Weight-bearing capability of FG egg?

[Richard Davis]

I need to do some re-caulking/sealing around the two roof vents on my 2009 Scamp 13 footer. I can get at the sides of the vents easily from a ladder on either side of the Scamp, but caulking the front and back sections of the vents is too far of a stretch. Does anyone know how much weight I can safely put on the roof? I'm not talking about walking around on it! But can I safely put a knee on the roof while I keep one foot still on the ladder? Spread-eagle flat on the roof? Or do some folks have other suggestions about how to rig things up for doing roof repairs? Thanks.

[Ice-breaker]

Try it out. If there is very little flex, then should be ok. If you feel a lot of flex under your knee, try spreading the load a bit with a piece of plywood.

[deryk]

When I put my Maxx Air fan in a few weeks ago I was dragging the ladder around. There was a little flex when I was putting my upper body on it stretching to tighten the screws....I wouldn't try putting all 185lbs of me on it.

[Bob Miller]

#1... DO NOT CAULK....

Caulking on an FGRV will only lead to leaks later on that may start far from where they appear inside. The best way to reseal a roof vent is to remove it and all of the piled on "Gunk" that is already there and reseal it with RV putty tape. That should be good for at least 10 years. Most of the work can be done from the inside and all you will have to be on top for is installing the new stainless steel screws you will want to buy.

Easier yet if you remove the vent cover itself, then you can do everything from inside except reinstalling the cover

Stainless steel, #2 square drive, screws and an electric screwdriver make short and easy work of the job.

And yes, I know that SCAMP uses caulk, and that is why you are resealing it after only 4-5 years.

[Hambone]

pop the escape hatch and put ladder on inside of scamp, I rebedded my escape vent and also installed the maxair that way....much better!

[David B.]

I would use one of those pick-up bed expandable cargo hold poles (have had several from Harbor Freight) from floor to a 1x6 board against the ceiling, then spread eagle on the roof to do your repairs.
Dave & Paula

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by David B.

I would use one of those pick-up bed expandable cargo hold poles (have had several from Harbor Freight) from floor to a 1x6 board against the ceiling, then spread eagle on the roof to do your repairs.
Dave & Paula

WOW... Great Idea. One could also use a 2x4 cut to length.....

[Richard Davis]

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. Whatever comes of it, I'm VERY PLEASED to know that regular around-the-house silicone caulking is NOT what I want to use with FG!

[John Linck]

I went a bit overboard and used an 18 x 18 inch piece of half inch plywood to kneel on. I also wrapped a piece of scrap foam backed carpet covering both sides, one side to protect the fiberglass shine and to lessen slipping and sliding and the other side to protect my knees although they don't really shine much. ;-)

Never occurred to me to use a supporting pole. Didn't seem to flex much under my 200 pounds.

[Donna D.]

Bob is right. Don't just blob more caulk around the perimeter. Pull the vent (whatever) and fix it right with butyl. Honestly, the effort is going to be the same. But, temporary vs correct fix... that can be weeks or years. Your choice.

[Carol H]

Easiest way is as other suggest to stand on something on the inside of the trailer and go up from the inside through the escape hatch. I was able to do the whole install of my Fantastic fan as well as take off and totally reset the escape hatch that way.

[Richard Davis]

Problem with the escape hatch approach is that I want to re-seal the exhaust fan hatch, which sits forward of the

[Richard Davis]

Guess I'll try that again! As I started to say... The problem with the escape hatch approach is that I want to re-caulk the exhaust fan unit, which sits forward of the roof vent (and it is the roof vent that houses the escape hatch). When you deploy the escape hatch, what happens to the roof vent cover? I'm thinking it might remain attached and, hence, be in the way for getting to the exhaust fan unit. Thankfully, I've never had to open the escape hatch previously! As far as removing and "properly" re-installing the exhaust fan unit (which MIGHT be the place water is coming in -- it is certainly where the drops show up), I've got cold feet! A guy with a lot of curiosity and not much experience with RV modifications could make a real mess of things; just replacing the caulking once every five years sounds fairly easy, especially since it will no longer be subjected to the extremes of temperature (from 30 below C to 35 above C) now that it resides in "soft" country.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Guess I'll try that again! As I started to say... The problem with the escape hatch approach is that I want to re-caulk the exhaust fan unit, which sits forward of the roof vent (and it is the roof vent that houses the escape hatch). When you deploy the escape hatch, what happens to the roof vent cover? I'm thinking it might remain attached and, hence, be in the way for getting to the exhaust fan unit. Thankfully, I've never had to open the escape hatch previously! As far as removing and "properly" re-installing the exhaust fan unit (which MIGHT be the place water is coming in -- it is certainly where the drops show up), I've got cold feet! A guy with a lot of curiosity and not much experience with RV modifications could make a real mess of things; just replacing the caulking once every five years sounds fairly easy, especially since it will no longer be subjected to the extremes of temperature (from 30 below C to 35 above C) now that it resides in "soft" country.

If you open the escape hatch with the roof vent in the down position the two parts lift up together & will stay up allowing you to easily reach around it. I am having problems visualizing your set up and why that will not help you. Perhaps if you where to go up through the escape hatch and take a photo of what it is you are having trouble reaching that might help folks provide a better answer.

There are lots of threads here outlining how to go about taking off and reinstalling the old vent. I did my large escape hatch on my one as well as cut out a hole and installed a new Fantastic Fan just behind it. It really wasn't all that hard.