Older 5th wheels with thin roofs

[Idell1972]

Hi there,

I bought a 1997 NuWav Snowbird two years ago. The roof was soft back then and still is soft, the entire roof. We just had a new a/c installed, the mechanic said the roof was soft and this trailer was not worth the cost of a new roof. Did trailers back in 1997 come with a thinner roofing material? I ask that because the entire roof is soft but the rubber is still in good shape. We live in this thing and are not in a position to purchase another one. So in our case, a new roof is worth the cost. At this time, I don't think it needs a new roof. But I do think it was built with thin plywood on top. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks,
Brandon

[Dankenbring]

We had a 93 prowler tt and had a roof leak. Took off membrane on front corner to repair. They use 1/4 inch plywood and 2X2 wood roof bows for the roof 16 inches on center. And yes it flexed a lot. One way to,save weight. Don't walk in between bows as it could be a problem.

[Dave_H_M]

as big around as I am I would never walk on my roof without sheets of thin plywood to distribute the weight.

[Luke_Porter]

The 97 Snowbird was built with a vacubonded "ceiling", an airspace and layer of plywood above that. I think it's 1/2". It is a very well built with 2x2 vacubonded with blue foam and a layer of 1/2" on top of that. Look at the "ceiling" of your basement where a pipe goes through and you can see how it's built.



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[RAS43]

Had a '96 Snowbird and the roof felt like you are describing. I had it for 8 years and never had any issues. Walked on it while cleaning and inspecting. My '06 Hitchhiker feels the same, so I don't believe you have any problem. Enjoy your Snowbird!

[Bob91040]

I had a hitchhiker 11 that I bought new in 1991. It had a soft roof. The back of the rig had the luggage rack and that was walkable. I used small sheets of wood on the roof to walk around it. It lasted for 18 years, and than I put a new roof on it. I believe that's how most of HHs were back than...

[Idell1972]

I appreciate the responses. This is a 37' trailer and not sure about finding another one for the cost of a roof. Just as long as you don't jump up and down up there, I think it's good to go for now. It's not softer in one area more than the other, just soft all over which leads me to believe thin sheet wood at the factory. The rubber is pretty solid looking up there but can't say if there's water damage. Is there a way to tell?

The possible replacement of our fridge brought up the conversation with my mechanic. He said that he wouldn't put more $$$ in this thing if at all possible. So, if the fridge dies... well that's an easy one. We need a new fridge as we can't do another trailer right now. It leaks water sometimes on the floor and opened the fridge one time and the door fell on my foot (water damage to the door hinge). Was thinking about a residential fridge of some sort. Anyway, that's how the conversation started.

Brandon

[the_bear_II]

Our 1994 Alfa was built using plywood roof joists spaced every 16". 3/8" plywood was glued and stapled to the roof joists and a EPDM roof membrane glued to the plywood. Yes roofs were soft to help reduce the weight. These were RVs designed not to have people up on the roof like watching a Nascar Race.

Other RVs were designed so folks could use the roof. These used sandwich component technology for the roof. Plywood,rigid foam sheets, wood stringers and plywood glued and pressure sandwiched to dry. Makes for a very solid but light weight roof. Commercials used to show 12 or more people standing on the roof.

When I have to go on my roof I can see where the roof joists are so I step on the joists to keep from crunching the plywood. Or I use pieces of plywood to distribute my weight.

If you have evidence of water damage and soft spots in the plywood, then you would need to repair the damage before recoating the roof.

Some RV'ers have begun using a Rhino Liner (spray on truck bed liner) type product to seal the roof and strengthen. Look through the blog posts at www.rv-dreams.com. These folks just had their roof redone using this type of product.

[bpounds]

I suspect your mechanic was just being honest with you, that the value of the trailer was less than the cost of replacing the roof. That sounds pretty honest to me. So if you can afford the new roof, maybe you can afford a used trailer from the same age. Or maybe you like the trailer and don't want to trade no matter the value.

As far as a soft roof, I think they all use plywood that is barely strong enough to support a person who is careful. In other words, none are really very strong up there. That keeps weight and cost down. If the rubber is in good shape, and you don't break through when walking on it, why not just leave it alone?

If you're handy, you could do the roof yourself. Just sheath it a little heavier and install new rubber. I would probably add sheathing anytime I was replacing the rubber, because like I said, they are all pretty thin.

Most important is whether it has any water damage. And you probably don't know.