des-toy Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Hi fellow toy campers, My first post, so forgive me if this is not in the "right" category. I have owned my 1977 toyota camper with a 4 cyl diesel and I have noticed that lately it is a little soft in the roof. No drips to speak of, but I'm concerned that there may be leaks developing in the seams, which will lead to eventual rot of the sidewalls in the camper body. Does anyone have any experience replacing the entire roof? Is it worth it? Any suggestions, advice or similar experiences you would like to share are greatly appreciated! It is a great rig with 38k miles and I would like to keep it going. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Hi fellow toy campers,My first post, so forgive me if this is not in the "right" category. I have owned my 1977 toyota camper with a 4 cyl diesel and I have noticed that lately it is a little soft in the roof. No drips to speak of, but I'm concerned that there may be leaks developing in the seams, which will lead to eventual rot of the sidewalls in the camper body. Does anyone have any experience replacing the entire roof? Is it worth it? Any suggestions, advice or similar experiences you would like to share are greatly appreciated! It is a great rig with 38k miles and I would like to keep it going. Thanks! I stripped the interior ceiling in my 1981 diesel and replaced it. I also put on 6 layers of fiberglass mat and made a riser to put the power vent on. When running the resin and mat I went up the vent pipe and the other air vent shaft making them integral with the roof. It is now strong enough to hold dance parties on This was a fair amount of work but I doubt that it will ever leak again. http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/fiberglassRoofDone.jpg The ticket is to keep it under cover when not in use to avoid water damage http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/dieselCovered.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des-toy Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks for your thoughts Mike. I'll consider the fiberglass option if it proves to be rotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks for your thoughts Mike. I'll consider the fiberglass option if it proves to be rotten. I used fiberglass because there had been several storage pods installed on the roof which left several sets of holes through it (all of which leaked at one time or another). You can see one of the pods in my avatar. If your roof exterior is not punctured you would not need to fiberglass over the roof exterior. All repairs can be made from the interior. Just start tearing down until you get to good wood then rebuild and recover the walls and ceiling. Remove the vents, stack, and side molding. Replace the putty tape and reinstall the fixtures. This will reseal everything that can leak. You can use builders plastic and a tarp to cover the roof while you are replacing the putty tape and have the vents and stack covers off to keep rain out. http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/tarp1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrtoyotarv Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 This is what i would do on mine A friend of mine did this to his moterhome with no more leaks http://www.line-x.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 That line-x stuff looks pretty cool. Did your friend mention any drag created by the ceramic texture? (Of course, it wouldn't matter how fast your motorhome was if the roof leaked.) Sure is pretty. shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrtoyotarv Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hi there , My friend moterhome is a class a it an older moterhome that seem to have a leak and try other roof repair stuff with no luck . He saw my truck with the spay on bedliner and he went to my guy and ask if he can do the roof of his moterhome and he got it done cheaper than putting a new roof on a moterhome . Now he has no leaks . I will do this to my mom moterhome when I get done replacing all the vent ans other stuff on the roof that will be all new before my guy spay the linex . This stuff works great . I hope this help you all who have problem with the roof leaks . Thanks Price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 What a great ideal! How about the cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrtoyotarv Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I think it cost him 500.00 to do that job on the moterhome . but with a toyota being smaller than a class a moterhome i suppose it would be cheaper to do . but it depends on the place you go to have it done . Hope that helps . Price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel_Aggie Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 What is your roof made of? I've done some EPDM (rubberlike membrane) repairs on a 5th wheel trailer. Dicor is one of the main manufacturers of this product. http://www.dicor.com/ It is typically layed over the plywood on the roof. If you have a soft roof, you will need to pull off all the vents, skylights, etc. then pull up the old roofing material. You can then replace the rotten plywood. You may have supports underneath or in walls with water damage too. Once you have your new wood secured, make sure it is perfectly smooth with no sharp edges. You then test fit the new EPDM sheets. When you have them sized right you put the Dicor roofing adhesive down and then carfully lay the EPDM sheet down making sure to get it straight and removing any bubbles. It will typically wrap around the sides of the RV about an inch. There is a trim piece with tons of screws that hold this on. PPL RV used to have EPDM sheets in various lengths listed on it's web page. I can't find them listed right now. They were about the cheapest source I found. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-roof...f-repairs-1.htm If you have an aluminum roof it appears to be much the same set up. I have an aluminum roof on my Lance camper that recently suffered hail damage. I'm in the learning process now. All-Rite RV sells the rolls of aluminum. They also sell various rubber roofing. http://www.all-rite.com/index.php?cPath=29 Hope this helps. All-Rite also seems to have many unique RV supplies I have not been able to find elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 I have an aluminum roof on my Lance camper that recently suffered hail damage. I'm in the learning process now. What I have done for my motor home that is parked outside to protect it from roof damage (hail, falling tree branches, etc) is to place a piece of 1" solid foam insulation (the blue stuff) on the top with cutouts for the vent and stack, then cover it with an ADCO tyvek 20' RV cover http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/dieselCovered.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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