Roof – RV Castaways

In July of this year, I made it to the top of the roof of our coach. It wasn’t the first time. I’ve been up there a few times.

I go up to clean the roof and to apply a sealant. It is always a bit of a stretch getting up there. I use a step ladder that can double as an extension ladder. The extension won’t go above the roof line so it requires a leg-over and a pull-over to get my body up and across.

Although I am still fit at sixty, I have found myself wondering about my personal safety clambering up to the top of the coach.

In coming up to Hearthside Grove, I was prepared to wash and wax our coach myself. I decided against doing so. For about $400, Superior Coach Detailing did an awesome job and I did not have to worry about getting up on the roof.

But the question remains: on or off the roof?

We have enjoyed making some new friends at the resort and one person we met had a tragedy happen in her life. When I mentioned that I was planning on doing some work on the roof of our coach, she was very blunt with me. She told me to stay off the roof.

Last year, her husband was doing some work on the roof of their motorhome. He slipped and fell from the top of their coach. He died from the injuries sustained in the fall.

I am rethinking the need to go up there now. Especially if I can hire a crew of younger and more experienced people to deal with any maintenance items on the roof.

I finally made it, up on the roof, the very top of the Castaway, our 40-foot motorhome.

I wasn’t sure how to get up on the roof of my Newmar Dutch Star. I have two ladders, one 8-foot step ladder and a 7-foot multi-purpose ladder. After checking with the customer service team at Newmar, I used the 7-foot multi-purpose ladder to make the climb. They assured me that the side panels were more than strong enough to hold the weight. Fully extended at a safe angle, the ladder was almost two feet short of the top edge of the coach. Not ideal but I was able to hold on to the top edge of the coach and swing my legs over to the roof itself.

Success. A castaway has landed on the roof.

I needed to finish detailing the very top areas of the coach that were simply out of reach from the step ladder. Being on the roof made it so much easier to apply paint sealant to the top part of the front and rear caps as well as the top ridge of the sides of the coach.

I found a number of items on the roof: air conditioning units, vent covers for the Fan-Tastic Fans, drain-waste-vent outlets, a small solar panel, a cover for the solar prep wires, the satellite dish, the digital TV antenna, radio antennas and antennas for the Sirius XM radio.

I spent roughly 3 hours topside. Lorraine was kind enough to ferry up the supplies. Things like detailing spray, clay bars, paint sealant, microfibre cloths and fluids. Even though it was a cloudy day, there was enough heat and humidity to produce a lot of sweat. The constant moving along with the cleaning and waxing activities does constitute a pretty good workout.

Here is a short video about the experience up on the roof.

Tag Archive for: Roof

On Or Off The Roof?

Up On The Roof