Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi there - about 10ish months ago I had posted regarding some cracks and warping in the ply on my teardrop roof: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69273

Well, after a long break to deal with health and family issues, I came back to fix up those cracks and found that they are WAY worse now and so I will need to replace ALL the ply on the roof. (Which was definitely suggested to me back then! Talk about eating some crow!) I know that when I first built the roof about 2 years ago that I was in a rush (aka didn't have any idea what I was doing) and made two major mistakes: 1) I didn't size the roof ply properly and had some seams along the edges that I clearly 2) didn't fill and caulk properly and 3) that even though I did 3+ coats of epoxy, here in Arizona I think it thinned out quite a bit and I probably needed 3 more. I didn't have any leaks for the first 8000 miles towed, but after two monsoon seasons mixed with storage under a cover in direct heat, I need to re-do the roof entirely. The only saving grace is that the sides and hatch are epoxied well from the original coating and holding up with no issues.

So I've started taking the ply off the roof - removed the trim, the skylight and fan and started taking up the bad ply. Here are my questions as I move forward:

1) I'd still like to use 1/8th ply for the roof for weight reasons, using two sheets to make sure I have full coverage to the edges. However if 1/4 ply would vastly improve the durability, I could do that now instead. Am I being cheap and overly weight-conscious, and should just use the thicker ply?

2) I was thinking I'd use fiberglass tape over the edges and any seams between ply on the new roof, and on the front curve where I can patch some cracks that aren't very bad (comparatively) - should I just fiberglass the whole roof? Again, I'm not sure it's necessary if I get the epoxy right this time, and I've never fiberglassed anything before but it looks pretty straightforward, if time consuming and expensive.

Any suggestions welcome, especially around fiberglassing. I want these repairs to last more than 2 years this time around!

Depending on how tight your radius is 1/4" can be difficult to bend.Two layers of 1/8" would be better[offset the seams].A lot of people have successfully used canvas
cloth glued to the plywood and saturated with paint.Also known as poor man's fiberglass.Good luck with your repair.

Thanks steve, that's a good point about the difficulty of bending. I'm definitely leaning towards keeping the ply 1/8th inch, I think my radii are part of why there was warping in the first place. I'm just not sure about all the fiberglass, if i can "get away" with only doing the edges or if that's just cheating the weather again.

Ouch.

What kind of 1/8" ply did you use? Something from Lowes or Home Depot? (I'm betting six-bits it isn't Baltic birch.)

Did you run a bead of sealant under the trim?

How wide is your roof? (Just thinking about a solution.)



Tony

My trailer is 4yo, built from the cheapest material and spent the last Ohio winter uncovered in my back yard. I used elastomeric roof coating on the roof. It made an impervious membrane.

I am not sure how you installed your original roof but I'm going to suggest using PL urethane construction adhesive this time. Use it like caulk and cover the edge by wiping the squeeze out over it.

A good repair for leaks is a roll of butyl flashing tape. You find it in the roofing section. I have used both 4 inch and 6 inch. It looks like wide thick tape and comes in a roll. The sticky butyl is backed by shiny aluminum. Any printing can be removed with alcohol. A roofing supply will carry a similar product called Peel and Seal for repairing flat roofs and semi trailers. It is 3 feet wide!

Tt

Yep, I know I built it out of good materials (actually it is Baltic Birch lol, the whole trailer is) but I didn't build this part well, to be sure. I didn't use extra sealant under the trim but I did seal the edges with silicone, however I don't think it mattered because on the side with the bad warping I had a seam that was never under the trim, it was just bondo'd and epoxy'd but it eventually jostled loose after all the traveling we did. I know when I was building I definitely thought the trim would be a wider L-shape that would cover some of those seams, but then when I got the metal it was much thinner than I had guessed and I made do at the time. Learning the hard way, for sure.

The roof is 62" wide, which is why I had weird seams on both edges. Again, I was building quickly to a deadline and made bad choices.

Tt good call on the better caulking, I definitely need to seal all the edges better this time around. I had used that sealant on the decking and the interior but not these exterior edges. (Why? What was I thinking? No idea... maybe in the same way that I miscalculated the width of the trim I also miscalculated how thick my epoxy coating was on the exterior.) Also I will look into butyl tape and the elastomeric coating - what kind did you use? I had been looking at things like monstaliner before I decided to replace the ply too.

Just an update here that I tore the roof off and am rebuilding it with 1/4" baltic birch (it was 1/8" previously), marine epoxy, and exterior paint. I'm using more ply this time to avoid any weird seams. I will have one seam running from front to back where I will join the two panels, but I placed it offset and running along the spars for my fan and skylight and I believe I can seal it properly - it won't take the same stress that the edge seams did on my first go-round, at very least, and it will be along the highest point of the roof so any water should run away from it to either side.

When I tore up the roof I was able to really see where I had damage and fortunately it was a LOT better than I thought because the CPES really works well to avoid mold and discoloration. The top ply just didn't have enough, I think, and so it delaminated over all the curves. So hopefully this time I can learn from my mistakes and avoid that.

Epoxy without fiberglass cloth is not a durable finish on wood. As you've seen as the wood moves seasonally, the epoxy cracks and water gets in. Epoxy + glass + paint to protect it from UV is very good. I have a wood boat that's 25 years old that has lived all it's life outside. I repainted (oil based enamel) it after 15 years mostly because I wanted a different color.