The flat roof on my Bethany Pick-upper has some sag and water damage that i'd like to fix. I already have the plan to rebuild it with a slight curve to help shed water. My question is what would be a good cheap and durable material for the exterior of the roof? I was thinking FRP Wall Board like you can get at home Depot, it is water and mildew resistant, seems like it would hold up to branches scrapping along it. I would like to avoid expensive rubber style roofs. I see a lot of newer campers have a material like this wall board on it. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-4-ft-x-8-ft-White-090-FRP-Wall-Board-MFTF12IXA480009600/100389836?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-202090190-_-100389836-_-N
Rebuilding a leaky/damaged roof
- Thread starter cocco78
- Start date
For what it is worth, the description states for interior use only so it might not be UV resistant. When I built my homemade camper 11 years ago I went to a sign supply store and bought a smooth surface FRP that was UV resistant. It has held up well, I don't think it was much more expensive. It is smooth but you can see the fibers slightly under the surface but that is the same as what I have seen on commercially built campers.
Scoutman
Explorer
Read my thread on how I had to repair my roof. Starting around post #47. Call your local RV place and ask if they have Filon by the roll. I was able to find it at one of my local places and it was ~$10 a linear foot and the roll was 8' wide. I would not go with the FRP pannels from Lowes/Home Depot since they're not rated for UV exposure/outside use. They are also limited in the size sheet (4x8'-ish). Get a good adhesive and skin away. You can trim the excess with a sonic cutter, nibbler, grinder (dusty), or shears. Filon is basically a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and I believe has a gelcoat to keep it protected. It's bend radius is limited so it will depend on what your leading/trailing edges look like but that's my vote.
Post picts if you have them.
Post picts if you have them.
Yes, i noticed the UV issue and was hoping to find something similar to this that was UV resistant. My local RV place was no help so i'm seeking some out of the box ideas. I previously fixed the roof by rolling on a gallon of a white rubberized residential roof patching stuff that worked pretty good, just didn't hold up to much abuse. The picture below is of the original roof, completely rebuilt it pretty much exactly as the factory did it, but without the roof vent. It has held up for a couple years not but I just want something a little more durable. Plus it has sagged a little and water will pool in the center.
Originally the roof was rubber membrane, with luan under, then a styrofoam frame work with some 1x1's. I originally rebuilt it similar to the original construction but it just came out to flimsy and drooped under its own weight.. My plan is to use some 1x4's on edge as kind of a truss, but cut a nice easy radius on the top edge to give the roof a slight curve. I'll fill the cavities with foam insulation and use the FRP wall board for the ceiling. But as far as the roof exterior i think i found the most durable solution, roll on truck bed liner in a light gray color, but not sure what the underlayment should be, i'm thinking that FRP board would be perfect with a thin layer of roll on truck bed liner, i wouldn't need to worry about getting seems just right either. the roof needs to stand up to a lot of contact with tree branches, we have a lot of dense wooded trails in MI and northern WI.
I helped a friend redo the roof on a FWC. Stripped it down the basic aluminum frame and dropped on new thin gauge aluminum using VHB tape. It was fast and came out well.
Be careful using grey color on your roof depending on what adhesive you use. It was causing structural issues with my build since they grey was getting too hot and causing delaminations of my FRP skins from my foam core.
Be careful using grey color on your roof depending on what adhesive you use. It was causing structural issues with my build since they grey was getting too hot and causing delaminations of my FRP skins from my foam core.
Arclight
SAR guy
If you have access to a MIG welder and a good, flat concrete floor, you could make a simple frame out of 1/2" x .060" wall square tubing. This will be much more abuse-resistant than the 1x1's you are taking out and not a whole lot heavier. You can double them up with short separators to make a beam if you need more rigidity.
Arclight
I wouldn't use steel tubing, it would be too heavy, but a few pieces of aluminum would be perfect too. The framework for the roof is already aluminum so it would be pretty easy to bolt/rivet in some sort of framework. I still am thinking of sticking to my 1x4 idea, with them on edge and a nice radius to the top edge to give the roof a very slight curve.
I thought about the heat build up with the bed liner, but I found a very light gray color and i'm sure it will fade even lighter in a year.
I thought about the heat build up with the bed liner, but I found a very light gray color and i'm sure it will fade even lighter in a year.
4x4x4doors
Explorer
Here's a source for the FRP/filon. I used 1/4 inch masonite for the backer.
https://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/categories.php?category_id=164
Its what I used to redo the top on my Little Guy. (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/133783-Older-Little-Guy-Scope-Creep) Easy to work with. Did the job well. I used adhesive I bought at Home Depot.
https://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/categories.php?category_id=164
Its what I used to redo the top on my Little Guy. (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/133783-Older-Little-Guy-Scope-Creep) Easy to work with. Did the job well. I used adhesive I bought at Home Depot.
Scoutman
Explorer
That's what I used except for my local RV place had it in stock so we just cut off what I needed and it was only ~$10 per running foot.