Roof issues - slightly caving in and leaking

[arctictraveller]

The fan is an easy self install, even I was able to do one. I am amazed you got the dealer to repair your top, congratulations...........

[BrianW]

A few good threads below (search on penthouse hardware, penthouse shoulder bolts, penthouse sleeve, etc.). Any RV place will most assuredly have either Fantastic Fans or Maxxair roof vents in stock, as they are a very common RV accessory.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...ideo-9838.html

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...t-6270-30.html (a long thread, but you can see what 86Scotty did with adding a roof fan and sleeving the lift tubes/replacing bolts)

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...html#post39899

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...olt-17385.html

Originally Posted by Roccon99

Do you have a specific thread I can reference for the hardware upgrades? I found some, but nothing comprehensive. I'd like to be able to give them a full list of stuff (and yes, I agree, I'd rather pay up now and have a good set up).

Also, they have removed the top, but the lifting mechanism is still attached to the van. They will be reattaching the canvas with cleats (and a handful of guys holding it up at once - I told them it would be a PIA, but that's the way they decided to go). Not sure how easy it will be for them to replace the hardware if the lifters are still under some force (even in the up position) and attached to the van. But, they could relieve the spring tension and then make the change...

As for the fan, I'll ask them, but they have a limited amount of time (I fly back to Sacramento on Friday and then am driving home), so if they can't source the fan and install in the same time window, then it will have to be skipped.

[Roccon99]

Thanks BrianW, very helpful. I'll definitely talk with the tech to see what's possible.

[Roccon99]

Good news/bad news:

Good - the roof is back on with new wood on the sides, fiberglass, some stainless, new headliner, screws, new PH taillight. They also scrubbed the canvas with a carpet cleaner and it looks way better. I'm gonna go over it once more with my steamer which I think should get it looking pretty good.

Bad - the headliner install is not as clean as I was hoping for, a few rough edges, some kind ugly florets holding the headliner to the canvas (but they are more effective). Didn't replace the washers on the roof, but did seal all of the bolts with his self leveler stuff. Didn't get to update anything else (shoulder screws, sleeves, etc).

The best part of it all - when I arrived on Friday, the roof was still on sawhorses. I spent about 4 hours on Friday night and 4 hours Saturday morning helping him put it all back together. It was nice to see how it all worked, but also a huge PITA (especially pulling the canvas back up).

Anyways, I guess I can't complain too much...we just have to wait and see how it does with the rain this weekend. I'm just excited to have the thing back so I can actually start using it!

[86Scotty]

There is no easy way to do the canvas but I found it easier to flip the top on sawhorses and build it up upside down (with canvas), then put the top on and attach canvas at bottom. Anyway, water under the bridge for you now I hope. I'm sure you'll probably never have to do this again.

Glad to hear you're back in one piece. Can you post some pics of the finished top, inside and out?

[Roccon99]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

There is no easy way to do the canvas but I found it easier to flip the top on sawhorses and build it up upside down (with canvas), then put the top on and attach canvas at bottom. Anyway, water under the bridge for you now I hope. I'm sure you'll probably never have to do this again.

Glad to hear you're back in one piece. Can you post some pics of the finished top, inside and out?

Agreed, I explained that to them from the beginning, but they were sure it would be easier to do it from the top (and then quickly realized they were wrong ).

Anyways, I hope your right - hoping to never have to deal with this again. At least I know the rotted wood and fiberglass has been taken care of. I may schedule some time to update the hardware to better stuff in the near future, depending on how the setup does with the incoming rain.

Here are some pics, unfortunately I don't have any more of the actual fiberglass process - I was in a major time crunch to help him finish and get it back on the road. Also, in regard to the canvas staining...since I took these pictures I sprayed everything with oxyclean and then used a hand steamer with a nozzle (I use it to clean grout) to work the stains out. After only one go it looks substantially better. I think if I did it a couple of additional times, you would hardly notice anything. Also, I haven't hung the curtains back up yet, so those will cover a little bit of the discoloration as well.