Bongo roof help

[Bongoadam]

Hi guys, my first post!

I’ve acquired a nice bongo, but I’ve been have issues with the roof. Seems the screws have put out which connect the inside fabric to the frame. This may of been my own making so I feel really silly, I was struggling to get the roof up and gave it some help...

I was wondering, is it as simple as getting some new screws, tightly screwed back in. I’m not feeling like the roof is actually going up all the way and stays beeping.

I can see a little bit of day light through untie corner now, as the bar the screws go into is hanging off a bit at the one end.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really hope I haven’t made a big mess here, I’m already stressed about it!

Many thanks in advance,

Adam

[g8dhe]

AFT Roof frame coming away from the roof.

This problem is caused by the aluminium roof fixing blocks coming away from the fiberglass roof when the epoxy glue fails.
Quite often there will be several blocks pulling out at the same time as any single one failing will be supported by others.
The best solution is to unscrew the upper tent frame from all the blocks, remove all loose blocks, clean them and then re-glue them in again with a two part epoxy (Araldite or similar), then when set, screw the frame back up.

Removing the screws - this is usually the most difficult part! The threads have anti-vibration compound on them so getting them to loosen up is the problem - you need the right size JIS (Philips will fit but not as well) screwdriver head to fit the screws as you are going to be applying a LOT of torque and the screw heads are mild steel hence very easy to damage. Its best to use a torque head rather than a standard hand screwdriver as this allows you to push up hard and at the same time maintain a turning torque for several 10's of seconds whilst the compound loosens. Once the screw starts to "give" then normal forces are adequate!

Once all are out drop the tent frame down and then the blocks will be seen, its likely that the loose ones will come out still attached to the frame, use grips to hold the blocks whilst the screws are removed. Clean up all the loose blocks with a wire brush or file to remove the old glue.

The holes the blocks are glued into do not have an air hole behind them, so when applying epoxy to re-glue them back in, put the glue only on the upper end - not down the sides - push the blocks back in when the glue hits the end it will spread back down the sides of the hole pushing the air out rather than trapping it behind the blocks, otherwise you will find that the blocks are likely to push back out due to the trapped and compressed air!

Once the glue has set then screw the upper frame back in, it may be helpful to lower the roof a few inches to give some slack in the tent material and to allow easier access with the screwdriver in the front upper ones.

Also have the motors used for raising the roof checked, they use the same style blocks and if the others are coming loose so may these, which can end up with an expensive roof repair job!

[haydn callow]

As for the roof needing a bit of help to fully open. When you close the roof make sure you unzip the sides. Doing this will reduce the effort put on the motors.

[Bongoadam]

Thanks for the help guys, I am home now from Wales, and have just seen this.

In regards to the aluminium roof fixing blocks, do you mean where the screws are glued directly into, as there are no block as such, it is more a frame. Is that what you mean?

All the best,

Adam

[g8dhe]

The screws go thru the frame that holds the tent material, to hold the frame up, and screw into blocks that are glued in to the GRP roof itself. You won't see the blocks until the frame is released from the roof.