srbays
01-18-2011, 06:14 PM
Dear Fellow KSers,
Last summer I was forced to open the roof, at the intersection of the front Filon panel and roof, on our '05 Mountaineer 29BH TT. Numerous (mild steel or zinc-coated) screws had failed in our salty, hot, sunny climate, allowing the termination bar to move, water to get inside the roof (and down into those nice closets in the MBR!), and rot away a small section of the sheathing. Once I became familiar with the construction it was apparent the original owner had taken a turn at the problem by the abundance of mismatched screws behind the vinyl covers on the cornerstrips bending down around the sides of the front panel.
I replaced the sheathing and solved the leak, but in the process got a real education into Filon, its sensitivity to any moisture, and its tendency to move and distort once it has gotten soaked. My front panel is distorted and becomes worse with extreme temperature shifts. When really hot, the panel actually "wrinkles" along those edge strips below where the leak originally occurred, and it bows outward away from the framing at that same area. It needs to be replaced.
Does anyone have experience with this repair? Particularly with an aluminum sheet in this application? From my experience last summer I'm thinking to fasten the sheet up top first and let gravity help me draw it down over the framing. I'm also thinking to buy the sheet oversize and trim off the excess to match the (imperfect) framing along the edges. A windlass or two around the entire trailer will help draw the sheet in tight to the framing (which is tough, even for a builder!)
Any thoughts?
Best regards,
Sam Bays
Last summer I was forced to open the roof, at the intersection of the front Filon panel and roof, on our '05 Mountaineer 29BH TT. Numerous (mild steel or zinc-coated) screws had failed in our salty, hot, sunny climate, allowing the termination bar to move, water to get inside the roof (and down into those nice closets in the MBR!), and rot away a small section of the sheathing. Once I became familiar with the construction it was apparent the original owner had taken a turn at the problem by the abundance of mismatched screws behind the vinyl covers on the cornerstrips bending down around the sides of the front panel.
I replaced the sheathing and solved the leak, but in the process got a real education into Filon, its sensitivity to any moisture, and its tendency to move and distort once it has gotten soaked. My front panel is distorted and becomes worse with extreme temperature shifts. When really hot, the panel actually "wrinkles" along those edge strips below where the leak originally occurred, and it bows outward away from the framing at that same area. It needs to be replaced.
Does anyone have experience with this repair? Particularly with an aluminum sheet in this application? From my experience last summer I'm thinking to fasten the sheet up top first and let gravity help me draw it down over the framing. I'm also thinking to buy the sheet oversize and trim off the excess to match the (imperfect) framing along the edges. A windlass or two around the entire trailer will help draw the sheet in tight to the framing (which is tough, even for a builder!)
Any thoughts?
Best regards,
Sam Bays