Vinyl overlay pulling away from ceiling

[jnagel88]

I'm new to all of this (never owned a trailer or a motor home) so I'm hoping those of you with more experience can help me out.     I'm seriously looking at a 1991 Elandan 34'. It has the fuel injected 454 and about 72,000 miles. It seems to be in really good condition. It's at a dealership so they'll go through it to make sure everything works and they'll also show me how everything works, tune it up, etc. The biggest concern I have is the ceiling; the vinyl has pulled away from the backer in the entire coach. The previous owner put in some extra fasteners to hold it up but I'm concerned that it's water damage. The dealer insists that it's just the adhesive letting go -- i.e. it's old and that's what happens. Any info, advice, opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Welcome to the site.
If it's water damage, then there will be discoloration (brown stains) associated with it.  Both on the liner and the backing board.
If it was a leak, it could have already been repaired with no structural damage (Cosmetic only).
I have a 93 Chevy Van that the liner adhesive has let go.  Not an uncommon problem.  You can purchase spray liner adhesive.   I just have to get off my lazy tail and go fix it.

Dave

[jnagel88]

Thanks Dave! I didn't find any stains on the head liner or on the backing board so it sounds like I should be ok.

[Oz]

If you don't want to have to deal with the fumes and the overspray getting everywhere, you can also use brush-on adhesive, commonly found in the hardware department of Wal-Mart or Building Supply Store.

[fasteddy]

Think what you will find if you rub your hand over the ceiling, is that there may have been a thin layer of foam glued between the ceiling panels and the cloth. It breaks down and the material sags.

The foam fills out any voids in the material as it is glued to the ceiling