1980's Four Wheel Camper Fleet Remodel Help and Discussion

[patperry]

Last week my fiance and I drove to Northern California from Portland, Oregon to pick up a 1980's fleet model Four Wheel Camper. From the photos on craigslist and talking to the seller, the fleet looked like it was in pretty good condition. One of the biggest draws are the new canvas on it and a decent interior remodel. We paid a little more than I think it was worth for a little over $4,000.00. The exterior and roof needed some love but we thought a little paint could fix that up. After driving home through some rain we got home and the inside of the camper was pretty wet. The headliner over the sleeping area was soaked and so were the corners in this area. Pretty obvious this is a major concern to fix ASAP. Like many other campers on this forum we were super excited with our new purchase and then after getting home we realized the amount of work that needed to be done on this thing. So here is the camper and I'm hoping to share the remodel with everyone on this page.

The biggest questions and help I'm looking for is the roof. Below are some photos of the current roof, I call it the "paper mache" roof. haha.

After talking to 4WC crew they quoted me at around 5k for a new rebuild. That's a bit out of budget so wanted to try to fix it on our own to start. The 4WC guys recommended replacing all the screws with new neoprene washers and scraping all the silicone off the role and replacing with a polyeurethane of some sort. I'm hoping someone here can recommend something to make this roof last a little longer before having to spend a lot of money on it at 4WC.

Anyone know what this putty is and why this plate is here? It does't seem like a sound system to me?

Major leaking in the corners, anyone know anything to bombproof these?

Any and all insight would be appreciated. This is my first post. I plan to post my progress on this remodel on this thread. Thanks everyone!

 

[BBZ]

Well.. I have been through 2 of these and have seen worse..

First of all, the plate is probably to cover cracks around the screw holes. Mine had numerous.

Getting a new roof was not an option for me, so I had to make it work. I used large rubber washed and siliconed them directly to the roof and then put screws in. I chose to use a Roofing product made for Flat roofs (I own a roofing business) called Gaco Roof. You roll in on like paint, costs about $50 per gallon. I used two coats and it has been fine for two years. Adds a little weight, but well worth it to not have to worry about it in my opinion.

I would clear all the caulk on all the roof and clean really well before doing anything.. Re caulk all the edges and you should be good.

Good luck!

 

[patperry]

Well.. I have been through 2 of these and have seen worse..

First of all, the plate is probably to cover cracks around the screw holes. Mine had numerous.

Getting a new roof was not an option for me, so I had to make it work. I used large rubber washed and siliconed them directly to the roof and then put screws in. I chose to use a Roofing product made for Flat roofs (I own a roofing business) called Gaco Roof. You roll in on like paint, costs about $50 per gallon. I used two coats and it has been fine for two years. Adds a little weight, but well worth it to not have to worry about it in my opinion.

I would clear all the caulk on all the roof and clean really well before doing anything.. Re caulk all the edges and you should be good.

Good luck!

BBZ thanks for the recommendation and positive encouragement! The team at Four Wheel Camper recommend to not use a silicone product, curious why they would say this but that stuff does look pretty bombproof. Also curious what material you used for your headliner and insulation? We will replace both as there is a good amount of mold.

I enjoyed your thread of the 90's Granby you have rebuilt, awesome rig.

 

[BBZ]

BBZ thanks for the recommendation and positive encouragement! The team at Four Wheel Camper recommend to not use a silicone product, curious why they would say this but that stuff does look pretty bombproof. Also curious what material you used for your headliner and insulation? We will replace both as there is a good amount of mold.

I enjoyed your thread of the 90's Granby you have rebuilt, awesome rig.

Thanks, turned out to be much older than a 90s.. but its pretty much all new now!

I don't know why they would say that, many on this forum have used similar products. I haven't found those guys all that helpful, when I recently asked for advice on sewing the canvas, they told me to take it to a local upholstery shop.. lol..

for headliner I used marine grade perforated headling (sailrite.com) and for insulation, I chose the rigid foam one inch, you can cut it easy and fits in place. Doing the headliner is going to be challenging with the roof still on, but I am sure it can be done!

Lots of great resources on this site..

 

[Vic Harder]

Silicone is not UV resistant. Stuff made for roofs is much better. I used 3m 4200 and 5200 on my screws. Cleaned off the area first with brake cleaner and/or rubbing alcohol.

Some of the goop you have on their now looks like it could be Dicor Lap Sealant. It is "self leveling".... aka, runny.

I bought new ceiling liner from ATC. One piece is big enough for the whole ceiling - no seams! and I installed it without taking the roof apart.

 

[BBZ]

Silicone is not UV resistant. Stuff made for roofs is much better. I used 3m 4200 and 5200 on my screws. Cleaned off the area first with brake cleaner and/or rubbing alcohol.

Some of the goop you have on their now looks like it could be Dicor Lap Sealant. It is "self leveling".... aka, runny.

I bought new ceiling liner from ATC. One piece is big enough for the whole ceiling - no seams! and I installed it without taking the roof apart.

I am referring to a silicone based Roofing product, specifically made for roofs.. (Gaco Roof).. its not just silicone..

Man, doing a ceiling with one piece sounds hard!

 

[patperry]

I am referring to a silicone based Roofing product, specifically made for roofs.. (Gaco Roof).. its not just silicone..

Man, doing a ceiling with one piece sounds hard!

That Gaco Roof does seem like a good option as this roof has a lot of tiny cracks throughout the surface. Definitely might need an new aluminum top eventually but hopeful to get a couple more years out of it before then. I plan to take the roof off for the headliner and wire for a Fantastic Fan.

Looks like a lot of people on here use the 3m 4200 and 5200 for the screws. Anybody have any neoprene material/washers they prefer for in between the screws and roof. Or is the neoprene necessary?

I appreciate the help BBZ and Vic Harder.

 

[patperry]

Ended up spending the 4th of July working on the Camper here is some photos of the roof repair:

So much mold! Was really weird someone added a headliner over the old headliner, so ripped out both and found so much mold.

Acetone project took almost 2 days!

Rewired everything with 14 gauge wire for the 12 volt electric system. Going to add three LED lights and wired for a Fantastic Fan.

Added all new insulation. Went with the rigid foam instead of the classic stuff.

Freshcoat of paint and resealed all the screws with 3M 5200 Sealant.

A new headliner! Used a contact adhesive to put it on. Also made some new battenstrips and gave them a little spray paint and screwed them in.

Securing the trim and adding the final sealant.

The new inside roof has been all the difference.

Platform for the truckbed to raise the camper off the sides of the bed.

A little paint on the underside.

 

[hebegebe]

Ended up spending the 4th of July working on the Camper here is some photos of the roof repair:



So much mold! Was really weird someone added a headliner over the old headliner, so ripped out both and found so much mold.




Acetone project took almost 2 days!






Rewired everything with 14 gauge wire for the 12 volt electric system. Going to add three LED lights and wired for a Fantastic Fan.




Added all new insulation. Went with the rigid foam instead of the classic stuff.



Freshcoat of paint and resealed all the screws with 3M 5200 Sealant.



A new headliner! Used a contact adhesive to put it on. Also made some new battenstrips and gave them a little spray paint and screwed them in.



Securing the trim and adding the final sealant.









The new inside roof has been all the difference.



Platform for the truckbed to raise the camper off the sides of the bed.



A little paint on the underside.

Looks like you did a great job! Some of these projects you just have to keep chipping away them until they’re done!!!

 

[BBZ]

Nice! Looking Good!

 

[WillTheThri11]

Curious, how does the roof lifting mechanism work? it looks like it's not factory and that could lead to misalignment when you lower the roof which can give you issues with water intrusion while driving. Could just be the photos but one of your before pics with the roof down seems to show a significant overhang of the roof to the camper. I know folks have had issues with driving in the rain but not while popped up that are usually attributed to how it is held down in front.

Otherwise, I agree, way to tackle that roof!

 

[Abbiennormal]

This looks fantastic. I am about to tackle my 1985 Grandby roof to replace insulation and run new wires for fan and lights. Thanks for the pics!

 

[Andesite]

Good work! Thanks for documenting. I'll soon be tackling the roof on my Hawk.

 

[LuckyDan]

If you haven’t already done so, you may want to consider adding D bulb weatherstripping to the lower top trim of your Fleet. While I don’t doubt your roof issues, you do mention it getting wet in the corners while driving, that was a somewhat common complaint with the older units. The cure is to add the weatherstripping across the front and down the sides a third of the way or so. I’ll guess it is still standard on the new units, it’s what they were doing last time I looked at a new one.

If you dig into the archived threads, there are one or two describing it.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[m.r.h.]

I am curious what headliner you ordered and from where.

 

[BBZ]

I am curious what headliner you ordered and from where.

I don't know what he used.. but get a marine perforated headliner.. its mold/mildew resistant.. got my from sailrite

 

[m.r.h.]

I don't know what he used.. but get a marine perforated headliner.. its mold/mildew resistant.. got my from sailrite

I looked at sailright, found the stuff. Was surprised by the cost. I could only find perforated with added foam. At over $30/yard I may just put in the elbow grease to clean mine up. I have a small area that I need to patch. Thought about replacing the headliner with out taking the entire roof off. So I may wait until I need to do a mayor overhaul of the entire roof. However, I did find perforated with out foam for like $12/yard so I may go with that. Just curious what folks use.

 

[Vic Harder]

I got mine from ATC... it was not expensive.

 

[BBZ]

I looked at sailright, found the stuff. Was surprised by the cost. I could only find perforated with added foam. At over $30/yard I may just put in the elbow grease to clean mine up. I have a small area that I need to patch. Thought about replacing the headliner with out taking the entire roof off. So I may wait until I need to do a mayor overhaul of the entire roof. However, I did find perforated with out foam for like $12/yard so I may go with that. Just curious what folks use.

Maybe it wasn't sailrite.. but I did not use the foam backed stuff.. 12/yard seems about right..only needed 8 yards for my roof on a grandby I think... so thats under 100 plus shipping..

 

[m.r.h.]

I calculated 8 yards for my keystone. 12 /yard is reasonable. Double that I was thinking about working harder to remove all of the glue residue from the carpet that got glued over the original headliner. Too late now though. Tore it all out today!