That time our roof almost blew off

We woke up on a wind farm in West Texas. We were finally heading into the Southwest, after spending all winter and early spring in the Southeast. Spirits were high. We hit the road. Shortly thereafter, our TPMS went off. Nosediving pressure in the tow dolly tire. We pulled over on the side of the two lane highway. Almost out of Texas. Almost.

“Yep, it’s a flat,” I told Eugene.

“Oh, so it’s going to be one of THOSE days,” he said.

Without too much drama, we unloaded the Bug, chased to the nearest gas station about 20 miles away, and changed the tire.

“That could’ve been a LOT worse,” I said.

An hour later, topping off the gas one final time before leaving Texas, I look up and see that the fiberglass roof has separated from about 90% of the sidewall. Only the corners are left.

“Oh, Jerry,” we said. “That doesn’t look right.”

We kept driving, but slowly. I take to the internet and am reading about this very common problem with Winnebago roofs. The fiberglass roof floats over the substrate, and is held in place by all of the rooftop fittings — the AC, the vents, etc. And along the sides, the roof is GLUED to the gutters. When the glue breaks down, sometimes –sometimes, in a strong crosswind, the roof just rips right off.

“Eugene, I think we should pull over. NOW.”

Thank god for duct tape. The Jerry-rig is really earning her “stripes” today.

My initial duct tape job got us all the way to our gorgeous dry camping site in New Mexico. We are currently planning the repair and ordering supplies, running the dog all over the sand dunes, and trying to get some actual work done while we’re here.

Stay tuned!