Leaky pop-up roof on '74 Winnie Wagon

[74WinnieWagon0]

Sent: 2/18/2008

Roof is sagging & obviously rotten - leaking in corners & around roof vent ( roof vent already been replaced once). Interior ceiling vinyl (?) is peeling. Canvas sides are still good. Have sealed all obvious roof seams & screw holes. Have been unable to obtain any info on structure of roof. Am not very mechanically inclined & by the sounds of it, can not afford a professional to re-build. Do not want to start taking roof apart without knowing how to put it back together properly or making it worse. Would appreciate any constructive assistance. Am very much a classic Winnebago enthusiast! 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/19/2008

I'm not sure what a Winnie Wagon is...a pop-up roof?  Anyone else have some info for these nice folks?

[kathryn8]

Sent: 2/19/2008

Winnie Wagon - great engine, awesome fun!!  o.k., so there was no toilet/bathroom.....  My family owned The Pumpkin for 20+ years and boondocked in places that no one in their right minds would have gone.

The roof is solid thick 2" plywood tied to the body with 3/4" pipes that raise/lower the roof via a hand crank.  When lowered, the roof is locked by 6 latches, 2 in front and 2 in back, 1 on each side.  I kept the roof painted with the white rubberized paint and, when the two front latches started to pull through the plywood, I took 4 metal rectangular plates, drilled holes through them to match the screws on the latches and "sandwiched" the plywood between them.  Worked fine and, with the white rubberized paint over them as well, the roof was great. 

I had considered replacing the roof when the front latches started getting loose in the plywood, but realized I did not have the skills to reattach the canvas (with the windows and screens) around the perimeter metal encasing the sides and ends of the roof.   

After over 6 months on CW marketplace, I sold the Winnie Wagon for $500 - would have driven her down to Ogden and given it to Ed if I had known he was Winnie-less at the time.  Sigh.  The Pumpkin was replaced with a Rialta and I now have a bathroom, but I can't go down those wild windy dirt roads in the mountains anymore........

Let me know if you want further info on this sweet Winnie.

Kathryn
Mercer Island WA

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/22/2008

Yay!  The owners of this really neat Winnie Wagon sent me a copy of the brochure, so now I know what they look like...and they are really cool!

Here is an excerpt from my return email about how I would reconstruct the roof...maybe you all can add to it so they have something more to go on:

"Someone on the board mentioned that the pop-up roof on theirs is just thick plywood covered in rubber.  I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to make a new roof that would be light and strong by just making a frame of 1x2's, and then sandwiching styrofoam insulation between thin plywood...use a lot of glue along with the nails you use.  Then cover it in EPDM rubber, which would be cheap for something that small, and attach the canvas the same way the factory original was attached."

Kev

[74WinnieWagon0]

Sent: 2/22/2008

This a response I got from another reader:

I believe what he indicates is closer to the structure. I was unable to get a look when I replaced the roof vent:

"I wonder if the roof is really 2" thick plywood, or if it is a sandwich, like the roof of the motorhomes? The motorhomes have a sheet of 1/8th plywood for the ceiling, an inch of foam, then 3/8th plywood for the top surface - with an aluminum skin over that. It gets wet inside when there is any leak at one of the many seams, then takes the new few years to rot and begin to sag."

Oh, and by the way, it does not do the unit justice without seeing it with the roof up. Lots of headroom, with zippered, screened & clear vinyl flaps over windows on both sides of the canvas-sided, hardtop, pop-up roof

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/23/2008

LOL!  it really is pretty cool!  Much cooler than the old VW campers, and I'm a VW fan!
 
Kev

[RV Mech Tech]

Anyone have any pics?  never seen  a Winnie Wagon - Thank You!

[Oz]

If you go to the resources and click on the Winnebago previous Models link, you can see what one looked like.  They were produced in '74 only.  Later, they were brought back in the early 80s but met with the same lack of success so, the idea was re-presented in a more "modern" version as the LeSharo; and the Phasar under the Itasca brand name.

[Oz]

It was brought back for a brief year or two(?) but, it was no more successful.

[winnie wagon 09191]

I have been looking to replace my roof also. This was a pretty old post  did you ever get it done?. The wagons were produced only in 74 and 80. That's it.

[Oz]

That's unknown and the member is inactive so it's not likely we'll ever find out.

[winnie wagon 09191]

I know it's a little late  but I am replacing the roof of my wagon it is thin plywood with an aluminum skin and aluminum frame.  Pics soon. I would love to see some pictures of other winnie wagons