chris p abacon Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 It is apparent that the fibre glass (outer) part of the roof of my motor home is no longer fixed to the plywood (inner) part, there are no leaks and no sign of there every having been any leaks. Dealer says "they all go like that" (the van is 10 years old) local repair place says it needs fixed (costing over £1000) Is this a big issue? does it need fixed? if it needs fixed how urgent is it? (bearing in mind that I have no idea how long its been like this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 hi is the plywood bonded to the fibreglass direct.???? or are battons used. what i would do ( hard to say without looking) is drill a few small holes in lines along the roof. get a glue gun and force some form of glue in the holes. keep prussure on the roof using wood, and then replug the holes. job done. cheaper then a 1000 pounds. I had for some unknown reason some water damage on the celliing of my hymer. a repairer wanted in the high 100,s to mend. in the end i cut out the section and replaced and covered the cut lines with the same roofing half moon shape wood as hymer use. cost less then 30 pounds and as been good for over 4 years. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 You don't say what your 'van is; it may help owners of similar vehicles comment on their experience. I've seen the question asked before, and was interested since on my last 'van, a Rapido, the GRP roof was not bonded to the underlying structure, but simply laid on, and AFAIK, it was built like this. Opinions seemd to vary as to whether such GRP should or shouldn't be bonded, and things may vary by convertor, so the first thing I would try and ascertain is whether or not it ever was bonded. (and BTW, if it were mine, even if it originally was, if there was no sign of any damp or leakage, I would leave well alone!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris p abacon Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Sorry I should have said that the van is a Compass "avantgarde". With the exception of the rear most curved section where it joins the rear wall and the areas around the roof light the entire roof is to a greater or lesser extent "floating". In some areas it almost seems like the roof is slightly too big for the van and the excess fibreglass sits in a bubble maybe 7mm high, in other areas the fibre glass just flexes slightly when you press on it. I am reluctant to dril holes in what is at the minute at least a waterproof roof! I have just recently bought the van (from a dealer) and its my first van and I openly admit to knowing nothing about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 My AT Tracker fibre glass roof is not bonded to the frame work. It is in contact at the points where rooflights, vents and aerial are positioned. It is perfectly normal practice. This is one reason why I would never ever stand on the roof. PS. Reading some of the information on the Compass it suggests that the overcab and rear valance are fibre glass but the main roof section is alloy. After that I reserve comment *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 hi, bit at a loss, you stated that the plywood was coming away from the roof. ie not together, with a devide. so i don,t see how drilling a few holes in the plywood would mean holes in the roof. If however they are as one plywood and fibreglass roof then of course you can,t drill. it all sounds a bit odd having plywood layed dirrect on the underside of the fibleglass roof. is there no insulation in the roof ??? michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris p abacon Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 sorry, me being stupid I assumed that you meant drill from the outside in (not from inside out). Again I only assume that there is a ply layer underneath the fibreglass, I am assuming that the construction goes something like GRP - ply - insulation -ceiling. there are ceiling panels visible inside that appear to be slotted into "H" profile plastic strips but I have no idea what lies between them and the GRP that I see on the outside. on edit I appears to me (after thinking about it) that it would be a very odd thing to do to stick the GRP roof down as being exposed to the sun it is bound to heat up and cool down and so expand and contract which would break any adhesive bond overtime - this being the case why would the repairer want to charge me £1000 to fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I also believe the main roof is aluminium only the overcab is glass. Compass coming from caravan manufacturing origins the roof could well be just an alloy skin a construction method often used on UK caravans, German ones always have a bonded roof similar to the bonded wall construction. An alloy skin roof will have an outer alloy skin with an inner skin of ply or hardboard with a 1" - 2" void between filled with fibreglass wool or slabs of polystyrene. With this type of construction the roof tends to ripple & bubble in hot weather & flatten out again in the cold but as the van gets older the alloy stretches and stays rippled or bubbled. So the chances are you may not have a problem. I would have thought the first port of call would be to contact Compass and establish the type of roof construction and if there is a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 The roof on our Compass 120(our previous van)didn't appear to be bonded/fixed anywhere other than the edges or where a vent passed through it and pinned it down...unfortunately,on our's this ,meant that when sat on our drive',a puddle would form around the frame/fixings of the main heki roof vent.. *-) It also had a very poor executed seam running across the join between the front fibreglasss moulding and the main roof panel... :-S Although as has been said,if it isn't leaking leave it well alone.. ;-) (..just keep and eye on the moulding and vent seals) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Chris Have you had a Damp Test recently, if not can I suggest that you get one done. If you have water ingress the most probable areas are the seam where the front section joins the main roof or the side edges. Like others I think that your roof is not bonded (but others may know better) & that the void between the Fibre glass outer & ply inner liner, will be either loose fill or slab insulation. If the Damp Test proves you have water ingress, that will determine your next move. (or not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 My advice.....if it ain't leaking and isn't causing a problem, leave it alone. Mess with it and you could make it a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stantheman Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 That's always been my philosophy, Peter. But if you wait until it's leaking, then the damage has probably already been done. I speak from experience, not as an expert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I wouldnt touch it but like Flicka says a damp test would tell you wether theres a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris p abacon Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 I have now (finally) had it confirmed that the roof was never stuck down and was not intended to be stuck down. Thanks to all who passed on their opinions hope that this thread may be of help to someone in future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Good, but did you get that damp test? Folk are inclined to tell you what you want to hear, especially if what you don't want to hear might cost them money! God, life's so hard when you're a cynic! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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