Hello,
I am looking for input/experiences/advice from those of you who have done or had someone else complete a similar repair. From searching around, it seems this is a common issue with fiberglass roofs, Winnies in particular.
I had the edge of the fiberglass roof on my Winnie Journey LD pull away from the channel for about 22' from front to rear in a windstorm some time back. In the process I lost my radius pieces as well. I have been using the rig with some super strong duct tape holding it all together (leak free too
).
I now have the new radius foam pieces and am ready to tear off the miles of duct tape holding the fiberglass down. My plan is to obviously re-install the radius pieces and then re-insert the roof behind the channel and seal the roof to the channel. I did note that some of the screws near the front of the channel seemed a bit loose. I did not have any leaks prior and had it well sealed but I had not checked the screws for tightness as I simply never thought about it.
If the screws can be tightened, I will back them out, apply thread locker as I believe they screw into the aluminum framework (correct?) If they are too loose, I will go to a slightly larger/longer screw, again with thread locker.
I plan to use 3M 560 to fill the seam between the rail and the fiberglass. It is a polyurethane adhesive used in place of mechanical fastening methods and where flexibility is necessary.
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40066976/
It is apparently permanently flexible which will allow the roof to be able to "float" somewhat to allow for chassis racking and temperature expansion/contraction of the fiberglass sheet. It also has "good UV resistance".
I then plan to cover the seam with eternabond tape as an added precaution. Hopefully this will restore my weather tight seam and prevent this from happening again.
I also plan to remove the existing sealant on the other, undamaged side of the roof and do the same thing using the 3M and Eternabond tape.
I would be grateful for any tips/advice anyone has to offer. Thanks!
Linear Mode
