Replacing ceiling in my 2005 Itasca Meridian

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
webber46

webber46

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Posts
247
Location
Rockford, IL.
The ceiling material is starting to separate from the panel due to the heat effecting the foam that is between the panel and the material. Has anybody had this problem and what was your fix to the problem. Already contacted 3-M about adhesives to re-glue and was told it would be nearly impossible because of the foam being deteriorated and would have to be removed from both materials. Would like to thank any respondents in advance for your input.

edit by staff - corrected spelling of Itasca
 
I've never done it on an RV, but I had a hot rod and restoration shop and I've replaced a lot of those foam backed headliners. 
In a car, you can remove the headliner backing board, scrape all the old foam off of it and then glue new headliner material back in place using a spray adhesive.  The trick is waiting for the glue to dry before you apply the material to the backer.
I know you can't remove the backer from the RV and all I've got to say is it's going to be a giant mess to fix that.  Get yourself some cheap  flat bed sheets and cover everything.  Goggles and a mask wouldn't be a bad idea either. 
I'd use a 3 or 4" putty knife to scrape the old foam off the ceiling after pulling down the old material.
Use 3M spray adhesive on both the new material and the ceiling, and like I said, wait for it to dry fully before you try attaching the material to the ceiling.  This keeps your fingertips from leaving prints in the new material by collapsing the new foam.
Oh, and open windows and a fan might keep you from getting a giant headache from the glue fumes.
 
We have a couple of threads here about the ceiling falling down, check those out. First and foremost, there is no easy fix as Crow alluded to. You can shop for supplies at marine houses, Sailright is a good place to look for headliners.

My Horizon is a 2005 Itasca Horizon and it's always plugged in with the AC running in the summer so my headliner is in good shape. Heat destroys the foam so I'm going to assume yours was not running the AC for long periods of time.
 
Thanks guys for the responses. You've just confirmed this is going to be a monumental project !!! When I first noticed the problem early last year, over the drivers and passengers seats, i removed the overhead cabinets, viewed the problem and tried to stretch and staple the material around the edges. Worked and looked great until this year when it separated in different locations. Have been looking at fixes that are going to last and not be quick fixes. And John, i do run the air most of the time. I think the heat from the sun destroys the foam from the outside to the inside. Poor design in my opinion. It's going to be a messy repair, I know. Foam participles get everywhere. The ceiling is set up in 4' sections, so should be easy to do one or so at a time. Been looking for 3/16" or 1/8" 4'x8' sheets that have a good design that would look nice. am very particular. John, am assuming the threads you are referring to are in the library ?? Thanks again for the help. As always the answers are here with all of you on our site.
 
Maybe your idea of heat from the roof being the primary source is quite right. My Horizon is always under roof except when we're on the road. Search the Winnebago board (this one) for other headliner threads.

I remember the droopy headliners from autos in the 1990s (or the 80s?)

Good luck and keep this thread updated if you would - it would help others.
 
Similar problem on the fwd wall of the bunk area in my Class C, Tom.  John mentioned Sailrite; they have a comprehensive video that is really educational IMHO.  The guy is doing a headliner install onto fiberglass in a boat..... some of it directly overhead; he is a "natural" teacher.  Makes me a little less apprehensive re the task ahead; i.e., not easy, but "doable".

Good luck on your project.  Stay safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hud28xn3oqM
 
Thanks Ed, great video to watch. I would rather have a solid ceiling to ensure that this won't happen again !!!! Am now checking on a panel from Lowe's, it says the 4x8 sheet weights 22.5 lbs. it is wood base tho. Seems a little heavy to me. I know it's going to be a lot of messy work but can do it in sections and have until May 1 to get it done.
 
I would use Luan (1/8"thick) as the base for your headliner material. Also you could add foam board for more ceiling insulation - make it part of the 'sandwich.'
 
Thanks John, the panel I'm looking at is a white finish on 1/8" pressed wood. The weight mentioned above in the previous post is incorrect. This one is not that heavy, maybe because it's only 1/8" compared to 1/4". The insulation you mentioned is a great idea and will see if it is going to work with the other installation of the panels. Been thinking of starting in the bathroom because it's the smallest area to cover. That should give me an idea of what's in the ceiling. One step at a time !!! 
 
I just "fixed" the ceiling in my 2006 Journey last month.  I don't know if you would call it a real "fix" but it is keeping it in place, at least for now.

I went to Home Depot and bought 1 3/4"  by 1/8" wooden slats and ran them from the side wall to the side wall or cabinet edge, screwing them to the ceiling. 

 

Attachments

  • Ceiling headliner repair with slats 2.jpg
    Ceiling headliner repair with slats 2.jpg
    164.4 KB · Views: 82
ChasA said:
Al, what are the screws screwed into?
Click to expand...
The lauan board the vinyl headliner is glued to.  The only thing the screws are holding up are the battens up and the vinyl so it doesn't require much material for the screws to attach to. 

In the couple of places the vinyl was beginning to sag, I pulled the vinyl tight and stapled it to the lauan and then covered the staples with a batten. 

It remains to be see if the the vinyl in between the battens begins to hang down in a year or two.

Earlier in this topic it was mentioned that there was other topics in this forum about what folks have done when the vinyl started sagging.  Putting battens up is one fix from an earlier topic.  (several years ago).
 
Back in the day I had an old S-10 that had the falling headliner.  The previous owner used what appeared to be a whole box of those old brass paper clips(the kind that go through a hole in the papers and the ears fold out to hold the paper together)to hold the headliner up.  He spent a bunch of time to make sure they were in even rows and spacing across the ceiling of the truck.  Looked sort of like a poor man's button tuck upholstery job.
 
Update: Have installed the ceiling in the bathroom !!! Looks good !! I used a product from Eucatex called Eucatile HD Thrifty White Neve Snow ( 1/"x 48"x 96" ) It went up in two pieces because it would not let one go in. Went over the existing ceiling so no mess with the degraded foam on the ceiling material. Will not use this on the rest of the ceilings because of it's brightness and does not come in colors. Will post a couple of pics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,048 (members: 14, guests: 1,034)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,988
Posts
1,388,709
Members
137,736
Latest member
Savysoaker
Back
Top Bottom