Dreaded Roof Bubbling

[jodeb720]

Morning all -

On our trip back, a really nice driver pointed out to me that my roof on the crown of the 5er was bubbling up in the wind.

I pulled over and had some tape - but that didn't work.
I resorted to stopping at a home depot and picking up some furring strips (1x2's) and screwed them down through the rubber membrane of the roof - and that worked enough to get me back home.

Now the real work starts....

So - how do you reaffix the membrane to the roof? is it as simple as unscrewing the brackets and lifting it up, applying some adhesive and reaffixing it or is there more to it?
What adhesive is used?

THe alternative is the roof needs to be replaced - but I'm still back to removing everything, and applying a new membrane with adhesive?

Can you cut the membrane at a line on the roof where it's still stuck down, remove it, clear the roof, apply the adhesive, and glue it back down and at the seam lines cover it with some eternalbond?

Thanks in advance,

josh

[dougrainer]

You don't replace the wood. You OVERLAY with wood glue and screws. But, if you have the time, then pull the old wood and install new wood. Doug

[jodeb720]

Doug,

Thanks for the clarification. I was really hoping not to pull the cap. My wife and I just finished renovating the top of the 5er - and had we known there was a problem (there has been no water damage inside the rig) I would have remediated the problem before I started the renovation inside.

I believe the damage was just caused on the last trip. One of the RV Parks we stayed at was subjected to the storm that hit califorina - and we were pelted by acorns the night before we went into yosemite. I found one small cut in the roof and it looked fresh.

The good news is if I have to replace some the of wood on the roof, I'll get to check my AC Vents and make sure they aren't leaking and put new insulation on top to reduce heat transfer.

Thanks again!

josh

[dougrainer]

You do NOT pull the cap. There is enough "slop"/gap to pull the old EPDM out and push the new epdm under the cap, using a 4 inch wide putty scraper(GENTLY). If I was doing the work on my 12 year old trailer, complete would involve what the wood substrate is like. To replace the complete epdm YOU HAVE TO INSTALL ALL NEW TOP WOOD PANELING after removing the old EPDM. For a small 4 by 8 foot area the glue will usually bond the old wood to the new EPDM. BUT trying to glue the complete roof to the old wood will result in a disaster. If once you pull the loose epdm back and you see water damage, just replace the 4 by 8 foot wood panel back to the "good" area. Replacing the complete roof on your trailer is not cost effective. At best, your model is worth no more than 20k. But, if you decide to keep it until it rots to nothing(YEARS!). it would be worth replacing the complete roof. Doug

[jodeb720]

Doug, Thanks for the prompt reply.
At least I know what my options are... of our course, the follow up questions are:

if I'm in that far, how much extra work are we talking just replacing the entire roof? Let's be honest, the front cap isn't a walk in the park pulling it off! once you got it off, the rest is remove, repair if anything is there, replace and reassemble...

Thanks again!

josh

[dougrainer]

Your roof is 12 years old. IF it is just the front 3 or 4 feet bubbling, What I would do on a 12 year old RV, is (we have done this for cost conscious customers), We take the front cap/metal side to side flat trim off. Go back to the area where the last of the glue is loose. Cut off the bad 4 or 5 feet of rubber. Then install new epdm adhesive and glue a new section of epdm on the bare wood. Make sure the front goes UNDER the front cap or metal roll at least 4 inches. Then we overlap at least 8 inches on top the old epdm where we cut out the bad loose epdm. Once glued, we install a 1.5 inch flat trim(butyl also) over the seam where the new epdm overlaps the old. Then we install a eternabond strip over that new trim. Seal the eternabond edges with a small bead of Dicor. Eternabond the front cap/metal roll and also use a small bead of Dicor on the eternabond edges. What caused your problem is simple. You had a small pin hole size gap in the front area sealant either at the top seam or clearance lights or on the side to top front area and at 60 mph, that was large enough to allow wind to get in and under and pull the epdm loose from the wood. Doug