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Topic: Help with Skamper Heco Lift System Corner Brackets Setup

Posted By: RickW on 04/03/22 09:41pm

Sorry for the delay in posting. I did not take photos when I started this repair. I returned from a trip with part of the side roof buckling and separated from the skirt. The front was sagging slightly. Upon close examination, all the plywood support for the front roof was completely disintegrated. Over the years, water had leaked into the support channel and, with no weep holes, completely rotted the plywood. I recaulked the seam between the roof and skirt many times, but to no avail. I decided to not remove the roof during this repair. In order to get access, I lowered the roof half way. I added clamps to the HECO track and supports inside and out to keep everything stable. I also supported the front to make sure there was no sag in the roof. Shown below are the largest pieces I pulled out. The rest was splinters, rusty staples and dust for about 20 feet of roof perimeter. I had to scrape, chisel and sand the remaining wood and epoxy from the inside of the aluminum side roof. The original design is two 3-1/2 wide pieces of ½ inch plywood stapled and spliced together and epoxied to the aluminum roof. These wood pieces are inside a 1 inch wide channel in the aluminum skirt. I decided to replace the side roof support with PVC trim. It comes in 3-1/2 lengths by ¾ inch thick. I also purchased lengths of ¼ inch thick lath to make the 1 inch thickness. A special order of 1 inch thick PVC is possible for $$$. PVC is not structurally rigid so I added a series of Simpson ties along the sides. As shown, I beveled the edges of the trim (and planed 1/8 inch off the bottom edge) to facilitate rotating into the channel. Liquid nails was applied to the inside of the trim and the inside of the aluminum roof. After the trim piece was inserted, the lath piece was inserted into the channel and everything clamped up until set. After the glue cured, Simpson ties were attached along the inside of the sides to add rigidity to the assembly. From bottom to top on the right, the channel, the lath piece and the Simpson tie screwed to the PVC trim piece. On the left is the fabric of the top. The rusty looking part on top is Styrofoam that formed the curve of the roof when first assembled. This photo is a front corner showing (from bottom to top) the aluminum channel, the lath piece and the trim piece. Kinda like a wedding cake. Corner braces were reinstalled after this photo. The rear of the roof is in much better condition but the roof lifting brackets have twisted somewhat from the tension. I will have to disconnect and lift the roof for this repair, hopefully sometime in the near future. I have already been camping with the repaired top. So far, so good. Hope this helps Rick 04 GMC 1500 4X4X4 04 Sunlite SB

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