Thanks, I did move some of the stuff around under one of my shelters so he could get it out of the weather until spring. I will tell him what you recommended. Maybe by then he will have the funds to fix it right. He's a real good guy so I don't worry about being taken advantage of by using my shelter. He would do the same for me.

 

It puzzles me whether it is best to do it right - or to reinvent something that works better

It has to be protected for the time being no matter what!

I honestly think that most RV engineering is crap.

You show me an RV that is Impervious to weather .....

I'll show you a fifty year old "AIRSTREAM"

AIRSTREAM did it right to begin with


(The company is still there)

 

My dealer also recommends NOT walking on top of my/your trailer/Class A/C. Use a step ladder to inspect and a long handled mop to apply preservative. Also, most importantly, as per my dealer, ensure all cracks are chaulked as soon as you see them. Water is you biggest enemy; understandibly so. Like was said before, a good silicon chaulk is your best friend, when applied correctly and allowed to cure.

 

If you see cracks - the whole covering is shot and it's best not to play around with it.

Git it re-done, or do it your ownself

If that isn't an option - seal it and sell it

~That's a bad thing to say...

But if you can't afford the job - you need to unload the responsibility FAST!

Otherwise you can sit there and see it go to pieces.....

 

The thing I use the most on rubber roof repairs is eternabond (EternaBond | Roof Leak Repair Products for RVs and Homes) and Dicor self leveling sealant. Dicor does make a roof coat but it's expensive for the kit alone and involves alot of prep work, as far as longevity the motorhome I did it to is still in good shape after a year. The roof coat kit is cheaper than replacing the rubber though.

I believe alot of people misunderstand the concept of "re-sealing" twice a year, what we reccomend is that people wash it with a rubber roof cleaner (I personally use Full Timers Choice) twice a year say when you get it out for the season and put it away, closely inspect all of your seals at those times. Not slather up all your seals with 98 cent a tube silicone twice a year. Upon inspection shoudl you see sealer that needs replaced, or cracked sealer, or sealer pulling away from moldings use a sealer that is made for the rubber, remove any loose sealer and prep your area with acetone before laying down the new. You can re-seal over old sealer as long as it's been cleaned with acetone. But if it's loose peel it up.

 

lots of good input here. couple of untouched items--- wear smooth bottom footwear, no lugs! soft bottom (?) shoes/slippers won't tear or snag, causing damage. when walking on roof, if allowable, try to avoid stepping too close to any opening through roof. this is the weakest point! example, vents,ac units,solar panels,etc.

 

...and be danged careful when you have a soapy surface!!! I slipped down my incline and darned near fell off the top of the trailer. There is now a bottom (my bottom!) shaped depression on the top of my trailer...I was lucky.... it didn't break thru, nor did I fall off the top of the trailer.

 

There is also a thing I use when walking on roofs, most trailers are that are cheaply built only have 1/4" osb decking and on an older one you can see in the rubber where the trusses are so I generally try and step on the trusses, but the best policy is take a couple pieces of plywood to distribute your weight more evenly.

I also nearly fell off a trailer this past week, I was washing the roof that was very chalky and I was able to get fairly good traction on the places I had cleaned but the chalky areas were slick as snot and I lost my footing, didn't fall but scared me pretty good lol.

Another thing I forgot to add is that when I wash a roof I use a stiff bristled truck brush. Since the rubber is sort of porous it really helps getting it clean

 

If the roof is green with algea - it's a skating rink!

Soon as water hits it there you go!

-and it's a long way down....

Be on an ALFA GOLD when that happens and your underwear will never be the same!

"BLEACH" is one of the slipperiest things ever invented too.....

 

yeah, i get a nose bleed when on top of my dutch star!

 

Your info is fantastic, I was doing a search on rubber roof treatment and even though im on this site did not know about your great info. My TT is 10 years old and I clean my roof 2-3 times a year with just a brush and water, It has never had a cover untill now because last fall when I cleaned it I noticed the white treatment/paint was coming off revieling the black edpm, other wise ive had no leaks or other problems and so I decided to get a cover untill I research the proper thing to do. Please advise me...should I reseal with "cool seal" ? or not even worry about it? (I know how much is involved in doing it correctly!!).....thanks

 

If "COOL SEAL" is what I think it is, it isn't all that cool... I think I used it once on an aluminum topped TT (it was supposed to fill pin holes in the aluminum) and it turned out to be a water based LATEX paint (as in "INTERIOR LATEX"), over priced because it was "RV SPECIFIC" (Where have I heard that baloney before?) and really didn't do as well as a plain old exterior paint from home depot or someplace would have. There was another type they made for non-metal roofs- but I have no confidence in it either.

It had a green and white label, if it's the same RIP-OFF...

Rubber roofs need to be taken care of with rubber roof materials, but that doesn't mean buying them at an RV dealership - where they will sock it to ya on the price markup!

As far as it goes, searching "DOW CHEMICALS" and "EPDM" on the open web can turn up sources for things that are factory direct, with no middlemen involved. Every step along the provider chain equals a higher price, because marketers know there is money to be made just by making things change hands! You know that's right... And that includes linear yards of rubber materials. The manufacturers buy them from the source, they ship them to dealers for warrantee repairs, and you will never see them in a parts catalog. But that doesn't mean you can't buy the same thing at YOUR OWN price.

ALWAYS, always try to get to the SOURCE for anything like that. RV manufacturers don't go to dealers for materials - DON'T YOU EITHER!!!

Think like you were building it from scratch, and using your own ideas and know-how: "How would I do this? How would I do that?" That will serve you better in the long run, because that is how the builders, customizers, and inventors made them happen to begin with.

And owners ideas are often better...

I GUARANTEE YA!

At this point - it sounds like the original EPDM layer has been "skinned" of the (white reflective) surface coating and it's time to get a new skin put on. I hate to bear bad news - but that IS exactly what that means. You need a new rubber roof.

Ten years though sounds like it might still be under warrantee, IF the manufacturer didn't go under in the recent rash of RV Maker bankruptcies... In the best of all possible situations - and if it was resealed at the intervals it was supposed to, you might be able to get the job done at no cost to yourself. BUT THE NEXT TIME AROUND - it would be on you, comprende?

Check on that, and see if it's true.

Normally - a roof warrantee runs ten to fifteen years FROM THE DATE OF SALE, it varies from one manufacturer to another. I think Keystone was a fifteen year one, not sure. It HAS been a while since I was at it full time

 

Take it from me, last year we went camping and it rained on the way there. So found the leaks..it was the corners of the trailer, no real damage but in the process in re-calking I decided to get up on the roof. Good thing I did as i was having a whole bunch of cracks appear. So I did them too. Probably saved my but as my trailer is a 1996.

Reps to Greywolf!

 

It seems kinda simple - but the nickle and dime of it is that water kills more RV's than anything else. It's the number one thing to be aware of.

WATER causes so much damage in terms of rot and wood seperation that there is a serious fear factor to it. If you had seen the things I have you'd be a true believer in that. Fortunately - you don't have to see what I'm telling you, fore-warned is fore-armed....
I'd rather have rats, mice, or termites than a roof leak, because critters can be killed.

Tell us about what it was like to seal the corners - shared experience is worth a million bucks! Even if it doesn't seem like such a big deal now. How did you spot the places water was getting in?

 

I have a closet in front of the trailer. when I opened it I could tell it was wet on the wall. the wall paper was wrinkled for lack of a better discription. So then I go out to the front of the trailer doing some detective work and was just looking at that corner and it was obivious.

The calk was all dried up and there were gaps between the siding/calk and of course the trim on the corners.

So all four corners, roof line, vents everything got the treatment.