RE: Can we live with roof sag?

[The Eagle and the Hawk]

 
We just got the bad news that the roof on our 1996 Coachmen Clipper is sagging, causing the edge (on the door side) to be pushed away from the camper body when closed.  Now the roof does not properly seal when closed.   I contacted the dealer, and Coachmen, and they both say that we need to replace the roof to fix the problem.
 
 Well, our problem is that roof replacement will approach or possibly exceed the value of the camper.  Thus, roof replacement is not an option for us.
 
 Our question to you all is:  Will the problem get worse over time?
 
 Right now, I think the camper is still usable.  If it gets worse, it might not be.  Anyone out there have any experience with this?

[GeneF]

 The Eagle and the Hawk
Eagle
 
 My coleman had roof sag and the problem is that while driving in wet weather, water did get in.
 
 I had the roof replaced but the dealer took care of it.
 
 On thing they did on othe colemans to try to fix the problem was to attach another rubber gasket to the top of the frame and hopefully that fillled the gap.
 
 Don t know if something along those lines could help you out or not.
 
 If the roof is structually sound, I would use it.

[The Eagle and the Hawk]

 The Eagle and the Hawk
Yea, that is my main concern, Gene.
 
 This past September, we drove for 8 hours across the UP of Michigan in some of the hardest, steadiest rain I can remember.  I am sure that if the camper was then like it is now, we would have had water inside.
 
 I got a little concerned when the dealer told me, after I asked about it, that the problem would likely worsen.
 
 Thanks for the advice on the extra gasket.  I will have to take a good look at it when the weather gets warmer.  I was even thinking of trying to seal it with flexible pipe insulation.

[mike4947]

 The Eagle and the Hawk
JIm, when ever you can get to the PU, take a real good look at the roof and litteraly poke around on it. If I remember right your Coachman has the aluminum/wood construction. Most times when you see problems like you have it s caused by moisture getting in somewhere and traveling between the layers.
 If it s the fiberglass/plastic type, well, which  ever way wood/aluminum, fiberglass, plastic nothing ever gets better and only in about 2% of the roofs that have problems do they stay the same.
 
 If it is an aluminum covered roof, you might get away with removing and replacing the side panel wood on the door side and it could last for years. Of course that depends on whetheer you find where the original leak was and stop it.

[The Eagle and the Hawk]

 The Eagle and the Hawk
Mike, it is an aluminum covered roof.  I have never known of a leak.  there is not evidence of water inside the roof.
 
 The only " out of the ordinary"  thing I noticed is that there is, what appears to me, to be an excess of silicone caulk around the roof vent.  It was like that when we bought it but I didnt think much of it at the time.  But it now makes me think that there may have been a leak there at some point in the past.  The sag is just in front of this vent.
 
 I will have to take a closer look when I get a chance and see if there might be a leak now.  I have also noticed that the bow in the side is not quite as pronounced now as it was in october, and the camper has had a cover over it since then...

[mike4947]

 The Eagle and the Hawk
Jim, from experience I can say roof leaks have a way of finding routes for the water to go that you wouldn t believe. My BIL s TT rear wall litteraly fell off one weekend while he was washing it. The water pressure from the hose caved it in. Upon inspection we found a leak over the front window. The water would enter there when he was towing during the rain and run the full length inside the roof and fill up the back wall causing it to rot all the structure completely away. Without ever showing a single wet spot inside the PU.
 
 Also an old leak even if it was sealed up properly but the previous owner didn t dry out the roof before sealing will rot. Been there, done that, had to replace a door panel because of it.