Cab over rebuild

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bigguyone

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Jul 26, 2017
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Hi All,    I am rebuilding the roof over the cab on a 99 Minnie Winnie, When i took the old flooring over the cab out i measure 100" side to side, but all i can find is plywood in 8' ( 96").  I also seen that it has 1/4 piece of wood on top and bottom of the 1/2 plywood. What do i sue on the bottom to make it weatherproof.

Thanks for any help
 
You can x10 plywood sheathing at Home Dept, Lowes, and other lumber suppliers. May not always have it in stock t small stores, but the big ones usually have it.https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sheathing-Plywood-Structural-1-Common-15-32-in-4-ft-x-10-ft-Actual-0-438-in-x-48-in-X-120-in-948066/202088750

I also seen that it has 1/4 piece of wood on top and bottom of the 1/2 plywood.
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Not sure what you mean. Are you saying there is a 1/4" sheet layer top & bottom, making the hole thing 1" thick? Or just some reinforcing cross pieces? Please explain a bit more.


What do i sue on the bottom to make it weatherproof.
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Perhaps use some sort of vinyl sheet, e.g. the stuff that is used for shower enclosures and bath walls?  Or maybe coat the bottom of the plywood with epoxy resin?
 
What you want is a fiberglass composite or fiberglass reinforced plywood (FRP) sheet. This is a layer of fiberglass that's bonded to a substrate for strength.

Here's one source, a Google search will turn up more.

http://www.cranecomposites.com/rv/sidewall.html

Winnebago is also a good source for information and supplies.  Have you tried contacting them for advice?
 
  Thank you all,  yea i looked and called Home Depot,  but they said all they have is 8' and dont know where i could get it. 
 
  There is a fiberglass on the bottom and i was able to take that off and can reuse it, and there is a top, it looks like the top piece  had wall paper on it where the bunk slides out.  but the whole thing is 3/4" thick. But i will look for the fiberglass on plywood & maybe that's what was on it and it just came apart from being wet.  Most of it just fell apart when i was taking  it out.

  I do have one more thing to ask,  on the out side walls, it is pull away from the wood,  but there is a few places that will not come lose. I was able to get some of it away but i need to get more of it pulled back so i can replace the wood, is there something that will losing the glue on it? Can the fiberglass be glued back down? my roof has a lot of spots that are lose but not leaking that i can tell.
 

 
bigguyone said:
  Thank you all,  yea i looked and called Home Depot,  but they said all they have is 8' and dont know where i could get it. 
 
  There is a fiberglass on the bottom and i was able to take that off and can reuse it, and there is a top, it looks like the top piece  had wall paper on it where the bunk slides out.  but the whole thing is 3/4" thick. But i will look for the fiberglass on plywood & maybe that's what was on it and it just came apart from being wet.  Most of it just fell apart when i was taking  it out.

  I do have one more thing to ask,  on the out side walls, it is pull away from the wood,  but there is a few places that will not come lose. I was able to get some of it away but i need to get more of it pulled back so i can replace the wood, is there something that will losing the glue on it? Can the fiberglass be glued back down? my roof has a lot of spots that are lose but not leaking that i can tell.
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Are you taking bout the roof or the bunk over the driver seats?

I am currently redoing the bunks over my seats. The bottom was 1/4 inch plywood with painted aluminum sheeting on the outside. The top of the bunk was closer to 1/8 plywood with a woodgrain laminate (probably wall panel).

Between the layers, there is a 1 inch aluminum frame with some kind of plywood like material between the grids. Since the plywood just sits on the plywood underneath, they aren't supporting much weight. I am going to replace the rotten ones with pink foam insulation and a slightly thicker plywood on top, probably 3/8ths.

The mattress on the other hand, will be tricky. I can either make a small storage tray along the wall for emptying your pockets at night and use a regular mattress; or I can make a custom mattress to replace the 6 piece foam mattress that was up there.  I am thinking the former, but that will cover up the area between the seats that we use to climb in and out of the seats from inside the living area. I can either make a soft cover underneath so we dont hit our heads too hard or buy a memory foam mattress and cut that section out and attempt to cover it up somehow along with a tray that will slide out for support when somebody is sleeping.
 
Hi Cerd,  yes its the bunk over the driver seats.
 
  Mine is a little different, i had cabinets on both ends with a TV mounted in the middle , it has a metal bar that runs side to side mounted to the wood over the driver seats and the bottom of the cabinets. All it dose is hold the cabinets up so a slide out bed fits between the bar and wood over the seats.  It also has a box with lids under the windows. This is a Minnie Winnie DL,  they came with more cabinets over the bunk.

    I took the plywood out and it was a 1/2 with a piece of thin board that had wall paper on it, on the bottom it had the same thin board but it looks like fiber glass glued to it, so i think i can use it. The whole thing is about 3/4". All of this was bolted under a 1 inch aluminum frame, that are 99 1/2 in side to side. I went to just about every lumber place around me and no one has plywood in 10 foot.  So i guess iam going to have to find a way to use the 8 foot plywood.

    Iam not going to put the cabinets back up, & as the bed no one can fit in it but a child, so i was going to build a box under the two windows and mount the TV there.  I will have to get a thin board to put in the nose.

  How wide is your plywood you need?
 
I lucked out. It's about 90.5 inches inside the studs. How deep is your bunk? If it is less than 48 inches. you could get away with 2 sheets. If it is more, youd need 3.

I think some kind of wall paper, as the manufacturer used, or even linoleum sheeting for a floor would look best. You could have probably found a way to cover the seams with cabinets, but if you aren't putting them back in, there is no way to make it seamless, so your next option is to cover it.

I may have more ideas if you have some pictures that you can share.
 
I just did a little searching. Home Depot doesn't carry 10 foot ply anymore, but Menards can special order it. Do you have one nearby?

Here is the link. Keep in mind that a rigid piece of ply is very difficult to get inside an RV in full sheets. I could not do it in mine. I barely was able to maneuver the 8 foot studs inside without hitting something. You may want to reconsider the linoleum flooring idea and using smaller sections.

https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/panel-products/plywood-sheathing/c-13331.htm?Spec_NominalDimensions_facet=4+x+10&ipp=36
 
    Yea Home Depot, Lowes, Stine,  none of them have and cant order it any more.  I don't have a Menard's  by me.    But after searching and asking around i found that had birch in 10 foot sheets, so i went and got one. It cost $91 a sheet, good thing i only need one. 

    The way mine is i can come in from the front.  The main sheet is only 37" by 100" wide,  this screws to the cab itself,  then it has a metal plate that screws to it and that connects to a 15" piece before it starts the rounded  up to the roof. I guess this year has a wider  body. Once i get the wood in place i will put a thin sheet of broad up to the roof.  That should give it a solid floor over the cab.  I still will do two box under the windows and mount the TV between them.  Well  thats the plan anyways  LOL.
 
I bought a 2004' Class C last year, 4300 miles and cheap, after a 2-3" rain day I saw a drip in the overhead bunk, decided to investigate ended up totally rebuilding the bunk/nose due to rotted luan wood and rusted framing. I dont like to do things twice, so I used marine grade plywood, new metal framing, insulated the nose and bought a very expensive skin from a local rv repair business. The project took me 6-8 weekends, but its better than new now, also upgraded  all the marker lights to led's via amazon. Now I want to paint or replace the sun faded graphics, seeing thats the only thing that ages the unit.
 
Have you checked your local lumber yards? We have one in Ft Worth that specializes in all sorts of plywood that the big box stores do not bother with. It may be a little more pricey, but at least you might find something useful.

The next problem is getting a 10 foot sheet (of anything) home safely.
 
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