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WVbassmistress's avatar
WVbassmistress
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013

Roof rebuild on pop-up

What started out to be a smallish leak on the front of the pop top of our Bronco, has turned into pretty much a total rebuild. Bless my DH's heart, he is giving it his best shot but needs some help. Any takers????

When we thought it was just going to be replacing the panel on the front, we picked up some PVC board (I hope that is the right name for it) hoping to eliminate future rot and be light weight. It is 3/4 thick. Is this strong enough? Now we have found at least one side has water damaged rotted wood and needs replaced so the question of strength is more critical.

So...while tearing into the sides, he decided to just redo the top. Evidently what we assumed was plywood under the aluminum, is just some kind of wall board sandwiching thin insulation glued to the aluminum. - I hope I got that right. Should he just try to duplicate that or has anyone improved on that?

If anyone has tackled a similar project your input (and pictures) is greatly appreciated. Not even sure where to get some of this stuff. We had a guy say the wallboard type stuff can be picked up at a mobile home supplier if not at Lowes, etc. Then I assume a fabrication shop could do the aluminum skin and new trim .

I was so down-hearted I wanted to just run it to the dump, but he is determined to make this work FOR ME. He is pretty good with anything he has ever tackled and, being an electrician, is quite the perfectionist. This little experiment was my idea. We do enjoy the TC, just can't afford to get the dream camper right now.

Thanks in advance!
Truck Campers
  • tooldad1041's avatar
    tooldad1041
    Explorer
    Oct 25, 2013
    I am one of the unlucky ones that had the top fly off. I left the windows open and it filled up with air like a balloon and lifted it off. There was some "minor" water damage I was told as I was buying it just 2 months earlier. I called Palomino to order trim parts to rebuild. They suggested replacing. I am only 6 hours away. trim parts and shipping was going to be $500+. Installed new roof, just over $1000. $1050 if I recall correctly. In the meantime during the month of no top, I redid the interior, and now i have a brand new camper! Good luck
  • WVbassmistress's avatar
    WVbassmistress
    Explorer
    Oct 24, 2013
    Thanks, Popeye. I may put my husband in touch with you for any questions.
    Owensboro is near where my husband's daughters live. Actually, the last trip we took the TC on and discovered the roof problem was to Lake Malone.

    And thanks to everyone else. Never thought about the heat aspect with the PVC. Something to consider.
    I was all for just patching the rotten parts, but Mr Detail started tearing into it and just kept goin'. Now I have lost my carport to the TC and hunting season is here so God knows when I will get it back.
  • popeyemth's avatar
    popeyemth
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2013
    We used 1/2 inch treated plywood doubled up with Liquid Nails between them on the sides on our Shadow Cruiser as original. The top was 3/4 plywood under a fiberglass sheet. Ours supports the AC unit as well.
  • mpfireman's avatar
    mpfireman
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2013
    Off the subject slightly, earlier this year we were going down the interstate, when i noticed lying along the shoulder of the road ,a roof to a camper, some 5 miles further, our exit, i noticed a pop up in the service station without a roof. In all of my years on the road, i have never seen this happen to a camper. When we purchased our second pop up years ago, something was not right with the roof and how it sealed. After about 6 months later, we contacted our RV dealer about this problem. They looked at it, and took it back to the factory in Indiana. The reason we waited so long was ,it was camping season, my vacation time, and we had made plans for the entire summer camping season. Ende up that they replaced the entire roof and did other interior repairs to the camper. The deal was that we had to drive to the factory to pick up the fixed RV.
  • johnhealey1776's avatar
    johnhealey1776
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2013
    I wouldnt even try to rebuild the whole thing. I just replaced all the rotted wood around the edges (the pvc might sag in the heat up front, so beware) and then for extra strength I put up a roof rack system with strapping underneath to straighten out the roof. Those things are a pain! And i havent seen one worth what the repair costs.
  • sabconsulting's avatar
    sabconsulting
    Explorer
    Oct 23, 2013
    Good luck to your husband. I know the materials used for the TC roof can be pretty disappointing when you get to rip them apart. The roof on my Shadow Cruiser hardside turned out to be similarly pathetic. I replaced the board with thicker marine ply. However, your husband will need to take care not to go too heavy since being a pop-up you still need to be able to 'pop it up' and not have it damage the pop-up mechanism.

    I suspect the Palomino roof is fairly simple and you have the advantage of being able to remove the whole thing and do a proper job repairing it on the floor rather than balancing on ladders or scaffolding.

    Here is the rebuild I did on my TC

    I did opt for a heavy duty welded aluminum roof, but you certainly don't have to go that fancy. It would be a good opportunity for your husband to consider any roof mounted accessories or wiring he might like to add.

    Good luck, and do post pictures of the project as it progresses.

    Steve.

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