rigger camper Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 So, a couple of weeks ago we had a lot of rain, ( at least by Los Angeles standards). My '86 Dolphin has had a sag in the roof since I bought it last year but I usually just back down the driveway and let the water run off. Anyway after all that rain I came out to lots of water pouring in through the AC vent. So I removed the AC and dried out the interior and came up with a plan to build a frame that will put the weight of the AC on the walls and hopefully take the sag out of the roof. When I got on the roof I decided to seal up the whole thing. I have been rooming the useless roof rack and all layers upon layers of caulk. I am planing on using Dicor on all the holes and seams and then painting the roof with Dicor Metal roof Paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Rigger, I'm interested in what you come up with for the frame. Mine too had the sag and failed a/c seal. I removed my A/C and installed a roof vent in the same 14x14 hole. It makes a nice vent and "skylight" over the galley area. Since we don't take the Dolphin out in hot weather, living in cool coastal north CA climate, we don't really need a/c. Someday we may re-install roof air. We replaced all roof vents, and re-caulked the perimeter of the roof metal by first removing all screws on the vertical plane, then reinstalling after sealing. We did the safety escape hatch also. The job is described somewhere on this site - back in 2010 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Pretty normal for them to sag. The A/C gaskets are only good for about 5 years before they need to be replaced. Looks like your roof is ready for some serious resealing might want to replace all the plastic stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyohome Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I'm interested in your reinforcement plan also. I'd like to do it too. In addition, I read somewhere that you can double gasket the seal. The gaskets are available at most RV suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I'm interested in your reinforcement plan also. I'd like to do it too. In addition, I read somewhere that you can double gasket the seal. The gaskets are available at most RV suppliers. You could but it probably would make it worse. Once you replace the gasket you will not believe how flat they get they start new at over an inch thick. Not only does the replacement cure the leak it make the A/C much quieter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigger camper Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Here is a picture of the frame I have. It is made of 1X2 steel and probably weighs about 30 pounds. I was going to have it made from aluminum but it was going to cost around $600. So steel it is. I have 2 ac gaskets, one between the frame and AC and one between the frame and roof. I figure with deflection it should go from concave to about 1/2" convex. This should be enough to make it shed water. It will just sandwich everything together and no holes will be drilled. I will post more pictures as I progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Those who are having a saggy roof problem, look at the inside of your camper. Check to see where the counter top is and your cabinets are. I used some hand rail spindles to prop up a saggy roof from the inside. Got some nice turned ones and stained them to match. They looked factory and worked great. I used a small jack to raise the roof a bit and then measured things and cut the spindles to fit. One went on the edge of the counter top and the other longer one on the other side at the end of the couch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_M Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Good workaround there WME! I feel sorry for the new acquired owners of these wooden coaches. Dolphins are good but no one should go with a wood coach at this age. If your buying, much better off with toy aluminium frame coaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Pretty normal for them to sag. The A/C gaskets are only good for about 5 years before they need to be replaced. Looks like your roof is ready for some serious resealing might want to replace all the plastic stuff too. Maineah, Is there an adjustment for the gasket whereby you "tighten" it over time? Just wondering. FWIW the PO of my rig paid someone to install the roof ac on mine. It was sealed with black goop of some sort, but no gasket. Jeez. That's the source of the leak that prompted the a/c removal and then while I was at it, I just replaced everything on the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 You can tighten it but I think that may have a detrimental effect once installed it makes a good seal no sense squeezing it out flat. They are not hard to replace when I replaced the one on my 87 it was flattened out to no more than a 1/4" and the P.O. had used silicone sealer everywhere all the way around the metal frame work of the A/C I didn't think I would ever get the thing off the roof! It was basically flat to the roof it was noisy and leaked. The kit comes with two gaskets one for the 14X14 the other to take up the space of the 14X14 gasket at the rear of the A/C kind of keeps the entire thing level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigger camper Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 So when I removed mine it has silicone on one side and some glue on the other. I have the new gaskets and they have a peel off adhesive on one side. I was planning on using silicone on the other side, is this overkill? If I don't use silicone should I put the adhesive side toward the ac or the roof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 So when I removed mine it has silicone on one side and some glue on the other. I have the new gaskets and they have a peel off adhesive on one side. I was planning on using silicone on the other side, is this overkill? If I don't use silicone should I put the adhesive side toward the ac or the roof? The sticky side goes down to keep it in place when you heft the A/C unit back on. Yes I think sealant is over kill. I don't know how your roof is but I would put a sheet of plywood across the roof where you might stand to disperse your weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigger camper Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 Thanks for the insight Maineah, the ac is on just in time for the rain last night. I will post pictures later of the install and frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigger camper Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Here are some pictures from my roof project. I ended up taking Maineah's advice and replacing the plastic stuff too. I removed the roof rack, refrigerator vent, ac, roof vents, and pipe vents. I saw some Fan-tastic fans on sale at camping world and picked up a couple. I removed all the caulking and scrubbed the roof. I then painted the roof with Dicor metal roof paint. Here is the frame I had built. You can see that with the sag plus the inch of lift I'm hoping for a big move ( about an 1 1/2" with the gasket) Even with the gaskets in place there is a little room. The AC is tightened down and the roof is almost perfectly level. I didn't want to put any holes in the roof so I just caulked the frame into place after I tightened the AC down. It ended up raining last night,no leaks and minimal pooling up top. Only time will tell how this holds up but I feel pretty good about it. Thanks for the help and if anyone wants to make a similar frame I would be happy to share my plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Very interesting approach and solution. I am interested in your plans. BTW fantastic fans are an excellent product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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