Cracked Roof

[lauriescott]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum... Hello!

I have acquired (what I initially thought was) a rather shabby Bongo, that in actually fact is not as bad as I thought; New tires and a jolly good clean up will transform it into a stunning machine!

The biggest issue that it suffers from however, is the cracked roof.

The story begins with the previous owner on a campsite in Cornwall. Arriving after a long journey on the joyful A303, his first thought is to pop the roof and set up camp forgetting he has several surf boards on top; This doesn't go too well when he presses the button. Fast forward to just before the journey home and surprise surprise, the roof won't shut! "I know" he says to himself, "I'll climb up there and jump up on down it until it's closed".

Skip several months and after a few drunken chats in the pub, I find myself the owner of the aforementioned vehicle...

The questions I put to you...

Has anyone seen this happen before?

Is this a straightforward 'patch-up' repair with a fibreglass kit?

Should I splint it with something?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Pics at the link. https://www.flickr.com/photos/135174216 ... res/7v91Hf

[Bob]

Hi, and a warm welcome to BF.

That'll teach you to go drinking the 'Good idea water'.

Roof aside, it does look pretty good, though.

This has happened before but of course I can't remember what was sorted. That's quite a crack there so maybe a replacement roof would be best.

George at Bongo Spares is well thought of for used bits.

[lauriescott]

Hi, and a warm welcome to BF.

That'll teach you to go drinking the 'Good idea water'.

Roof aside, it does look pretty good, though.

This has happened before but of course I can't remember what was sorted. That's quite a crack there so maybe a replacement roof would be best.

George at Bongo Spares is well thought of for used bits.

Hi Bob!

Yes, it's amazing how much a few hops can change your perspective... Once sober, I was happy with the purchase which is the main thing, however!

I've just had a look at Bongo Spares, thanks for the heads up. A new roof is definitely an option, but I'll need to have exhausted every option first!

Thanks.

[dobby]

Did the hops refer to hopping on the roof or in the beer consumed!

The roof is very heavy so you'll need a hoist/ gantry to do it or some sort of frame. I've read post on here about it. Might be worth a chat with a boat repairer who does fibreglass

[g8dhe]

That crack is so far towards the rear that trying to repair it is going to be very difficult with all the weight of the front section trying to cause it to bend and crack in the future! I think I would investigate replacing the roof completely first of all before even considering trying to repair the crack, but if you do then its going need some significant support and strengthening around the crack!!

[helen&tony]

Hi
Yes...repairable.....once you take the roof off and repair it properly, and I could manage that...but I wouldn't!...I'd pop along and get a new one!...as Geoff says...too near the rear to repair in situ, so once it's off, no contest...replacement.
Cheers
Helen

[Dabs]

Dreamwarriors roof cracked in exactly the same place some years back now.......I think he repaired it but something also tells me he ended up getting another roof put on at a later date...also be aware that the wormdrive could be damaged as well they can get pulled out of its anchor point !!

Drop Dreamwarrior (Mike) a PM he may be able to give you some pointers as to a repair!!

Good Luck

[Tessie]

My roof cracked in exactly the same place when the motor at that side came loose from the mountings and pressure was foolishly put on the roof to try to close it instead of doing it the proper way. I repaired mine in-situ and it is more than twelve months since now, been up and down quite a few times, been up for two weeks in one period in the Isle of Man when awnings were being destroyed by the wind and has shown no signs of giving any problems or cracking again.

I raised the roof and propped it in place with lengths of timber at that side before removing the gas strut and the hefty aluminium beam with the roof lifting mechanism. Take your time looking at all this gubbins noting what goes where, but remember you can always look at the other side of the roof to check. Removing the rubber roof seal from this section of roof will help with the rest of the work. Once you have all the metalwork free you may have to adjust the timber props slightly to make sure the roof aligns correctly where it has cracked, i.e. it is straight and not bent. If you are lucky the cracked pieces will fall into place but more likely you will have to do some manipulating. If needs be you can align them by clamping strips of thin wood or metal on the inside and outside but do not cover all the crack. I suppose you could rivet or screw strips of metal across the cracks to be removed later but this just gives extra holes to be filled.

When you are happy that the cracked area is as close to its normal position as possibly start fibre-glassing on the inside, I slightly roughened the surface first to give a bit of 'hold'. I used fairly heavy duty matting and overlapped the crack by a fair amount. once the repair has hardened the strips that were clamped or riveted/screwed to hold the crack together can be removed and these areas then fibre-glassed. It may not be necessary but once it had all hardened I gave it another coat of resin mix and also ran resin into the cracks on the outside of the roof.

Once you are happy that all your hard work has hardened off you can put all the metal work back and the gas strut and lifting mechanism. All that is left then is to rub down the repair on the outside of the roof, possibly a little filling and some repainting, although I must admit I haven't got around to doing mine yet as I thought I would wait to see if the repair stood up to the rigours of use ( that is my excuse anyway), which it has.

It is a bit of work and some bits can be a little awkward, such as removing/replacing the gas strut, But it is a lot cheaper and a lot simpler than replacing the roof or removing it to do the repair. I am happy with the repair to mine so far but others may not agree, the choice is yours. I should add that I did this work on my own and it could possibly help a little with another pair of hands there to give assistance.

[lauriescott]

My roof cracked in exactly the same place when the motor at that side came loose from the mountings and pressure was foolishly put on the roof to try to close it instead of doing it the proper way. I repaired mine in-situ and it is more than twelve months since now, been up and down quite a few times, been up for two weeks in one period in the Isle of Man when awnings were being destroyed by the wind and has shown no signs of giving any problems or cracking again.

I raised the roof and propped it in place with lengths of timber at that side before removing the gas strut and the hefty aluminium beam with the roof lifting mechanism. Take your time looking at all this gubbins noting what goes where, but remember you can always look at the other side of the roof to check. Removing the rubber roof seal from this section of roof will help with the rest of the work. Once you have all the metalwork free you may have to adjust the timber props slightly to make sure the roof aligns correctly where it has cracked, i.e. it is straight and not bent. If you are lucky the cracked pieces will fall into place but more likely you will have to do some manipulating. If needs be you can align them by clamping strips of thin wood or metal on the inside and outside but do not cover all the crack. I suppose you could rivet or screw strips of metal across the cracks to be removed later but this just gives extra holes to be filled.

When you are happy that the cracked area is as close to its normal position as possibly start fibre-glassing on the inside, I slightly roughened the surface first to give a bit of 'hold'. I used fairly heavy duty matting and overlapped the crack by a fair amount. once the repair has hardened the strips that were clamped or riveted/screwed to hold the crack together can be removed and these areas then fibre-glassed. It may not be necessary but once it had all hardened I gave it another coat of resin mix and also ran resin into the cracks on the outside of the roof.

Once you are happy that all your hard work has hardened off you can put all the metal work back and the gas strut and lifting mechanism. All that is left then is to rub down the repair on the outside of the roof, possibly a little filling and some repainting, although I must admit I haven't got around to doing mine yet as I thought I would wait to see if the repair stood up to the rigours of use ( that is my excuse anyway), which it has.

It is a bit of work and some bits can be a little awkward, such as removing/replacing the gas strut, But it is a lot cheaper and a lot simpler than replacing the roof or removing it to do the repair. I am happy with the repair to mine so far but others may not agree, the choice is yours. I should add that I did this work on my own and it could possibly help a little with another pair of hands there to give assistance.

Thanks very much! This was the golden post I was looking for, very helpful! I will give it ago and report back.

[lauriescott]

Thanks all very much for your help! I'm going to give Tessie's words of wisdom a go and then if that doesn't work I'll buy a new one as a last resort!

Much appreciated all.

Laurie