Replacing the plastic parts on the Roof
My motorhome is about 9 years old now and thanks to the California sun all the plastic parts on the roof are starting to fall apart. Estimate at the RV dealer was $1500 to replace everything. So I figured this can't be rocket science so I decided to give it a try myself.
I'm doing things several pieces at a time, but what I have discovered is it is not nearly as difficult as I would have thought. The only hard part is you have to get up on the roof and work on your knees, but otherwise the things are fairly easy to replace. The roof vents for the toilet and drains were all fairly easy. I used my oscillating multi tool to remove the old sealer and the vents just unscrew. The multi-tool does a great job of cleaning the old sealer off and making a nice clean surface. I have a fiberglass roof which makes it easier. I would think a rubber roof would complicate things. The screw holes on the new vents never line up so I drilled small starter holes, put a putty gasket on the new vents, and just screwed them back in place. Sealed them with self leveling sealer and those were done.
I went to Camping World to get a new plastic vent cover for the bathroom vent and instead of spending $20 I ended up spending $200 and got a Fantastic Fan Unit for the bathroom. Removed the entire old vent assembly the same way as described above, hooked up the wires from the old fan to the Fantastic fan, made sure it worked, and then applied the putty gasket and screwed it back in place. Probably about an hour work total. I haven't yet sealed it because it started getting too hot on the roof. So as soon as it cools down this evening I'll get up there and seal it.
I'm glad I decided to do this project myself as I learned a few things and I paid close attention and made sure every possible path for a leak was sealed. I had sealed up roof leaks in the past I they were all caused by the workers at the factory just not doing a good job. For example my shower skylight leaked and when I went up to fix it I found about a half inch space that had no sealer on it. I don't make those same mistakes when I'm doing the work myself.
I'm doing things several pieces at a time, but what I have discovered is it is not nearly as difficult as I would have thought. The only hard part is you have to get up on the roof and work on your knees, but otherwise the things are fairly easy to replace. The roof vents for the toilet and drains were all fairly easy. I used my oscillating multi tool to remove the old sealer and the vents just unscrew. The multi-tool does a great job of cleaning the old sealer off and making a nice clean surface. I have a fiberglass roof which makes it easier. I would think a rubber roof would complicate things. The screw holes on the new vents never line up so I drilled small starter holes, put a putty gasket on the new vents, and just screwed them back in place. Sealed them with self leveling sealer and those were done.
I went to Camping World to get a new plastic vent cover for the bathroom vent and instead of spending $20 I ended up spending $200 and got a Fantastic Fan Unit for the bathroom. Removed the entire old vent assembly the same way as described above, hooked up the wires from the old fan to the Fantastic fan, made sure it worked, and then applied the putty gasket and screwed it back in place. Probably about an hour work total. I haven't yet sealed it because it started getting too hot on the roof. So as soon as it cools down this evening I'll get up there and seal it.
I'm glad I decided to do this project myself as I learned a few things and I paid close attention and made sure every possible path for a leak was sealed. I had sealed up roof leaks in the past I they were all caused by the workers at the factory just not doing a good job. For example my shower skylight leaked and when I went up to fix it I found about a half inch space that had no sealer on it. I don't make those same mistakes when I'm doing the work myself.
