Crack in camper roof

[Beer Belly]

My Pop Up has developed a crack in the roof.....it is a Fiberglas type material. I drilled a hole at the end of the crack, sealed with RTV, and it seems to be okay (all of last year)....the crack grew over the winter, and a buddy recommends 100 mph Tape.....I'm thinking of either more RTV, or a combo of RTV and Eternabond.....not sure of the 100 mph tape....anybody ever use that stuff.....I know Eternabond is highly recommended for this

 

[Mt Bob]

It is probably a plastic,but might be fiberglass.Will only get bigger.Plastic can be welded.Run it by a body shop and have them look at it.Eternabond and the higher grade gorilla tape are both good temporary patches,but not a repair.

 

[Swedishchef]

Let me know how you make out with this, I have a tent trailer and want to make sure I know how to repair a crack should one occur.

Did you contact your point of purchase to see what they recommend?

Andrew

 

[Ashful]

Spend some time on the West System site, viewing their repair videos. I've used gallons of the stuff, rebuilding antique boats.

 

[1kzwoman]

Fiberglass can be repaired by a marine repair shop or a auto body shop. There are also patch kits available at auto repair shops.
An epoxy repair and a "roof coat" as used on mobile homes could work for plastic.

 

[Hogwildz]

100 MPH tape is nothing more than a good duct tape, and not a perm fix.

 

[wenger7446]

Spend some time on the West System site, viewing their repair videos. I've used gallons of the stuff, rebuilding antique boats.

X2

West Systems sells some good stuff. I would look at a fiberglass repair solution.

 

[begreen]

See if you can find out the material first. There are different plastic welding systems depending on the material type. If it's fiberglass for sure then the West system is a good suggestion.

 

[Mt Bob]

See if you can find out the material first. There are different plastic welding systems depending on the material type. If it's fiberglass for sure then the West system is a good suggestion.

Agree.The right way is to fix it from the inside,but if it was mine I would drill a nice hole at the ends of the crack and overlap a piece of similar material (over entire area) with west or glass or epoxy,depending on what roof is made from.

 

[osagebow]

Is the crack near the center seam? If so, you can put a strip of white tyvek tape down the length of the seam. Got this idea from the pop up portal forum.

 

[Ashful]

Just remember, amine epoxy based fiberglass systems (eg West System) are not UV stable. They must be painted.

West does make a special uv stable hardener (207 special hardener, iirc), but it's amber colored to match varnish, and even that should be topped with spar varnish.

A local repair followed by a full overlay of 4 or 6 oz glass will hold plastic, if the surface is prep'd appropriately. Heck, we coat plywood boats in that system.

 

[Beer Belly]

I'm gonna look into West Systems......brought it to a body shop.....$1,000 repair....not gonna happen. I did try drilling a hole at the end of the crack, but it still cracked beyond that. I think I remember the material was "Filon" or something like that....

 

[Hogwildz]

That looks like Kemlite, which is fiberglass based.
Similar material as the inside lining of reefer trailers.
There is a stress going on that is causing the fatigue and cracking.
Best to find what is causing the fatigue also, as it may end up cracking again after the repair.
Any loose bracing or sagging in the area should be addressed prior to repairing.

That gloss finish will most likely have to be sanded or scuffed up for any repair to adhere to, and def gonna need some fiberglass mesh to reinforce the repair.

 

[Beer Belly]

When we noticed it happening was right after the instant garage type shelter collapsed under a heavy snow load (Winter 2012)....then I heard that during installation of the A/C, the corners of the cut not being rounded off would cause a crack, so during the first repair, we rounded off the corner, sealed with RTV (especially heavily in the Gasket area), drilled a hole at the end of the crack, and figured it would be good to go....not. During the off season (Fall 2013), I noticed it spread....drilled and sealed again....here we are, and it spread again. I did notice that the bracing was not completely around the A/C Unit, but it was the same gap on all 4 corners, so I thought nothing of it.....I thought the impact of the collapse caused it....the Pop Up is a 2007, and was good up until that time, so at this point, I do not know the cause. The RTV seems to stopping any leak, but it does not stop the crack.

 

[Mt Bob]

Looks like a filon product,which is a very poor exterior horizontal choice for a roof,usually used for walls.I have to agree with hogwildz,sucks to repair,and after hearing the story there is a good chance of internal structural damage.

 

[Beer Belly]

 

[semipro]

The top of your camper, much like the one we used to have looks very much like its covered with fiber reinforced plastic (FRP); similar or the same as this stuff:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...0-FRP-Wall-Board-MFTF12IXA480009600/100389836 ....although hopefully a heavier duty version.
My experience is these tops eventually crack and leak regardless of structural damage. (There's not much to the structure really, ,some bracing and expanded polystyrene probably).
That's why you see some many of these popups sitting around with tarps over them.

 

[Beer Belly]

The top of your camper, much like the one we used to have looks very much like its covered with fiber reinforced plastic (FRP); similar or the same as this stuff:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...0-FRP-Wall-Board-MFTF12IXA480009600/100389836 ....although hopefully a heavier duty version.
My experience is these tops eventually crack and leak regardless of structural damage. (There's not much to the structure really, ,some bracing and expanded polystyrene probably).
That's why you see some many of these popups sitting around with tarps over them.

When we removed the A/C, I was surprised to see what this thing is made up of.......thin Filon Skin (?)....1/2 inch of Styrofoam type material, then Luan. There is bracing, if I remember correctly, in 4 areas over a 10 foot length of the roof. I since then, have a more beefy instant garage, and clean the snow off it when need be

 

[woodsmaster]

It's made by Fleetwood... They make stuff as cheap as they can.... I have a Feetwood motor home and the way they built it is just plain dumb. I just fixed the roof on that but it is rubber.

 

[Beer Belly]

It's made by Fleetwood... They make stuff as cheap as they can.... I have a Feetwood motor home and the way they built it is just plain dumb. I just fixed the roof on that but it is rubber.

As far as the Pop Ups, we had a 1995 Coleman / Fleetwood that was a great, reliable camper....it seems that once Coleman was out of the picture, things started to deteriorate as far as quality....they were battling Roof issues constantly.

 

[woodsmaster]

I used to work at Fleetwood. they are made so cheap !! They closed the plant here, and I can see why.

 

[Beer Belly]

I used to work at Fleetwood. they are made so cheap !! They closed the plant here, and I can see why.

I can see a difference in materials from when they were Coleman/ Fleetwood to when the Coleman name was dropped. I'm thinking any Pop Up is going to have issues, and went with Fleetwood due to my 1995 Coleman/ Fleetwood was such a great camper, and thought that I'd be okay......guess it could be worse, this is relatively an easy (but ugly) fix.

 

[mellow]

guess it could be worse

Working on replacing the roof on my new to me Truck Camper, the previous owner just let the roof go so it was all rotten in the back leaking everywhere. Just about got it all fixed but man is it crazy to see no rafters in these things, just luan,styrofoam, and wall board.

 

[Beer Belly]

WHOA !

 

[Huntindog1]

Those roofs are lifetime warranted on Coleman pop ups .