Rotted roof repair on Starcraft

[Hunt4Fun]

Sorry, I should have mentioned.  The canvas was in decent shape.  It was repaired for a few holes and tears.

[ScouterMom]

Austinado,

I guess I'm going to be joining you in the camper roof repair business!  got my new /73 starmaster 6 opened up last night and discover that it  has quite a leak over the rear passenger corner!  1/2 of the back third of the roof is rotted and soaked, and 1/2 of the rear vertical lid.  Not as bad as some I've seen, but not what I was expecting to find.  So I may be using some of your excellent photos for a guide to tearing down my roof.....

It's been raining cats and dogs here for the last week - heavy driving rain & wind - so It's good that I got the camper in the garage and up before it sat in the drive too much longer.

In addition, there is some mildew on the canvas and curtains - I'll probably toss the curtains and make new ones, but the canvas is in good shape, except one window screen looks like it was clawed by a bear! Weird - because all the others are in perfect shape.    I took some photos, as soon as I can get them downloaded, I'll be asking for any advice from both of you!

Laura

[Hunt4Fun]

Try and look at the walls as well.  That water had to go somewhere.  I would be very surprised if you don't have some wall and/or floor rot.  Don't hesitate to replace it.  I'm certain now that mine doesn't have mold or mildew.  Those pose potentially serious health risks.

Hunt4Fun

[austinado16]

Hi Laura,
Sounds like you've got some work ahead of you.  I'd be happy to offer some suggestions when the time comes.

Be prepared for the job to require a certain number of tools and materials.

Tool List:
1) Jigsaw
2) Wormdrive Skill Saw
3) Should have had a table saw
4) A bunch of clamps ( I had 4 and could have used more or different sizes/depths)
5) Drill and drill bits
6) Philips screw driver bit for drill
7) Caulk Gun
Various scrapers and chisels
9) Various screw drivers (slotted head and philips head)
10) A square bit (I don't know the correct name) for the special square head screws used everywhere on my Starcraft.
11) Box cutter knife

Materials list:
1) 4x8 sheet of OSB roof sheathing plywood
2) 3 tubesPL400 Construction Glue in a tube that the caulking gun can use
3) Half a pound of 1-1/2" galvanized sheetrock screws
4) 1 tube of tan silicone caulking compound to match the color of my camper
5) 24 stainless #6 screws for the trim down the center of the roof
6) A 100' role of tan vinyl strip for inside the molding along the sides of the roof
7) 10' of wider tan vinyl strip for inside the center roof molding
8' of the 6" wide rubber repair "tape"
9) 1 tube of tan self-leveling roof caulking
10) Misc. screws for remounting the aluminum rails that the canvas hangs from
11) Still not sure what method or material I'll be using to repair the white ceiling
12) 1 pressure treated 2x4, 8' long

[Hunt4Fun]

The screwhead Austin refers to is a clutch head.  I was able to find one at Ace Hardware, but Lowe's and Home Depot did not have it.

[kmh1596]

Where did you find the thin aluminum, or vinyl to cover the wood, so it looked as close to factory outside, as well as the inside ceiling? I need to cover the curbside board I replaced with this stuff..
 Thanks!
Kevin

[austinado16]

Where did you find the thin aluminum, or vinyl to cover the wood, so it looked as close to factory outside, as well as the inside ceiling? I need to cover the curbside board I replaced with this stuff..
 Thanks!
Kevin

I was lucky in that the wood was so rotted it simply scraped right off the aluminum skin.  I was able to cut new wood and bond it to the original aluminum on both sides.

I created a seperate thread for the ceiling repair.  I wound up using a thin wall board called "Abitibi" that you'd find in a public restroom.  I glued it and air stapled it directly over the damaged Luan ceiling boad after peeling the white vinyl "wallpaper" like material off the ceiling.  I found plastic "inside cove" moulding in white, with a fake wood grain finish that I used to trim around where the ceiling meets the side walls, and then the white plastic filler strips that are for use when you have one sheet of Abitibi butted up against another.  

Now that it's all finished, it looks very factory and unless you knew it had all been done, you'd never know.

Here's a shot of the exterior of the roof painted and a new skylight installed:


Here's a shot of the ceiling finished: