Yet Another Skamper Build...

[Willymutt]

My internal construction was very similar. There were some ribs that were broken on mine when I pulled the insulation down. I got some pics tonight and will upload in the morning.

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[Bill_G_62439]

Finally had a little time here and ther the past couple days to get the gunk off of the roof. It has been laying upside down in the backyard for the last week and a half, but, alas, it hasn't invited the rain to Southern Illinois. The "paneling" on the ceiling is merely contact paper covered cardboard! And it is glued well to the polystyrene foam above ( in this case, beneath) it. A blast of the garden hose removes another layer a bit at a time. The only wood in the structure is a strip of 2 layers of 1/2" plywood around the edge that is mostly rotted and coming off pretty easily, and the 3 1/2" double layer around the top of the walls. Oh, and some strips around the vent to attach it. It looks like I'll be able to save the skin and insulation at this point, but I did contemplate building a new roof from scratch with plywood, R board and FRP.

I'll post pics soon, especially of the rebuild.

[Bill_G_62439]

Willymutt, Mine had no ribs, just skin, foam and cardboard paneling. I don't know what kept these roof from sagging instantly! It will be rebuilt better.

[Willymutt]

Sounds just like mine did. The only thing I saw was some witness marks but that May have been glue from putting the wires in.

Took ours out last weekend and actually got some rain. Didn't leak. My FIL and nephews slept in it a couple nights this week too while visiting so it is starting to pay off. Really need to get some lights in it and a roof vent.

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[Bill_G_62439]

Wow! It's 11:30pm CST and I just finished rebuilding the Skamper roof! It's not actually totally done, but all the hard stuff is done! I'm stoked!

I took bunches of photos, so I'll document the build very soon. Hope it will be some help to others with roof issues.

I will say in retrospect that it would have been easier to just build a new roof. But I wanted to retain the original roof so my Skamper will retain its value and can compete better in antique camper shows someday. Yeah, right!

[Bill_G_62439]

Ok. Time to post some photos of the roof rebuild.

I decided I wanted the rebuild to be stronger than the original construction, although it lasted 23 years. The first thing I did was cut two slices about 1 1/2 inches apart across the roof where the aluminum strip joining the original panelling using a knife duct taped to a broom handle for reach. Then using the claw of a hammer, I removed the foam in between the two cuts, thus making the groove.

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In this photo, I glued down 1 x 1 1/2 strips using Weldwood Contact Cement. NO GOOD for this application. Plus, it eats foam BIG TIME! I had to later reglue everything with polyurethane glue.

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The framwork aroung the edges is also 1 x 1 1/2. I used 1/2" OSB for much of the reconstruction (which I probably regret later), but the original construction was 1/2" plywood. I started adding the perimeter framework in this pict. This is what the fabric sides are attached to later on.

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The sides of the roof "box" are 3 1/2" x 1". I stacked the OSB on top of each other and screwed them to each other to hold them until the glue cured. On the long sides, it is longer than 8', so I had to scab the sides together as was originally built.

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This is the glue I used and seems to hold well.

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I failed to take any photos, but I used some clamps to hold the OSB to the side aluminum skin while the glue set. On the long sides, I also used a few screws along the same line where the awning rail goes on the outside, knowing it will be sealed later. Here's what it looks like when it's attached.

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Uh oh! Problem encountered! When assembled, the sides are 1/4" thicker than the channel in the aluminum rails that go on the bottom edges.

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Solution! I fabricated a jig on the circular saw and notched the rabbeted the sides so the channels would fit. Worked like a charm!

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(I just wanted to use the word "rabbet" in a post!)

[Bill_G_62439]

Here's a shot of the rabbeted notch.

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Well into the project, I decided I wasn't happy with the center seam. There was a crack running lengthwise in the foam down the center. If you recall from previous picts, the roof had sagged quite a bit in the middle and strained the center seam.

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So I notched the foam out of the center of the roof.

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I found a considerable gap filled with moisture and dirt.

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I placed a sheet of OSB under the roof for support and went down the entire seam with a hammer flattening it back down. Then after wire brushing it well, I caulked it from what will be the bottom side when the roof is later installed (sorry, no pict). Then I replaced the foam using Great Stuff. (Note to self:Later project idea--build an entire TC out of duct tape and Great Stuff!)

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The OSB laying on the roof was used to support me while I was working in the middle of the roof. You can also see where I patched the foam from a Weldwood spill. I used a handsaw to trim the foam to the proper thickness after it had set up.

I wasn't sure exactly how long the OSB side pieces were supposed to be since mine were mostly rotted away, so I didn't want to glue the corners together and have the wrong dimensions to fit the camper beneath. So I temporarily attached the aluminum rails and used the corners to dictate how the sides should join together. A couple of ratchet straps and it's beginning to look like a roof again!

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Uh oh! Problem #2. The OSB end pieces are too short! There's a big gap! (Note to self: There must be a big gap between my ears to have even begun undertaking this project!)

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Solution: Simply glue a block of 1/2" OSB in the gap area. The glue says it expands to fill 3/8" gaps, so I decided to let it do its job! After installing the block and an "L" bracket on each corner (mine had "L" brackets on the original roof), the corners seem pretty solid.

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I also decided to shoot a couple drywall screws through each corner from the outside just to give it a little extra support. They will be covered with new corner caps later.

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The frame around the roof vent hadn't been dealt with yet, so I removed the rotten material there. The first layer I constructed like the original using strips around the opening, since I already had some scrap strips lying around. I used screws from the top side in the existing holes to hold them in place while the glue dried. Then the second layer I just used a 12 x 12 piece of OSB. I'll cut the hole out later with a reciprocating saw.

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[Bill_G_62439]

I used 1/4" OSB sheeting for paneling on the interior of the roof. After gluing it and using screws to hold it around the perimeter while it dried, I flipped the roof over and weighted it down with chunks of wood for the night so the glue would cure and the foam would be attached to the OSB beneath. (Btw, the foam was NOT glued to the OSB later.)

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Here it is yesterday morning, flipped back over and being given a coat of primer to ready it for paint. I thought about leaving the OSB unfinished, but want some light color for reflective purposes since everything else in the camper is dark.

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I still have to reattach the aluminum side rails, install the roof vent and fabricate some corners from fiberglass, but the hard part of the roof is done, in my opinion.

I hope this build thread is of some value to others and can help answer questions, especially when it comes to roof issues on pop-ups.

[SLO_F-250]

Wow BILL!! Well Done! Other Skamper folks are going to appreciate the picts. Hope you get to use that bad boy for camping soon!

[Bill_G_62439]

A couple more shots--here's what it looks like after a couple of coats of paint on the inside of the roof:

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Those are the wires for the lights sticking out.

And here's a preview of the next part of the project--new fiberglass corners!

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