garyhouser
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- May 27, 2010
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The roof of my 96 Jayco sags in the center from side to side and collects water when it rains. Is there a way to fix this short of a new top? If not what does a new top cost?
Sagging Roof
- Thread starter garyhouser
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Just a suggestion, could you use a couple of pieces of 1/2 in. conduit, bowed in the center and then 90 degreed bends at ends to secure to sides to hold it in place? Maybe a simple and inexpensive solution. Another Idea is to take a 2X4, and use a bandsaw to cut a bow in it. just 2 quick ideas.
garyhouser
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Similar to what I was thinking. I was thinking 2"x2"x1/4" aluminum angle and use a carriage bolt in the center like a screw jack. Has anyone tried to re-arch their roof?
When we had our 99 Coleman Nevada it had a sagging roof also. Unfortunately there was a design flaw in the roof material of a few years of these pop ups. Coleman/Fleetwood came up with this "center beam" that was fastened to the inside ceiling of the camper to aid in supporting the roof. You may be able to still purchase these roof support systems and it may fit your camper(?) I researched a new roof but it was between 1000-2000 for a new roof (+ labor and shipping costs) 
Hey Gary
Was thinking on this and I'll bet you could use an adhesive to fasten the supports to the inside of the roof insted of bolts. no hole no leaks. You would just have to wedge supports under it until the adhesive cured. I was thinking 2 supports would work, but 3 maybe a better idea.
Was thinking on this and I'll bet you could use an adhesive to fasten the supports to the inside of the roof insted of bolts. no hole no leaks. You would just have to wedge supports under it until the adhesive cured. I was thinking 2 supports would work, but 3 maybe a better idea.
garyhouser
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The interior has a laminate over the plywood roof material and I am afraid it might pull it loose if I glued to the laminat. I think I will try your idea with 2x4's and bolt through the sides of the cap into the 2x4 and seal it all with 3M 5200 polyurethane sealant.
garyhouser
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Put a 2x4 across the rear about 4" off the back interior and one forward just past where the air conditioner mounts. It works! I attached them by drilling through the sides and using 4" long lag bolts with fender washers and rubber washers under them. No leaks and a strong roof with no sag. Had to remount the remote plug for the light over the bunk and move the one next to the air conditioner forward about 1"
Hi all you saggers,
I too am a sagger , my Jayco is sagging about 3 inch in the middle and I
am right in the middle of rebuilding it . New to the form so is there a EZ way
to post photos of my fix. I have welded a canoe rack system for the top
and this allowed me to fix the sagging roof to the outside rack , the rack
attaches to the side of the top as the wood is not substantual from the factory
design to carry a roof AC unit weight . This rack allowed me to put a crown in the
roof of about 1/2 in to shed water off to the sides . Going up and down those
gravel roads to get to white water can really put a sag in the top .
I too am a sagger , my Jayco is sagging about 3 inch in the middle and I
am right in the middle of rebuilding it . New to the form so is there a EZ way
to post photos of my fix. I have welded a canoe rack system for the top
and this allowed me to fix the sagging roof to the outside rack , the rack
attaches to the side of the top as the wood is not substantual from the factory
design to carry a roof AC unit weight . This rack allowed me to put a crown in the
roof of about 1/2 in to shed water off to the sides . Going up and down those
gravel roads to get to white water can really put a sag in the top .
Got some photos of my child labor , he's the lightest one in the our posse
so he did most of the cleaning of our top .and as you can see the 3 inch
sag in our roof, and the canoe rack I welded up today , going to make 3
of these and bolt the roof to them .
so he did most of the cleaning of our top .and as you can see the 3 inch
sag in our roof, and the canoe rack I welded up today , going to make 3
of these and bolt the roof to them .
Attachments
Jim Godward
Well-known member
Isn't there something about child labor in the law books.
Makes me wish the great grand kids were closer.
Makes me wish the great grand kids were closer.
Jim Godward
Well-known member
Trouble is the closest are in TX and the others are in VA and IL so we only get to see them about once every 2 or 3 years. The grand kids are grown so are no help at all!! :-(
mnewton said:
I don't think that would work with ALU due to the flexability of the material .
After making the racks for the Canoe I found a problem with the drilling in the
top ,the wood is not able to hold its weight with bolts . So I used 1 1/2 square tubing
from the inside and bolted it to the outside edge of the camper . I will post some
photos ,next week when I get done. I made the canoe racks removeable so they are
not part of the roof fix .
chrysypoo
Member
These are great ideas! I currently have a length of 4" pvc drain pipe pushing up on the a/c to stop the leak. It is working, and temporary until I find a solution. I have found several and will try the some. It will take some inventiveness for me, but I will figure it out somehow. Better than the idea I had of using small tree trunks to hold up the roof! (altho that is still an option)
cabranch47
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- Oct 9, 2013
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I had a similar problem on my 2009 Flagstaff HW27SC. Rook sagged 1+" around A/C, pooling water there. I purchased a sign post (think STOP sign) from big box store, measured and cut to fit the width of the roof, fabbed some "L" brackets to bolt to it and through the roof side panels to support it. Worked great, very strong, and with an added plus. Since the posts has holes drilled the whole length, it is easy to hang items from it with out worrying about sagging or falling down.
cabranch47 said:
Hello, I am intrigued with your use of a sign post. I picked up a Rockwood with AC-and had a sag in the roof--took the AC unit off and found water damage to the factory wood brace and rust on the metal strip attached to the wood. Can't believe the bad factory construction of this roof-what a poor design to support a 100 lb AC Unit. Anyways I stripped the roof and now am in the rebuilding process. My first order of business is to brace the interior of the roof and that is where your sign post idea came in. My question to you, (hope your still checking the forums since this is an old post) did you put a slight bend in the sign post to obtain the curvature of the roof for water displacement?
Thanks much!
cabranch47
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Perusser. Sorry I did not see your inquiry before. I don't go to this site very often, just found it when browsing. I did not bow the brace as the roof itself is flat (don't know why they don't put an arch in them). Actually if it were up to me I would fabricate a raised frame (1/2 - 3/4" high) to mount the A/C on and eliminate relying on just the foam gasket to protect from water intrusion. I did that on a house boat roof and solved problem leaks.
Instead of a sign post you can also use what electricians call "strut" Unistrut is one brand name. It can be purchased at electrical supply houses and is available in galvanized, stainless steel, vinyl coated, and aluminum. It doesn't bend easily, so maybe a wood filler above the strut cut flat on the bottom and curved to your liking on the top. Strut is very strong and there are all kinds of hardare and brackets that are available for it. Two common sizes are 1 5/8"x1 5/8" and 13/16"x 1 5/8". Most electricians refer to the 13/16" as Jr. strut or 7/8ths strut.
