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2000 Fleetwood Bounder 34’ How cautious do I have to be when walking on top for doing maintenance on A/Cs or forward antennas or sealing the roof? Are there stringers or crossbeams to try to walk on or doesn’t it really matter as long as I’m not stomping around? At 250 lbs, I’m not exactly a little guy and don’t want to put weight where I shouldn’t. Thanks for the input.

2000 Beaver Monticello Patriot Thunder, purchased in September and drove home to Illinois from Oregon. Hit severe weather in Iowa and of course hail damage to roof. This was small hail that came down hard enough to break A/C covers and pierce roof in places. Looking for opinions on best way to repair and references on a qualified shop.

Just wanted to inform anyone interested in Holiday Rambler, Monaco, Navistar motorhomes that our new coach was never built correctly at the factory. For two years we had major electrical and structural problems.. a few examples: leveling system wanted to drop jacks while driving, slide out would not work unless I physically plugged and unplugged electrical wire harnesses under steps, electrical outlets worked on and off, electrical dash components(radio,camera) replaced, microwave replaced, generator never worked until fuel pump was replaced, three windows replaced, the windshield developed stress crack. The underlying problem was that the front and back caps were never attached to the roof. Rivets in the caps never penetrated through the fiberglass causing a gap the full width of the coach (front and back caps) When it rained, water would enter through the gaps and run down the channels that hold wires thus causing electrical problems. Since air was able to enter through the gap it caused vibrations thus structural problems occurred. Even though my coach was in the factory twice for months no one discovered the problem. While driving the coach in the rain to a dealer to get more repairs done before the warranty was to run out water started pouring out of the ceiling lights and speakers above the driver and passenger seats. By the time I arrived at the dealers I was soaked and the whole front cab was saturated with water. You may be wondering now what happened? All I can say is Holiday Rambler, Monaco, Navistar will take no responsibility of this serious matter. Customer Service has continued to lie and cover up any wrong doing. Please do not put yourself through a nightmare like this. Look elsewhere for a motorhome.

Refinish roof: Well on this low mile coach that is supposed to have been stored inside the roof looked a bit weather worn. It needed a good scrubbing to get rid of the algae microbes or whatever those little black goobers are that are imbedded in the texture of the fiberglass roof. It did not take too long, with a couple different stiff bristled brushes, one of them with a long handle to do this scrubbing, never the less glad it is done. I did the cleaning with TSP and water. I pulled the AC units, the refrigerator vent and gave those areas a good cleaning as well. I pulled the frige vent because I wanted to install a cover that had some aerodynamics to it. I have a large shed next to where I am working on the coach. I placed a couple of 2 X 12 fir boards across to it so I could get the ACs and other stuff out of the way and off the coach. It also provided a getaway for when I painted myself off the coach. When I removed the AC units I discovered, that they were like many other items on this BARN find coach that they were not tight, at all. It is amazing that they were not leaking. The seals are in pretty good shape and it might take me longer to remove the seals that it will to paint the roof itself. The paint I have chosen is not the standard Dicor roof paint at 86 bucks a gallon. It works pretty well and two coats last fairly well. I used this on the Safari Zanzibar. Instead at the advice of another DP coacher on the West coast and located in a very hot climate area of Northern California, I used an elastomeric white paint with the 3M hollow micro-sphere ceramic balls incorporated into it. This material, SUNSHADE and others like it are being used extensively in California and New York to combat heat infiltration and heat loss in commercial buildings. It is being incorporated into the green building codes being implemented. This product was produced with co-operation with NASA for use in space exploration. It is also suitable for use on EPDM rubber roofs. The elastomeric paint with the micro-spheres is anti-microbial, it offers superior UV protection and has superior reflective properties. It is fire retardant, sound absorbing, and water proof if applied in accordance with the directions. I takes a five gallon pail to achieve what they are looking for in a finished mill thickness of somewhere between 5 and 7.5 mills dry. It is purportedly to be very scuff resistant. It is not glossy as I had hoped. I may look into doing something about that. Any input would be appreciated. I have put two coats on at this writing and have put it on thickly, I thought, and yet it will take one more pass tomorrow morning to apply all five gallons. Cost for the material will vary but expect something in the area of $250 for a pail plus shipping. I see that Home Depot offers a similar product on their website. I am the least politically correct and really not all that prone to follow the environmental movement, however where it may affect my wallet and comfort dry camping and there is a track record to lean on, I will give it credence and try to use it. The testimonial from a fellow that has commercial real estate worked pretty good. It looks amazing as it is REALLY white. http://www.isbu-info.org/ot http://www.isbu-info.org/all_about_ceramic_insulation.htm Bill Edwards

Our 1998 Southwind was overdue for a roof rehab - see photos 1 and 2. The original top layer was almost gone in places and we were having a lot of trouble with chalking and grey streaks forming on our windshield, windows and side panels. I researched various treatments in forums, ads and websites. I wanted something long-lasting and relatively easy to apply, since this would be a do-it-yourself venture. I was tempted by an expensive two-part liquid roof system, but the cost would have been over $1,000. Following up on an ad in one of the magazines, I found Ultimate Roof, from RV & Marine Technologies. Theirs is a one-part acrylic laytex rubber that is applied with brushes and rollers. They use a fabric reinforcing strip over joints and seams. You apply two heavy coats of this material. It is supposed to last 10 years or more. Because you put it over all your existing caulking, they say you don't have to caulk again. Their website is www.rvroofing.com. They sell the materials and application kits, or you can hire them to do the job for you. The materials and application kit for my 33 ft coach cost approximately $650. I got started late last fall on this project, which turned out to be a problem. I was trying to do this in early October in Maine. I didn't get enough warm weather and sunshine to cure the material before the dew started. We also got frost, then a heavy rain that washed off much of the uncured rubber from my edging job. I cleaned up and recoated the damaged areas, but I could tell that I was fighting a losing battle. We called our warehouse and made arrangements to get the MH inside immediately for winter storage. This spring, I was doing another project at home in my "spare" time, so I was a bit late getting back to the MH roof rehab. Today, we finally finished it. Yea! I think it came out well. Check out the photos. Now, I can give the coach a good thorough outside cleaning and it should stay much cleaner than it used to. Our coach has never had water damage on the inside. I think we can keep it that way for a good while yet!

I'm doing a late spring cleaning starting with the roof from the tree pollen on the roof and running down the sides. When I wash the roof today I noticed that clear coat is peeling all around the roof where it is painted. The center part of the roof appears to be white aluminum and is ok, so it's just the last 6 inches on both sides and over the front and rear caps. What I'm thinking of doing is getting a good oil-based enamel paint like Rustoleum and color match if I take one of the painted a/c or fridge covers to the paint store. Then sand and paint all affected areas. This will be a roll or brush on as it's not going to be seen much at ground level. Does anyone have better do-it-yourself solutions?

What is the typical timeframe of a fiberglass roof, before re-caulking and sealing?