Bowing Burro Roof Top - Fiberglass RV
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Old 09-19-2019, 08:47 AM   #1
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Name: Chad
Trailer: Burro
Michigan
Posts: 4
Bowing Burro Roof Top

Hello my name is Chad, I recently picked up a sweet 82' Burro in pretty good shape, the only thing I could see an issue with is some "bowing in" of part of the roof. Does anyone have any experience or know of anybody who has fixed this?

I haven't taken the carpet strip off the inside to check it out, but my initial plans were to basically use bondo/fiberglass cloth and build up the outside of the roof so rain drips off the trailer instead of puddle on the roof.... Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance!
-Chad
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Old 09-19-2019, 02:38 PM   #2
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Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 4,137
Registry
Did someone by chance add weight to the roof? AC? Fantastic fan? Solar? Or it may have been stored outside and had a snow load on it?
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Old 09-19-2019, 06:32 PM   #3
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Name: To Infinity & Beyond!
Trailer: 1985 Uhaul VT-16 Vacationer, 1957 Avion R20 & 1977 Argosy 6.0 Minuet
Tennessee
Posts: 655
Bondo or glass cloth will only masque the problem. You need to find the cause of the roof problem and properly repair.

There are several current threads on this site by other people who have the same issue. Follow along with them and see what they have done to correct this problem.

Use the search tab with terms such as "Roof Sag".
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Old 09-23-2019, 11:28 AM   #4
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Name: Chad
Trailer: Burro
Michigan
Posts: 4
Bowing Roof

I am unsure of the original cause of the problem, there was a decent size bowing down of the roof which holds water, which I am sure only compounds the problem as the extra weight of the water bows it even further.....

From reading other forums and posts it seems like people slowly push up the ceiling so the fiberglass can return to it's original shape then I can reinforce and fiberglass underneath it to reinforce it, wouldn't that method help the structure of it to not bow back down....

The other alternate I have though about is getting light weight plastic strip to reinforce it.

-Chad
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Old 01-16-2020, 02:38 PM   #5
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Name: Town
Trailer: 17' Burro 1987
Idaho
Posts: 9
Chad
I had the same issue with a "dance hall" burro. I made 2 external stringers out of 1/2" EMT, roll formed them to the desired shape of the roof and glassed them in place. To bring up the roof's sags I made several jigs to lift the roof to desired level. This was done before glassing the EMT in place. Using the jigs I used hot melt glue to attach bolts to the low points on the roof , then with the jigs spanning over the EMT I placed nuts on the bolts and gradually raised the roof to desired level, then spot glassed the EMT to the roof. I made another jig to align the EMT an equal distance from the roof seam from front to back. After spot glassing, remove the bolts and jigs and glass the EMT solidly to the roof. after all of this, sand glass to remove ugly spots , then bondo a nice radius from roof to EMT. Sand all to provide smooth surface and gel-cote to match. Bondo sculpting is required at front and rear. My Burro is currently buried under 30 inches of snow so no pics now.
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Old 01-18-2020, 10:37 AM   #6
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Name: Ted
Trailer: Burro
CA
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please send a picture when the snow melts. Im having the same problem
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Old 01-20-2020, 04:17 PM   #7
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Name: Town
Trailer: 17' Burro 1987
Idaho
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Ted
I may have some pic's of the "in progress" of the repair. I'ii look for them and let you know.
Town
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Old 01-20-2020, 04:45 PM   #8
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Name: Town
Trailer: 17' Burro 1987
Idaho
Posts: 9
Burro roof repair

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I found some of the in process pic's. The big steering wheel tool is harbor freight's tube roller. It worked very well. I don't have any of the jigs i made in photo so you are on your own. After glassing the EMT and bondoing all smooth apply gel-cote. Best of luck.
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Old 01-20-2020, 07:50 PM   #9
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
Posts: 3,047
when you live in a snowy area and you see a bowed roof you should have no difficulty in figuring out what weighed the roof down and caused some sagging in the surface.


Read Chapter 3 of this DIY boat repairs pdf booklet from West Systems. They present a variety of options that will work. I would suggest that anyone who has a fiberglass trailer save a copy of this repair manual ....just in case.

https://www.westsystem.com/wp-conten...anual-2015.pdf


I myself would not have used EMT, I would have used foam inside, much lighter. The strength comes from the shape of the fiberglassed stringer, not from the filler inside of it. A low wide shape is actually not as strong for resisting bending as a narrower but taller stringer. Think of it in terms of something perhaps more familiar...a 2 x 4 piece of lumber. If you suspend the board across a couple of concrete blocks and put the wide side flat on the blocks and then step on it then you will get a considerable amount of bowing. If you rotate the board so that the narrow side is against the blocks and step on it you will get considerably less bowing from the weight you are putting on it.


But in the long run if you solved the issue then it does not matter what anyone says about it.
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Old 01-21-2020, 04:10 PM   #10
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Name: Town
Trailer: 17' Burro 1987
Idaho
Posts: 9
roof repair

As I live in a snowy area am quite knowledgeable of the cause. I bought the trailer with the sags in place. As to using a foam based stringer, that may work if you have access to the underside of the glass and was able to push it back into place. AS BURRO owners are aware the trailer is made with an inner layer and an outer lawyer of fiberglass. It is the outer layer that sags NOT the inner layer. Thus requiring a stringer that is sturdy enough to pull up the sags with the EMT being sturdy enough to act as the fulcrum. There is always the need to hold the roof in position while the epoxy cures, hence the need for jigs and clamps to "raise the roof" and hold it in place. The external stringers also look cool.
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:43 PM   #11
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
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More than one way to skin a burro
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