wood roof one or two layers ??

[dan galvin]

I am going to rhino coat my roof 1 or 2 layers of 1/8 in plywood ?? And has anyone used that plastic hinge for the galley or there door. Do they work as well as they say they do.
Thanks Dan
also i have pics in my album

[Sam I am]

Dan, I used a McMaster-Carr PETG plastic hinge (#1195A13) on my hatch. It has worked well for two years so far - no cracks, tears, or leaks. I put aluminum strips on it to stiffen it up a bit.
I used two layers of 1/8" Baltic birch for the roof. One would probably have been stiff enough, but I wanted more puncture resistance in case of flying stones while towing, and falling acorns, twigs, etc. while camping.
Sam

[dan galvin]

Sam thanks
i am at work now i think we have there catalog
Dan

[looped]

got mine installed and it is working good so far. one tip is to pre drill it. i did this by clamping a guide on the drill press and marked the increments with a silver sharpie. letting the screws make the hole will warp it.

depending on how much you open the door or hatch you might want to bevel the edges a little. Did this with a dremmel belt sander with a guide clamped on the plate and the plate tilted ~45 degrees.



oh and if at all possible use 2 layers of the 1/8th.. a single layer IMO isnt enough.

[halfdome, Danny]

am going to rhino coat my roof 1 or 2 layers of 1/8 in plywood ??



I would definitely use two layers of 1/8" plywood with the second sheet covering the seams of the first sheet by a few inches or more. Use the best quality of plywood like Baltic Birch. Danny

[johnb]

I've put the same hinge from McMaster-Carr and it works fine. My hatch is very heavy and the hinge shows no signs of wear or stress (caveat is that I've been using it only for 3 months now). I also saw a T@B trailer this weekend and it looked like they had a similar hinge on their hatch. Aluminum bar on top and pre-drilling is essential.

I'm with the others on using two sheets of 1/8 th inch ply for covering the outside. It adds a little weight but there is no serious downside as it isn't much weight - I put on one layer of 1/8 inch oak ply which is vastly stronger than my second layer of luan. My 6 year old could walk on the top before the aluminum was on. I also found the two layers helpful for smoothing the curves - I have a few more than most and staggering the seams made it come out smoothly.

Good Luck!
John

[dan galvin]

every one seems to be backing up the hinge looks like the way to go.
and do you glue and screw the 2 layer ??
Dan