'80 Bigfoot trailer - Fiberglass RV
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Old 05-10-2009, 10:38 PM   #1
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I just picked up a 1980 17.5' Bigfoot trailer. The ceiling panel around the air vent shows previous water damage by way of staining, cracking and buckling. The previous owner said the roof was repaired, when I looked on the roof there were some patched areas, it has not leaked since I brought it home. Now that I own the trailer should I just repaint or replace the panel around the air vent?, other suggestions? How big a job is it to replace the panel?, is the insulation glued to the panel? If anyone has done this I would be interested in knowing what is involved. thanks.
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Old 05-14-2009, 11:38 PM   #2
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I just picked up a 1980 17.5' Bigfoot trailer. The ceiling panel around the air vent shows previous water damage by way of staining, cracking and buckling. The previous owner said the roof was repaired, when I looked on the roof there were some patched areas, it has not leaked since I brought it home. Now that I own the trailer should I just repaint or replace the panel around the air vent?, other suggestions? How big a job is it to replace the panel?, is the insulation glued to the panel? If anyone has done this I would be interested in knowing what is involved. thanks.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I would like to do this work myself if possible.
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Old 05-14-2009, 11:44 PM   #3
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Glad to hear it is not leaking any more.

I take it you are talking about the inside. It wood be great if you could match the paneling and make it as good a new. Can you show us a photo?
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Old 05-15-2009, 09:20 AM   #4
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Hi, Ralph.

We had some water stains on the ceiling of our old 1984 Bigfoot, so my husband used Zinsser primer and then a coat of paint. We got the primer tinted to match the cream color of the paint. I could never have done it, since I seem to get paint everywhere but where it's supposed to be, but Chris managed to do it without getting paint on the cabinets, and it turned out nicely. I'm not sure if you can see the ceiling very well, but here's an old posting with some pictures.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...mp;#entry270265

Good luck!

Maureen
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Old 05-20-2009, 02:31 PM   #5
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Hi, Ralph.

We had some water stains on the ceiling of our old 1984 Bigfoot, so my husband used Zinsser primer and then a coat of paint. We got the primer tinted to match the cream color of the paint. I could never have done it, since I seem to get paint everywhere but where it's supposed to be, but Chris managed to do it without getting paint on the cabinets, and it turned out nicely. I'm not sure if you can see the ceiling very well, but here's an old posting with some pictures.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...mp;#entry270265

Good luck!

Maureen

Thanks for the information. I may need to replace the inside ceiling panelling though otherwise the cracks in the ceiling panel may show through? I've attached some pictures.





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Old 05-22-2009, 01:11 PM   #6
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I just picked up a 1980 17.5' Bigfoot trailer. The ceiling panel around the air vent shows previous water damage by way of staining, cracking and buckling. The previous owner said the roof was repaired, when I looked on the roof there were some patched areas, it has not leaked since I brought it home. Now that I own the trailer should I just repaint or replace the panel around the air vent?, other suggestions? How big a job is it to replace the panel?, is the insulation glued to the panel? If anyone has done this I would be interested in knowing what is involved. thanks.
I was told that Zinsser products (ceiling primer) work well for covering the water staining.
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Old 05-22-2009, 04:50 PM   #7
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Our new to us Bigfoot had at one time leaked at a vent, there was a stain and some very light damage to the ceiling. I sanded and then primed with tinted Kilz Premuim primer. Then I painted with Bear eggshell finish paint in Swiss Coffee. It's only been two weeks but all looks ok.

Maureen is right it's a lot of work.
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Old 03-22-2010, 10:00 PM   #8
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Well spring has arrived and I am going to tackle this job. Last summer I repaired the leak by properly replacing the plastic roof vent with a metal one. I have also notice there is some ceiling sagging on one corner of the roof vent, the roof vent appears lopsided from the inside. My dilemma is whether I should I tear the ceiling off and re-adhere the styrofoam to the ceiling or try and fix the sag in the ceiling without tearing apart and then paint over. There is a wood border around the roof vent, when I push it up everything looks level but how can I make it stay there and what to do with the styrofoam? Does anyone have any suggestions? I hope I'm not over my head on this one!

Quote:
Our new to us Bigfoot had at one time leaked at a vent, there was a stain and some very light damage to the ceiling. I sanded and then primed with tinted Kilz Premuim primer. Then I painted with Bear eggshell finish paint in Swiss Coffee. It's only been two weeks but all looks ok.

Maureen is right it's a lot of work.
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Old 03-23-2010, 12:23 PM   #9
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Well spring has arrived and I am going to tackle this job. Last summer I repaired the leak by properly replacing the plastic roof vent with a metal one. I have also notice there is some ceiling sagging on one corner of the roof vent, the roof vent appears lopsided from the inside. My dilemma is whether I should I tear the ceiling off and re-adhere the styrofoam to the ceiling or try and fix the sag in the ceiling without tearing apart and then paint over. There is a wood border around the roof vent, when I push it up everything looks level but how can I make it stay there and what to do with the styrofoam? Does anyone have any suggestions? I hope I'm not over my head on this one!
Is always my policy to know the truth or in your case the extent of the damage from the leak and then you can make a decision on how to fix it. I wouldn't ignore it since it sounds like the inside panel is starting to give way from the insulation. I would hesitate to rip the roof off. When you replaced the roof vent were you able to peer between the panel and insulation? It may be possible to correct the problem by injecting an adhesive at this point and save yourself a lot of work and trouble from removing the panel altogether.
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Old 03-23-2010, 12:30 PM   #10
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I just took another good look at your first picture and it seems you have stain and buckling of the panel all around the vent. You can remove the bottom shroud of the vent to see between the insulation and panel and try to determine the extent of the damage. From the picture I think it might be difficult to hide the buckling. Replacing an entire panel would be quite a chore I think as the panel goes from wall to wall. You might be able to cut out the damaged area around the vent and replace. Your challenge then would be to hide the seams of the patch. Let us now what you decide.
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Old 03-24-2010, 09:42 AM   #11
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Yes, the ceiling panel may be too far gone to keep. Like you say I could cut out the damaged area around the vent but then hiding the seams may be difficult, perhaps not. When I dropped the bottom shroud and looked up it appeared the styrofoam insulation had dropped (delaminated) from the fibreglass roof. The roof itself has buckled and therefore makes the vent look crooked, if I push on the corner of the vent from the inside of the trailer it straightens out but it won't stay that way without pressure. There is not enough room to get in there with the wooden frame around the vent blocking access. I think if this is to be done correctly I should remove the inside ceiling panel, install some sort of strut across the width of the trailer to straighten the vent and then re-adhere the insulation to the fibreglass roof. This is assuming the ceiling will come off easily enough from under the cupboards, it appears the ceiling is in 3 sections and I would only be dealing with the center portion. I will look at it again after work and make some sort of a decision ...lots of fun!

Quote:
I just took another good look at your first picture and it seems you have stain and buckling of the panel all around the vent. You can remove the bottom shroud of the vent to see between the insulation and panel and try to determine the extent of the damage. From the picture I think it might be difficult to hide the buckling. Replacing an entire panel would be quite a chore I think as the panel goes from wall to wall. You might be able to cut out the damaged area around the vent and replace. Your challenge then would be to hide the seams of the patch. Let us now what you decide.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:00 AM   #12
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I don't know the Bigfoot trailers, specifically (and everyone has their own definition of "fixed"), but looking at that ceiling panel, I would say it's past repairing. I think I would want to take it down, repair the roof sag, and then put up a new panel.

Again, I'm not familiar with the Bigfoot roof construction (it almost looks more like a stick-built, but in fiberglass?, with interior paneling and such?), but if the actual fiberglass roof is sagging, and you do indeed have access to it after removing the inside panel and the foam insulation, you might consider reinforcing it with a pre-formed fiberglass angle (if it's flat -- is it?), or something else that you can 'glass to the underside of the roof before reassembly.

Fiberglass has the advantage of being "stickable" to the trailer shell itself with no mechanical fasteners, and also of being reasonably impervious to water and damp (not that you want to have either of those inside the trailer...)

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Old 03-24-2010, 11:40 AM   #13
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Ralph,
It seems you are joining the sagging Bigfoot roof group. Removing what is there and fiberglassing in struts/rafters in the appropriate curve seems the way to go. There is a couple threads on doing this on the boards. We have not tackled our roof yet, it's probably going to take a few weekends to complete and we haven't had the time.

Raya,
No the roof is not flat. The roof has to be re arched, probably a bit past normal to allow for a bit of resag. The construction of the roof is "laminated". Depending on the year model it can be fiberglass shell/roof, Styrofoam type insulation, and interior ceiling panel or on newer models it's fiberglass, plywood, insulation, and the ceiling panel. The older ones quite frequently start sagging, some delaminate, some the whole structure sags. There are a few kerfed wood struts in the roof on ours but they are sagging too.

Fun, fun, fun in Bigfoot land! I still love ours though!
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Old 03-28-2010, 09:21 AM   #14
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Can anyone tell me what the best type of adhesive would be to adhere the fibreglass roof to the ceilings white styrofoam insolation? I'm concerned some adhesives or epoxies may melt the styrofoam. thanks.

Quote:
Ralph,
It seems you are joining the sagging Bigfoot roof group. Removing what is there and fiberglassing in struts/rafters in the appropriate curve seems the way to go. There is a couple threads on doing this on the boards. We have not tackled our roof yet, it's probably going to take a few weekends to complete and we haven't had the time.

Raya,
No the roof is not flat. The roof has to be re arched, probably a bit past normal to allow for a bit of resag. The construction of the roof is "laminated". Depending on the year model it can be fiberglass shell/roof, Styrofoam type insulation, and interior ceiling panel or on newer models it's fiberglass, plywood, insulation, and the ceiling panel. The older ones quite frequently start sagging, some delaminate, some the whole structure sags. There are a few kerfed wood struts in the roof on ours but they are sagging too.

Fun, fun, fun in Bigfoot land! I still love ours though!
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Old 03-28-2010, 09:31 AM   #15
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Can anyone tell me what the best type of adhesive would be to adhere the fibreglass roof to the ceilings white styrofoam insolation? I'm concerned some adhesives or epoxies may melt the styrofoam. thanks.

Ralph,
Though I find it a little less "satisfying" than the standard product, there is a water-based contact cement available that should not affect the foam. But you could do a small test to see if the standard cement will work as well.

In either case, make sure your surfaces are well prepped and clean.
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Old 03-28-2010, 11:22 AM   #16
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There is also a "PL" caulk type product that's meant for use on foam. The last time I used it was years ago on a house project, so I can't give specifics right now. It was available at a big-box type home improvement place.


On the roof reinforcement, the pre-formed stringers, hull stiffeners, panels, beams and etc. made by Compsys might work well for some applications. "Stringers" in boats are basically strengthening "ribs" that run fore and aft, so they do take moderate curves. Of course you want your curve set properly before you apply them. (And, you can make your own, but these are handy.)

http://www.preforms.com/products.php


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I've had them come in 4-foot lengths (standard package; many to a box), but I bet you can get them in longer lengths, too. (You can splice short lengths together also.)

They also have a fancier website if you go straight to the home page (they seem to be upgrading or something and maybe have not gotten to all pages?), with slide shows and whatnot (it's also a bit more annoying, depending on how you like websites, I'll warn).

http://www.preforms.com/

Raya
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Old 03-29-2010, 09:47 AM   #17
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I'll second the PL caulk but note that it is industrial strength and once in place and cured is not meant to come off. If at some time you need to redo I'll be happy it's your project because the foam will only rip off in small chunks.
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Old 03-29-2010, 10:53 PM   #18
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I have a similar problem with my Bigfoot, it appears that water leaked in around the roof vent and traveled between the outer fibreglass skin and the foam until it reached the light over the table and damaged the interior wood panel on the ceiling. For anyone wanting to know the construction of my trailer appears to be a very thin fibreglass shell 1/16<sup>th</sup>of an inch thick, then 1” foam and the interior is 1/8 wood panelling. The glue used is that red/pink contact cement like they use to adhere plastic laminate counter tops. The glue works well but is not water proof. The sandwich construction of fibreglass/foam/panelling forms a light weight rigid trailer until the glue fails as it has in mine, once it delaminates it has very little strength.

I was worried that the weight of snow on the trailer roof this winter could cause problems, so I put so temporary supports in the trailer which were 2x4’s from the floor to ceiling, with some wood on the ceiling to spread the support so I didn’t have a point load. I was able to take all the sag out of the roof. The 17 foot big foot has 3 roof panels that run across the roof approximately 4’ by 8’. The easiest one to take down would be the front one the only thing one needs to take down are the upper cabinets the middle and rear sections would require the removal of all the interior walls and upper cabinets.

It would be nice to find a cure without removing the interior. I’m hoping I can find a glue/adhesive that I can inject in between the fibreglass and the foam, or foam and wood that does not react with either the fibreglass or foam, and realize I will have to inject this several feet into to the void. Without removing the panels the glue will also have to work with the residual red/pink contact cement. It also has have a good working time so that I can prop the ceiling in to the correct position before it sets up.

In my case the interior panelling is still attached to the foam so I think that unless I want to rip everything out I will need to patch the paneling in place. It does look like pictures in post 5 and does have damage. For the cosmetic repair of the ceiling, is there some type of full bodied paint that would fill the bits of veneer that will inevitably come off.

My last problem that will also need to be addressed is what is the best way to remove the roofing tar (well dried out) and the case or so of silicone caulking they used in vain to repair the leak.

I`m really open to suggestions.

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