VEHICLES, CAMPERS, and BOATS > Everything Trailer, Camper, or RV related

Fleetwood E3 Filon Roof Failure

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KensAuto:
I don't have enough heartache in my life, so here goes another project. A couple years ago I redid the top of this pop-up, when the outer layer (Filon) failed, by sealing the cracks with foamboard sealant/adhesive and a few hundred dollars worth of color matched bedliner.
It failed within a year. I covered it with a canvas tarp and pushed it out of view.

The backstory: Fleetwood (Coleman) switched from aluminum as the roofing material, to a "spaceage" product called Filon around 2006-07. It's a super thin fiberglass like material that is super strong. It first becomes porous (pin holes) then shrinks and cracks. From the forums I've read, they warrantied a few just before selling their pop-up division to a different company. That company went bankrupt and closed their doors.

I recently found out that a different company (somerset rv) started building the same trailer and it actually carries the same name, Evolution 3. I called them to price a new roof and was told that the roofs wouldn't interchange, and that I wasn't the first person to call, regarding the same issue. He (Kevin) says that the roofs are different (even tho they are built on the same plans?) and even with fab skills, no way to modify to fit. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince him to sell me one. He then said even if they would interchange, he had no way to sell me one. (I will add this company to the list...yeah, that list).
I want to document the rebuild here, whether it's a failure or a success, because I haven't seen one like this done on the web.

KensAuto:
Some pics of the original repairs in 2014

stlaser:
Ken, with your mad fab skills can’t you just buy a couple of sheets of aluminum & find a local place with a brake & build your own? You would need heming dies to do a standing seam in the middle but it could be done pretty easy.....

TexasRedNeck:
I was thinking a real thick layer of ShoeGoo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KensAuto:
I don't know about fab skills, but that was one of my thoughts. The way I'm leaning is towards using EPDM like most RVs. The main issue is that it's a sandwich style roof...thin panel inside, 1" styrofoam, then the Filon on top. No wood in the middle. To use epdm I think I would first have to glue some ply down to the foam with special adhesive (268.00/gallon), to give the rubber a base.....decisions, decisions

Charles  :knucklehead: !!!

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