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At what point do you call it quits on repairs??

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
Hello all!

I'm a newb here, but seasoned forum junkie elsewhere. Also heavily seasoned in tackling projects that end up being way over my head. Raise your hand if this applies to you.

Long story short - I purchased an older RV early this summer. Knew about some small roof leaks, and in the process of fixing them, proceeded to make things worse. Decided to pull out the inside ceiling and add cross support beams and seal the roof outside. (side note - I'm fairly certain the roof hasn't been sealed in ages....)

With the bottom of the metal roof now exposed on the inside, there appears to be so many small pinholes in it it could be a starry night scene. From corrosion, from wear/tear/shoes/??, who knows, there are a LOT. Iffin I had extra money, I'd look at this as just replace the whole **** roof.

So my question to you, fellow repair folks, like any unintentionally massive repair project, where do you draw the line? When do you say, 'nope, this won't be worth it' or 'I don't think I can actually fix this'??

How much in over your head have you been willing to go, without knowing if there would be a positive outcome?

I'd note that while my RV remodeling is rather limited, I've done loads on old houses - carpentry, wiring, tiling/floor, and all that jazz, so I'm unfortunately familiar with all the unforeseen problems.

What say you? When is enough enough?
23 REPLIES 23

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
I'm not 100% sure how to put a pic in this forum, but it's ProFlex RV flexible sealant. purchased at an RV place (where they also do repairs). It's got a bunch of mouth-fun ingredients, but no silicone- interestingly enough, the shop's printed sticker says 'silicone sealant', lol!

The only silicone on there is the **** the previous moron err, owner, put on there. We cut most of it out at this point, but I'm sure it will be a problem once we really get going on this, which will hopefully be soon - running out of weather time!! Agh!

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
Some use the term silicone as a generic name for caulk. I don't want anyone to even walk by my RV with silicone, for fear some might get on it!

Even small dabs of sillycone on the inside and whatever sealer you use on the roof will not stick to that spot. Silllycone is for aquariums not RV's.

I have a 94 Toyota RV. No matter how much I spend on it, it will be less than the first years depreciation on a new one. Plus I have a chance of recovering some of what I have spent.

Harvey51
Explorer
Explorer
RambleOnRose wrote:
Decided to pull out the inside ceiling and add cross support beams and seal the roof outside. (side note - I'm fairly certain the roof hasn't been sealed in ages....)

With the bottom of the metal roof now exposed on the inside,


This sounds like my experience. I was told I could walk around on the roof of our 4 year old former rental and I think a cross piece in the roof slipped or broke. Iโ€™m a โ€œtake-it-apart and see whatโ€™s going onโ€ guy myself so I thought about taking off a sheet or two of ceiling near the leak in the cabover. Iโ€™m also a bit scared of taking in too much so I just opened the join between the two sheets so I could get my arm inside. It felt to me like the 2x2 cross piece was depressed. So I put some pieces of wood over it to partially eliminate the low point in the roof. Every year there was a leak on the cabover bed until I admitted the caulking wasnโ€™t working. I scraped it off the join between the front cap and the main metal roof. Calked in again sparsely, then covered it with a 4 inch wide strip of Eternabond. Same for the vent over the bed. No more leaking.
2004 E350 Adventurer (Canadian) 20 footer - Alberta, Canada
No TV + 100W solar = no generator needed

Jim
Explorer
Explorer
With all the modern and effective roof treatments available for roofs these days, I'm sure there's something out there that would be in your price range.

I think POR15 is the kind of stuff I'd look at to coat the roof with. And then Eternabond tape to tape up all the seams around vents and front and rear end caps. Or side seams.

I'd say stick with it! It's a hobby and you can't put a price on how much enjoyment a hobby gives you. No RV will ever be a bargain in the long run.
Jim@HiTek
Have shop, will travel!
Visit my travel & RV repair blog site. Subscribe for emailed updates.
Winnebago Journey, '02
Cat 330HP Diesel, 36.5', two slides.

Oasisbob
Explorer
Explorer
It's really a personal choice. Do you have the time, resources & desire to follow through and learn as you go? Do you have space to work? You have options. A rolled rubber roof over existing is one option. I can tell you all RV's leak with very few exceptions. That is why I store under cover and check caulk every year. Best of luck
Oasis Bob
Wonderful wife 3 of 4 kids at home. 1 proudly serving in USAF
2018 Ford Explorer
2001 Bantam Trail Lite B-19

HAPPY TRAILS:)

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
westend wrote:
Anytime silicone sealant (except for $$ absolutely pure silicone) is in daylight, it is deteriorating. Nothing will adhere to it, even more new silicone or paint. That's why it is a no-no for using on an RV.
There are a variety of polymer sealants at the same price point so using them is where you want to start. I found that Geocel Construction sealant is very durable and is paintable.


I'm also wondering about if what I bought was silicone. It's specifically for RVs, purchased at an RV dealer/repair shop, for repairing roof/etc holes. I could have very well just used the wrong term! I'd have to pull it back out and look at the label again...

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
Ductape wrote:
For me, water damage is the kiss of death. Just about impossible to repair adequately without spending more than the rig is worth.


"Worth" is very subjective. Too many people, IMO, are focused on value, and resale value. This is a rickety POS, and I have no intention of selling it or trying to get money out of it - it's for my use and enjoyment, and any money "lost" is money that I put into it for the "value" of using it. I don't buy things with the intent of reselling, I buy to use and enjoy.

And I do enjoy the repair parts as well, though a water damaged RV is quite intimidating to repair.

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
westend wrote:
Anytime silicone sealant (except for $$ absolutely pure silicone) is in daylight, it is deteriorating. Nothing will adhere to it, even more new silicone or paint. That's why it is a no-no for using on an RV.
There are a variety of polymer sealants at the same price point so using them is where you want to start. I found that Geocel Construction sealant is very durable and is paintable.


It will only be for small dots on the inside. The top will be covered with KoolSeal.

Ductape
Explorer
Explorer
For me, water damage is the kiss of death. Just about impossible to repair adequately without spending more than the rig is worth.
49 States, 6 Provinces, 2 Territories...

John_Joey
Explorer
Explorer
You need to determine what type of RV'er you are. One who enjoys working on them, or one who enjoys using them. The two don't always go hand in hand like you would think.
Thereโ€™s no fool, like an old fool.

westend
Explorer
Explorer
Anytime silicone sealant (except for $$ absolutely pure silicone) is in daylight, it is deteriorating. Nothing will adhere to it, even more new silicone or paint. That's why it is a no-no for using on an RV.
There are a variety of polymer sealants at the same price point so using them is where you want to start. I found that Geocel Construction sealant is very durable and is paintable.
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

rambleonrose
Explorer
Explorer
And I don't intend on selling this. If I get anything new it will be because this one will be done for. I'm broke and handy, so I'll make something as good as I can and ride it out until the end. I did buy this under no delusion that it would be perfect - I expected SOME repairs, but as usual with old stuff it ended up being bigger than I thought. Already hindsight, I'm glad we pulled the inside out because I would have never seen just how holey the roof really is. I would have kept patching and whatnot. I'm hoping that if we actually do this right, this thing will be sturdy AF for a long time. (with regular seals, of course! ๐Ÿ˜‰ )

The silicone I have is the RV stuff, FYI. We originally used it on top, so I figured I could use the rest of the tube reinforcing anything on the inside.

valhalla360
Nomad II
Nomad II
15-20yr old RV's are so cheap, it doesn't make much sense to rebuild one other than for the fun of doing a project...at that point, cost has long since left consideration.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV

time2roll
Explorer II
Explorer II
Except for a minor patch on top I am not doing a large roof repair/replacement.
But if I do start, I see it through to the end.