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Old 09-26-2013, 05:16 PM   #1
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Tree fell on camper...new roof question

During a storm, a pine tree snapped and fell on the T2363. It is damaged but we were lucky at the same time. We didn't see it happen but we were home. It appears to us that the tree snapped and hit the roof of the camper when it was parallel to the ground. There does not appear to be any damage to the sides. Branches pierced the roof about 6 times. The biggest hole is about 6" in diameter. The branches went all the way through the ceiling. There is some water damage to the carpet but the tree hit just in front of the sofa where there is nothing but carpet below. It is stained and will need replacement. Being home, we were able to get all the water out before it caused further damage. The window shade is stained. The awning was damaged. We are insured and think we have tracked down the shop we will use for repair. What I am wondering is if it is possible to replace the roof with metal instead of the rubber stuff. Is that possible or did that have to be done at the factory? We have the smooth sides.
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Old 09-26-2013, 07:24 PM   #2
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There should be no reason, not to have an aluminum roof installed. Kitty ordered a 2006 T-2499 from the factory with an aluminum roof.
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Old 09-26-2013, 08:00 PM   #3
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I have wanted one every since I saw that image. It looks beautiful. I just wonder if that changed the way it is constructed in anyway. The first guy who came to appraise the damage says it can't be done because of the way the side walls are constructed. The second guy said they have never replaced a rubber roof with a metal one but would take it on. I do not live in a good place for RV repair of this nature.
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Old 09-26-2013, 08:36 PM   #4
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You could possibly get a million reasons why it will not work. I don't know too many technicians that are able to replace rubber with aluminum. It has been a very long time, since aluminum was the accepted norm.
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Old 09-27-2013, 07:30 PM   #5
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We just had our rubber roof replaced with an aluminum roof. No issues so far.
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Old 09-27-2013, 10:18 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by obonaven View Post
We just had our rubber roof replaced with an aluminum roof. No issues so far.
That's good news. Do you have any pictures? We take our trailer in tomorrow but they have a 2 month waiting list. So it will be awhile before we get to go camping again...and the weather is perfect all of the sudden. Was there a big price difference?
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Old 09-28-2013, 06:17 AM   #7
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Sorry but no. I basically looks like the pic above, but they painted it white. Not that you'll ever really see it but it looks just like the original.

We have a 1999 25' TT. When it was about 5 years old a tree branch fell on the front, left corner of the roof and punctured it. We had Camping World repair it (NEVER LET CAMPING WORLD TOUCH YOUR TRAILER!!!! THEY DO CRAP WORK!). Then about three years later I found myself constantly fixing the leaks along the seam where they made their repair. Finally this year it got too bad and we had lots of interior roof damages as well. I heard about this local guy who does this all the time. We took our's in in the beginning of May and did not get it back until the end of July due to some issues he had with two employees (One was let go and another was in a bad accident and unable to work) so they got real backed up.

We paid a lot of money to have it fixed (A LOT!), probably two times what we could sell it for. We never even discussed a new rubber roof. I'll never get a rubber roof again. We had the entire exterior roof replaced with what he described as "a tractor Trailer quality roof - Thick)", all the old roof vents and TV antenna, all the insulation replaced, some roof rafters replaced, and about half of the interior roof replaced. We thought long and hard about doing this repair. When we bought this camper we ordered it from the factory, with some custom cabinetry options, and its been in our driveway 3 days after it was manufactured. We know it's entire history. Every piece of dirt, dent, scratch came from us . We were not in a position to buy another brand new one and if we spent the $ to buy a used one who knows what issues we'd inherit. The interior of our's is in excellent condition. So we decided to go for it. We are happy with our decision regardless of the money we spent.

Sorry for the long reply. Good Luck!
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Old 09-28-2013, 06:44 AM   #8
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Thanks so much for the info. We have had our trailer since new also. It is in excellent condition.....well, except the roof and we nfeel like you feel. Our dirt, our holding tanks etc. It is perfect for us. We won't get rid of it until we are through with camping. The repair estimate that the first place gave us is around $4600 to replace the roof (with rubber), replace the damaged ceiling panel, and replace the awning fabric. We are taking it to another shop to have the repairs done. We know nothing much about either place except one has no waiting list and the other has a 2 month waiting list. We are going with the 2 month waiting list. We figure it's like that for a reason.
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Old 09-30-2013, 05:58 AM   #9
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Choices for Roofing

Don't be too quick to eliminate rubber--there are good reasons why it is used on RVs and large industrial buildings as well. I don't recall anyone on this site ever having a problem except with storm damage and suspect 99% of RVers don't have a problem either. RVs aren't built like houses--any roof including the very thin Al sheet you would get on a new roof can be penetrated by tree branches. The trick is to do a reasonable repair to protect against reasonable conditions.

Rubber roofs have a bad rap mostly because they cause black streaks. EPDM is black and it's used black on industrial buildings. But the RV industry puts a thin white coat on it that oxidizes easily and creates black streaks. There are other rubber roofs out there besides EPDM that are completely white to begin with. Some RV companies use them some don't. See Custom RV Parts, RV Parts Manufacturer, and RV Accessories at All-Rite
which actually has a GA plant for several options including Al if that's the way you really want to go.

Sunline had a well deserved reputation for building a lousy roof. Don't let the insurance company try to replace that roof. There's nothing wrong with the rafters, but get a full walk on roof--at least 3/8 plywood, not OSB. We have 3/8 on ours and it's good, but some use 1/2--more weight though. You will also get a much better rubber membrane install with the solid plywood base than the loosey goosey floating on air install that Sunline used.

Any decent RV shop should be able to competently fix your roof. In my "small city" area we have at least one independent RV shop that specializes in collision and water damage. That's the kind of place you want, where guys replace a roof or two every week instead of an RV dealer that might do a couple a year. We also have one very large RV dealer with their own collision shop that I would use too. Don't let them bluff you on the Al--make sure they know how to do it--and either way, get a walk on roof.

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Old 12-19-2013, 12:15 PM   #10
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Well, we finally go the 2363 back today...total bill $7400. Ouch! We went with plywood decking and rubber. I am really disappointed in the workmanship inside the trailer. It looks like a high school kid did it. Really lousy. They ruined the carpet. I thought it was debris, but I think it's glue. Does anyone know if the linoleum runs under the carpet in front of the sofa. The carpet has to go. If there is linoleum under it, maybe I could use a vinyl repair kid to fill in the little holes from the carpet nailer.
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