It's a beautiful weekend, time to open up the can of worms and see what's going on in these soft spots under the roof of my RV.This is a 2002 Coachmen Pathfinder, Class C.I took all of the edges off, peeled of 4+ layers of dicor, caulk, crappy liquid roof, and whatever else, removed the vent, peeled back the rubber roof and found this:Not what I expected. Most roof repair videos have plywood underneath which is what I was expecting. This is some kind of "lite" roof.So, my initial questions....What kind of roof is this?How can I get the remnants of the old wood off of the rubber roof so that I can get it to stick to whatever I end up putting down next?Any other thoughts would be greatly preferred. I have three beautiful days coming up and would love to play golf on two of them after knocking this project out tomorrow... I know that's a huge pipe dream, but a man can dream.

It looks like rotted door skin/plywood to me. :h

Ok, so once I peal it off, what do I replace it with? can I save the rubber roof? It looks like it just sits on top of the aluminum frame with the styrofoam inside?

Need to find sheets of the same thickness exterior plywood material, and unless you can remove all the wood and other stuff from the rubber it will need to be replaced as well. The rubber roofing is getting old enough it should be replaced anyway. I wouldn't plan on this being a one day project.

Out of curiosity, why the same thickness? Can it be a bit thicker? Seems like the more sturdy the better. I plan on doing the edges and seams with eternabond, so I will have a little bit of "play" in stretching things to make it all work.

Help me with roof project please! | Good Sam Community

dbbls
Explorer
May 24, 2015
New decking and rubber roof is in your immediate future. Hope you have several good friends that like restoration work.
Halmfamily
Explorer
May 24, 2015
I would try to find a marine grade plywood in the thickness you need. Instead of replacing the rubber roof I would go with a new spray on roof like Rhino Lining. You will spend more money on these but more than likely never have a roof issue again.
joegray
Explorer II
May 24, 2015
I agree with BO. Tear it all off,I would probably replace the insulation underneath. It's probably mouldy. If you are going to all that work, do it once and do it right. lots of work ahead,good luck.
cardtarget
Explorer
May 24, 2015
Out of curiosity, what would Rhino lining cost for a 29 foot class C?

I'm guessing at least half the price of the motorhome... it's one of those decisions where if I knew I'd have this for ten years is a no brainer, but I just don't think this specific coach is going to be a long haul for us.

I've spent the day tearing apart more. Found more rot by the upper ladder corner and I'm fixing all that. Hope to have new wood screwed and glued by the end of the day.

Do RV shops carry rubber roofing, or is that a special order? Any suggestions on where to check? I need about 10 feet (I'm not going to rip apart the rest of the perfectly good roof right now).
rogers81
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
computerbug wrote:
That is luan. There are plastic sheets at Lowes that I replaced it with. 17.00 sheet.

Do you have a link? I could not find it
ckwizard777
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
http://www.bestmaterials.com/default.aspx
RGar974417
Explorer
Jul 18, 2015
I would make sure you use a solid core plywood ( no voids).You won't find that at Home Depot or Lowes.You have to get it from a plywood dealer. But it will make for a stronger roof.I would then get a roofing contractor to put a new rubber roof back on.They will do it correctly and faster than you could.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Jul 19, 2015
RGar974417 wrote:
I would make sure you use a solid core plywood ( no voids).You won't find that at Home Depot or Lowes.You have to get it from a plywood dealer. But it will make for a stronger roof.I would then get a roofing contractor to put a new rubber roof back on.They will do it correctly and faster than you could.

This is why many manufactures use wafer board. It doesn't have voids, and is almost as strong as plywood. If keep dry works well.
Beaker
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
And what do you expect the side and back to look like?
Padlin
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
You can get 1/4" Marine 5 ply Baltic Birch at Capital City Lumber in Raleigh. They have thicker too. No voids in Baltic Birch and should have more then the usual 3 plys making it stronger then Luan, pricier too. They also carry Marine Okoume, see which is cheaper. Although cheaper might be the wrong word.

Be interesting to see what else needs replacing, might not be worth the effort.

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Help me with roof project please!

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