Auditor Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I am surprised that this safety issue has not been posted on any of the motorhome forums that I have seen, including this one. It was reported in the Caravan Clubs July magazine, in the "Ask your Club" section, page 100. Apparently there are at least four known cases, where Dome Satellite systems have come adrift from the roof. The one referred to, was lost whilst travelling, and they only became aware when they arrived on site. The advice is that whilst attaching using adhesive only, ought to be ok, using screws is recommended, in order to avoid any problems. I assume that it is the size of domes that causes the problem, with greater wind resistance than dish systems. Potentially, this could cause serious accidents, so check to see if yours is attached as per the Caravan Clubs advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I've always been of the opinion that too many people put far too much faith in using these adhesives/ sealants.. As good as they are(and the likes of Sika' are good!),a bond can only ever be as strong as the surfaces that are being bonded... Add to that the vibrations and any flexing(and possible pi** poor application),makes using proper "hard" fixings a no brainer to me. It's a bit late, when the first you know that something is amiss, is when something bounces of your roof, onto the bonnet of following vehicles..... :-S (cue, "...I've had my solar panels/aerial/sat' dish/roof box, stuck on for years...without a problem.." responses :-S ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I think you are right, on my way home from Cornwall I saw a large (expensive looking) Solar panel lying by the hard shoulder of the M5, VERY broken. Suspect it gave some poor so & so a 'Scare' as it sailed off of the roof of the motorhome. As has been said Sika IS very good, but if the surface hasn't been prepared properly, and any traces of polish removed, gel-coat 'roughed up' to give a good bond , Then it's only a matter of time before the 'bond' fails. Whether it's a Satelite Dome or a Solar panel, or 'Heaven forbid' a Roof box I wouldn't want any of them Hitting me in the Face on the Motorway. The trouble is the person who causes the subsquent 'mayhem' is probably long gone, and only discovers it when they reach 'their pitch'. Belt And Braces !! the best analogy and the best practise. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Well if you don't trust adhesives you should avoid flying because even structural components are glued together in modern planes. Admittedly the adhesives and control of the application will be more rigorously controlled. Adhesives do have a lot of advantages, in particular they are better regarding metal fatigue which is a major problem in aluminium structures. The same might be true of bolted or rivetted fixings into glass-fibre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Muswell - 2013-07-30 1:32 PM Well if you don't trust adhesives you should avoid flying because even structural components are glued together in modern planes. Admittedly the adhesives and control of the application will be more rigorously controlled. Adhesives do have a lot of advantages, in particular they are better regarding metal fatigue which is a major problem in aluminium structures. The same might be true of bolted or rivetted fixings into glass-fibre Well..I would like to assume that an aeroplane would be put together with slightly more technical expertise, than your average "motorhome workshop"( or ham-fisted DIYer with a caulking gun!) possesses! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 pepe63 - 2013-07-30 2:10 PM Muswell - 2013-07-30 1:32 PM Well if you don't trust adhesives you should avoid flying because even structural components are glued together in modern planes. Admittedly the adhesives and control of the application will be more rigorously controlled. Adhesives do have a lot of advantages, in particular they are better regarding metal fatigue which is a major problem in aluminium structures. The same might be true of bolted or rivetted fixings into glass-fibre Well..I would like to assume that an aeroplane would be put together with slightly more technical expertise, than your average "motorhome workshop"( or ham-fisted DIYer with a caulking gun!) possesses! ;-) Plus aircraft have regular integrity checks, how often to Motorhomers check the integrity of glued fixings on the roof? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I'm surprised to learn that a sat-TV dome can be fixed to a motorhome's roof with adhesive. I would have thought that such an attachment method would make it impracticable to access the 'dish' that the dome protects should this become necessary. I could understand the complete dome/dish/base assembly coming off the roof if only adhesive had been used, but aren't domes normally attached to the base that carries the dish with some sort of mechanical fixing like screws? If the 4 instances mentioned in the CC piece relate to the whole lot coming off the roof because adhesive alone has been used to attach base to roof, then the recommendation to use screws will apply to all sat-TV roof-mounted systems, not just to those with a protective dome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auditor Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 Derek Uzzell - 2013-08-01 8:30 AM I'm surprised to learn that a sat-TV dome can be fixed to a motorhome's roof with adhesive. I would have thought that such an attachment method would make it impracticable to access the 'dish' that the dome protects should this become necessary. I could understand the complete dome/dish/base assembly coming off the roof if only adhesive had been used, but aren't domes normally attached to the base that carries the dish with some sort of mechanical fixing like screws? If the 4 instances mentioned in the CC piece relate to the whole lot coming off the roof because adhesive alone has been used to attach base to roof, then the recommendation to use screws will apply to all sat-TV roof-mounted systems, not just to those with a protective dome. I did state, in my original posting, that it was the Dome System, that had been reported as coming adrift, not just the Dome itself. The person that asked the question, in the Caravan Clubs magazine, stated that the dome weighs several Kilo's, so he must have been referring to the system itself, not just the plastic cover. The Clubs technical team replied that they had checked with a prominent company that supplies these systems. Apparently, they knew of four instances where dome systems had come off at speed. They commented that in principal, a good quality adhesive should be adequate, but, in practice, they always screwed the feet of the dome down, as well, and hadn't had any problems with any of their installations. The CC agreed with this advice. I hope that this clarifies the issue. Because of the greater frontal area of Dome's, I wondered if that made the difference from normal roof mounted dish systems, because I've not heard of any of these coming adrift at speed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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