I see some of these nice Regencys coming up for sale with really drooping headliners. I would always wonder; what is in the droopy parts spiders, snakes?

So has anyone changed the whole thing to vinyl, (my choice) and what was the cost to do that??

------------------

I'm out the door for Avis, and will share my research and plan later today. NEVER has our headliner shown any thought of falling, etc. 3-4 stains and outdated material is why we are changing ours.

Later,

Dale

Sharon and I have talked, talked, looked at and talked some more on what to do to refresh the headliner in our 38' Regency.

It has approx. 3-4 stains, and the fabric is outdated. We were told by a friend that owns a custom aircraft interior company that we could probably paint such. We did a test on the panel above the door that is the same fabric and design as the headliner with good results. Off white, and the only downside is that it doesn't have a soft feel to the touch. It does look very good though. KILZ stain sealer tinted off white is what we used.

Looking at some newer RV's we have noted the use of a material that is COMMERICAL CARPET like, with a VERY SHORT tight weave that appears to be approx. 1/8" to 3/16" total thickness. It is soft to touch, and has enough body to allow it to be glued, and not prone to sagging. Our headliner is in 8 panels, and all are fabric with foam glued to what appears to be 1/16" formica type boards. Then these panels are held to the alum. cross frame work by glue and thin 1" long sheet metal screws. The panels are butted up against each other then the seam is covered by a hard plastic 1-1/2" strip that is screwed to the roof frame and then a soft filler is pushed into this hard trim covering the other screws. It is a nice system, but if we go the way of new fabric then we will use finished wood strips.

I would guess it will take a good day to remove all the cabinets fans, etc, and then a day, maybe two to reinstall the new. Our 38 footer will require 16 yards of material if such is 54" wide. Prices are all over the board, but the one that we do like is $18.00 per 36" X 54" piece.

Depending on the material we decide to use the cost will be $350.00 - $500.00. Our labor is free. hehehe, NOTHING is free.

Regarding why some Regency's have sagging headliners I can only assume, WATER, and EXTREME HEAT. Adhesives don't like either.

I don't see this being a difficult job, but would require two people.

Dale



[This message has been edited by Smith Brother (edited July 09, 2005).]

Fabric headliners sag because the foam backing deteriorates from age, and/or heat. I pulled down the attaching strips, cut the edge of the fabric, stretched it tight, and tried to re-cement it with headliner adhesive. It didn't stay, but stretching took most of the sag out. It's wrinkly around the edges, but it doesn't brush my head any more, nor flutter like a flag in the breeze when the a/c is on.

I'm reluctant to change because the fabric is a lovely crushed velvet, much more attractive than standard headlier material.

There are 1 or more earlier posts about headliners. One Barther stripped the fabric, made patterns, cut thin plywood to fit, glued headliner material to his new backing with the material lying flat outside, then fastened it to the existing plywood. I think he did it without pulling down the cabinetry. This probably requires moldings to cover the edges.

I had some stains around the door. Had the furniture professionally cleaned, & had the cleaner steam the water stains. No more stains.

[This message has been edited by olroy (edited July 09, 2005).]

[This message has been edited by olroy (edited July 09, 2005).]

Cutting panels to fit TIGHT would NOT be an easy task. Trim pieces would look very tacky, and difficult to attatch. Panels would add weight where one should NOT, and adding weight is easy enough. If I recall correctly his name was Ron, not the ron from male/male fame though. I sure do miss ron and his HUMOR. His MONEY-GO Monaco probably keeps him out in the shop and not on his computer. WE MISS YOU ron. Got to love that ron.

I will keep you posted on our headliner update. It really is a STRAIGHT forward project.

Dale

Dale, can you share with us the name of the "Commercial Carpet like" material? It sounds like just the ticket. We are interested in how your project comes along.

Thom