OMG, the soldering iron hack is brilliant!

When we were shopping for our past RV, we really had our hearts set on a Minnie Class C. I climbed on the roof, and it was in worse shape than this one. The sales guy didn't know it (nobody climbed up to check the roof), and he didn't care about fixing it as a condition of sale to us because "other people will jump at this unit as is"...

You guys do good work! Isn't it amazing all of the improvements that need to be made to factory builds.

You guys rock!!’ Man Winnebago dropped the ball what a crappy roof

Wow the trick hot knife, great Video on the roof repair can’t wait for the next part. Stay Safe ✌🏽

Great re-engineering job James. I am happy that you are a business that does things right. Enjoyed the video. Happy trails!

Brilliant! Much respect for a quality repair. OEM should be ashamed.

I’m adding to my knowledge base - What a great repair! Thanks!

They need you designing their roof construction at the factory, James! I guess that it comes down to how cheaply they can make it?

Very nice fix, that RV will leave your shop better than new!

Very slick repair

Question...What do you think about next time doing something like this, actually bringing the roof over the side by about 3" and putting a crown on it that way water will always run off and over the edge and it would help protect the awnings and slide outs. You can run those pipes through a bender to make a crown, use more pipes and then you can use the aluminum pipes instead of steel and then use a solid sheet of aluminum for the roof. I guess it would be like a prevost bus roof with a overhang.

I just did something similar to a Monaco S series. There were already three sections of the roof that were 1.5" box steel, but that left 2 sections that were only foam and a small pieces of wood. I added 12 pieces of 1.5" box steel to fill in these sections (with cut down 2x4s a foot off center to create the curve). I still have to add the curved roof supports. All of this is being done from the inside since the coach is getting a full refit.

Love the way you make tools 🔧 that work i am with you never cur foam if you can make a 🔥 knife to use even if its home made way to go

hot knife trick is brilliant Thank You

James, I'm not feeling that the wood did much other than add weight. That is, unless you are planning to drill oversized holes through the steel tube and screw into the wood only. Either way, You Be The Man! Awesome thinking of cutting the foam with the soldering iron. Have you ever welded plastic with one? Respectfully, Kevin.

Amazing job.

Wow! Amazing solution and execution. What kind of lip do the notched ends sit on, and how do you secure them there?

I've watched many of your videos. Thank you for taking the time to make them. I have seen you use various calks on Winnebago roofs. what is your latest recommendation for the Radius, front and rear caps and roof vents. What brand and types are the best? BTW, I have a 2003 Adventure 33.

Seems like a lot of work ($) for an olde RV... ? I agree with you on the lawsuit. Surprised there has not been a class action suit of some type on this junk design roof

I’m figuring there is more to come however when I saw the steel I was trying to figure out how you were going to tie this all together. Then it magically came together. So after the wood and Filon will the interior ceiling be attached to the installed ribs? You/Chad or both of you came up with an affordable alternative. I’m certain this will help many people. My hat it off you the both of you

Great job guys. And what a great idea on the hot iron James. Looks fantastic!

4 more inches ,,, dam ! thats what all the girls ask ! Great vid men ,,,, This is the stuff you just dont see !

You guys really out-did yourselves on this one....excellent work..

Got the carpet out in mine, living area has been gutted and not a straight screw in the place.

Somewhat surprised you didn't center notch and then arch the cross beams a couple of degrees just to make a bit of a false crown. It would improve rigidity a bit too.

Impressive!

Wow!! RV owners are very fortunate to have you and Chad. You guy's have gone above and beyond to correct deficiencies found in the RV manufacturing industry. Is this particular roof problem a one off or are all Winnebago roofs lacking adequate support?

This project hurts my head, but it is utterly fascinating.

Another smart idea by James. You do a better job engineering the roof than the cheap company. Stay safe, the porn music part was funny thanks.

I have done something very similar when replacing rotten OSB on a laminated floor system. Mine turned out well and I bet yours will too. Good job guys. if I had started my KZfaq channel 20 years ago maybe some of the really cool jobs would be recorded for posterity. Would that have been before KZfaq? How old is KZfaq?

Thank you

I'm sure what you've done is very beneficial. However, with the steel trusses spanning across the roof parallel with the sandwich panels, some secondary wood beams spanning between the steel trusses would be helpful. They would support the panels and transfer the load to the steel trusses. Required particularly where the strength of the panel is compromised by vent openings.

Love the styrofoam cutter! I don't have the steady hand, though, so if I try this I might need to make a cradle ri keep the wire straight and steady. Too bad they don't have low- cost carbon fiber structural pieces at the Home Depot. Great video!

Great video with a lot of creative engineering.... Great idea to put wood in there, you probably could have gotten a much thinner wall with that composite, although super thinwall square tubing is relatively hard to get. But, man, for the price of these things, you all sure have to re-engineer a lot. A couple of thoughts - putting the long edge vertical instead of flat would make it stronger, although it looks like there was a depth issue - probably could have gotten away with 1x1 instead of 2x1. Putting a crown in it would def make it way stiffer allowing for smaller tubing (esp with the wood inside), but good point about the foam, although it seems to be sagging as much as a crown.... You can use one of harbor freight's bending tools to put crowns in square tubing but you have to modify/make a die. Someone probably sells a set of square dies for those tools.

If you want stiff and light you use carbon. You can get carbon tubes that are much stiffer than steel and are much lighter. Sadly that roof was junk out of the factory. And you were right about the roof needing a crown. Have you considered making some profile plates out of aluminium and hot wire cutting crown shaped foam out of 8ft long 2ft wide styrene. Once you had that setup you could churn out identical pieces. Have a look at how RCers cut foam wings. (I know steel is cheap and easy to get)

Pretty cool fix. I'm wondering if the walls are plumb and square.

Metal decking ribbed roofing material should be installed by winebego .

Love the job. How much weight did the steel add to the RV? Would aluminum extrusion worked as well, been lighter?

7/11 beer cooler with siding

Would aluminum sheeting be too heavy on this kind of roof?

Would that wood inside the steel also help prevent some of that potential for thermal bridging?

Seem to repair Winnebago roofs a lot. They the worst ones?

is it true Winnebago uses 1 2x4 to built 3 trailers

And the saga continues 🤦🏼 Oh Winnebago why?

A++++

Yup Wig Wam Tell No Tale. On they Secret Cooler Roof Design ~ ya good Old Petrified Wood . Time to invest in a band saw, why roof cross rib so flexible think i stick to the Class A Now

23:18 ahahahahaha !

Good repair so far but when the RV is driven and the roof flexes the Styrofoam will rub against the steel trusses and be very squeaky. Winnebago should be sued and the customer reimbursed.

Which video precedes this for background?

Soldering gun used as a hot knife was a good idea, it's basically the same thing they use to cut foam all through out different industries. Another repair many would have passed on, at this point I think you may have a little masochist in you...LOL

When he don’t like your comment he just deletes it can’t take negative comments

When reading imperial measurements of a tape you need good eyesight, I think I will stick with metric

That's gonna rust

Ninjia Monk ? LOL.....

This episode made me feel sorry for you.

Another over priced, poorly engineered and cheaply made pile of crap. Decor and paint IS just lip stick on a pig. An ALL metal or one piece fiberglass roof IS the only way for RV's to ever be built. Boycott the ceaply made RV Industry, it cost consumers tooooo much in out of pocket repairs down the road.

rv manufacturers should pay you to stop making videos