Roof leaks

thestoloffs wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
though all BF had a fiberglass roof? our 2001 had ,there real nice rv,s.

All Born Free Class C RVs have a steel roll cage and a fiberglass body, with wood framing to attach the cabinetry.

If there's no wood framing, Bumpy, how would one attach the cabinets? Directly into the fiberglass?

how do they do it in an aluminum/steel framed unit?
bumpy

midnightsadie wrote:
though all BF had a fiberglass roof? our 2001 had ,there real nice rv,s.

All Born Free Class C RVs have a steel roll cage and a fiberglass body, with wood framing to attach the cabinetry.

If there's no wood framing, Bumpy, how would one attach the cabinets? Directly into the fiberglass?

I have only seen one BF on the C5500 chassis. It would have been a 2006 or newer. If there were Super C's built before 2004 they would have been custom built conversion.

DickBlin wrote:
We are looking at a 1998 Born FreeBorn Free President, it has some very old water leaks. No damage can be seen from looking. But has a few stains.
Should we be concerned ?
We plan to use it about 5 years

I just have a curious question. I considered buying a Born Free President that was built on the Chevy Kodiak 5500 chassis. See Article on Born Free President. This one was probably in 2005 or later. Did they make something like this in 1998?

ernie1 wrote:
Snowman 9000:
You're my kinda guy! But we are "normal" right?

Suuuuuuurrrrre we are.
:)

Snowman 9000:
You're my kinda guy! But we are "normal" right?

midnightsadie wrote:
though all BF had a fiberglass roof? our 2001 had ,there real nice rv,s.

they all have fiberglass roofs. the issue as far as I am concerned is that they use wood in the wall construction, instead of aluminum. if water leaks in it causes the same problems as a standard build rv has.
bumpy

As a couple of people have said, if you are willing & able to seal it up, it might be okay going forward. I'm one of those people who can't leave well enough alone, and would end up tearing into it, then cursing the decision to buy it.

Should you be concerned? Certainly. Should you automatically write off a ca. 20 year old RV because of evidence of some leaks at some point in time? In my opinion no, but it does warrant careful inspection and thoughtful consideration.

I would suggest pulling any skylight/vent trim rings (on the inside) in the area of the staining down to inspect the internals of the roof. This is very easy to do (a few screws, literally a couple of minutes of work) and should give you a better idea of the extent of damage and the structural soundness of what is there. If there aren't skylights but there are other things like lights or A/C vents mounted to the ceiling, it may be possible to quick peek inside easily by removing them, too—but it also might not be possible to tell much of anything.

You may be able to stop roof leaks and live with the stains. Don't spend a lot of money on an old rig on roof repairs, appliances, awning, etc., they only bring around $5000 for resale regardless of repairs/upgrades. When buying an old rig, make sure brakes, tires, and engine cooling system and RV generator are in good order or get written estimates from a good truck mechanic and RV repair service. The converter/charger and house batteries will likely require replacement.