Roof Damage - Please Help

GaDawgFan · 06-02-2007, 10:34 AM

I was in a rush to get pulled into a campsite and underestimated the height of a branch coming off of an Oak Tree. The caught the branch on the passenger side of the coach right in the middle area. The roof now has about an 18 to 24 inch long slice in it that runs from the front towards the rear of the coach about midway down the coach. It is right above where the roof begins to curl over the side of the coach. The slice itself is very clean with no gouging or ripping and I am confident that there is no damage underneath as I can feel around underneath the roof with my fingers.

Obviously I can make an insurance claim, but I am not sure that is really necessary. I have read other posts on here where people have been using some sort of tape on these fiberglass roof materials in order to seal it. Would something like this work in this case?

I am just sick about this. I should have stopped and taken a look at the site and taken my time pulling in.

I welcome all advice!

GaDawgFan · 06-02-2007, 10:34 AM

I was in a rush to get pulled into a campsite and underestimated the height of a branch coming off of an Oak Tree. The caught the branch on the passenger side of the coach right in the middle area. The roof now has about an 18 to 24 inch long slice in it that runs from the front towards the rear of the coach about midway down the coach. It is right above where the roof begins to curl over the side of the coach. The slice itself is very clean with no gouging or ripping and I am confident that there is no damage underneath as I can feel around underneath the roof with my fingers.

Obviously I can make an insurance claim, but I am not sure that is really necessary. I have read other posts on here where people have been using some sort of tape on these fiberglass roof materials in order to seal it. Would something like this work in this case?

I am just sick about this. I should have stopped and taken a look at the site and taken my time pulling in.

I welcome all advice!

Kazoo Tom · 06-02-2007, 10:49 AM

The roof is fiberglass and should be easily repaired by any body shop that works with glass. That would be a permanent and lasting repair. As a temporary fix you could use something as simple as duct tape to keep the elements out. To replace caulking at all the seams many people swear by "eternabond" tape. it is also a somewhat permanent bond when properly applied.

skigramp · 06-02-2007, 10:57 AM

GaDawg ...

You are not the first person to have a tree limb jump out in front of you and attack your roof ... a big birch limb made a gash in the driver's side roof of my Adventurer about 5 years ago ... the gash was in the rounded part of the roof and was about 18 inches long.

I covered it with some white vinyl tape until I could have it repaired ...

I inquired at several body shops (non-RV repair places) until I found one that had a young fellow who was used to repairing cars with fiberglass components ... he was able to place some lightweight re-inforcement (styrofoam and cardboard I think) behind the gash ... then he proceeded to patch it ... it was only noticeable if you got up on a ladder (or up on the roof) ... I am sure that it took him lots of trips up the ladder to fix this ... and he needed good weather because the body shop did not have large enough doors to get my rig inside ...

His patch worked fine for the time that I owned it ... I traded for a new rig in about a year ... for reasons unrelated to the damage done by that renegade limb ...

FrontRangeRVer · 06-02-2007, 11:06 AM

This repair will be easy for a good qualified repair shop. Sounds like it is the curved portion over the extruded aluminum (no insulation underneath) that come down over the sidewalls.....Dont sweat it...it can be fixed!!

smlranger · 06-02-2007, 11:41 AM

If it would be a highly visible from the ground, I might consider doing a fiberglass patch with new gelcoat (or have a good body shop do that for you). However, 4" Eternabond tape would make a 'permanent' repair. My rig had a place where it appeared that something like a baseball or rock hit the roof....there were spider cracks running away from the center of the impact point. I used a 4" square of eternabond tape to repair the site two years ago. It looks fine and eternabond sticks!

JC2 · 06-02-2007, 11:48 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GaDawgFan:
I was in a rush to get pulled into a campsite and underestimated the height of a branch coming off of an Oak Tree. The caught the branch on the passenger side of the coach right in the middle area. The roof now has about an 18 to 24 inch long slice in it that runs from the front towards the rear of the coach about midway down the coach. It is right above where the roof begins to curl over the side of the coach. The slice itself is very clean with no gouging or ripping and I am confident that there is no damage underneath as I can feel around underneath the roof with my fingers.

Obviously I can make an insurance claim, but I am not sure that is really necessary. I have read other posts on here where people have been using some sort of tape on these fiberglass roof materials in order to seal it. Would something like this work in this case?

I am just sick about this. I should have stopped and taken a look at the site and taken my time pulling in.

I welcome all advice! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is the Eternabond Tape everyone is talking about. This company is very reasonable on price and quick shipment. If you order from them, be sure and buy the small wood roller to help apply the tape.
http://www.bestmaterials.com/roof_repair.aspx

C Zimm · 06-02-2007, 12:10 PM

Sorry to hear about your limb problem. Eternabond will fix you up and you can buy a cheapo roller from any hardware store, a plastic one will work just as well and the wood or metal.

ichn2go · 06-02-2007, 12:52 PM

I agree with Smlranger and C ZImm.
Eternabond tape is the quickest, best way to repair it. Once applied you will not have any problems. There are several sources, comes in many widths and lengths. Packing tape as suggested will work till you can get the Eternabond..Eternabond can be used for many repairs. Do a search on this forum or check the internet.It is not a bad item to carry on the coach..

I feel your pain, it seems as we all have to go through a couple of dumb mistakes before we get our RV legs...Good Luck

Flintstones Adventurer · 06-02-2007, 12:57 PM

GaDawgFan;
I am a proud owner of an Antique Winnebago (1996 vintage) from most of the postings here.

Today I just applied the Eternabond Tape everyone is talking about along both sides of the roof where the fiberglass makes the bend. The reason I had to do this is I noticed very tiny cracks in the roof material about 1/16 inch long every couple inches. Repair by a pro. fiberglass shop would be too costly.

I too am among the users of Eternabond Tape that recommend this product. Take your time applying because once it's on you can't remove it.

I'll post the pictures in the "Photos" area of the forum, as I don't know how to post them in this responce. Can anyone tell me how to do it?

Anyway my advice, for what it's worth, is use the Eternabond. Camping World sells it. A 37 foot roll cost $74.00.

[IMG:left]C:\Documents and Settings\Fred Hagedorn\My Documents\My Pictures\New Folder\IMG_0047[/IMG]

cbeierl · 06-02-2007, 09:28 PM

Here are links to your pics, Fred:

To add the links I went to the Photos section, clicked on the thumbnails to get the larger image, right-clicked on that image and selected 'Properties' and then copied the URL from the 'Location' or 'Address' information on the property sheet. Back in this reply I then pasted that info into the 'Image URL' box obtained by selecting the 'Display Image' button (2nd button from right).

ichn2go · 06-03-2007, 12:16 AM

While the pictures are excellant ,,most folks use 2" tape and let it go down into the gutter and truly cover the seam. If you notice there is a gap between the tape and the gutter. One could use 4" tape yet I think it should be in the gutter and truly covering the seam...I am not sure that tape will hold the roof where it normally comes loose...Good Miles

FrontRangeRVer · 06-03-2007, 01:39 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ichn2go:
While the pictures are excellant ,,most folks use 2" tape and let it go down into the gutter and truly cover the seam. If you notice there is a gap between the tape and the gutter. One could use 4" tape yet I think it should be in the gutter and truly covering the seam...I am not sure that tape will hold the roof where it normally comes loose...Good Miles </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Right!. The small hairline cracks along the bend of the fiberglass is not usually problems...its the caulkline/driprail that people are concerned about. Looks like this might cover up the small hairline cracks along the bend but do nothing for what Winnebago says should be inspected and repaired....