Finding Studs

[TNGW1500SE]

First off, Anybody know if the studs in the roof of my 2003 Itasca Sunova are wood or are they metal? If they're metal, do you think this metal dectector would pinpoint them? Detector

[tatest]

The structure Winnebago was using then was a sandwich, solid block of foam glued to interior and exterior skins. There might be three to five aluminum cross pieces in channels on the underside of the foam block, particularly near areas with openings. You should not be able to detect rafters from the top side.

[fyrflie]

Pangaea Ron wrote:
I have a problem, because they usually start beeping when I get near them?

Finally!!
Some humor on this forum. You just made my day.

[TNGW1500SE]

tenbear wrote:
Here is a view of my RV roof when the snow is melting. The location of the supports is clearly shown. Yours may or may not be similar.

Now I wish it would snow.

[wa8yxm]

Snow and fog (Dew) are both good indicators

Regarding Metal Detectors.. Instead of spending money (Till you find out if it works) did you knwo.. There is an APP for that????

Yes. many Smart phones do much more than talk, text, camera and internet.
They have a host of "Sensors" including

GPS (Where are you)
Magnetic (Compass)
Pressure (Barometer)
And one that detects the presence of metal

I have a "Metal Detector" app on my phone.. Free.

I have not had great success using it, but I have had some success.

[tenbear]

Here is a view of my RV roof when the snow is melting. The location of the supports is clearly shown. Yours may or may not be similar.

[Harvey51]

Another check is to do a test nail in the ceiling inside a cupboard.
I can feel the supports from the roof on a large part of the roof that doesn’t have heavy plywood sheeting.

[fj12ryder]

I've heard Times Square in New York City is a good place to look. 🙂

[bukhrn]

Gdetrailer wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

TNGW1500SE wrote:
Anybody know if the studs in the roof of my 2003 Itasca Sunova are wood or are they metal?

No roof has "studs" but rather rafters. Whether wood or metal just use a quality multi scanner such as this Zircon i520 which is capable of detecting both wood & metal, along with wiring detection.

Meh.

I have several different models (not this one but they all work the same) of Zircon scanners..

Neither works well with the extremely thin RV walls, they are designed primarily for standard stick and brick 2x4 walls.

RV walls are at best 1" thick so stud detectors tend to get a lot of false readings. The detectors see the back side of the wall confusing the detector.

While it is possible to use one, they don't work as well with shallow RV walls so be prepared to drill a few exploratory holes..

X-2, the one I used, (don't remember brand), didn't work worth beans, I started at a screw that mounted a shelf, so I'm sure there was a stud there, but as I slid it across the wall, it indicated a stud every 4-6 inches, I'm pretty sure, that's not correct,I gave up, I'll get back to it one of these days.

[doxiemom11]

If you do a google search, you can find a brochure for your unit that will download and you can read all about the features and construction of your motorhome. According to what I saw, I sounds like they are aluminum except the very front one which is steel as is the rest of the front cab area.

[tenbear]

Not all ceiling rafters are on 16" or any other regular centers. My Class C has rafters only where there are things on the roof to support, such as vents, AC, etc.

[Lynnmor]

Remove a ceiling vent or some other access and find a rafter. Usually they are on 16” centers so if you find one you found them all. Often ceilings panels are 48” wide and the edges are on the rafter center. On my trailer I was able to attach my ceiling panels better and didn’t miss a single rafter (actually they are trusses).

[Pangaea_Ron]

I'd use almost any STUD-finder, most use density of material rather than finding actual wood or metal to locate the framing.

I have a problem, because they usually start beeping when I get near them?

I'll leave now.

[mobeewan]

Gdetrailer wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

TNGW1500SE wrote:
Anybody know if the studs in the roof of my 2003 Itasca Sunova are wood or are they metal?

No roof has "studs" but rather rafters. Whether wood or metal just use a quality multi scanner such as this Zircon i520 which is capable of detecting both wood & metal, along with wiring detection.

Meh.

I have several different models (not this one but they all work the same) of Zircon scanners..

Neither works well with the extremely thin RV walls, they are designed primarily for standard stick and brick 2x4 walls.

RV walls are at best 1" thick so stud detectors tend to get a lot of false readings. The detectors see the back side of the wall confusing the detector.

While it is possible to use one, they don't work as well with shallow RV walls so be prepared to drill a few exploratory holes..

The Zircon type electronic stud finders use ultrasonic waves to detect density change. It did take me a little while along with some patients, pressing against the paneling, looking at where the paneling was flexing and a little though that the reason I could find some studs and not others where the folding tv shelf was located was because the area where the shelf was mounted had a piece of plywood under the paneling as reinforcement for the Shelf. Once I figured that out it was easy to find the perimeter of the plywood and the location of the studs. What I was wanting to do was lower the Shelf about 2-1/2 inches to make sure that I was still mounting to a solid structure. This allowed me to put an articulating mount for the TV on the wall and lower the Shelf for the DVD player and satellite receiver. Once I swung the TV out of the way and without having to move the DVD player and satellite receiver out of the way I could still swing the nearby cabinet door open.

After that job it was really easy to find the wall studs and the plywood backer for the TV shelf in the bedroom.

I was able to determine some of the studs were 1 x 2 & 1 x 3.

[Ductape]

I have a Zircon i65, works well in the RV either wood or metal framing. 100% success drilling holes in the roof of the last RV; getting ready to do it again on the new one.

You can partially disassemble a roof vent usually and get a look at the framing.