Walking (crawling) on the roof

As I type this I am watching Extreme RV.. They are visiting the factory where MY RV was built.. Interesting, that is one good roof. :)

The guy put his foot through the roof and yes there was sufficient damage to a fairlly new unit to have it declared a total loss by the insurance company, we had to bring a small ladder inside so that he could step on the ladder and stop pulling the rest of the roof futher down, and for your information there was no structural damage caused by water or any other problems, some units only have reinforsing where you have the A/C and the vents the rest of the roof is basically self supporting.

Not all pull trailers are constructed to the same quality of workmanship and I AM TALKING PULL TRAILERS NOT 5TH WHEELS OR MILLION DOLLAR "A" CLASS UNITS.


navegator

Sillybugs2 wrote:
Thanks for the plywood idea. Dh wants to get up and really inspect our so will have him do this. And bonus we already have a piece.

While I can walk on mine I actually carry two 1/2" x 12" x 24" pieces of particle board with carpet wrapped around them in my Van so if I need to get on the roof I use those as "stepping stones" to move around and kneel on when on the roof. At home I have a 2'x3' piece of 3/8" plywood that I use as an "additional" platform with a piece of old carpet under it for added protection and to provide a larger work area for things like stools, etc., but still use the two "stepping stone" boards to get to the larger plywood "platform".

Just too easy to take this extra step to ensure no problems. Even with walk on roofs if you kneel on them that can be a HUGE amount of force from your knee in an "EXTREMELY" small area.

Larry

down home wrote:
Our Dealer told us the ladder wasn't strong enough for us to climb on the roof, of our Fifth Wheel. It was just for looks. So therefore the roof is not strong enough to walk on either. Better let the Dealer Do it. They did with a straight face so it has to be true. Dealer has speshul light weight Folks to do it.

thats probably true. I cringe sometimes when I see how the rig flexes when people climb the ladder, but that's a mounting problem. Still not buying that anything short of a tent can't support 150lbs ON the roof.

The only way to tell how the roof is constructed is to open it up. I had a seam in the ceiling that leaked so I opened it enough to see a little and get a camera into. The ceiling joists are 2x2s 16 inches apart. The only thing on top of them is the sheet metal roof. Under them 1/8 inch wood sheeting. The leak seems to be caused by a drooping or broken 2x2 running side to side with a vent in the middle attached to it. This causes a pool of water beside the vent. The temporary fix is strips of wood running across three of the 2x2 joists to elevate the low spot. I know I must remove a ceiling sheet and deal with the bad joist. I wouldn't be surprised if I broke the 2x2 by stepping on it. Now I put planks across from one side to the other to support my weight when on the roof. And wonder if the walls are strong enough.

I hear good quality new RVs have steel or aluminum joists. Maybe something like metal studs?

A friend of mine was so disgusted with RV construction that he bought a used school bus, took off the roof and walls and built new ones with heavy steel beams. Very strong. Very heavy.