Roof Sag

[jjsgonefishing]

I bought a '05 Jayco 23B Featherlite and noticed the roof was sagging below the air conditioner. It looks like the whole middle panel of the roof was actually replaced. The dealership advised there was a leak in the roof at one point but it had been fixed. I was assured that they had tested the repair using a pressure washer.

We've been through several hard rains and I hosed the roof off tonight and still no leak; so I'm satisfied that there is not a leak, however, after a lot of reading I am certain that if I don't maintain the roof properly I will get a leak.

I read an article in Trailer Life (May '14) about replacing a gasket around the air conditioner and it mentioned that "over the years the weight from the air conditioner can cause the roof to sag and make it difficult to stop the leak, even if there is a new seal in place (p. 110)."

The article mentions that the area around the gasket can be shimmed, but my roof has an extended area that is sagging. Any suggestions on how to level the roof so I am not collecting water under the air conditioner?

Is this a job I can do by myself or do I need to have a professional level the roof?

[Jmooney]

Sounds like a big job.

Two ways to get there I guess: remove ceiling from inside TT, or remove roof.

[RVhiker]

Somewhere - sorry I don't remember where - I read about a method to repair a roof sagging under an air condtioner. The solution was to work a shim of appropriate thickness between the plywood and the roof membrane, thus raising the AC and allowing water to better drain. It required loosening the rubber roof in the areas where the shim would go, and gluing it back down onto the shim after the shim was inserted and fastening the shim in place somehow. It sounds rather demanding in practice to do this, but I can see how it would work.

[jjsgonefishing]

Ouch. Thanks for info.

[Jmooney]

Article on how to shim around the A/C unit, but he mentions extended area of sag from water damage. Not sure,you could get out far enough.

[sirrealone]

Have you gone to the Problems & Issues forums, and looked at the first thread under there? It pertains to exactly this issue with the hybrids. I have an '04 23B and when I took it in a couple of years ago for a checkup, they found exactly the issue described in the thread, which is basically that Jayco didn't tighten the bolts snugly enough around the A/C unit. They tightened them enough so that the contraption didn't fall to the middle of the floor, but not so tight that eventually it allowed for the unit to start pushing down, creating sag.

My dealer fixed mine, but said that there probably wasn't much to with the roof other than keep an eye on it.

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2880

[jjsgonefishing]

Thank-you srrealone.....I will go that section and read that article.