2006 Jay Flight 29BHS rotting roof replacement

[JaycoJake06]

So I have some questions and hope to do some brainstorming with this thread. I'm new to forums so this will be an experiment in posting as well as brainstorming my Jayco issues. This is a 2006 Jay Flight 29BHS I bought from a private owner, I think he's the 2nd owner.

I live in south central Wisconsin, bought the trailer early September 2020 knowing it had a roof problem, used it twice with good results and dug into the roof project in late November 2020. The weather has been mild into December, yesterday it reached a sunny high of 55 degrees but this evening, Dec. 11th, it's 33 and snowing. Winter has arrived.

I removed the entire rotted roof membrane and sheathing, roof trim rails and siding corners. The trusses and framing aren't too bad but need some repair. I need to make some decisions about how far to go with "restoration". I plan to post a number of pictures in this thread but am unsure of what my results will be. So, here goes. This first pic is of the trailer in my barn put to bed for the winter.

[JaycoJake06]

I see the post and pic worked, now to continue. I'm struggling to make some decisions. The overall goal is to have a trailer ready for a 3-4 month trip to Alaska in summer/fall of 2022 in a caravan with other RVers in my family. Bought this one as a bunk house in order to have grandkids join my wife and I on trips to the Wisconsin northwoods but I think it's bigger than what I want to travel to Alaska alone as she has signaled she won't go along. Therein lies my dilemma, do I put a lot of effort and cash in this one to make it really right, or do the minimum and replace/repair the obvious roof and corner problems and then replace the trailer with something smaller?

So - while I have the roof off and the walls opened, now is the best time to repair walls and what-not as well. I want to do that as efficiently as possible without making a major restoration out of this! And maybe I'll just take this one to Alaska.

These next pics are of the roof after washing it with bleach and the interior bedroom ceiling. The ceiling sag is barely noticeable. There are a few very small similar ripples above the rear bunk and that ceiling sag is virtually non noticeable.

[JaycoJake06]

It's late November here in southeastern Wisconsin, temperatures are well above normal so I dug into the project anxious to see what I'll find. I've been watching videos on YouTube, one series by RVRoofInstall.com is especially enlightening. Now that I have scaffolding built around the front third of the trailer where the worst damage is I rip into it.
Nope, it's not pretty. Rot looks like fire damage and is just as bad! I was amazed at the amount of moisture present and the crude method of terminating the roof membrane where it meets the front wall. Nope! Copious amounts of caulk just don't do the job!
If one looks closely at the edges of the aluminum it almost looks like there's an electrolysis going on that's corroding the aluminum. I suspect I may have stray voltage, maybe I should remove all the insulation and inspect what wires I can see.

[JaycoJake06]

I debated removing the entire roof as the center portion looked and seemed solid. That membrane is really glued down to last! Where the wood wasn't rotted there was no easy pulling this membrane up. I used a heat gun on it and that worked to a degree but was slow going and frustrating as the warmed roofing tore easily. I dropped that experiment quickly and went on to removing the antennas, A/C unit, bath fan and skylight. While walking around up there I heard and felt crackling of failing wood underfoot. I'm 160 pounds, healthy roof deck shouldn't be doing this. Rot appeared at the roof openings for the various components. After removing the components I went to the roof edges and sliced the membrane all along the edges, was able to pull up membrane all along the edges easily because those edges were rotted. Enough of this. I went to snapping chalk lines along rafter edges and slicing the roof into sections with a circle saw. Had to be careful as the roof was actually screwed down pretty good, where it wasn't rotted it was secure and I did some damage to a few rafter pulling the 1" screws out. All fixable, just a good thing they weren't glued as well as screwed! The roof at the rear of the trailer was as bad as the front, just didn't extend as far. Another poor roof membrane termination method back there.

[JaycoJake06]

Once the decking was pulled I cleaned up much of the small debris with a shop vac, and there sure was a lot of it! Went to removing the long side termination bars (rails?) and sure saw a lot of rusty screws. Where there's rust, there's moisture. Many of the screws wouldn't back out on their own because they had lost much or all of their threads and just pulled right out. Obviously they don't seal against moisture! None of them were caulked, just hidden under the cheesy plastic trim strip that snaps into the rail. All of the trim stripping had dirt, algae and debris under it, some even were wet. This trailer's been in my barn now for over a month. The wetness I'm finding has been seeping into the roof and walls like a smoldering fire for years!

[JaycoJake06]

The first week of December has come to an end and I'm using the last day of 50 degree sunny warmth to finish opening up the trailer. Snow and cold is coming tomorrow! I removed the four corner rails and gently tugged the wall paneling back to peer inside. For the most part the rear seems OK, minor repairable damage that I'm hoping won't require removal of that rear siding. The front, though, is a different story.

[JaycoJake06]

These are pics of the right front corner - the worst place I'm aware of right now.

When I first brought the trailer home I cleaned up both broken interior front corners of the front pass-through storage space and glued replacement wood next to the rotted corners in order to fasten pieces of 1/8" dairy board to cover the holes. That wood is visible in a couple of pics of the right front corner. I'm leaning toward removing the front siding but am reluctant as I'm working on this with no help. Maybe I an find some kind of wood epoxy/putty I could pack into those corners, clamp 'em with corner clamps until they set, then replace the corner moldings with new butyl tape and caulk. I don't know, sounds pretty hack, but that may be all this is worth. It's not like the trailer is falling to pieces.

That's where I'm at right now, roofing and corners are off, end wall panels slightly open. I'm hoping it will dry over the winter and next spring I'll have a decision made as to how much deeper I should dive. I encourage anyone to offer suggestions!

[JaycoJake06]

I took advantage of a 37 degree day earlier in the week to remove the siding from the front of the trailer. I was dreading what I would find.

The siding is put on in sections, beginning at the bottom. They mate with the top straight edge slipping into an "S" bend in the bottom of the adjoining piece with no caulk or glue. The inside edge of the "S" is longer than the outside of the "S" and that's where the staples are placed holding the siding to each stud. This is hidden under the straight edge of the adjoing piece as it's slipped into the "S". I used a semi-sharp small screwdriver to pry each staple out far enough to grab it with a small channel lock pliers and pull it out. Had to be patient to avoid bending or tearing up the siding edges. Actually a good design, no signs of leaking at any joints.

Once I got the siding off I was surprised and am encouraged to find that the framing had looked much worse than it turned out to be. Will require some creative wood replacement but thankfully the floor and walls aren't damaged. The rot appears to be limited to the outermost corner stringers/nailers at both corners. The right front corner was still very wet, the stringers at both corners came out in crumbling pieces.
Sure looks ugly, though!

[JaycoJake06]

I removed the rotted 2"x1/2" "stringers" from each corner, the inside wall paneling edges were sandwiched in between the "stud" and stringer at each corner. I had to be careful not to damage that paneling. The studs are OK except for at the lower portion of the left front corner.

I plan to remove an d replace rotted framing wherever I can get to it and treat the dry rot wherever I find it with Dr. Rot and build up the bad places in the lower right front corner stud with some plastic wood, then install new stringers. In order to replace the bad stud I would need to take siding off the long side, I don't think that's worth doing. The new wood stringers should be plenty strong enough.

It will have to sit like this for the next couple of months until weather warms in spring. Thankfully the window didn't leak a bit and that framing was fine.

[JaycoJake06]

So there she'll sit for the winter. I removed the rear corner moldings and poked around looking for rot, thankfully the corner framing is still solid. I dropped the window back in place and put some temporary paneling in the storage compartment along with mouse traps. Hoping for an early spring!

Happy New Year!

[RichCarter]

Holy smokes! I have to hand it to you. You've taken on quite a project. Good luck with it.
I've used an epoxy product on my boat that works well with rotted wood, Git Rot by BoatLife. It's expensive and is only useful in small areas. If you can repair a small spot and thereby avoid pulling a bunch of stuff apart, this might help you. As an example, if you have a damaged interior panel that is luan plywood with a vinyl covering, you might be able to save it by pulling it out and laying it on a flat surface. Coat the backside with Git Rot and let it harden. You can also fill in the corner of a joist that is rot damaged.

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by RichCarter

I've used an epoxy product on my boat that works well with rotted wood, Git Rot by BoatLife. It's expensive and is only useful in small areas. You can also fill in the corner of a joist that is rot damaged.

Hey thanks for the tip, Rich!! Sounds like exactly what I need, I'll look into it.

Happy New Year!

Chuck

[ALJO]

JaycoJay you have a nice challenge, but when you do a good job, you and family will have a lot of pleasure from your RV, and also the joy - you did it.
Roof and foundation are the main points in the structure of an RV. If the RV industry cut corners on those two structures of design, RV's will fail. Comparable with the earlier Mobile Homes, which also had the wrap around roofs this design failed also majorly.
It is usual the weight factor of the RV which determines a lot in the design of the RV.
The consumer doesn't want to lug around a heavy RV, which will raise the cost of fuel and need a heavy truck for hauling, while he only uses the RV maybe 30 days a year. That's why half ton trucks are popular, they still can tow and drive like a Caddy.
Nevertheless a consumer pays a lot of money for an RV (for many used no more that the 30 days), therefore roof design and durability should be the main priority for the manufacturer.
When we redo roofs we use 1/4" plywood and proper durable fasteners, also the overlap is proper sealed for water intrusion. The gutters installed with lasting butyl tape and SS-screws. This adds about 1/3th more roof weight to the RV, which has to be deducted from the carrying capacity. But the roof will last (assumable) a lot longer than the original factory roof. We replaced roofs only 2 years old with a lot of wood decay.

Vehicles are based on a 8 to 10 years lifespan, it seems RV's are no different. Designs and styles change all the time, so people stay in the vicious circle of buying.

[homer1959]

The sad part ? 15 years later they use the same sealant, the same methods and all that to achieve the very same result.....

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Nevertheless a consumer pays a lot of money for an RV (for many used no more that the 30 days), therefore roof design and durability should be the main priority for the manufacturer.
When we redo roofs we use 1/4" plywood and proper durable fasteners, also the overlap is proper sealed for water intrusion. The gutters installed with lasting butyl tape and SS-screws. This adds about 1/3th more roof weight to the RV, which has to be deducted from the carrying capacity. But the roof will last (assumable) a lot longer than the original factory roof. We replaced roofs only 2 years old with a lot of wood decay.

Makes my blood boil! SS screws would have helped tremendously, oh but they cost a few more bucks. I'll stop with my rant there.
Actually, if my memory serves me right, the plywood Jayco used on my trailer is 1/4". That's what I planned to use.

At the front of the trailer, the roofing membrane on the trailer was simply layed over a non-pressure treated 2x4, then the aluminum siding lays over it, a strip of butyl tape is applied to the plastic "termination bar" then the bar is fastened over the siding and the membrane using galvanized screws on 6" (or so) centers that are simply screwed into the wood below. The rear is done in a similar manner. Then a wheelbarrow load of caulk is poured all over to seal it. Now THERE'S some engineering, huh?
I've been installing inground vinyl liner swimming pools over the course of my lifetime. We keep water in our pools without caulk, don't see why keeping water out would be a whole lot different. We seal the vinyl liner against walk-in steps with a faceplate method along the lines of the termination bars they used front and rear with a couple of major differences:

1) There is a firm, smooth backing on the pool's step face, either the flat face of the acrylic (plastic or fiberglas) step itself or a stainless steel bar firmly glued and riveted to the step face. A rubber gasket is glued to the face of this surface, the vinyl liner sits against the gasket on its back side, then a faceplate strip and gasket similar to Jayco's termination bar strip is screwed to the step face on the front (wet) side of the liner. There are raised thin ridges on the faceplate that run the length of the faceplate. These add pressure to the vinyl liner that finalizes the seal against the backing.

2) All screws used on all poolside faceplates are OF COURSE stainless steel and step faceplate screws are typically on approx. 2" centers. No caulk is needed or used. Our pools don't leak (at least not at faceplates).

So, when I install the membrane I plan to design my own termination methods front and rear, replace the rusty galvanized junk screws with stainless, and take my time in sealing this membrane like I would a vinyl pool liner. I hope to find better quality replacement termination bars as well. I'm tempted to use swimming pool faceplate stock but I'm not sure of UV resistance when used on a roof.

Originally Posted by ALJO

We replaced roofs only 2 years old with a lot of wood decay.

Are you in the RV biz? The roofing biz? I planned to use TPO, 45 or 60 mil, build curbs for all of the penetrations and weld in TPO curb flashings. I believe GAF offers those types of flashings, I need to do the research. More work and cost, but hey - I'm retired! I like the idea of welding the TPO instead of relying on caulk. Vinyl pool liners are welded at the seams and it's exceptionally rare to have a bad seam.

Thanks for the feedback! I need all the brainstorming I can get!!

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by homer1959

The sad part ? 15 years later they use the same sealant, the same methods and all that to achieve the very same result.....

Yep. Ya gotta wonder....I've been involved in the swimming pool industry forever and I thought THEY were backwards! It's all about the money.

Isn't the definition of insanity "the act of trying the same thing over and over again, each time expecting different results"?

[Jeffur]

Nasty, nasty, nasty

[ALJO]

As a tradesman you know what you're doing and the reward will pay off. As an all-round tradesman I worked a lot on RV's and know very well all the problems. Now I'm semi-retired and work only seasonal. I do the walk through's with a smile (while I know they'll be back for service). I do still trouble shooting on all RV systems. Even a RV dealer will not catch all the problems before they leave the lot. There's a Intake WT - Shop ready WT and Sale WT and after people use the RV a couple times, they still find more.

[JaycoJake06]

It's been awhile since I posted last, it's a rainy day here so I figured I'd update my roof replacement saga. The 2006 29BHS I acquired Sept of 2020 became a project, had been neglected for a long time and was pretty wet where you couldn't see it but could smell it. The interior is great, everything works except seals keeping water from inside the roof and walls. These pictures show what sent me on this repair quest and (not in chronological order) the repairs. Thankfully, after a few hundred hours of labor and many more than a few hundred dollars in parts and supplies, I'm happily using the trailer.
I was (and still am) a bit "cranked" at the way the roof was designed at the front on the trailer. Very maintenance and caulk intensive, things this trailer never saw. I think I caught it in time, had this thing gone another couple years with no maintenance it may not have been worth saving.
I redesigned the roof termination front and rear and fabricated what I needed.

[JaycoJake06]

I don't mean to generally bad mouth the Jayco brand, my 2006 Jay Flight seems to be well designed and built....except portions of the roof. Anyway, I digress....
The trailer sat in my barn all winter opened up to dry out, by March it was pretty dry. I bought an inexpensive moisture meter and did my best to check the trailer out. There are threads on this subject elsewhere, its not a "sure thing" to look for moisture, but using it in context is useful. This is the meter I used - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



After reading many posts and what not, I decided to use Concrobium as a mold control - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1
I removed all of the roof insulation earlier, mixed solution according to instructions in a one gallon garden pump sprayer to spray everywhere I saw black, then let it dry for a week before the next step.



By early April the weather was warming up and I bought three different epoxy products from the Rot Doctor:
1) A thin epoxy paint like product to brush on to the ceiling and siding paneling from the rear through the open walls and ceilings as well as deteriorating framing I didn't replace. This stuff sets fast! I had to move right along!
2) An epoxy glue I applied to the underside of the ceiling joists and wall studs to re-attach the paneling, as well as butt joints and so on where I rebuilt framing. Also fairly quick setting.
3) An epoxy putty that I used to fill deformations in deteriorating framing and elsewhere.

I talked to the "Rot Doctor" himself over the phone, he was very helpful. The website is also very helpful - https://www.rotdoctor.com/