Box Truck Roof Types???

[Dakoda]

Hello all, first time posting! 
I've been lurking on these forums for a while, and I am planning on starting my own conversion very soon. I plan to live out of a box truck or high-top van for a few months while travelling the US. 

I've read that box trucks with translucent roofs are easily damaged and often leak. Is it even possible to put a vent fan in the roof if it's made out of that translucent material?

I like that some light comes in through those roofs, and I haven't seen a whole lot of box trucks with metal roofs for sale where I am (NH).

Should I just wait until I find one with a metal roof since translucent roofs aren't worth the hassle, or does it not really make a difference?

All opinions help!

 

[LoupGarou]

I wouldn’t purchase one, the fiberglass is just to fragile.

There’s a whole industry built on servicing cargo bodies. Go to a service center for semi trailers and talk to someone about re-skinning a fiberglass roof with aluminum.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Fiberglass roofs deteriorate over time, and then they get brittle. They are also part of the structural integrity of the box.

Years ago I was pulling a 53ft van trailer in a bad windstorm and half of the fiberglass roof peeled off the trailer, the walls collapsed, and the fully loaded trailer folded in the middle. The trailer floor and landing gear broke and impacted onto the road surface at 65 miles an hour.

It took 750 feet to stop (the deep gouge marks on the pavement were measured) and after law enforcement came along, we went looking for the roof. We found it 1/2 mile away, in the middle of a farmer's field. Luckily, no one was injured, but one car stopped right after it happened and told us that he saw the 30 foot piece of fiberglass roof airborne over his car. 

I'm NOT a fan of fiberglass roofs on cargo boxes. My advice is to find one with an aluminum roof or have one installed as soon as you are able.

 

[Dakoda]

Thanks to the both of you. I'll look for one with an aluminum roof

 

[Seminole Wind]

just because it is aluminum, wont make it safe. i have seen plenty of trailer and older motorhomes where the aluminum on the roof was supper thin and not well secured. when they get old the can have just as many problems.

a well protected and maintained fiberglass roof that was built right in the first place is every bit as good as a well cared for properly built aluminum one. you can find shoddy examples of both

i my self prefer the fiberglass. much easier in my opinion and skill set to keep up and repair

my current skoolie has a well done aluminum roof and o dont see it going anywhere soon.

most important is to make sure it was built well in the first place and confirm it is still in good condition.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Fiberglass roofs deteriorate over time, and then they get brittle. They are also part of the structural integrity of the box.

Years ago I was pulling a 53ft van trailer in a bad windstorm and half of the fiberglass roof peeled off the trailer, the walls collapsed, and the fully loaded trailer folded in the middle. The trailer floor and landing gear broke and impacted onto the road surface at 65 miles an hour.

It took 750 feet to stop (the deep gouge marks on the pavement were measured) and after law enforcement came along, we went looking for the roof. We found it 1/2 mile away, in the middle of a farmer's field. Luckily, no one was injured, but one car stopped right after it happened and told us that he saw the 30 foot piece of fiberglass roof airborne over his car. 

I'm NOT a fan of fiberglass roofs on cargo boxes. My advice is to find one with an aluminum roof or have one installed as soon as you are able.

Are you sure that the trailer didn’t bend first causing the roof to crack, then the walls to fall in disconnecting the roof,  catch some wind and peel off. I am not an expert but it seems to me that a  53 foot trailer would have a pretty good base on it and not depend on a fibreglass roof to hold it together or stop it from bending in the middle.

 

[Headache]

I concur with Tx and also having been a truck driver there were much more issues with the fiberglass roofs than there were with aluminum. I never had an experience as he did but there were plenty of leakers and I saw the occasional peeled roof come in.

The structural integrity of a box is based on ALL the components holding up and staying together. When one is compromised it can weaken the entire structure. Not only that, with the kind of fiberglass they use for those types of roofs you really can't mount anything to them. The vibration from travel and pressure from the wind is an invitation for cracking. They just aren't the type of fiberglass used for an RV roof.

 

[Headache]

Are you sure that the trailer didn’t bend first causing the roof to crack, then the walls to fall in disconnecting the roof,  catch some wind and peel off. I am not an expert but it seems to me that a  53 foot trailer would have a pretty good base on it and not depend on a fibreglass roof to hold it together or stop it from bending in the middle.

The entire structure of a box is weak at best if not a complete unit.  As soon as that roof started to peel back the force of the wind from driving down the highway would be enough to cause the upright walls to cave in with the rest of the implosion to follow.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Are you sure that the trailer didn’t bend first causing the roof to crack, then the walls to fall in disconnecting the roof,  catch some wind and peel off. I am not an expert but it seems to me that a  53 foot trailer would have a pretty good base on it and not depend on a fibreglass roof to hold it together or stop it from bending in the middle.

Dry van floors and frame are structurally dependant on the walls and the roof to be intact and un-damaged. 

There are usually no heavy load-bearing beams running front to back under the trailer, only the wood floor planks with lateral aluminum ribs, and the sides and roof of the trailer for strength.

A flatbed is, of course, not dependant on walls or a roof, since they dont have those, but they weigh about the same, because the beams in the trailer frame are beefed up to carry a heavy payload. 

But van trailers get their structural integrity in the same way as the tubular structure of an airliner.

Here is a related story:

http://thehandle.net/discussion/6/translucent-roof-fail/p1