Raising the Roof!

[BrucePerens]

My front shell roof sags, apparently due to once having snow load. The sag is mainly around and in front of the two center vent windows. Some structural members inside the roof are holding up the air conditioner, so the roof has its proper curve there. The sag makes the roof leak pretty badly in the rain - eternabond and caulk don't seem to be enough if you actually have a puddle forming on the roof. I want to fix this.

I also need a base for this antenna with a big whip on top, only when stationary, so that I can get the ham radio on the air quickly. And some wifi and VHF/UHF antennas.

So, what I am planning to do is mount two 3" x 2.5" x 0.15" x 0.26" 6061-T6 aluminum i-beams 8 feet long along the roof edges so that they rest upon the front shell walls. These should be a stable platform for mounting almost anything, distributing the load across the entire wall, and I have 4 of them on hand so I can test with them now. On the sidewalk side this goes behind the shade and won't be visible, it will be more visible on the street side. I will then cross one or two aluminum I-beams between them, resting on top of them so 3" off of the roof, maybe smaller material than the side members, in front of or between the two center roof vents. From the center of these cross-members I will put a threaded shaft through the roof to a sheet-metal piece underneath. This will be tightened to pull the roof up.

The 3x2.5" by 8' beams weigh just 16.25 pounds each, so I think I can do this within the range left in my springs. I'll tape all of the pieces in place and adjust the roof before I do the work, just to make sure.

The Winegard Sensar won't work with this stuff in the way, so I'll be removing it. There are other antennas that would work.

[BrucePerens]

I've started to install braces to raise the center of my sagging roof. In the photos below, the Trailmanor is covered with ash from the California fires and in sore need of a bath. Here is roughly how the braces will work, with the pieces not yet installed:


Threaded shafts will extend to a sheet metal piece placed on the inside ceiling around the vent window openings, and pull up on that.

Here is how I am shaping the beams so that the cover won't snag on them. This was my first try without marking anything, cut with a fiber wheel, and smoothed with an angle grinder, sanding wheels, and a foam hand sanding block. Aluminum sands really well.

[wbmiller3]

That sanded piece is really nice looking, like an 1950s hood ornament.

[BrucePerens]

I was able to raise the sagging roof, it definitely has a proper arch now. I think this added about 67 pounds to the front shell, as the aluminum beams are each specified to weigh about 16 pounds. I don't think I can recommend this to anyone else, as it maxes out the torsion bars. The back of the shell pops up when released, but the front not at all. I have the torsion bars from the 3124 that Kyle parted out a while back, and if any pairs are larger than the ones I have in place, I'll swap them in under my front shell. I've not measured them with a caliper yet. A lighter and more modern air conditioner than the 2004 Coleman might take some weight off of the front shell, too.

There's a nice stable frame to mount some ham radio antennas now.

[Bill]

Nice work! I'm not sure I would have had the confidence to do it.

Bill

[Craigrrr]

Makes a nice kayak rack now!

[Kentmeyer89]

Was there any further luck here?

[Bill]

Kent -

You might try a PM to the guys who tried a solution, or an email if they included an address in their profile. They might not come back here to the topic, and so would not see your query.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

....especially considering he hasn't been on the forum in about a year.

Dave

[Shane826]

I reached out to Bruce about this like 4 years back. He said the scaffold worked, but it had to stay presently to hold the roof in place. I do believe he has since sold (or junked?) his TrailManor.