how to remove fabric (Carpet like) ceiling...

[bjdbowman]

hi yall... i want to remove the perfectly fine ceiling material in my 1998 winnie so how do i do it?

I want to glue rubber sound insulation then install a film radiant barrier and then a wood ceiling... we are going full time and we want to have the best insulation as we homestead in Florida.. very hot... we will also add a second roof for shade made of solar panels so we want to be parking in the direct sun...

any ideas how to effectively remove the carpet without damage to the subsurface? also does anyone know if there are any cross supports within the fiberglass roof system?

thanks,

[lemortede]

I would love to hear suggestions on doing this too. The foamor what ever is under the fabric is so messy and I don't know how to  clean the residual glue etc off.

[Rickf1985]

Welcome bjdbowman. 1998 is the newest winnie I have seen on here and to realize it is 17 years old makes me feel ancient!

[Froggy1936]

Next thing you will know, We will have members With R/V,s made this century. Frank  :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

[M & J]

You are ancient Rick. Most of us are.

[TerryH]

Somewhat curious here. You say "carpet like" but on a 1998 I doubt it is. Photos are very helpful. Likely foam-backed vinyl, glued in place and spaced at 4' intervals with a plastic trim. Easy way to see what you actually have is to remove the interior trim to one? of your roof vents.
Should you have the foam-backed vinyl, why remove it? It is a noise/temperature barrier as is. Not a lot, but it is there. Whatever you do add to the interior can be added to that as an additional barrier with appropriate and compatible adhesive.
. The plastic trim tells you where the roof/structural rafters are. Whatever you do add can be additionally supported with a nice oak or other wood trim fastened to the rafters.
I covered all the plastic trim in mine with wood, but only as I did not like the yellowing plastic.
Also gave me an easy way to hide the speaker wiring left to right when I relocated the TV and added powered speakers.
Also, a decent digital stud sensor will pinpoint any support as they read density change.

[davecaprita]

Unfortunately there seems to be no real way to avoid "messy" when removing the foam backed headliner material on many motorhomes.  We have an 87 model chieftain that was suffering from headliner failure.  We tried everything to get the foam off once we have pulled the material.  Finally, it took a shot in the dark by my motorhome challenged 75 year old mother to solve the problem.  She brought us a bottle of Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover (in the green spray bottle) that she saw while in line at Lowes.  She thought since it will dissolve tar and similar glue like blemishes without taking the paint off, it should work on foam and ceiling glue.  We tried it and it did just that. 

Drape your walls with cheap plastic and cover your floors too. Wait, better cover everything in that cheap plastic.  Work in sections and spray the glue/foam well and wait for it to saturate the material.  A respray may be needed on the tougher spots then once its had time to work (don't let it dry completely) simply use a 2" to 4" putty knife to scrape off the residue.  A plastic putty knife works best because it doesn't gouge the backing material as easily.  Keep in mind you are probably still looking at some sanding to smooth out the area but once its done its a smooth surface to work with. Our backing is luan but yours may be different.  Its still a big job with all the cabinets, corners, closets, and fixtures so perhaps doing it in stages might work best.  Our Chieftain is only 23' and even that's a challenge.             

[bjdbowman]

Thanks everyone... makes a lot of sense... I pulled off the vent cover and just grabbed the carpet like material and starting pulling... there was no foam... but there are glue spots left from where it was pulled off... there is a thin luan wood underneath   I will simply sand down and glue up a new ceiling.

Thanks again... I hope that i did not make too many waves with the "1998" classic...  W%

[Dill]

Honestly in my RV we pulled the headliner down and used a sanding sponge with a handle to scrape off the excess. What we were left with looked like a standard ceiling texture so I just painted it white. A few coats of white and the ceiling looks great and was so easy vs trying to remove the sticky residue!

http://imgur.com/a/Nwi3g here's a picture of the sanding sponge, a picture of the ceiling before painting (you can see the texture a little) and a picture of the ceiling now that I snapped from in my bed haha. Luckily the flash didn't wake the wife, the RV is our home!

[bjdbowman]

  I ended up using a cheap paint scrapper and the glue/carpet fuzz residue came off with a little bit of work. I wanted it smooth so that I could glue up insulation with contact cement. I don’t have any pictures… but it worked great because the luan wood is in great shape. I'm very happy...