfortably in, so we're considering ways to raise it.

I'm attaching some pictures to show the condition, some of the attempts to brace it into place (we left it with the bracing beams for a month just to see if it could pop back at all... it didn't), etc...

We thought maybe glassing on an extended truck camper/topper would work, giving us more height, rigidity and maybe even a built-in track for a rack system, but have tested out a few and it just doesn't seem like the best way.

We've also considered fabricating a beam, similar to the style included on the later models; framing out from top and bottom to turn the concave into convex, etc...

Curious what y'all have tried, what's worked, what you would avoid now that you know better.

Stay tuned for more questions, like: "Cab-over windows are leaking! Time for a waterbed?" and "Glassing fumes will make me stronger, right?" ;)

Thanks so much!

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OK so no cabinets to deal with and you can make a beam. Here is how Jon did it. He and his wife Gail are fantastic Toyota motorhome restorers.

MATERIALS:
One good quality straight grained red fir or spruce 2x4 8 ft long (or equivalent), with no large knots, 8 ft of 1 1/2" by 1/8" steel bar, primed and painted, Two 5/16" by 3" lag bolts with wide area flat washers (fender washers), several #10 by 1" wood screws, construction adhesive, and silicone caulk to seal outside when done.
 
Make a cardboard or paper pattern of the curvature of the roof where it is best preserved, usually at the front or rear where sagging has not occurred. Trim the 2x4 to fit snug from wall to wall then trim another 1/4 " off one end. Next transfer the pattern to one edge of  the 2x4 and saw the curve on a band saw so that you get an even cut. 
 
Cut the metal strap to a length that will allow full coverage of the curved edge of the 2x4 plus bending over both ends. Drill 3/16" holes every 12" or so in the strap and countersink each hole so that the heads of your wood screws will be flush when installed. Form the metal strap to the shape of the wood piece and bend it down over the ends for a tight fit. Do a trial fit to the motor home and adjust as needed. Mark the strap at the center of each end of the truss and drill a 5/16" hole at each of these marks through the metal only. These holes will be the anchor points for the ends of the truss. Now run a bead of construction adhesive along the curved edge of the board and install the strap with wood screws making sure everything is properly aligned as you go. Next, drill a 1/4"  pilot hole into the wood at each end where the previously drilled larger holes are located. 
 
Apply construction adhesive to the top of the truss and raise it into position inside the roof at desired location. You may need to force it up with bracing between the floor and the truss to get it into position. Measure the distance from a reference point on the motor home to the center line of the truss on each side of the vehicle. Next drill a 1/8" pilot hole from the outside through the fiberglass at each point making sure these holes coincide with the holes in the end of the truss. Once that is established you can drill the pilot hole out to 5/16" to install the lag bolts. Use rubber gaskets or sealant under the flat washers. Also cover the bolt heads with sealant or other waterproof cover. Now you can install upholstery and modify your upper cabinets to accommodate the truss.  
 
 
 

Here is their photo bucket so you can see some of their work. Might be some good ideas for you
There should be a picture of the beam somewhere in there
Linda S
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I don't know how much headroom you're hoping for to clear your BFs head, but at least you're working with a fiberglass Sunrader.

Have a read here for some inspiration.

Do you have experience working with fiberglass? I wonder if you could graft on the top of a Westy? And of course you don't have to raise the whole roof. Just the section between cabinets, and not even all the way to the rear.

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You guys are too amazing. Thank you for all of the advice and resources!!!

A few questions:

@WME If we had the time and weather to swing for our fences we absolutely would! ...with 3 months and minimal shops space, we're doing what we can. Is that your build? We came across it when initially researching raders and were SUPER impressed. So awesome! Question: where did you get that giant sheet of fiberglass? Was it from big-house shower or did you find a place that sells sheets that size or....? That could help a lot with the vision we have. Also, our goal from the get go has been to one day transfer to a flat bed we DIY, so we're grateful for all of your posts!   

@linda s That is so thorough - thank you so much! I'm curious how much height/clearance your friends gained from that repair. If we don't raise (hell, even if we do) that's going to be a great tutorial to have as a reference!

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4 hours ago, Derek up North said:

I don't know how much headroom you're hoping for to clear your BFs head, but at least you're working with a fiberglass Sunrader.

Have a read here for some inspiration.

Do you have experience working with fiberglass? I wonder if you could graft on the top of a Westy? And of course you don't have to raise the whole roof. Just the section between cabinets, and not even all the way to the rear.

Thanks, Derek! I had been looking for that complete post for a bit, super appreciate you tagging it. My BF has some experience with fiberglass - enough to feel confident in experimenting and finding the right technique for this project. He's already learned some good lessons and confirmed some ideas with plugging side holes and deleting some parts. I think we were hoping to add 4-6 inches but any more height would be good. Are you talking about grafting on the top of a Westfalia?

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3 minutes ago, Derek up North said:

Yes, that was my idle thought over my 1st coffee of the day. I have no idea how easy one would be to find or what they'd be worth.

I love idle coffee thoughts - keep 'em coming! My BF had thought about that before. Those things are SO expensive. ...but we've got our eye on junkyards to see how we might best get creative. :)

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Wow! Thank you so much guys! @WME@linda s@Derek up North Y'all are so helpful!

My boyfriend followed the super camper build some time ago - that rig is amazing.

Also the link to the Nidacore opened up a whole new world for us through that marine supply site! Thanks for that!

And that build with the brad nailer... so gorgeous!

These resources are giving us some awesome ideas, confirming some we already had, too, which is so helpful. Thanks again!

We've got some other particular build questions so I think I'm just going to start a general build thread. :D

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Well so far you havent cut anything up, so additional knowledge.

When you look at the campers made of the pink foam you think FIBERGLASS the sucker. But check out the fommie teardrop campers. Most of the builders are crafty and CHEAP.

The popular covering materials are brown kraft paper (cheap trick, think grocery store bags) bonded on with diluted waterproof Titebond II glue, then painted with house paint, light canvas "glassed" on with waterbased clear poly MinWax floor varnish, then house paint, or fiberglass cloth with wbpoly and house paint.

To shape the roof make curved ribs from the foam and epoxy the sheet to ribs, sand to shape and cover with your favorite.  

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/15/2017 at 8:17 PM, LilMamaBoneCrusher said:

Hey all!

Let me just start by saying that I'm SO glad that this community exists. It is a huge resource and I super appreciate y'all's help!

I'll likely start a separate thread (and social media page) to track the progress of our transition/build out, but let's just say we took on a bear of a project, with a pretty tight timeline, a limited assortment of tools, only outdoor work space and we're negotiating the Pacific Northwest weather... so we're not in above our heads in terms of our ability, but maybe up to our necks! We're also super into it (we're great swimmers!).

We need to finish this thing by mid-end of July and so you'll likely see me on here a lot! Luckily, my boyfriend is technically adept, and can handle anything this project throws at us. We're just hoping to tap into the seasoned experts here! Hopefully we can give back to the community as we learn more, and with fun posts from our year on the road.

Anyway, we got this 18ft 1982 Sunrader in March and started gutting it immediately. Turns out it's in way worse shape than we ever would've known had we not removed all the cabinetry, seats, bathroom, etc... Of the hundred or so projects facing us right now, the biggest is our roof. It's sagging from age and the vent placement and, even if it weren't it'll be just a hair too short for my boyfriend to stand comfortably in, so we're considering ways to raise it.

I'm attaching some pictures to show the condition, some of the attempts to brace it into place (we left it with the bracing beams for a month just to see if it could pop back at all... it didn't), etc...

We thought maybe glassing on an extended truck camper/topper would work, giving us more height, rigidity and maybe even a built-in track for a rack system, but have tested out a few and it just doesn't seem like the best way.

We've also considered fabricating a beam, similar to the style included on the later models; framing out from top and bottom to turn the concave into convex, etc...

Curious what y'all have tried, what's worked, what you would avoid now that you know better.

Stay tuned for more questions, like: "Cab-over windows are leaking! Time for a waterbed?" and "Glassing fumes will make me stronger, right?" ;)

Thanks so much!

IMG_20170310_135602266.jpg

IMG-20170406-WA0002.jpg

IMG_20170413_150142216.jpg

IMG_20170413_150149071.jpg

IMG_20170302_155049842_HDR.jpg

IMG_20170302_155108226.jpg

IMG_20170302_155131487.jpg

Almost as bad as mine wish I could show pictures, I could have shown you a much easier way permanent fix. I'm soon to repair mine 4" drop in the center causes leaks everywhere when it puddles on the roof being nearly crippled still trying to find help though or kill myself quite possibly from bleeding out internally, cutting out slots for spacing and putting force on exterior roof using square tubing or wood a jack and a frame to bolt to exterior would have saved a lot of time and given you a roof rack, Lego action basically. One piece holds another that holds another these roofs gather moisture no matter what you do inside and out a exterior light frame for the top keeps everything straight if you haven't noticed after the coach screws rot and loosen everything shifts while driving pulling the coach apart the roof is a big part of stabilizing everything in the living section.Shifting causes it to bend down for the most part both sides of vehicle crushes it together causing the roof to slowly bend in from the top. Nasty low hanging branches dont help either ?

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  • 4 months later...

I bought my first Sunrader last week. She's / he's on a 1984 Nissan 720 w/ the Z24 4 Cyl. 8 spark plug all original equipment. Now why did I mention this first ... I started as we all do researching all I could find concerning Sunrader ie: Gardner Pacific RV manufacturing out of Cali...which we all know closed many years ago. That said, one of the best articles I read by more than likely the most educated Sunrader expert on the planet...Mr. snail powered
NW
           
Toyota Advanced Member
876 posts
Gender:From Outerspace
Posted August 15, 2013   

I've just copied and pasted the title / member info...let me also post the direct link if I can locate it. Okay here it is I hope it works so ...the rest of you can learn what I learned from this man of many talents...most of all...NEVER unless you have no choice...READ his words carefully this man or woman knows what they are talking about... The exceptions do apply...so read it...he says it better then I can...Hope this helps some of you. It sure helped me...Now I know what otherwise would have cost me money and time...for nothing...I'll start posting my 1984 Sunrader remodel / retrofit...soon... Thanks all...I appreciate this forum....more than words can say. 

LINK: http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/6289-sunrader-roof-structural-support/

 

 

Edited by NissanSunrader1984
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The roof structure was built up some in later years around the air conditioner and 1987 and later Sunraders have 1 or 2 beams depending on the length of the coach that span the width of the coach. My 1986  18ft Sunrader has a slight dip but is very strong. I have been on the roof dozens of times and I used to be a very hefty girl. Weak spot for the cabinets seems to be the rear passenger side. On both of  my Sunraders the cabinets fell and broke some because the screws attaching them to the back wall had come out. First order of repair is to check all screws

Linda S

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