Ceiling liner failure

IrishRover · 01-15-2014, 03:01 PM

Has anyone else experienced the ceiling liner starting to sag? We had the failure in our 2007 Adventurer in the bedroom area, bath, and a small part in the living area. We visited two repair facilities and both testified that there is no water damage involved. Both said the foam used during construction appears to have just failed and begins to separate from the material.

The bedroom had to be completely replaced, a small area in the bath also. In the living area, they stretch the material which lasted for about 2 weeks.

I would be interested if anyone else has been this un-lucky! Winnebago is no help on this issue. They hide behind the age issue and the fact that we are the second owners of this coach. I'm not sure I would buy another Winnebago.

Cheers,

Irish Rover

trackman · 01-15-2014, 04:07 PM

Humidity could have been your culprit. Damp conditions and high humidity especially if you have a cover over the unit that does not breath

GMDLA · 01-15-2014, 04:54 PM

Sad to say, but fairly common in my area and expensive to fix. Went to the factory a couple of years ago and had 5 out of the 9 ceiling panels replaced ($$$$). My belief is the pressure from the air conditioner vent cut above the panels gets under the vinyl and separates the vinyl like a balloon. The other 4 or 5 remaining panels are also coming down. I think it is worst in hot climates.

Good luck the factory acts like they have never seen this before.

NeilV · 01-16-2014, 04:31 AM

More common in the deep South on coaches that are stored in full sun. The foam rubber backing deteriorates and turns to dust which is why they went to a hammered fabric headliner around the year 2000 however if you take hot steamy showers the fabric will start to pucker at the roof panel seams too. Same problem with our automobiles around here too. Every several years if you hold on to a vehicle you will eventually have to replace the headliner as the foam rubber backing turns to dust.

Some will replace the headliner with hammered wall carpeting such as is available from Foss manufacturing instead of using the foam backed material again.

Here is a link to their main web site:
http://www.fossmfg.com/

IrishRover · 01-17-2014, 10:22 AM

Thanks to all!

I may eventually have to have the entire interior ceiling liners replaced. Probably in the $10,000 range! Super Yuk.

There is no cheaper way around this problem (forgetting the carpet idea - for now) and it is only going to get worse.

Winnebago pretends they have never heard of such an issue and of course the coach is out of warranty. Maybe W should stop selling rvs in Florida!

Irish Rover.

vsheetz · 01-17-2014, 10:41 AM

My coach did this once when very hot during summer storage. Shrunk back after it cooled. It's the vinyl separating from the foam. I have not investigated a fix to mine as it only happened once during a extreme heat/humidity spell. If/ when I do need to do so I will check with automotive interior repair shops that do headliner repairs vs. having a RB shop do it. Might be cheaper/better.

I have seen coaches with decorative furniture tacks used to hold up sagged areas.

Previous to me buying my current coach there was water damage due to the bedroom slide being left out in a very bad wind /rain storm. Repaired by insurance. I had it checked to ensure all was ok and it was commented good that they replaced the bedroom ceiling panel with carpet rather than the vinyl.

NeilV · 01-17-2014, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishRover

Thanks to all!

I may eventually have to have the entire interior ceiling liners replaced. Probably in the $10,000 range! Super Yuk.

There is no cheaper way around this problem (forgetting the carpet idea - for now) and it is only going to get worse.

Winnebago pretends they have never heard of such an issue and of course the coach is out of warranty. Maybe W should stop selling rvs in Florida!

Irish Rover.

The Foss hammered or non-woven wall carpets are similar to what was used on my 2001 Adventurer. The can be pinwale corded, flat or be embossed with any number of relief patterns and don't look anything like carpeting or flooring. Mine is plain white with a florentine relief pattern. I don't see it costing anywhere close to 10,000 to redo a coach with it.

homeless · 01-17-2014, 12:25 PM

I cut some parting stop to proper length to fit agents the bow of the roof and it fits up snug with out screws or glue....

cw3647 · 03-23-2014, 01:44 PM

I have the same problem. Mine appeared as a small bubble to the left of the A/C duct and just kept getting bigger and bigger. It finally pulled loose at the rib and I could not feel any air like it was escaping from the A/C register. I am also second owner. 2007 Adventurer 35A. Will contact Winebago in AM and my Warranty holder to see if it is covered. Thanks

pyoots · 03-23-2014, 08:55 PM

RV'ing for more years than I want to admit, sagging ceiling liners are not strictly a Winnebago problem. As in our cars the foam that secures the liner to the ceiling deteriorates and turns to dust causing a sag in the liner. As a second owner, I bought a '90 Allegro that had the ceiling replaced by the original owner. It happens. I have an 07 Voyage currently and will probably have to experience the same challenge. I'll look for an automobile liner repair person to do the job. We have a number of them in FL.

royinflorida · 03-25-2014, 01:37 PM

I had the same problem. Bought plastic molding components from Lowes in various designs and put them up on the ceiling with a trim nailer. By combining different corners and long strips I was able to secure the material to the wood underneath. I also used fiberglass ceiling medallions like you would use under a light fixture or a ceiling fan on the bedroom light fixture and some of the a/c vents.

CigarBoy · 07-13-2014, 06:59 AM

Roy that looks really nice. I've got the same year/model coach and i am now seeing the beginnings of the sagging problem. I was wondering if i could buy spray adhesive (like used for wood veneers) and squeegee it back to original. Anyone tried that? But i do like what Roy did. I've got a nailer/stapler too but i'm worried about the length of the staple to shoot up into the ceiling and piercing some electrical wires or cables. is that decent wood thickness in the ceiling?
-mike

HD4Mark · 07-13-2014, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CigarBoy

is that decent wood thickness in the ceiling?
-mike

By looking up into the a/c duct vents in our coach it looks like there is a lot of Styrofoam up there. Not much to grab onto.

Our ceiling is starting to sag right over the drivers seat BTW.

royinflorida · 07-13-2014, 09:19 PM

I tried spray on headliner adhesive with no success. The ceiling is thin luan plywood with several inches of styrofoam above that. I used a trim nailer with 1/1-4 inch brads and shot them in at an angle. Also used wood trim as a crown molding to secure the edges where possible.

Roy

terry735001 · 07-13-2014, 09:35 PM

i just installed all new head liner in my RV ... would be alot of work to start over but it can be done

Charlie13 · 04-23-2019, 07:53 PM

Hey Homeless, I know it's been a while since you posted this, but, what is the material you used, and what kind of trim used at the ends? It looks great. Thanks...

homeless · 04-24-2019, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie13

Hey Homeless, I know it's been a while since you posted this, but, what is the material you used, and what kind of trim used at the ends? It looks great. Thanks...

My rig had an arched ceiling to it and I bought what I call "Bat Strips" from Lowes, 1/4" x 1" strips of wood. Just cut them to where the walls would hold up the bow to the roof. No screws or glue. Just the arch pressure held up my ceiling material. Hope this helps!

Nomad Mike · 11-14-2019, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homeless

I cut some parting stop to proper length to fit agents the bow of the roof and it fits up snug with out screws or glue....

Hi Homeless, I'm wondering how you handled the seams where in your pictures 2 and 3 are coming out of the ceiling cross bar?

I've been mulling this similar idea over for a while with maybe bare wood stained to match my interior. But I like the looks of yours and may go this route. Were the strips of wood pre-painted trim?

Using the pressure of pushing the wood in place bowing it to the ceiling is a brilliant idea. I was going to use some form of anchor such as wall dogs or the large plastic screw type that you can then put a nice looking screw into.