2005 Bambi Headliner Falling Down

[Can Opener]

I recently bought an 05 safari bambi 19. Everything is perfect except the glue holding the headliner has failed and the headliner is sagging in many spots thru-out the ceiling. The worst is between the front skylight vent and the door, an area about 2 1/2 feet by 3 feet. Also from that same front vent to the overhead cabinet. The rear ceiling over the bed also has some sags.
I am thinking I might be able to remove the plastic skylight vent frame and other ceiling fixtures, tear down the headliner just enough to gain access to the sagging areas, Roll some sort of glue on the ceiling and try to press the liner back up.
Does anyone have any experience with this and the type of glue would work? Thanks

[HowieE]

I think this has been a common problem and I would call Jackson Center and ask what there suggestion is.

If the glue has failed in one area it will most likely fail through out the trailer in time so a complete repair may be the answer. If you fix it right in the current areas that may make getting to future failures even harder.

[Aviator]

It failed in our '97 as well. We had Warren and Sharon Fore put it back up with a pattern of 1/4 inch screws. It looks like it was quilted now. They live in the TN area, but might be up at Alumapalooza. If you go to the GA Unit on the WBCCI website, you can access our news letter where they have an advertisement. There should be contact information in the ad.

[SilverRanger]

I'd be interested in a solution for the sagging headliner too. I have holding off for the reason mentioned by HowieE.

[RangerJay]

Originally Posted by Aviator

It failed in our '97 as well. We had Warren and Sharon Fore put it back up with a pattern of 1/4 inch screws. It looks like it was quilted now.

Any chance of getting a picture of what this looks like?

Thanks,


Jay

[Can Opener]

I have a call in to Airstream, great advice. Took pictures from many angles but the sags dont show because of the solid white color of the fabric. Will report back. Thanks

[Del Gurney]

Please do report back,,,mine is showing isolated sagging very similar to what you describe.

[Del Gurney]

I just went back through the "Interior Repair" forums and there are a couple previous mentions of this headliner issue. None provided an easy answer and seems 3M spray adhesive glue is not the answer.
I fear it would take a major removal of headliner and start over....by a professional.
Sigh

[Aviator]

It will take me a few days to get back to our Airstream, but I will provide some pictures the.

[Can Opener]

Talked to tech at jackson center, he said they use a two part adhesive to hold up the headliners, said glue failer was not widespread on fabric headliners but had problems with foam backed headliners where foam breaks down.
Sounds like using a two part glue or a roll on cotact cement would entail a complete removal of the headliner which I would like to avoid.
Said they use 3m 76 for small repairs and said he heard of a customer that had success with 82-06rv 3m headliner adhesive. Researched the 82-06rv and 76 stuff and both seem to be a general purpose glue with hit and miss success.
Very discouraged to see that others have tried 3m without success, but 3m makes a Super Trim Adhesive 08090 for vinyl tops and heavy headliners. I think I will try a can of this in a small area and see what happens.
Probably will wait for a time when I can park the trailer for a while and air it out as it sounds like any adhesive with any strength is way up there on the toxic fume meter.

[Aviator]

Can Opener, I finally made it to our trailer. This is what our ceiling looks like after Warren and Sharon went through. My adhesive had failed in multiple spots and was really bad over the front sofa and door area.

[Kota]

The headliner in my 95 was in good shape until I brought it home to prepare for evacuation from the Boulder fires. It sat in front of the house in the 105 degree heatwave (vents and windows open) and a large section dropped in the bedroom. I tried a small area with the 3M adhesives. The foam is deteriorated and the surface just peals off after the spray gets tacky.

I think I'll repair the area with the buttons and start a pattern to do the whole ceiling. I've used a couple already and another area. I'm not crazy about drilling all those holes and may redo the headliner this winter.

Does anyone know the mechanics of the plastic seam strips. How are they fastened etc... I'd like to remove them and re install one.

[AtomicNo13]

Bad news....
It isnt the glue which has failed, rather the foam behind the vinyl which is failing. there is almost no way to repair this. If you should decide to try the glue route, you'll almost certainly have a bigger mess as the already frail foam will melt into a glopy mess.
As I see it, there are 2 fixes.

1 complete removal of the old headliner, scraping all the residue off, disolving the adhesive, and starting fresh

2, Go the route of the "button" fix as described above. This looks interesting and is ultra affordable.

A complete headliner job is time consuming, and expensive as our vinyl is a non standard width.

[Kota]

The pattern of buttons above look pretty good. Any recommendations on the best pattern?

[Phoenix]

Does anyone know if the wires are bundled and routed along or inside the spars; or do they just randomly snake across open areas of the aluminum panels? Specifically, is there reason to worry about screw threads hitting wires in the ceiling and shorting them to ground?

I like the buttons, and they look good cosmetically; but unless one knows where the electrical wires are routed, it seems that you could drive a screw into a wire or wire bundle. When I installed a second FantasticFan, the wire I spliced into looked like it just ran across open space coming from who knows where.

Does anyone know if this is a valid concern; or if there's no need to worry?

[Kota]

I'm going to use short 1/8 inch pop rivets and a drill stop to limit penetration. I've put a few in another problem area and it works very well.

[Kota]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I'm going to use short 1/8 inch pop rivets and a drill stop to limit penetration. I've put a few in another problem area and it works very well.

I also use a small washer on top of the drill stop to keep it from spinning on the vinyl.

[bearcat]

Here was my solution...I think, however you do it, it remains a matter of personal choice as to what you think looks the best..Anything is better than trying to remove and replace in my opinion..

[bearcat]

I like old cars and remembered some of the old fords had chrome strips running side to side across the headliner..Probably for looks. I found some half inch wide 8ft long aluminum strips at lows and simply placed them across the top pressing till they fit the contour of the top and using small rivets and being careful to drill only enough to penetrate the metal behing the wall material attached the strips about 2 ft apart from one end of trailer to other. It solved the sagging problem and at the same time the aluminum kept the aluminum old style appearance of my bambi..to each him or her own but that was the only look that really appealed to me.