sagging roof in 17' boler

[Dawn S]

Hi!! Thanks in advance for your advice.

The roof on my 17' boler is sagging off to the side a bit. The roof seems to slant slightly towards to door, and if I stand underneath and push up with both hands I can make it "pop" back up, but it doesn't stay, and even when I have it popped, it still looks slightly slanted. It is noticeable mostly at the vents - they seem to sag almost a little bit more than the rest of the roof, independently.

I can take a couple of pictures and post them next week to give a better idea.

I does not appear that the roof is cracked at all as there are no leaks.

Do you think this has to do with the door frame or simply the span of the roof, or does it have to do with the vents?

This boler is new to me.

Thanks,

Dawn

[Dawn S]

I don't know if you are able to upsize the photos so you can zoom in on the image and you can see on the side of the trailer where the door is, there is central sagging, VS the side without the door. So, that leads me to think it may be a door issue???

No feedback yet; even an educated guess would give me something to research at this point.

Thing is, I am supposed to travel with this baby in 3 weeks and I need to have it fully serviced, make new cushions and drapes and figure out how to operate it!!!

So, any advice on the sagging is appreciated!

Dawn

[Dawn S]

AHHHH [ - I am unable to upload my image, it says the file is too big....thanks anyway.

[Harry Young]

Dawn,

It would be really helpful to have pics inside and out of this, I am concerned over the apparent flexibility of the roof...I have questions about the integrity of the fiberglass strands or the resin in that area of the trailer that seems to collapse or move under its own weight?

Harry

See, you can see on the side of the trailer where the door is, there is central sagging, VS the side without the door. So, that leads me to think it may be a door issue???

No feedback yet; even an educated guess would give me something to research at this point.

Thing is, I am supposed to travel with this baby in 3 weeks and I need to have it fully serviced, make new cushions and drapes and figure out how to operate it!!!

So, any advice on the sagging is appreciated!

Dawn

[Dawn S]

Dawn,

It would be really helpful to have pics inside and out of this, I am concerned over the apparent flexibility of the roof...I have questions about the integrity of the fiberglass strands or the resin in that area of the trailer that seems to collapse or move under its own weight?

Harry

Henry, Ihave images of the outside I can send you if you give me an email. I am new to this sight. I can't make my photos small enough to post, and if I post them small you won't be able to see the sagging.....sigh...

In the worse case scenario, what if there is a problem with the integrity of the fiberglass?

[Harry Young]

I have sent a P.M. to you with the info you requested, welcome to this site, go to your messages to get the P.M.

Harry

Henry, Ihave images of the outside I can send you if you give me an email. I am new to this sight. I can't make my photos small enough to post, and if I post them small you won't be able to see the sagging.....sigh...

In the worse case scenario, what if there is a problem with the integrity of the fiberglass?

[Donna D.]

AHHHH [ - I am unable to upload my image, it says the file is too big....thanks anyway.

Dawn see if this info helps: Resize Picture Help Using "Shrink Pictures" site

[Rick kl]

If your boler is the eame as mine the roof is supported on the stove side by two metal supports on the sides of the counter top and to the bottom of the overhead cabinet, are these missing?

[Dawn S]

If your boler is the eame as mine the roof is supported on the stove side by two metal supports on the sides of the counter top and to the bottom of the overhead cabinet, are these missing?

Yes it is the same and no they are not missing...

I am going to try and load my images again; Donna has given me some help with that - so stand by....thanks for your time and consideration!

Dawn

[KevinDR]

Hi Dawn:

From the looks of the pictures, and the two really Knarly air vent scoops, you are getting a dip in the middle. My 1700 Gaucho style (side bed), has the same problem. My two vents lean towards the center, and from the looks of your picture, just about the same amount. The previous owner of mine poured resin and put cloth to reinforce the center part of the ceiling. Strength for the body comes from some very important wooden structures in the inside of the trailer. The wood helps to keep the roof up. I see from your door that either the outside walls are either being pushed out, or the strength of your door is shot. Does the door leak at all?

Why worry about a dip to the side? The water has to run off anyway. Are you seeing alot of hairline cracks in the roof? This would the a sign that some hefty snow load may have weighed it down at some point or the roof is deteriorating. But other than that, welcome to the sagging 1700 club. If you push on it and it pops out, perhaps it is time to pop it out, brace it up, and pour a gallon of resin on the top.....oops then a paint job may have to follow.

Kevin.

[Dawn S]

Hi Dawn:

From the looks of the pictures, and the two really Knarly air vent scoops, you are getting a dip in the middle. My 1700 Gaucho style (side bed), has the same problem. My two vents lean towards the center, and from the looks of your picture, just about the same amount. The previous owner of mine poured resin and put cloth to reinforce the center part of the ceiling. Strength for the body comes from some very important wooden structures in the inside of the trailer. The wood helps to keep the roof up. I see from your door that either the outside walls are either being pushed out, or the strength of your door is shot. Does the door leak at all?

Why worry about a dip to the side? The water has to run off anyway. Are you seeing alot of hairline cracks in the roof? This would the a sign that some hefty snow load may have weighed it down at some point or the roof is deteriorating. But other than that, welcome to the sagging 1700 club. If you push on it and it pops out, perhaps it is time to pop it out, brace it up, and pour a gallon of resin on the top.....oops then a paint job may have to follow.

Kevin.

Hi, well, I never thought about the positive side of a slanting roof! Thanks for that!

I have been lucky enough to find a great local mechanic who has worked on RV's for years and seems to be pretty amazing at trouble shooting thus far. Today he took off the obnoxious vents and propped the trailer up from the inside at 4 points. Then, he took a heat source, (can't remember what he said - heat gun?) to the top (where no visible cracks were seen) and for now the trailer is popped back up properly. The props are still in it, so we don't know what will happen when he takes them out, I am hoping for a nice sunny day tomorrow as I have heard that the fiberglass can have a memory and the sun aids with the reformation -- BUT, I am not banking on it. I know that I may have to brace it with a stainless arch across the top, or with a wood form, as instructed by a new and well informed friend from the boards here, Harry. If I have positive results I will share the good news!!

I don't think my door leaks but the trailer is new to me and I have not used it all yet. It doesn't appear that it does though from looking at it.

I suspect that there may have been an AC up there at one point that did the damage.

In any case, thanks for the imput and I will let you know how it turns out.

Dawn

[Al Nelson]

My Boler 1700 has exactly the same slant to the roof. It was that way when I bought it. My theory is that at some time in it's life it was left with a large amount of snow on the roof and this caused the door side of the roof to sag. Snow, especialy wet snow can be very heavy. Have thought of bracing the inside with 2 X 4s but that would leave crush marks on the foam ceiling. So for now, I just live with it and don't look at the roof vents.
Al

[Dawn S]

My Boler 1700 has exactly the same slant to the roof. It was that way when I bought it. My theory is that at some time in it's life it was left with a large amount of snow on the roof and this caused the door side of the roof to sag. Snow, especialy wet snow can be very heavy. Have thought of bracing the inside with 2 X 4s but that would leave crush marks on the foam ceiling. So for now, I just live with it and don't look at the roof vents.
Al

Hi Al,

I think I have solved the problem. My mechanic propped the ceiling from the inside in four spots with 2 X 4's - (so I guess I will have crushed ensolite) and then when on the roof and took a heat gun to the stress points. Now it has regained it original form.

Some folks say that the sun with the props is enough to help the memory of the fiberglass regain its form. The heat gun speeds the process along.

Let me know if you want to try it, I will take a picture of the prop points and ask my mechanic if there are any little details I should pass along.

Let me know!

Dawn

[Patty S.]

Hi Al,

I think I have solved the problem. My mechanic propped the ceiling from the inside in four spots with 2 X 4's - (so I guess I will have crushed ensolite) and then when on the roof and took a heat gun to the stress points. Now it has regained it original form.

Some folks say that the sun with the props is enough to help the memory of the fiberglass regain its form. The heat gun speeds the process along.

Let me know if you want to try it, I will take a picture of the prop points and ask my mechanic if there are any little details I should pass along.

Let me know!

Dawn

Dawn, could you please post a picture & any details would be appreciated.

Thanks, Patty