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M109A3 Roof Re Skin

Rhino 5/4

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Has anyone tried going over the top of the existing roof with cargo trailer roof sheeting? Thinking the adhesive strips may hold it up enough above the existing rivets where it will not matter. I see that you can buy the radius edge and corners as well. The ol girl is pretty eat up and not really wanting to cut all the rivets out and pull the old off and by time I do surgery and cut out all the holes and weld in patches to spray on roofing it will be summer time again.
 

chucky

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Have you measured from starting point to end going across the roof to see how long that sheet would need to be without a seem in that run ? Wondering if 8 ft would be long enough /easier to find sheet like 4x8 and depending where you get it but you can find 5x12 . If you lay it sideways start at the rear of box and work your way to the front over lapping atleast 4 inches with a full 4 in wide dose of sikaflex or windshield gasket ureathane in tubes . And it would be nice to land on as many cross braces to rivit too .
 

Rhino 5/4

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Waco, Tx
Have you measured from starting point to end going across the roof to see how long that sheet would need to be without a seem in that run ? Wondering if 8 ft would be long enough /easier to find sheet like 4x8 and depending where you get it but you can find 5x12 . If you lay it sideways start at the rear of box and work your way to the front over lapping atleast 4 inches with a full 4 in wide dose of sikaflex or windshield gasket ureathane in tubes . And it would be nice to land on as many cross braces to rivit too .
It's pretty much 8'x12' box. I think with the radius caps I'm good on width. As long as I can get 8' wide material
 

Rhino 5/4

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Wondering if it would be blasphemy and get burned at the stake on top of a pile of old 900:20 NDTs if I squared off the top and put trailer roofing on it? Guy at trailer repair shop said roofing too thick to make the curve. Just throwing up an idea 20220905_194952.jpg20220905_195013.jpg
 

chucky

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Wondering if it would be blasphemy and get burned at the stake on top of a pile of old 900:20 NDTs if I squared off the top and put trailer roofing on it? Guy at trailer repair shop said roofing too thick to make the curve. Just throwing up an idea View attachment 878594View attachment 878595
Yea what if you doubled the trailer skin so that it wood make for a stiffer top for limbs sliding over the roof but would make the roll over the sides easier ?
 

Mullaney

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Wondering if it would be blasphemy and get burned at the stake on top of a pile of old 900:20 NDTs if I squared off the top and put trailer roofing on it? Guy at trailer repair shop said roofing too thick to make the curve. Just throwing up an idea View attachment 878594View attachment 878595
.
Well... Part of the magic is since you own it - and chances are that you don't currently own a helicopter or a crane - you could remove those corner hooks and re-frame the corners. Square could work.

What if you got aluminum?
Maybe that would bend a little easier?
 

ToddJK

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Even if adhesive is used, is it possible to get the top and the sides clean enough so it bonds? Not to mention that trailer repair stuff, can be kinda hard or at least from what I've seen on some trailers. I always see it riveted, all the glued patches were missing unless they did a piece on top on the outside and a piece on the bottom from the inside and they were glued together. Plus almost every patch job I've ever seen, leaked a lot. That's just my experience as a receiver/shipping department manager for 6 years.

The best thing to do is too pull that top off and fix it. It won't be quick but at least it'll be done right and less chances of wasting money should any patch jobs not hold up.
 

cattlerepairman

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Not 9.00-20. You'd be burned on a pile of 395s. I can see why trailer roofing material would be too thick for the curves. But the side panels? They are thin enough, one would think.
Are you planning to zap the whole roof off, all around, below the corners and re-build it up square?
 

Rhino 5/4

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Not 9.00-20. You'd be burned on a pile of 395s. I can see why trailer roofing material would be too thick for the curves. But the side panels? They are thin enough, one would think.
Are you planning to zap the whole roof off, all around, below the corners and re-build it up square?
Yes, cut the rivets off all the way around including the drip edge and pull the roof off down to the ribs. The trailer guy said I could put a piece of 1/8" thick angle all the way around and the aluminum roofing would fold over and put a piece J mold on and trailer trim of som sort to tie it back into the sheet metal. 20220908_130559.jpg
 
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