Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 13, 2025 ...

Welcome to the Forum, Carl!  The more the merrier! 

I removed a manual crank-up dish from the roof of our coach.

The dish was attached with screws AND with a copious quantity of white adhesive/sealant.  It was a chore getting the sealant broke loose - I used a flexible steak knife and a putty knife to cut the bond.  Doing so cause some minor damage to the fiberglass around the dish mounting hole, but nothing major.

Once the dish was removed, I ended up with a big hole (from the dish) and a small hole (where the cable penetrated the roof).  I cut two patch panels from some 1/8" aluminum sheet I had on hand.  Painted them white.  The one covering the dish hole is the exact same shape as the dish mounting base, and is screwed down using the existing screw holes.  I also used Dicor Self Leveling sealant to seal under the patches.

Inside, I had a hole in the bathroom ceiling where the crank came through.  I made a plug out of blue Styrofoam insulation to fill the hole, and disguised it with a bit of Ozite ceiling material left over from another project.  Came out pretty good!

6555 Ozite Ceiling / Headliner Carpet Geometric 72" Wide - Sand

Carl, nice coach !
When i got our coach, it had two motorized dishes on it. It was 4 years ago and I could not find anyone who thought they had value. A buddy of mine was all excited and said he wanted them, I notice that 4 years later they are still sitting behind his shed!

As far as the holes, each one had a least a dozen screw holes and about a one inch hole for cabling. I used a product called Plastic-Aide. it is a two part powder/liquid that you mix in a small supplied cup. it can just be dripped into the screw holes, and with a little backing poured over the larger hole. It is about the consistency of apple sauce when mixed.  Once dry, it is an opaque white color, but can be colored to match with their color kit. It dries hard as a rock and if desired can be sanded smooth with a small orbital sander.  I did not color or paint mine as it can't be seen unless walking on the roof.  4 years later, still rock solid, not cracking, chipping, or leaking.

(I have no connection to this product other than using it on several projects and it is quite amazing.)

I removed a manual crank-up dish from the roof of our coach.

The dish was attached with screws AND with a copious quantity of white adhesive/sealant.  It was a chore getting the sealant broke loose - I used a flexible steak knife and a putty knife to cut the bond.  Doing so cause some minor damage to the fiberglass around the dish mounting hole, but nothing major.

Once the dish was removed, I ended up with a big hole (from the dish) and a small hole (where the cable penetrated the roof).  I cut two patch panels from some 1/8" aluminum sheet I had on hand.  Painted them white.  The one covering the dish hole is the exact same shape as the dish mounting base, and is screwed down using the existing screw holes.  I also used Dicor Self Leveling sealant to seal under the patches

Hi Carl.  I'm gonna second and emphasize Chuck's finding of copious amounts of white adhesive sealant.  I too have encountered this in several areas, particularly the skylight base.  And it is nothing to be trifled with as lt is strong enough to tear the fiberglass on the roof in attempting to remove it (or anything held down/in place by it). On the other hand, if you should happen to accidentally do so, the same fiberglass repair kit that you'd need to repair any small tears would also be an excellent, weatherproof and permanent way to seal those holes left from screws etc when you remove those dishes. 

Bill

Looks like a nice clean way to cover up the holes from the dish,  any thoughts on putting eterna bond tape down as well?