1965 Aloha Project

I was still hoping to keep the work to a minimum but knowing there were signs of water damage along a couple of the roof edges, I went forward with removing the rest of the skin.

Me too, great pix.

If you're not already done, one way to save the original ceiling panels is to glue a piece of 1/4" plywood as a backer. I did that on my Oasis and it really strengthened the panel. Of course, the inside has to look good...

And Gorilla glue!

In addition to the rotted framing, the entire side paneling had rot all along the bottom edges and parts of the top edges. On the interior, the side paneling was also delaminating around most of the openings from exposure to moisture. More than half of the ceiling and the end paneling was rotted along all the edges. The vinyl covering the ceiling was delaminating and would only get worse so I decided all the paneling would be replaced. I could live with a little wear and tear but this was more than was acceptable to me. Besides, I don’t care for the dark ash anyway. I began by removing all the plumbing and wiring, the kitchen cabinets and rear end panels.

Glad you mentioned the roof metal. I've been considering how to deal with it. All the leaks along the roof edges are at roof seam locations. The metal is coated with silver slop and some genius globbed roofing tar over a good sized area also. I really don't want to deal with the coatings but will if it makes sense. I haven't yet checked for pinholes but will be sure to do so.

Is it likely that the leaks were caused by the drip rail putty failing and water migrating up behind the bend in the roof metal then up and over the side metal? Is it likely that the roof metal seams failed at those spots? I suppose both are possible and there is really no way to tell for sure. I don't like the idea of re-using the old roof metal if the seams are questionable.

This brings me to another dilemma. I really like the looks of the breaks in the roof metal, they give a cascading effect and are a characteristic of this trailer I'd like to retain. The original roof metal is a continuous, seamed piece extending from just above the front window all the way around to the bottom of the rear end. If I replace the roof metal, I'd prefer it to be a single continuous flat seamless sheet.

The existing roof has an "S" seam (not sure if that is the correct name) just below the front window cutout. For the new roof metal I would use this same location at the front. Although I would lose the break pattern on the front curve, I don't think it would look out of place as the roof pattern ends at the window seam and there are a lot of other things going on in the front.

That's a long winded way of getting to my questions. To retain the maximum amount of the original metal pattern, how high can I locate the new roof metal "S" seam at the rear? I know it would be best to place it at the bottom of the rear curve but I'd like to go higher. Can I safely locate it at the halfway point of the curve? Can I go even higher? Is there an alternative seaming method I can use to pull this off? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Yes, that helps, thank-you. Indeed, the seam I am referring to is the Pittsburgh Seam:

<a href="http://s784.photobucket.com/user/57Jewel/media/References/Pittsburgh%20Seam_zpsocglcioe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy122/57Jewel/References/Pittsburgh%20Seam_zpsocglcioe.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Pittsburgh Seam_zpsocglcioe.jpg"/></a>

I have no way to determine with any certainty that the original roof metal is leak free so I have pretty decided that it will be replaced.

The new roof metal will terminate with this seam at the front and back ends. The front seam will be located in the exact place as the original roof metal and I will re-use the original metal flanking the windows. At the rear of my trailer, the curve of the roof becomes vertical right at the top of the rear window. I could locate the rear seam here but would prefer to place it well above the rear window in order to retain as much of the original pattern as possible. I can trim the old metal and re-use it to fit the new seam location. Unless there is a proven method to use this seam up higher, I won't be doing it, as you said "the higher you go, the more chance of a leak".