Roof on 06 t139

Hilda · 06-22-2018, 08:13 AM

We have been camping and enjoying our little trailer. Also continuing repairs and maintenance. We have the leaky front window fixed, and the small damaged area repaired. We are working on the roof now. It must have some leaks, because after a recent rain, there are a few areas on the interior that have tell-tale "wrinkles" in the ceiling material. We never were able to find any leaks though.

I have questions about the roof on our camper. It seems very flat for a trailer, and I wonder if anyone else who might have our year and model could tell me if that is normal?

It has a good strong roof, no soft spots, and a rubber roof membrane of some kind. I called cruiser RV and they said EPDM, but I wish I knew for sure. It seems to be in good shape, but the bathroom skylight was cracked, and a pipe vent cover was warped and cracked. Much of the caulking on the front and back edges of the roof was badly done by someone also. We also will check the gasket around the AC, and I really hope it's ok. We will replace the skylight with a fantastic fan. When I removed the old skylight, I was amazed by how much heat rising from inside the trailer. (It was 104 yesterday) we have a big roll of erterna bond tape and use self-leveling Dicor to reseal after old, bad calling is removed and roof is cleaned. I hope we can find and fix all the leaks.

profdant139 · 06-22-2018, 09:19 AM

Yes, the T-139 had a flat roof -- the X-139 is more of an arch. And yes, you need to be vigilant about the seams -- that is true of almost every RV except an Airstream or a fiberglass egg (like the Casita). Hang in there!

One additional thought -- when parking the trailer in storage, crank up the nose a bit so that the rain runs off.

Hilda · 06-22-2018, 09:31 AM

good idea! thanks. I'm glad to know flat is how it is, but I do wish it had some arch to it. Also, though strong, it is thin. guess that's how the weight stays low.

Hilda · 06-23-2018, 06:56 AM

Also, any tricks to getting the wrinkles out of the ceiling? I'm thinking syringe with glue and a board and springloaded shower rod to press? I'm so disgusted that my pretty trailer doesn't have a nice smooth ceiling any more.

Hilda · 07-05-2018, 05:57 PM

I suppose I will be looking for some kind of thin pvc material to cover up my ceiling. I'm a bit baffled how it happened. the roof is still solid, thankfully, but the wood on the ceiling got wet. the water had to have come in from above, where some calking was open and ran into the veneer and covering of the ceiling. I saw no leaks anywhere, so I guess the water stayed trapped. I suppose since it rained hard, then got very hot it sort of "steamed" the ceiling material. I cut some of the vinyl on the ceiling away in the closet, and the thin wood it's attached to was still damp. we cut a little deeper and the styrofoam like material was dry.

since the wrinkles first started becoming evident, I've kept the windows open and run the exhaust fan and another fan, but it's not helping much.

my husband has finished all the resealing he was doing, new vents, fixed skylight and such, so the leaks should be gone.

I wonder how the roof is constructed. I we do start to see some further damage, I'd like to know what we are in for.

profdant139 · 07-06-2018, 09:23 AM

After you have removed the wrinkled vinyl, can you just paint the ceiling?

Or maybe install mirrors??

Hilda · 07-06-2018, 09:39 AM

only mirrors if I can find a smoke machine to complete the effect...

Ah, I suppose we will have to remove the vinyl, and some of the wood veneer is also wrinkled. I've poked holes in the vinyl so that if it leaks again, it may drip. wonder if the reason such a wide spread area was affected was because the vinyl ceiling was so "water tight" it held the moisture in. in that case, I'd rather take it off.

I've found a system of 4x8 pvc panels and the edging to join the panels. very thin and light, you stick it up with liquid nails. probably have to do that or deal with wrinkled veneer by sanding or something. I've also seen something called backless carpet, and it is similar to what is on the ceiling of our rialta. it doesn't really look like carpet, more like a textured surface. I may look into that.

we are about to water test the camper this afternoon, hope it is now water tight. At least a hose, unlike a rain storm, can be turned off if we find a leak.

Then we are going away for a week and staying in the camper. it probably will rain on us then. When we get back, I suppose we will start the ceiling project, in the mean time, I keep hoping the wood and vinyl might slowly shrink back to it's previous perfection.

profdant139 · 07-06-2018, 04:03 PM

Or . . . do what I do with the many imperfections in my stick house: carefully ignore them, and after a while they become invisible!

Seriously, it's only camping. My trailer is pretty banged up by all the bushes and thorns we have dragged it through -- the forest roads in the Sierras are often narrow and overgrown. And the interior has suffered so many modifications that it looks sort of chaotic. I do my best, but there is only so much lipstick that I can put on my tiny pig.

On the other hand, an unrepaired leak in the roof is a really big deal -- that is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Here is yet another thought -- by removing the vinyl (maybe with a putty knife??), you will more easily detect the source of any leakage. Once you are sure there is not going to be any leakage, then it's time to redecorate.

Hilda · 07-06-2018, 04:25 PM

good ideas and good attitude! once we are on an adventure, i won't even see the ceiling.

My poor husband has been working on resealing the roof for almost 2 weeks. it was really globbed on up there. I think he did a great job; We simulated a rainstorm this afternoon, and so far, no leaks. I have poked a lot of pinholes in the vinyl ceiling where it was wrinkled, hoping to see drips if there were leaks, but no drops.

the roof looks a lot better than the ceiling!

Eagle · 07-06-2018, 08:01 PM

Once you are certain no more ceiling leaks, you can always go 60's retro and glue green or orange shag carpet on the ceiling! LOL

Then again, that may not match the rest of your decor?

Hilda · 07-06-2018, 08:43 PM

Uhuh. How did you guess?

Ok, I'm getting carried away. I'm not really a glamper.

There is a 2nd hand camper place in town and before we got the funnfinder, we'd told him we'd like to find a casita. Well he got one and sent me pics....the whole interior had been re covered with a longish sculptured nap dark brown carpet.
I'm not sure what someone was thinking, but yikes!

Eagle · 07-06-2018, 09:38 PM

Well, covered in longish sculptured dark brown nap carpet would be a sight to see !!

Different strokes for different folks is all I can say......just visit WalMart and check the "attire" some folks wear.

l-)

Hilda · 07-07-2018, 09:51 AM

very true!
from the pics he posted, that camper looks more like a padded cell than anything else.

profdant139 · 07-07-2018, 04:56 PM

Casitas and (I think) Scamps have carpet on the walls -- some folks call it "Hobbit fur."

Eagle · 07-07-2018, 06:04 PM

Never heard of a 'hobbit'... what kind of animal would that be?

Hilda · 07-07-2018, 07:15 PM

they do, but not so shaggy! my sister had a scamp, it had a rubbery wall that they call "elephant hide". Casitas usually have a very short, almost flat nap wall carpet.

Hobbits are literary creations. a race of small people who inhabit middle earth in Tolkin's trilogy "Lord of the Rings". they have hairy feet and live in cozy homes built into hillsides. like a casita travel trailer maybe....

anthonyx2 · 07-08-2018, 02:03 PM

I found that the anchor bolts that secure the awning at the eave have wiggled themselves loose, and their looseness has resulted in water seeping around the bolts and getting into the area below the roof material that way.

Hilda · 07-08-2018, 03:08 PM

that's good information, thank you! so I went and found my husband to tell him this, and he said he checked every penetration on the camper, including those. now they are tight and sealed with dicor. but I wouldn't have known to look there. Thanks!

profdant139 · 07-08-2018, 06:01 PM

I will check the same thing --well done!!

anthonyx2 · 07-09-2018, 07:52 AM

I just had the brackets off that hold the awning in place, and the sealer/caulking under that bracket was all cracked, so it would be very easy for water to creep in under the bracket. I just left the awning in place (rolled up) with the midpoint retaining clips undone, and took the bracket bolts out so I could shift the bracket away from the roof. (Repaired one bracket at a time.)