Back in March I ripped out and rebuilt the roof on The Old Gal. She is a 1988 Gulfstream Sun Vista. I was hoping to take a lot more pictures than I did and planned on doing up some web pages. Lacking that, here are some of the highlights.
The main reason for the rebuild was a terrible amount of water damage over the back bedroom. Long term leakage around the rear AC had done a lot of damage.
Highlights-
MH is 34 feet but main roof was about 26 feet.
Roof rebuild included rafters and ceilings
Rafter design was 2X4s with a curve cut in them.
Roof peak is about 1.7 inches.
Ceiling panels were 1/4 inch painted birch plywood.
Roof decking is 3/8 inch pine.
Used 4 foot wide sheets of .030 thick aluminum.
Used Eternabond Web Seal on all seams.
Top coated with Liquid Roof.
Replaced both skylights.
Demoted front AC to rear bedroom.
Installed new AC in front area.
Fantastic fan in bathroom.
TurboMaxx powered vent cover over vent in kitchen.
New Winegard antenna.
New lights thorughout including light added close to cockpit.
Here is a shot measuring how much the roof sagged. The 2X4 is resting on the edges of the roof. The lighter wood is a layer of 3/4" plywood that was done as an earlier attempt (not mine) to repair the problem. So, by adding the about 1 inch measured plus the 3/4" plywood on top of the old roof, the sag was over 1 & 1/2 inches.
Once I got the aluminum skin and extra plywood pealed off, this is what I found underneath.
I used a curved roof design and cut all the rafters I might need before I got started.
Here's a shot once I got the back section ripped out.
I drew up plans of all openings before I started destruction. I made a few adjustments as I went and double raftered on each side of the AC openings. I would build the rafter section, attach the ceiling with Liquid Nails and finish staples, haul it up to the roof and drop it in place.
* This post was
edited 08/23/05 10:55am by ScottnSherrie *
88 Gulf Stream 34' Sun Vista, Ford 460, Edelbrock Perfomer carb, Thorley headers
Ford F-250 crew cab 4X4, 6.0 turbo diesel complete roof rebuild
daughter 16, son 12
US Army Desert Storm vets (both of us)
left: The Ol' Gal right: DW with White Lightnin'
I don't have a big shed, so I had to splice a couple of contractor grade tarps together for cover, pound some stakes into the ground, attach some pipes to the stakes and tie the whole thing down with lots of rope.
The tarp did a great job of keeping the rain out. It was annoying to have to uncover every morning and recover every night. Only a very few nights did I leave The Old Gal exposed to the elements. I found that by putting the ropes up in the tarp and then folding it in on itself, it kept the ropes from getting tangled and made putting the tarp back on much quicker than any other method I had tried.
This picture shows the tarp folded in on itself lengthwise and ready to be rolled up. Near the back is a tarp support system I made out of PVC pipe. I used it when I had to cover up and had an open section. It worked much better than a simple 2x4 thing I used at first.
Getting closer on this next one. I put some plastic on the back for an extra layer of protection from the elements.
And next we are very nearly done. The roof was done from front to back, the aluminum sheeting was all on and the DW is helping with the Eternabond around the skylights. She does have a pretty smile, but she was not in the mood to have her picture taken just then. I got the white bubble skylight on the right out of a place in Canada I found on the web. The edges were rough and I had to drill my own holes, but the price was right, including freight.
We have had several hard rains since the roof was finished and no leaks, including driving in a hard rain. I still have some finish carpentry to do inside such as trim around the skylights, etc. Oh, and I finally have an AC in the rear bedroom that can run off the genset without tripping the 20 amp breaker like the old one did.
Hopefully I will be able to report back in 10 years that the roof is holding up and no leaks to be found anywhere.
Click here for follow up post of costs and a picture of the finished roof.
* This post was
edited 05/23/05 07:46pm by ScottnSherrie *
Wow! you two do very nice work! When can you start on mine?
What kind of saw did you use to cut the rafters? What holds the aluminum sheeting down? How do yo make the seams?
That's a great job you two did. I used to own an '88 Gulfstream SunVista 34' that looked just like the one you re-did. Was a great MH. Wish I had kept it and done the upkeep and repair needed instead of trading.
Glen
All right! Well done. I'm also curious about how you carved out those rafters. Do you have any photos of the finished roof front to back?
I think you've earned a nice long trip somewhere.
2004 Dodge 3500, Cummins HO QC SB
3.73 Dif, 48RE Auto
Line-X bed liner
Pullrite 16K Superglide, Prodigy
2004 Jayco Designer 29RLTS (33' Triple slide)
Your a brave man and a talented one too boot. Most people would never even think of attempting a job like that. Drag knuck bro! Ahggg, ahgggg, and an ahggg to the DH also.
ONE HELLUVA NICE JOB. I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD SHOW PICTURES LIKE THIS. THE PRIDE AND SATISFACTION OF JOB SELF DONE AND SELF DONE RIGHT IS WORTH ALL ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. I bet you had fun doing it too?
CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN. YOU HAVE JUST SAVED YOURSELF A 5 DIGIT monetary NUMBER. SALUTE....
TravelMaster 1986 23ft, Chevy G30 5.7 TH400 Tranny. 350M V-8 295hp and 360 ft lbs torque, Mobil One Synthetic, Tru-Cool Tranny(4490) and Engine Coolers (M7B), Bilsteins shocks on the front. Monroe 555 HDs on the rear.
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