I just did my camper, I have a 1996 Coleman with the same problem a cracked roof shell. My camper was a little harder to remove the plastic shell it did not come off in one piece. I used the Trex coating and it worked great. The hardest part was definitely removing the old shell. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for this post!!! We have been researching the best options for our newly acquired 1996 bayport... we have read and researched a ton, we are going to fill any holes in the foam and use some bondo for finishing prior to spraying...materials have been ordered! Here is to hoping all turns out well and we can enjoy using it with some peace of mind this summer! Hope to have a happy report in another week or so!
Hi Matthew thanks very much for posting this video! This convinced me to take the plunge and buy (very inexpensive) a 1997 Coleman Santa Fe just like yours with a cracked and nearly completely delaminated roof. Needs a seal also. Looking forward to tackling this project in the spring when it warms up. Hopefully get a few years out of it. Thanks again
Looks good enough for what it is. Our Starcraft top needs refinished. I am thinking of using a bond product to fill in any dents that were made in the aluminum , then using a roller to repaint the top. I have to check first and make sure bondo will hold onto the aluminum top and not pop out in t he sun.
I just remove my ABS roof today. I have a 98 Coleman Mesa and the roof come off as one giant peice. I bought this super sticky chinese butyl tape with the intention of taping everything off but it wasnt even glued on! I think i will go with a bedliner as well, i just hope the water wont get stuck on the bumpy texture. Great job btw!
Good luck! Mine has held up well. I definitely recommend a good respirator type mask as the chemical smell is overpowering (and probably not good for your lungs).
Thank you for the video! I have a 2001 Niagara. The roof has some small superficial cracks. I'll be using MEK and ABS pellets to patch these then roll on the T-Rex liner. I think I'll get a smoother finish by rolling. I'll be doing the plastic doors and the plastic at the front and back of the camper. I bought the 8L kit to ensure that I have enough to do all the plastic pieces. I was going to paint the AC shroud, but it came off in pieces so I'm just going to replace it with a Tuff/Maxx shroud. I'm debating putting the old seal back on vs buying new. I'll probably buy new. I hope mine looks as good as yours when I am done!
I ordered the black rubber gasket from: Canvas Replacements W2299 State Hwy 98 Loyal WI 54446 (p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332 www.canvasreplacements.com Here are the part details: ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE [PA-LAVACLSEAL] Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Looks great! I’ve been hesitant to take this project on for ours which has the same issues and needs a new gasket also. Thanks for making the video to show us how well this can turn out.
Thanks for taking the time to help out so many people and for replying to their questions. Thanks to you I feel confident that I can make my Coleman so much better. How does it look now that it is at the 2 year mark?
It is still holding up well. I had one spot where I should've filled a gap and instead I just tried to "fill it in" with *lots* of extra SPEEDOKOTE. It cracked where it was superthick so I touched that up.
I ordered the black rubber gasket from: Canvas Replacements W2299 State Hwy 98 Loyal WI 54446 (p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332 www.canvasreplacements.com Here are the part details: ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE [PA-LAVACLSEAL] Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
I have given the trailer to the son of a buddy. He also gave it away a couple of months ago. He told me that the bedliner was still holding up after 7 years!
I had bad luck with the sprayer and I had a 7 gallon set at 75psi. I did end up using a 1/2 inch nap roller. When you did the front and back did you use primer? Or just clean and scuff. How is it doing so far.
Mathew I have a 1998 coleman grandview sp pop up that measures 12.5" X 7" X 1" (122 sqf) for the top and I'm wondering how many bottles of liner I should likely get to do a good coat and not just a thin coat? Thanks
Under the old cracking white plastic cover was a layer of foam. I sprayed directly on top of the foam (it wasn't fiberglass). Look at 3:09 & 3:37 minutes into the video and you can see the surface that I sprayed directly onto. The mostly green and yellow surface. As I recall, the yellow is a stiff foam and I believe that the green was the old adhesive that once held the white cover onto the foam.
No water leakage from the roof! BTW: I gave the tent trailer to the son of a buddy of mine and he is using it for Winter Camping/lodging up at Colorado ski areas. Bed liner roof coating is still holding up well to the elements.
Hi Matthew. Your video is very helpful, and as you probably know by now, embedded directly on the Speedokote site for their T-Rex products. I'm wondering about the latches. You removed them and then screwed them back on. Did you do anything to prevent the Speedokote from clogging the holes? Could I also just mask off the metal latch anchor and spray around it? One more question: did you prep multiple bottles at once, or did you only pour in the actuator and shake a new bottle after the previous bottle was spent? Thanks for making your work available to others!
I only prepped one bottle at a time and as you said, only poured in the actuator and mixed it into a new bottle when the old one was empty. I don't remember any serious problem with the speedkote clogging the holes, but I imagine that if it did I probably just poked thru it or drilled it out. As I recall, I removed them so that I could get all of the [crumbling and cracking] plastic off.
I'm in the process of stripping the plastic off of mine. I have a question about the four corners with the piece of metal held on by the four screws. I raised my top to see if there was anything that would come loose if I took the screws off and the piece of metal. I'm not sure if anything wold come loose on the inside that would be hard or impossible to realign back. I'm wondering if I should just leave those on and pull the plastic off up to the metal holders. I have a 1999 coleman Bayside. ... Also, when you sprayed it, was there a lot of over spray. I live in a mobile home park and I don't want to get any spray on other people's houses or campers. I've never done anything like this before in my life, so, I"m learning.
I took the metal pieces off and reattached them after I was done. There wasn't much overspray unless the wind was blowing. So if you spray on a calm day and are mindful about your spraying direction, I think that you will be OK.
Yes, I did spray, access, and spray again. It didn’t seem to matter much how long I waited between coats *except* in one spot where I applied it very thick to try to even out some defects in the foam top. In those places where it was applied/reapplied very thick I did get some cracking
Thank you so much for the video. You did a great job! We have a 1996 Coleman Sea Pine, and I am going to have to replace the roof. The only difference is that we have an air conditioner mounted on top. I don't want to remove the a/c unit because I am afraid that I will cause leaks where there were none before if I start messing with it. So, I am planning on stripping off all of the ABS and starting from scratch. Do you have any suggestions on how to make sure the seal between the grizzly grip and the ABS piece under the a/c unit is completely waterproof? Also, I do not have an air compressor, so I will be using the rollers.
When you did the prep for spraying did you have to do anything special to sand the surface under the abs? I took the abs off and there's a very thin like rice paper layer that is kind of green and it's super sticky! I have tried using degreaser/wax remover, mineral spirits, paint thinner and sandpaper up to 60 grit to try to get this stuff off and it won't submit!!! When I try to use sandpaper with a orbital sander or by hand it just gums up and destroys the paper after like 20 secs. I'm wondering if it would be ok to just spray over this stuff?
I had a green layer also; however, it was well attached to the foam underneath so I left it alone and just sprayed right over it. 2 years later it is still holding up well. I just used it last month and drove for hours at highway speeds w/ no problems.
I definitely had a dark green layer (you can see it at 3:06 in the video). For me, this layer was very well bonded to the foam. You can see some spots where it was apparently attached too well to the white plastic cover and ripped off some foam with it when I took the cover off. I remember it being slightly tacky, but not what I would call "sticky". I didn't try to sand it.
My top is cracked but still attached to the inner foam. Would you suggest spraying over the top of the sheel or remove it to expose the foam? How has your front and rear panels held up?
How is your speedokote holding up? I have those small cracks as well and wondered if I need to repair the ABS first with slurry or just use the speedkote.
Still holding up. Right now my tent trailer is in CO (loaned it to the son of a friend who is using it to camp at ski area parking lots the night before skiing to avoid traffic).
As you probably know, the wind would effect the application if it was strong. I'd definitely try to spray from the up wind side (or better yet, wait for a calm day)
It's been 7 years, but back then I ordered the black rubber gasket from: Canvas Replacements W2299 State Hwy 98 Loyal WI 54446 (p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332 www.canvasreplacements.com Here are the part details: ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE [PA-LAVACLSEAL] Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
I also have a Coleman and want to redo the top. Do you feel like the bedliner added more weight? I am just worried about the lifting with the extra weight. Thank you.
It could be a bit heavier (remember that the old plastic top is removed), but not much heavier unless you apply it *really* thick (which probably isn't a good idea anyway).
Hi Matthew! We are fixing to tackle this same project. My question is how well does the top seal when closed up without the old ABS cap on it. Does it still close tight?
How’s it holding up after 3 years of this video I want to go mine this summer do I have to use this bed liner or can I use any and what’s the activator bottle for is it different from a gallon of original bed liner paint I am restoring a pop up and the seal and plastic roof needs replaced and by the way happy Easter !!! Looks great
Fortunately, I didn't have any significant warping in the middle. If it drains off and doesn't retain water (i.e., no semi-permanent puddle), I probably would just focus on resealing it. For *really* small dips you could try filling small voids with bondo (or equivalent). Anything bigger and I'd be guessing and/or experimenting. Possibly, you could try to address big dips with some kind of spray on foam (which you later sand smooth before coating it with the bed liner), but you'd be in untested territory and might be better off just buying a new cap.
I think that it was around $250 for the bedliner, maybe $25 for the respirator (definitely get that), and ~$25 in plastic tarps and masking tape. If you already own an aircompressor, then those should be your only costs (unless you have to fill some holes with Bondo). I don't remember how long it took me. Masking off the lights, trim, bumper, etc., probably took longer than spraying did.
7 years ago I ordered the black rubber gasket from: Canvas Replacements W2299 State Hwy 98 Loyal WI 54446 (p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332 www.canvasreplacements.com Here are the part details: ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE [PA-LAVACLSEAL] Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Hey man, did you by chance have an awning mount on this prior to removing the ABS plastic top? If so, how is it attached and can it be reattached? I didn’t recall seeing it on the finished surface but it looked like it was there in the beginning.
You are correct. There was the awning mount on the original ABS top so I lost it during this repair. In my case, the awning had broken long ago and I had taken to using one of the square folding pop up shade structure (like you see at kids soccer games) so it wan't a consideration for me.
Matthew Brown thanks bro! I’ll be tearing mine down and want to make sure I don’t ruin that part as my awning is in great shape. Thanks for the feedback and the great video!
@@vanzee5401 I made no attempt to save the awning mount; it might be tricky so good luck! BTW: In case you didn't read thru the comments, the one place that I got into a bit of trouble was trying to use the bed liner to fill some of the divots or imperfections in the foam that resulted from tearing off the ABS plastic cover. I didn't have many and should have used something like Bondo. Instead I was a bit lazy and just tried pouring/ponding the bedliner into the "potholes". That resulted in some cracking where the SPEEDKOTE was thick (which I had to overcoat later). Again, good luck, would like to hear how it goes!
Yep. Peel is maybe too strong of a word; in my case the plastic cover was barely attached to the foam underneath. I only got a few divots in the foam when I pealed off the plastic as most of the adhesive that was used to originally bind them together had failed long ago. BTW: If you have significant divots in the foam, I recommend filling them with Bondo before spraying.
Hello, Thanks for the upload. I am about to try this on my 2000 Coleman Utah. The Phoenix sun is unforgiving...Anyway, how is the bed liner holding up at this point? Would you still recommend this repair method?
Still holding up with the exception of where I tried to use it to fill some deep divots. I recommend first filling large voids with something like bondo and then covering with bedliner
Nice work - that looks great! I’m curious if you noticed any increase in weight for the bedliner vs the vinyl covering? Also, where abouts in New Mexico are you? Your area looks beautiful!
Yours looks great! We have a 1997 Sea Pine and are having to replace the roof. What did you do to prep the top before spraying? Did you sand it? Use acetone? We took off the ABS roof yesterday, and will work on applying the Grizzly Grip this weekend. Need to know how to prep the roof before rolling on the new coating to make sure it sticks.
When I took the ABS cap off the top it was pretty clean and I immediately sprayed. In retrospect, it would probably be a good idea to lightly sand ... but I didn't. Acetone also seems like a good idea.
I think that depends on how well the old plastic is adhering to the rest of the top. In my case, it clearly wasn't and it was very easy to remove the old plastic (made me think that the manufacturer didn't use enough adhesive).
That's a 10' box, right? I'm looking to do my Santa Fe this spring. Do you remember how many bottles it took to do just the top? My endcaps are in decent shape.
I also sprayed some bare metal attachments for my Thule rack. I won't be using them 'til this Winter so they haven't really been tested yet. The trailer is still holding up well.
You posted your video about spraying the litter your tent trailer two years ago. How’s it doing now. The reason I ask is because I’m getting ready to do it to mine. Thank you
Cary Tibbets: It is still holding up well! If you read thru the comments you will see that I did have an issue with trying to use the bed liner to fill in divots/imperfections in the surface. I should have used bondo or similar filler instead of “pooling” the spray coating into the few holes that I had. In these few places where the liner pooled it tended to crack after. It really is meant to be a coating. So as long as you don’t apply it to thick you should be fine. FYI, I don’t cover my tent trailer from the elements and it has held up to the New Mexico sun!
Matthew. loved the video. I need to order some for my popup. How many coats did the 10 bottles apply? Did you just do one coat or several? need to know so I get enough. thanks for sharing
I actually have one bottle left. It's been a while, but I think that I ordered an 8 bottle kit and a 4 bottle kit for a total of 12. I used one of the other bottles to cover some metal parts (unrelated project).
I did not spray any primer. I applied the spray bed liner the same day that I peeled off the old (and deteriorating) plastic that covered the foam (so the surface was relatively clean).
Most of the original roof remains with the exception of the thin plastic cover which you can is cracked and damaged by years in the sun. Effectively, this thin plastic cover is replaced by the spray on bed liner.
Great video Matthew. It took 10 bottles for just the top and the front? One bottle must not cover too well then? Do you mind if I ask what you paid for each bottle. Looks like they are around $26.00? I'm going to paint my fiber glass topper on my camper van.
When I ordered last Summer from Amazon, it was $189 for 8 bottles (~$24/bottle). Considering that a new top was $1000 (plus shipping) I considered it a bargain. I might've been able to get better coverage/bottle if I had a more powerful air compressor (but yes, each bottle goes pretty fast). 5 months with a lot of sun, a few hard freezes, and a powerful hail storm and it is holding up wonderfully!
I took the plunge and followed your video to replace my roof. I think it went well, though like you I would have benefited from a bigger, stronger air compressor. I have a Coleman Westlake trailer, and I went through 9 bottles just on the roof. I had a number of pitted sections, small gashes, etc. and they were not covered as well as I think they probably should be. I'm thinking it might be wise to order a smaller 4-bottle roller kit (I have the sprayer, and I think the brush and roller might be useful for touch-up work) and add more material in places. Did you do any applications on top of entirely dry under coats of T-Rex? If so, did you do anything to prepare the under coat to receive another layer? Sanding? I'm contemplating adding something like Bondo to fill in uneven areas before touching up with more T-Rex.
Nice! I hope that it continues to go well! I have a few pits and gashes as well and they bothered me at first; however, because of the somewhat distressed look that comes from spraying (and maybe I got used to them) they don't bother me too much anymore ;) I would also be a bit concerned about applying it too thick. My impression is that this coating really not meant to fill large voids ... it really is a coating.
I think that it would be OK to do an application on top of a completely dry coat; however, I'd be concerned about applying it too thick. I think that Bondo might be a better idea if you want to get rid of the gashes and other voids. If you do try bondo, please let me know how it goes.
I didn't do anything for the awning channel. Mine had broken years ago and I have just been using one of those cheap "EZ-ups". I ordered the black rubber gasket from: Canvas Replacements W2299 State Hwy 98 Loyal WI 54446 (p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332 www.canvasreplacements.com Here are the part details: ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE [PA-LAVACLSEAL] Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Thanks for uploading! I am looking at using this for a non skid on my bass boat, tired of the carpet. How well has it held up? Any cracking or peeling?
B : it has held up well after 2 years. As for it being “non skid”, I’m not sure about that. Maybe if you sprinkle sand on the surface before it dries you could get a no slip surface. Good luck!
@@mwkbrown Excellent. Thanks for the feedback. Lowes sales some pumice for the Rustoleum Top Deck, may try mixing that into it. Just really tired of the boat carpet.
Hi there, I really enjoyed the video. It appears you ordered the 8-10 bottle kit, all these comments are great, but you cant see them on a mobile device like my phone I was using before. thank you for all the information. Saving us $$$$ and thank you for the link to that rubber gasket, they have others for $1.5 a ft now. Did they have those options available when you ordered the coleman replacement gasket?
I called Canvas Replacements and asked about the cheaper seal. I was told it was for storage compartments that are on the front end of some of the Coleman campers, but not for the main roof seal.
Charlie Collier thanks for being so thorough, I was thinking if I bought 42 ft of that seal and a good sealent that it may work. Looks like the right size but they would know better than me. Did ask them if they could compare the 2 side by side? Granted if they could sell it for $160 why would they bother selling it for $60 +or- for 42 ft.
You're welcome! I think it has to do with thickness and durability. Note that the same company is currently selling the "right" one for $119 on eBay and they'll give you that same price over the phone if you ask for it.
It's hard to knock a guy for posting a helpful video show how to do something BUT... practically every reply on this board is starving for followup answers and Matt, dang it, you've gone dark on us. Most important question of course is "now that it's been a while, how is it holding up?" Buehler... Buehler... Buehler...
It's still holding up well. As for the [sometimes admittedly delayed replies], I believe that I've answered almost every question "theme" at least once (like, "how many bottles did you use" and "how's it holding up". Many people are too lazy to read thru all of the previous Q&A :( Though, to be fair, I did see a few new categories of questions and tried to answer as best as I could. And also to be fair, I probably ought to post an update on the condition/durability of the coating every few months. So, thanks for the nudge ;)
As long as you take your time taping off the areas that you don't want sprayed, then it doesn't take much talent to spray the areas that you do want covered. I probably spent as much time taping and/or removing (like the spare) as I did spraying.
Generally, it is holding up well. The one problem that I had was where I tried to fill in some holes by applying the bedliner *really thick* and essentially pooling it in the holes. I've noticed some cracking in those spots. Lesson: don't use it as a filler, use something else like Bondo if you want to fill imperfections, only spray on the bedliner. In all other locations where I sprayed it on, it has held up fine.
Just used this on my 98 Santa Fe. Looks great so far. I used 8 bottles for the top. Thank you for the excellent video.
I just did my camper, I have a 1996 Coleman with the same problem a cracked roof shell. My camper was a little harder to remove the plastic shell it did not come off in one piece. I used the Trex coating and it worked great. The hardest part was definitely removing the old shell. Thanks for the video!
How many quarts did you use?
Thank you for this post!!! We have been researching the best options for our newly acquired 1996 bayport... we have read and researched a ton, we are going to fill any holes in the foam and use some bondo for finishing prior to spraying...materials have been ordered! Here is to hoping all turns out well and we can enjoy using it with some peace of mind this summer! Hope to have a happy report in another week or so!
Jeremy, How did your application go?
Looks great considering the value. Added several more years to that little camper.
Hi Matthew thanks very much for posting this video! This convinced me to take the plunge and buy (very inexpensive) a 1997 Coleman Santa Fe just like yours with a cracked and nearly completely delaminated roof. Needs a seal also. Looking forward to tackling this project in the spring when it warms up. Hopefully get a few years out of it. Thanks again
Wow that looks great!
Huge difference. Good job! I might have to do the same for my 94 Coleman pop up.
Thank you for your reply
The next pop up I buy IAM rhino line it .camp looks great and it's water proof and good protection from rock and stuff from the highway.
I'm so excited!!!!! Definitely doing this!!!!! Thank u for ur video
Great video. Did mine and it was amazing! Thank you so much for this information!!!
Looks good enough for what it is. Our Starcraft top needs refinished. I am thinking of using a bond product to fill in any dents that were made in the aluminum , then using a roller to repaint the top. I have to check first and make sure bondo will hold onto the aluminum top and not pop out in t he sun.
Great job that’s my next job, I have A/C th remove
I just remove my ABS roof today. I have a 98 Coleman Mesa and the roof come off as one giant peice. I bought this super sticky chinese butyl tape with the intention of taping everything off but it wasnt even glued on! I think i will go with a bedliner as well, i just hope the water wont get stuck on the bumpy texture. Great job btw!
Good luck! Mine has held up well. I definitely recommend a good respirator type mask as the chemical smell is overpowering (and probably not good for your lungs).
job well done it looks really nice 👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you for the video! I have a 2001 Niagara. The roof has some small superficial cracks. I'll be using MEK and ABS pellets to patch these then roll on the T-Rex liner. I think I'll get a smoother finish by rolling. I'll be doing the plastic doors and the plastic at the front and back of the camper. I bought the 8L kit to ensure that I have enough to do all the plastic pieces. I was going to paint the AC shroud, but it came off in pieces so I'm just going to replace it with a Tuff/Maxx shroud. I'm debating putting the old seal back on vs buying new. I'll probably buy new. I hope mine looks as good as yours when I am done!
Robert, I just did the MEK and ABS pellets repair as well. Do you still recommend the bed liner?
@@mistermwwilson Yes! It does a good job of protecting the plastic from further UV damage.
Noce job! Thanks for sharing!
I ordered the black rubber gasket from:
Canvas Replacements
W2299 State Hwy 98
Loyal WI 54446
(p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332
www.canvasreplacements.com
Here are the part details:
ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE
[PA-LAVACLSEAL]
Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Matthew Brown how many bottles did you use to finish your camper.looks really good man.
Thanks!
Looks great! I’ve been hesitant to take this project on for ours which has the same issues and needs a new gasket also. Thanks for making the video to show us how well this can turn out.
Cover your popup. I bought a cover for under $100 and its worth it. I live in Abq as well and the sun needs to be blocked. good job.
Thanks for taking the time to help out so many people and for replying to their questions. Thanks to you I feel confident that I can make my Coleman so much better. How does it look now that it is at the 2 year mark?
It is still holding up well. I had one spot where I should've filled a gap and instead I just tried to "fill it in" with *lots* of extra SPEEDOKOTE. It cracked where it was superthick so I touched that up.
This was really helpful thanks 👍
I ordered the black rubber gasket from:
Canvas Replacements
W2299 State Hwy 98
Loyal WI 54446
(p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332
www.canvasreplacements.com
Here are the part details:
ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE
[PA-LAVACLSEAL]
Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Curious to how it held up over the last few years. I just bought one and have to do the same thing.
Sorry for the late reply (I missed your question). It is still holding up. Regards, Matthew
Great video
I would love to hear how this held up over the years. If your still here let me know please
I have given the trailer to the son of a buddy. He also gave it away a couple of months ago. He told me that the bedliner was still holding up after 7 years!
@@mwkbrown awesome. Thanks for the reply
@@mwkbrown awesome, thanks. thats what I was looking for. 7 yrs is pretty good. I have my ABS off and will be coating soon. THANKS!
I had bad luck with the sprayer and I had a 7 gallon set at 75psi. I did end up using a 1/2 inch nap roller. When you did the front and back did you use primer? Or just clean and scuff. How is it doing so far.
I did *not* use any primer; just clean and scuff. It is still holding up well.
Mathew I have a 1998 coleman grandview sp pop up that measures 12.5" X 7" X 1" (122 sqf) for the top and I'm wondering how many bottles of liner I should likely get to do a good coat and not just a thin coat?
Thanks
Probably 10
So you sprayed directly onto the fiberglass underneath.? so you basically coated the fiberglass with the liner right.?
Under the old cracking white plastic cover was a layer of foam. I sprayed directly on top of the foam (it wasn't fiberglass). Look at 3:09 & 3:37 minutes into the video and you can see the surface that I sprayed directly onto. The mostly green and yellow surface. As I recall, the yellow is a stiff foam and I believe that the green was the old adhesive that once held the white cover onto the foam.
I've seen several people put on the roof top, has anyone ever tried putting on the ceiling inside?
And this bedliner will keep water from getting inside the camper? How is yours holding up?
No water leakage from the roof! BTW: I gave the tent trailer to the son of a buddy of mine and he is using it for Winter Camping/lodging up at Colorado ski areas. Bed liner roof coating is still holding up well to the elements.
Hi Matthew. Your video is very helpful, and as you probably know by now, embedded directly on the Speedokote site for their T-Rex products. I'm wondering about the latches. You removed them and then screwed them back on. Did you do anything to prevent the Speedokote from clogging the holes? Could I also just mask off the metal latch anchor and spray around it? One more question: did you prep multiple bottles at once, or did you only pour in the actuator and shake a new bottle after the previous bottle was spent? Thanks for making your work available to others!
I only prepped one bottle at a time and as you said, only poured in the actuator and mixed it into a new bottle when the old one was empty. I don't remember any serious problem with the speedkote clogging the holes, but I imagine that if it did I probably just poked thru it or drilled it out. As I recall, I removed them so that I could get all of the [crumbling and cracking] plastic off.
Matthew Brown Thanks for the quick reply!
I'm in the process of stripping the plastic off of mine. I have a question about the four corners with the piece of metal held on by the four screws. I raised my top to see if there was anything that would come loose if I took the screws off and the piece of metal. I'm not sure if anything wold come loose on the inside that would be hard or impossible to realign back. I'm wondering if I should just leave those on and pull the plastic off up to the metal holders. I have a 1999 coleman Bayside. ... Also, when you sprayed it, was there a lot of over spray. I live in a mobile home park and I don't want to get any spray on other people's houses or campers. I've never done anything like this before in my life, so, I"m learning.
I took the metal pieces off and reattached them after I was done. There wasn't much overspray unless the wind was blowing. So if you spray on a calm day and are mindful about your spraying direction, I think that you will be OK.
Question, I'm debating on rolling or spraying. Did you spray once let semi dry and then second coat it?
Yes, I did spray, access, and spray again. It didn’t seem to matter much how long I waited between coats *except* in one spot where I applied it very thick to try to even out some defects in the foam top. In those places where it was applied/reapplied very thick I did get some cracking
Thank you so much for the video. You did a great job! We have a 1996 Coleman Sea Pine, and I am going to have to replace the roof. The only difference is that we have an air conditioner mounted on top. I don't want to remove the a/c unit because I am afraid that I will cause leaks where there were none before if I start messing with it. So, I am planning on stripping off all of the ABS and starting from scratch. Do you have any suggestions on how to make sure the seal between the grizzly grip and the ABS piece under the a/c unit is completely waterproof? Also, I do not have an air compressor, so I will be using the rollers.
Did you have to rough up surface with sandpaper before spraying?
I didn't. It's been a few months and one really strong hail storm and it is still adhering nicely.
I think that roughing up the top with fine sand paper is probably a good idea
How is it holding up after 6 months or so? I'm about to order this same kit from walmart online $124.
It's still doing good ... no issues that I can detect.
When you did the prep for spraying did you have to do anything special to sand the surface under the abs? I took the abs off and there's a very thin like rice paper layer that is kind of green and it's super sticky! I have tried using degreaser/wax remover, mineral spirits, paint thinner and sandpaper up to 60 grit to try to get this stuff off and it won't submit!!! When I try to use sandpaper with a orbital sander or by hand it just gums up and destroys the paper after like 20 secs. I'm wondering if it would be ok to just spray over this stuff?
I had a green layer also; however, it was well attached to the foam underneath so I left it alone and just sprayed right over it. 2 years later it is still holding up well. I just used it last month and drove for hours at highway speeds w/ no problems.
Was the green layer sticky at all on yours?
I definitely had a dark green layer (you can see it at 3:06 in the video). For me, this layer was very well bonded to the foam. You can see some spots where it was apparently attached too well to the white plastic cover and ripped off some foam with it when I took the cover off. I remember it being slightly tacky, but not what I would call "sticky". I didn't try to sand it.
My top is cracked but still attached to the inner foam. Would you suggest spraying over the top of the sheel or remove it to expose the foam? How has your front and rear panels held up?
I think that you should expose the foam. I would patch any holes in the foam before spraying. Front, rear, and top are still holding up well.
Did you have an awning track? If so, did you have to remove it?
I was just wondering, because I don't want to lose the use of my awning.
Unfortunately, I did lose the awning track. I now use one of those 10x10 freestanding folding canopies instead.
How is your speedokote holding up? I have those small cracks as well and wondered if I need to repair the ABS first with slurry or just use the speedkote.
Still holding up. Right now my tent trailer is in CO (loaned it to the son of a friend who is using it to camp at ski area parking lots the night before skiing to avoid traffic).
Did the wind effect anything? i live on a hill top and am going to do this soon, product is already at the door.
As you probably know, the wind would effect the application if it was strong. I'd definitely try to spray from the up wind side (or better yet, wait for a calm day)
What size kit did you buy for your camper top and did you ever find out the name of the place that sells the replacement rubber gaskets?
It's been 7 years, but back then I ordered the black rubber gasket from:
Canvas Replacements
W2299 State Hwy 98
Loyal WI 54446
(p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332
www.canvasreplacements.com
Here are the part details:
ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE
[PA-LAVACLSEAL]
Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
6 bottle kit
So there were four bottles of coding and two bottles of activator a total of six bottles for quarts of product?
Coating
@@FollowerofJesusChrist858 It's been a while; but I recall *spraying" 6 bottles of coating
I want to do this to fix my fiberglass bathtub. It has developed a hairline crack in the bottom do you think this will seal and fix it.
I really have no idea. I'd be hesitant as you'll have a lot of pressure at the bottom of the bathtub. It would be an interesting experiment.
I also have a Coleman and want to redo the top. Do you feel like the bedliner added more weight? I am just worried about the lifting with the extra weight. Thank you.
It could be a bit heavier (remember that the old plastic top is removed), but not much heavier unless you apply it *really* thick (which probably isn't a good idea anyway).
Thank you for the reply!
Hi Matthew! We are fixing to tackle this same project. My question is how well does the top seal when closed up without the old ABS cap on it. Does it still close tight?
Yes, it still fits tight. Probably the new rubber seal that I installed (the original was falling apart) helps.
My roof has a small bow in the middle of it, did yours have that at all?
There are some minor bows, but not enough to collect any significant amount of water
How’s it holding up after 3 years of this video I want to go mine this summer do I have to use this bed liner or can I use any and what’s the activator bottle for is it different from a gallon of original bed liner paint I am restoring a pop up and the seal and plastic roof needs replaced and by the way happy Easter !!! Looks great
So far, so good. No problems. Regards, Matthew
in between coat drying what did you use to clean gun. did it get hard in the gun?
I just sprayed compressed air thru the nozzle and that was it. The handle has a lot of white gunk on it; however, the sprayer works fine
Matthew Brown what is the size of your popup close. I have a 16' closed and I have already used 8 cans. I needs at least 2 more.
Matthew, mine is starting to warp in the middle. What do you suggest? -Marc
Fortunately, I didn't have any significant warping in the middle. If it drains off and doesn't retain water (i.e., no semi-permanent puddle), I probably would just focus on resealing it. For *really* small dips you could try filling small voids with bondo (or equivalent). Anything bigger and I'd be guessing and/or experimenting. Possibly, you could try to address big dips with some kind of spray on foam (which you later sand smooth before coating it with the bed liner), but you'd be in untested territory and might be better off just buying a new cap.
How long did it take you to fix it and what was the total cost? Im looking at a pop up that has the same problem
I think that it was around $250 for the bedliner, maybe $25 for the respirator (definitely get that), and ~$25 in plastic tarps and masking tape. If you already own an aircompressor, then those should be your only costs (unless you have to fill some holes with Bondo). I don't remember how long it took me. Masking off the lights, trim, bumper, etc., probably took longer than spraying did.
Where did you find your new seal at?
7 years ago I ordered the black rubber gasket from:
Canvas Replacements
W2299 State Hwy 98
Loyal WI 54446
(p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332
www.canvasreplacements.com
Here are the part details:
ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE
[PA-LAVACLSEAL]
Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Hey man, did you by chance have an awning mount on this prior to removing the ABS plastic top? If so, how is it attached and can it be reattached? I didn’t recall seeing it on the finished surface but it looked like it was there in the beginning.
You are correct. There was the awning mount on the original ABS top so I lost it during this repair. In my case, the awning had broken long ago and I had taken to using one of the square folding pop up shade structure (like you see at kids soccer games) so it wan't a consideration for me.
Matthew Brown so was it just an adhesive that kept it on or is it bolted to the shell?
@@vanzee5401 On my unit, it was not bolted and was held in place by some kind of adhesive.
Matthew Brown thanks bro! I’ll be tearing mine down and want to make sure I don’t ruin that part as my awning is in great shape. Thanks for the feedback and the great video!
@@vanzee5401 I made no attempt to save the awning mount; it might be tricky so good luck! BTW: In case you didn't read thru the comments, the one place that I got into a bit of trouble was trying to use the bed liner to fill some of the divots or imperfections in the foam that resulted from tearing off the ABS plastic cover. I didn't have many and should have used something like Bondo. Instead I was a bit lazy and just tried pouring/ponding the bedliner into the "potholes". That resulted in some cracking where the SPEEDKOTE was thick (which I had to overcoat later). Again, good luck, would like to hear how it goes!
So do you peel the plastic and spray over the foam
Yep. Peel is maybe too strong of a word; in my case the plastic cover was barely attached to the foam underneath. I only got a few divots in the foam when I pealed off the plastic as most of the adhesive that was used to originally bind them together had failed long ago. BTW: If you have significant divots in the foam, I recommend filling them with Bondo before spraying.
Hello, Thanks for the upload. I am about to try this on my 2000 Coleman Utah. The Phoenix sun is unforgiving...Anyway, how is the bed liner holding up at this point? Would you still recommend this repair method?
Still holding up with the exception of where I tried to use it to fill some deep divots. I recommend first filling large voids with something like bondo and then covering with bedliner
@@mwkbrown Great, thanks again. This seems to be the best solution out there. Your video helps a lot. Take care.
Is it still holding up?
Nice work - that looks great! I’m curious if you noticed any increase in weight for the bedliner vs the vinyl covering?
Also, where abouts in New Mexico are you? Your area looks beautiful!
I'm sure that it is a bit heavier now; but not noticeable when I am towing it. We're in Albuquerque.
One more question, is your roof 12 x 7
I actually don't own it any more so I can't go out and measure it. (I gave it to a buddy's son who has since given it to one of his friends)
Yours looks great! We have a 1997 Sea Pine and are having to replace the roof. What did you do to prep the top before spraying? Did you sand it? Use acetone? We took off the ABS roof yesterday, and will work on applying the Grizzly Grip this weekend. Need to know how to prep the roof before rolling on the new coating to make sure it sticks.
When I took the ABS cap off the top it was pretty clean and I immediately sprayed. In retrospect, it would probably be a good idea to lightly sand ... but I didn't. Acetone also seems like a good idea.
Do I have to take off old plastic? Can I feel in Cracks and then spray?
I think that depends on how well the old plastic is adhering to the rest of the top. In my case, it clearly wasn't and it was very easy to remove the old plastic (made me think that the manufacturer didn't use enough adhesive).
I felt more comfortable taking off the old plastic as I expect that it would continue to crack and lift off the foam
That's a 10' box, right? I'm looking to do my Santa Fe this spring. Do you remember how many bottles it took to do just the top? My endcaps are in decent shape.
I think that it was 8 or 10
Is your camper still holding up as far as the roof is concerned?
Still holding up well
I'm going to do the same on my trailer this week what other stuff did you spray & how is it holding up
I also sprayed some bare metal attachments for my Thule rack. I won't be using them 'til this Winter so they haven't really been tested yet. The trailer is still holding up well.
Is this an ABS roof?
You posted your video about spraying the litter your tent trailer two years ago. How’s it doing now. The reason I ask is because I’m getting ready to do it to mine. Thank you
Cary Tibbets: It is still holding up well! If you read thru the comments you will see that I did have an issue with trying to use the bed liner to fill in divots/imperfections in the surface. I should have used bondo or similar filler instead of “pooling” the spray coating into the few holes that I had. In these few places where the liner pooled it tended to crack after. It really is meant to be a coating. So as long as you don’t apply it to thick you should be fine. FYI, I don’t cover my tent trailer from the elements and it has held up to the New Mexico sun!
Matthew Brown
Thanks for info MATT. I’m hoping the new Bed Liner lid will outlast my life time
Interesting, thanks for this, so you say the front and back caps are plastic?
Mine were both plastic ... and starting to deteriorate. T-Rex has adhered well to it.
Did you prime the roof ?
No, I did not
Matthew. loved the video. I need to order some for my popup. How many coats did the 10 bottles apply? Did you just do one coat or several? need to know so I get enough. thanks for sharing
I pretty much kept applying coats until I couldn't see the "green" of the bare top. Probably 3 coats. Definitely not less than 10 bottles.
Matthew Brown I'm only seeing a 8 qt kit on Amazon. did you have to buy two extra bottles?
I actually have one bottle left. It's been a while, but I think that I ordered an 8 bottle kit and a 4 bottle kit for a total of 12. I used one of the other bottles to cover some metal parts (unrelated project).
Matthew Brown thank you. much appreciated!!
You might be able to get away with 8 bottle if you only do the top (and not the front and back as I did)
did you spray any primer before you coated or did you spray bed liner directly on the foam ?
I did not spray any primer. I applied the spray bed liner the same day that I peeled off the old (and deteriorating) plastic that covered the foam (so the surface was relatively clean).
How is the roof holding up
It is still holding up with no problems. Regards, Matthew
How many quarts did you use to do this?
10
Do you need a primer
I did not use a primer and didn’t seem to miss it
So you keep the original roof ?
Most of the original roof remains with the exception of the thin plastic cover which you can is cracked and damaged by years in the sun. Effectively, this thin plastic cover is replaced by the spray on bed liner.
Great video Matthew. It took 10 bottles for just the top and the front? One bottle must not cover too well then? Do you mind if I ask what you paid for each bottle. Looks like they are around $26.00? I'm going to paint my fiber glass topper on my camper van.
When I ordered last Summer from Amazon, it was $189 for 8 bottles (~$24/bottle). Considering that a new top was $1000 (plus shipping) I considered it a bargain. I might've been able to get better coverage/bottle if I had a more powerful air compressor (but yes, each bottle goes pretty fast). 5 months with a lot of sun, a few hard freezes, and a powerful hail storm and it is holding up wonderfully!
Thanks. Bought 8 quarts today and hope to paint my top next week. Pretty excited about that
I took the plunge and followed your video to replace my roof. I think it went well, though like you I would have benefited from a bigger, stronger air compressor. I have a Coleman Westlake trailer, and I went through 9 bottles just on the roof. I had a number of pitted sections, small gashes, etc. and they were not covered as well as I think they probably should be. I'm thinking it might be wise to order a smaller 4-bottle roller kit (I have the sprayer, and I think the brush and roller might be useful for touch-up work) and add more material in places. Did you do any applications on top of entirely dry under coats of T-Rex? If so, did you do anything to prepare the under coat to receive another layer? Sanding? I'm contemplating adding something like Bondo to fill in uneven areas before touching up with more T-Rex.
Nice! I hope that it continues to go well! I have a few pits and gashes as well and they bothered me at first; however, because of the somewhat distressed look that comes from spraying (and maybe I got used to them) they don't bother me too much anymore ;) I would also be a bit concerned about applying it too thick. My impression is that this coating really not meant to fill large voids ... it really is a coating.
I think that it would be OK to do an application on top of a completely dry coat; however, I'd be concerned about applying it too thick. I think that Bondo might be a better idea if you want to get rid of the gashes and other voids. If you do try bondo, please let me know how it goes.
What did you do about awning channel repair Also would you share the rubber gasket site thans
I didn't do anything for the awning channel. Mine had broken years ago and I have just been using one of those cheap "EZ-ups".
I ordered the black rubber gasket from:
Canvas Replacements
W2299 State Hwy 98
Loyal WI 54446
(p) 715-255-8142 | (f) 715-255-9332
www.canvasreplacements.com
Here are the part details:
ROOF SEAL (41') - COLEMAN ALTERNATIVE
[PA-LAVACLSEAL]
Item #: PA-LAVACLSEAL
Thank you
Thanks for uploading! I am looking at using this for a non skid on my bass boat, tired of the carpet. How well has it held up? Any cracking or peeling?
B : it has held up well after 2 years. As for it being “non skid”, I’m not sure about that. Maybe if you sprinkle sand on the surface before it dries you could get a no slip surface. Good luck!
@@mwkbrown Excellent. Thanks for the feedback. Lowes sales some pumice for the Rustoleum Top Deck, may try mixing that into it. Just really tired of the boat carpet.
Is this coating still holding up?
Yes, generally it is holding up well. There are a few cracks around the clips that clamp down the lid during travel; fortunately, it is only cosmetic
Hi there, I really enjoyed the video. It appears you ordered the 8-10 bottle kit, all these comments are great, but you cant see them on a mobile device like my phone I was using before. thank you for all the information. Saving us $$$$ and thank you for the link to that rubber gasket, they have others for $1.5 a ft now. Did they have those options available when you ordered the coleman replacement gasket?
If you are referring to PA-LAVATSB1400C-3, I don't think that they had that option before. Looks like a good choice
I called Canvas Replacements and asked about the cheaper seal. I was told it was for storage compartments that are on the front end of some of the Coleman campers, but not for the main roof seal.
Charlie Collier thanks for being so thorough, I was thinking if I bought 42 ft of that seal and a good sealent that it may work. Looks like the right size but they would know better than me. Did ask them if they could compare the 2 side by side? Granted if they could sell it for $160 why would they bother selling it for $60 +or- for 42 ft.
You're welcome! I think it has to do with thickness and durability. Note that the same company is currently selling the "right" one for $119 on eBay and they'll give you that same price over the phone if you ask for it.
Your trailer looks great. How many bottles of bed liner did it take to do your trailer?
I sprayed some other stuff, so I'd guess that it was about 10 bottles
did you ordered the int-able and added white to it?
Looks mighty dang nice! Cost for YOUR application roughly?
Sorry ... I don't recall. I think that I used around 10 quarts so you can price it out on Amazon
How many cans did you use for camper
And how many layers
@@juanmartinez-rh1hb It's been a while ... I think that I used 10 cans and probably did at least 3 layers.
Ok thank you
How has it held up?
So far, so good. It still gets lots of sun.
How much coat did you use?
Do you mean, "How many coats did I use?" About 3. (Some places where I thought that put it on too thin I sprayed a 4th coat.)
Matthew Brown thanks. Sorry spell check got me. That's exactly what I was asking.
It's hard to knock a guy for posting a helpful video show how to do something BUT... practically every reply on this board is starving for followup answers and Matt, dang it, you've gone dark on us. Most important question of course is "now that it's been a while, how is it holding up?" Buehler... Buehler... Buehler...
It's still holding up well. As for the [sometimes admittedly delayed replies], I believe that I've answered almost every question "theme" at least once (like, "how many bottles did you use" and "how's it holding up". Many people are too lazy to read thru all of the previous Q&A :( Though, to be fair, I did see a few new categories of questions and tried to answer as best as I could. And also to be fair, I probably ought to post an update on the condition/durability of the coating every few months. So, thanks for the nudge ;)
I am not extremely DIY savvy but have the same issue with my Coleman ABS roof. Is it pretty easy once the plastic is removed?
As long as you take your time taping off the areas that you don't want sprayed, then it doesn't take much talent to spray the areas that you do want covered. I probably spent as much time taping and/or removing (like the spare) as I did spraying.
It was pretty straight forward
Did you have to reinforce any of the clips or just reattach them to the painted foam roof?
I didn't
How is the roof holding up
Generally, it is holding up well. The one problem that I had was where I tried to fill in some holes by applying the bedliner *really thick* and essentially pooling it in the holes. I've noticed some cracking in those spots. Lesson: don't use it as a filler, use something else like Bondo if you want to fill imperfections, only spray on the bedliner. In all other locations where I sprayed it on, it has held up fine.