Rebuilding the roof
 

I recently bought a 1971 hi lo bon voyage. It sat under a palm tree since 1991.. So it needs love. Roof leaked at one time but he fixed it.. Is there a way to remove the metal from the roof and replace all the wood and insulation from the outside instead of trying to get everything wiggled up under the frame from inside?

That's how we did it on two Hi Los. We were able to get 1/4" (just under that) marine grade ply wood. Remove everything with care! Sometimes things were stuck to the wood for whatever reason. One owner took that time to install a light switch at the entrance, bottom half, ran the wire underneath the unit and up with the wire bundle to a 120v light. Made entering at night a lot easier.
Not endorsing amazon or anything, but kits are available with everything needed to install a rubber roof (except the wood, of course).
Of course, this should all be done under cover-barn, garage, etc
Tree

Just an added note, when each piece of wood was marked and ready for install, all were removed and several eyeball inspections were made by three people looking for anything odd. When everything was ready, the top had sprayed insulation installed by a pro working under the table. I think he charged $80 - $100. Both were 24' ers. about 3 yrs ago. Insulation was trimmed off level with a hand saw, and the wood carefully installed. Seams were taped and the rubber roof installed without a hitch by three people according to utube and instructions.
Tree

Thats pretty helpful! Did you put the metal back on after all that or did the wood and rubber coating become the new roof? I am wanting the metal to go back on. Everything just seens hard to get to with the roof on. There isn't much space to wiggle the new insulation up in there.

Both units I spoke of went to the rubber roof. If you see a pin hole in your roof, the underside will be about the size of a quarter, and it just gets worse. But on this forum, I've read that getting a metal roof is possible. Don't know the cost.
Tree

My ..1990 FunLite has the ceiling sagging around the air conditioner........tackle this from inside or out side. Can ceiling panels be replaced along with insulation. No idea how roof is constructed. Complete DUMMY ! Was told by prior owner new A/C was installed before this started. Assume it's leaking, but no visible signs such as discoloration, just sagging.

rusL - is it ‘spongy’ around the ac unit? It’s possible you could have a sag there without a leak, but if it’s easy to push on the ceiling and make dents, then it’s been leaking. I think the first step is to pull the a/c unit off the roof and investigate the extent of the damage (you’ll probably need a helper, the units are kind of awkward and a little heavy).

took ceiling off was leaking. Steel beams are rusted very bad. going to weld new ones long side old ones

what do I use to maintain my aluminum roof....I know there is something that one can roll or paint onto the surface to protect the roof....

You can use white elastomeric paint. You should be able to find it in Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc. I've used it on the part of the awning that is exposed to the sun when rolled up too. It's flexible and can be applied with a roller or a brush. Henry's and KoolCoat are two brand names.

- Jack

An update on my 1990 roof problems. Ceiling was sagging around A/C, no stains. Took panels and insulation down, found steel beams in roof very rusty, a couple almost rusted through. Knocked rust off where I could bought 1" square steel beams and welded them in along side existing ones. Used Pink Styrofoam instead of loose insulation , Put up paneling to replace roof panels and painted. Stronger than when new. Looks great. Not really hard. Had a pro do the welding...took him 2 hrs used an elastomeric paint on roof and put a new seal under A/C. NOW IT'S FOR SALE

Sounds like a good re-work RusL. Nice.

Will be putting 400 watts of solar panels (glass) on the roof of my Hi-Lo. Any suggestions on what brackets to use? I want to have 2" of space under the panels.