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Ceiling Alternatives

The wife wants the [faux?] leather ceilings in our GV gone. I'm not sure the effort is worth the gain because ours is in great shape, albeit a little dated. I do not know what I'll find if I start removing the leather but I'm curious if anyone has just painted their ceiling or done anything else. We have enough projects ahead of us that I'd really only be interested in a relatively low-complexity alterative. Anyone have any bright ideas that won't turn out trashy?

This feels like a phase 2.0 project that can be a problem for Future Elliott but I don't want to miss out on an opportunity if it makes sense to do something now while we're just gutting everything.
1987 Grand Villa ORED
2001 U320 4010

Not all that wander are lost... but I often am.

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #1 –
Sooo the wife wants to put mirrors all over the ceiling?  I think I would stick with what you now have.
2014 ih45  (4th Foretravel owned)
 1997 36' U295 Sold in 2020, owned for 19 years
  U240 36' Sold to insurance company after melting in garage fire
    33' Foretravel on Dodge Chassis  Sold very long time ago

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #2 –
Elliott;  you will opening up a can of worms!  Saying this, I have seen wood planking on the ceiling.  Can't remember their names, but they had a YouTube channel with 5 kids, did revivals and revamped a GV.  Looked really good.  You might do a search on that channel.  Hope that helps!        Trent & Siobhán is the name of the channel.  There are also a couple of other Foretravel GV remodels on Youtube!
Joe & Dottie Allen
Sold!  December 2023.      2000 U320; build # 5645
Our coach " Maxine"
Motorcade #  15922;  Escapee 150950; FMCA F330833; Boondockers Welcome;  Harvest Hosts;  Thousand Trails
'98 U320 from 2000-'06
USAF '62-'66

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." ―Epicurus

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #3 –
I bought my coach after a refrigerator fire. The ceiling fabric was trash. The previous owner tore all the ceiling material out ( except the bedroom). Thats the way I bought it.

I first thought I would replace the headliner, that is until It dawned on me how hard that was going to be and since I'm the only one to do the work all I could think of was a one armed paper hanger.
I took a deep breath and decided that fabric would not go back up on the ceiling. I thought that in a vehicle that is subjected to kitchen odors and smoke, a fabric on the ceiling was not a good choice.
I went with fiberglass panels. https://www.lowes.com/pd/48-in-x-8-ft-Embossed-White-Wall-Panel/1000174771?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-mlw-_-ggl-_-LIA_MLW_135_Windows-Patio-Door-Garage-_-1000174771-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAjw0ZiiBhBKEiwA4PT9z54GcNDiCXWUsQCnz-94U9-O3ClclHLM20Y2kRguff8kfGqsm6js6RoC7_MQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It was a project gluing and fastening the panels but I'm happy with the final outcome.
Since this was a one man project I found the panels easier to work with. I would measure the area for each panel, cut it to width, apply the adhesive ( 5200) place the panel on the ceiling, and hold them up with a bunch of 1x2 boards that could be bent back like a bow and using the spring effect hold and push the panels against the ceiling until the adhesive dried ( a couple of days).

Its been about 10years now and they are all still over my head like I had intended.
Its nice to have a material that can be wiped down and won't hold any kind of odor or stain.

I used the "bubbly side" down and hid the seems with a 2" fiberglass strip. Eventually I will add some LED rope lights to  the edging to shine across the ceiling.
1995 U320C SE 40'
Jeep 4x4 Commander - Limited - Hemi
"The Pack"  Yogi and Diesel our Airedales -  Charlie our Boxer/Akita mix. Gone but NEVER forgotten Jake our yellow Lab.
NRA Law Enforcement Firearms instructor - Handgun/shotgun
Regional Firearms instructor for national Armored Transp. Co.

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #4 –
Would love to see some pictures of your ceiling.
Richard & Betty Bark & Keiko our Golden Doodle
2003 U320T 3820 PBDS
Build # 6215
MC # 16926
2016 Chevrolet Colorado 4X4 diesel

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #6 –
Thanks all - I did my duty and at least inquired about alternatives. I think we'll let this one simmer for a while and if it still holds some heat in a year or two maybe we tackle it.

Quote from: Jeff & Sandy –
Elliot, my 93 GV ceiling is Ozite.

6555 Ozite Ceiling / Headliner Carpet Geometric 72" Wide - Sand
Jeff thanks, I have seen that look in late 90's Unicoaches I think and like it. It's understated, which I like. That may be the way to go if we decided to tackle this
1987 Grand Villa ORED
2001 U320 4010

Not all that wander are lost... but I often am.

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #7 –
We prefer the carpet type material as it absorbs sound better. It has a subtle look and seems to disappear as we look through the coach. Ours still looks great after 30 years.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart –
We prefer the carpet type material as it absorbs sound better. Ours still looks great after 30 years.
X2 on the "mouse fur" (Ozite).  Our original headliner also looks great after the same number of years.  ^.^d

Additional plus factors:  The Ozite is very light, so a lot less chance of it pulling loose and falling down.  AND, you can clean it with a vacuum to remove dust.  When we replaced/removed our OEM roof air conditioners, they left behind a "shadow" of dirty ceiling material that was not completely covered by the new units.  I just used a terry washcloth moistened with some carpet cleaner and the dirt came right off!

Thought of another good thing: when I removed the old unused hand-crank-up satellite dish from our roof, it left a 2" hole in the ceiling material where the crank penetrated the ceiling.  I asked at FOT one time when we were there if they had any New Old Stock ceiling material and they gave me a couple yards for free.  I plugged the (interior) hole in our roof with blue styrofoam insulation, then cut a piece of the Ozite to size and glued it in the hole.  The ceiling patch is practically invisible!  If you didn't know it was there you'd never see it.

1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #9 –
Do you have pics of your sat crank fill job? That old crank is  just plain ugly and I would love to do something with it
Peter    Alberta Canada
'98 U320 40'  Build 5359 M11 450 HP, Aqua hot, Blu Ox

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #10 –
Quote from: dicksop –
Do you have pics of your sat crank fill job? That old crank is  just plain ugly and I would love to do something with it
Just so happens I do.  The satellite crank, in our coach, came through the ceiling in the bathroom.  The patch, being made of new (old but unused) material, was a bit whiter than the 30 year old ceiling material.  This makes it very slightly noticeable if one looks closely, but as I said, most people would never see it.  The repaired hole is centered in each of the photos as follows:

Photo 01.  Looking from bedroom door into bathroom at hole.
Photo 02.  Same view, but closer.
Photo 03.  Looking from standing in bathroom at the hole.
Photo 04.  Same view, but closer.
Photo 05.  Standing directly under the hole, looking straight up.

1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: Ceiling Alternatives

Reply #11 –
That is a terrific job! Not very noticeable at all. Guess I will purchase some of the ozite from panther rv to products
Peter    Alberta Canada
'98 U320 40'  Build 5359 M11 450 HP, Aqua hot, Blu Ox