Dormobile Roof Refurbish...........

[jerryd]

While I'm still debating which gearbox to use on my 300 tdi conversion, I thought I'd tackle the roof restoration and have at least one item finished so that I can then fit and forget other items

I purchased a new canopy from "Dormobile" and although it was a "seconds", I was told the stripes were the wrong size by a millimetre, however after unwrapping it it appears that the stripes at the corners don't join up very well and I'm now wondering if I'd be better to keep the original. It's in good condition apart from the inside being badly stained which I thought I could paint with some flexi additive added to the paint. Has anybody tried this ??? I tried a small area and it's worked well.

Has anybody changed their striped canopy ?? Any horror stories ?? Any tips on fitting the new one like "where to start ??"

I removed and stripped the roof today, it all came apart very easily so it should be a straightforward sand down and repaint job. I suspect putting it back together will be a different story

[Peaceand]

I can't advise on the stripes, but I do like the method of getting the roof on and off the vehicle!
Much better than trying to lift it down or 'walk it out' the back door.

Patrick

[Jabbawocky]

Hi Jerry

I have fitted a new canopy, but it was made by Proud to pop, who are only about 10 miles from here. Fitting it was very fiddly. You have to position it with lots of Duck tape before starting to screw it to the roof. Just required lots of patience.

As for the quality of new roofs, I am very disappointed with my new canopy as after only 3 years, it is in about the same state as the 30 year old canopy I removed. I should add that my original roof was beyond repair as it had been eaten by mice/rats and did have several large holes. I am intending to go see Proud to Pop and see if they can fix it?

As for the strips, because of the shape of the roof, the strips do run out where the sides join the face. My new one is not too bad as they seam to have made an effort to equal out the run out.

According the Graham who made my awning, he makes the canopies for Dormobile. He only said this as he saw my new one when making my awning. I never followed this up with him and confirmed he was still making them? Still on my to do list!

Cheers Mick

[jerryd]

I can't advise on the stripes, but I do like the method of getting the roof on and off the vehicle!
Much better than trying to lift it down or 'walk it out' the back door.

Patrick

The removal of the roof worked very well on those two timbers , once it was half way off the vehicle gravity took over and it slid down to the crates Not sure if putting it back on will be so simple, I might have to throw a "landrover bbq" and get some help !!

I finished stripping the roof and started cleaning and prepping for painting, but now we've got monsoon rains and floods again We have a creek run through our property and it has just risen 6 feet in approx 20 minutes, I just dropped the boys off to catch the school bus and on returning home I couldn't get back into our property. I've had to abandon my van and walk through neighboring properties to get home


I'm going to fit the new stripey canopy when I've painted everything and if it doesn't look right I'll re fit the old one, I have a few "crazing cracks" on the roof so I'll have to repair that first. Thanks for the tips Mick, I'm sure there will be a few swear words before it's back together again .

[jerryd]

After 4 weeks of rain I've managed to do a bit on the roof at last I ended up pouring paint stripper over the metal roof as it was impossible to sand it.I did find that 4 rivets on each side had failed and on both sides it was in the same place I fixed all the crazing cracks on the fibreglass roof with some gel coat paste and it's turned out pretty good.

I managed to get both roofs etch primed yesterday and today I got one coat of two pack top coat on before the weather threatened rain again. I'll now flat these down and wait for the right day to apply a final wet coat.
In the meantime I have to clean and paint all the other bits ready to put it all back together, I'm not looking forward to this bit

[RMS]

That's looking great, Jerry

Looking forward to it back on the vehicle and complete

Cheers,
Robin.

[jerryd]

Have at last managed to top coat both roofs after a nightmare couple of weeks I'd previously top coated them but had a few strange reactions with the paint Anyway to cut a long story short it turned out the hardener was faulty, so the paint shop gave me new paint for free and I basically had to start again.

Not a perfect paint job as weather was not kind and I could have prepped it better ..........

I've now started assembling the roofs, put new hinges on and will attempt to fit the new canopy on thursday as we have a day off for Anzac Day

[RMS]

Looks very shiny Jerry, shame about having to do it twice though

I remember Anzac day - we used to plant a tree!
Do they still do that, or was it just a school thing? It was a long time ago though, in the late 1960s

Cheers,
Robin.

[jerryd]

Hi Robin,
I did manage to get a nice wet coat on with no runs, just a couple of flies landed on it and decided to walkabout but it should polish up okay. I just can't believe how long it's taken.

We are going to our local Anzac Day Parade in the morning, then the rest of the day will be land rover time I don't think anybody plants trees but I could be wrong

[Ian]

Hi Jerry,

Nice job on the roof. Good luck refitting the windows - I did mine last year and it was a pig of a job.

One thing to note - it seems that Dormobile used 2 different thicknesses of glass. Mine had 1/8" glass (it is a 1962) and of course, I had ordered 3/16" rubber. I ended up replacing the glass. You will need the special fitting tool to get the locking strip in place. Good luck!

Cheers,
Ian