I broke my penthouse roof again

[Makalu1]

2001 E350RB50 with manual penthouse.

Boy, did I screw up! I was so sure I had unlatched all 3 latches that when I felt more resistance than expected, I went straight for the ratchet assist and placed it at the rear end of the gray ceiling pad. When I got the top up several inches and was still having resistance, I glanced back and saw to my horror my front latches were unlatched but still engaged in the holes pulling the front end down and putting some horrible stress on it. I had trouble getting the rachet to reverse down and ended up kicking it out. Bad day.

After that I opened and closed top a couple of times and it acted a bit funky like it didn't want to set quite right. I decided to deal with it later and headed to Canyonlands. When I was on miles of washboard a that gray same gray ceiling pad was rattling loose; playing with the tension in the latches didn't help that.

On the way home, a piece of wood pictured here slipped lose from under the gray ceiling pad on the driver's side. What I assume is the other end of this piece is rattling around the other side.

Now that I'm home and want to raise the top I am hesitant to do so for fear of difficulty in lowering it again properly. Raising it also puts the roof somewhat more out of reach to work on.

I was tempted to go for the 4 bolts on the corners of the gray pad to remove it and see what damage I have done, but am concerned the 4 bolts are the same ones I see on top of the roof, and I'm concerned about exposing it to the rain right now. I am guessing that the broken wood piece is some sort of frame holding the front of the roof down to the metal raising frame.

How would you approach diagnosing and fixing this? Can I do this work with the top down?

I must have taken stupid pills to get into this fix....

Angry at myself in Salt Lake,
Scott

[BrianW]

I’m not totally following you as to which bolts you are referring to. But here’s a pic of what my roof looked like with the “pad” off. It’s just a cover for the area that the scissor bar slides back and forth in — note that my flat Penthouse top mechanism is a bit different from most SMB Penthouse tops, but the concept is still the same. The front and rear latches are through-bolted. The gray pad (on mine at least) is screwed into the fiberglass and the embedded reinforcement.

[BrianW]

And the rear tube area under the cover…

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by Makalu1

2001 E350RB50 with manual penthouse.

Boy, did I screw up! I was so sure I had unlatched all 3 latches that when I felt more resistance than expected...
Scott

Quite possible you did actually unlatched them, others (like myself) have unknowingly had them 'catch' when left dangling on their own.
I'm not qualified to offer advise to your current dilemma, but I can share couple examples others have contributed as "preventative maintenance" to guard against future occurrences:
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...ver-29036.html

[Scalf77]

So most likely, you broke the backside of the channel in the cover piece. The concept is much like what Brian is showing you except the channel is part of the panel that bolts on. So you will need to remove the 4 bolts, and pull the panel down.

It will probably become obvious once you do that. That keeps the roof attached to the front bar. The rear panel has a wider channel, as that tube will slide forwards or backwards as it come up or down.

I thought I had a picture somewhere.

-greg

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by Scalf77

I thought I had a picture somewhere.
-greg

I looked this up couple months ago to make sure I was lubing the area correctly (I needed a 'visual' to confirm my suspicions). Believe you'll find a pic supplied by Boywonder on post 32.
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...p-10808-4.html

[1der]

I think this pic maybe helpful.

The two pieces of wood create a channel/slot that captures the front bar pivot. It looks like forcing the top may have caused one of the channel pieces to become detached. The upholstered cover acts as the lower surface of the channel.

Removing the cover should be pretty straightforward but may also require removing the handles.

I think the wood piece marked in red has detached. I have seen this held in by screws and construction adhesive.

[bigriver]

Originally Posted by Makalu1

2001 E350RB50 with manual penthouse.

I was tempted to go for the 4 bolts on the corners of the gray pad to remove it and see what damage I have done, but am concerned the 4 bolts are the same ones I see on top of the roof, and I'm concerned about exposing it to the rain right now.

Yes - if you have the original SMB bolts they are the same as what you are seeing on the roof. Those nuts will need to be removed.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

I looked this up couple months ago to make sure I was lubing the area correctly (I needed a 'visual' to confirm my suspicions). Believe you'll find a pic supplied by Boywonder on post 32.
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...p-10808-4.html

^^^post #32 in the link shows that front padded block....it should be an easy fix.

You can remove the 4 bolts with the roof up or down...just don't raise or lower the roof with that part removed.

Are you crossbars bent? That's a much larger problem.

[Makalu1]

Hi everyone. Thank you for the quick feedback and the pics, really helps me anticipate what I am going to be dealing with. I have to leave town and the van a few days but will get to this when I get back.

My main concern was that the 4 bolts I see holding the pad and handles to the aft ceiling are NOT the same ones that protrude through the top of the roof. I had just finished waterproofing them. From the pics I'm seeing, and the descriptions it sounds like the bolts holding the metal raising frame to the roof are not the same ones that hold the pad to the ceiling. Am I getting that right? That makes approaching this a lot less fearful; I was hoping to not have to detach the roof from the metal frame.

I have a feeling I cracked the front wood frame piece and maybe some of the fiberglass as well. Bad on me. I'll probably have some creative woodworking and fiberglassing to do to fix this mistake. See you in a week.

Many thanks!
Scott