Good Sam Club Open Roads Forum: best way to recover a roof


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pianotuna

Regina, SK, Canada

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Posted: 07/02/22 11:03am

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Hi,

The RV is from 2004. What is the best way to recover the roof. It is some sort of flexible material.

Bed liner over what is there?

New material?

Remove old material and use bed liner?

I won't be doing this myself.

Regards, Don
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Gdetrailer

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Posted: 07/02/22 12:56pm

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OK, well, reroof with the same flexible membrane which you roll and glue down.

I have tried various other things like FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Panels), rolled on rubber roof paints and BEDLINER..

ALL of the above were epic fails.

The FRP worked for 5 yrs, then with the extreme temp changes it would buckle and then rip..

Rolled on rubber roof paints, lasted about 2 yrs then started wearing off to the point I could see the fibers in the FRP..

Bedliner, yeah fell for that also after scrubbing and grinding off the remainder of the rolled on rubber roof paints I rolled out a nice thick coat of bedliner.. Then topped it with a nice bright white paint.. Yep, it failed any place the fiberglass panels had cracked or ripped..

I tossed the white flag of surrender and started calling local RV shops to see if they would order a roll of RV roofing membrane.. None would order...

However, one did give me a good idea for a new roof..

[image]

It is called "peel & seal" rubberized self adhesive aluminum faced roofing!

Found HERE for $160 per roll.

This is what one RV dealer shop uses and that is what they told me to use.

The rolls are 36" wide and you overlap 6" and on a RV roof that means you place a strip at the sides of the roof and one strip right down the middle.

I have a 26' TT and used 4 rolls in total..

The stuff is super, super sticky.., Roll out, peal the backing off and use hand roller to press it down well paying close attention to the overlap areas.

Going on 5+ yrs now and no more roof leaks, not even where the FRP buckled and ripped.

Installed mine right over top of the bedliner and the FRP but you can install it directly on wood decking.

If your RV is worth it to you, please do not use bedliner or rubberized paints, that is a waste of time and money. Remove your existing roof membrane, replace any damaged wood decking found and then either buy purpose made RV roofing or try the self stick roof material with aluminum surface.. The aluminum surface protects the rubber from UV exposure.

Grit dog

Black Diamond, WA

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Posted: 07/02/22 01:14pm

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^great reply and info GDE!

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dougrainer

Carrolton, Texas

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Posted: 07/02/22 02:17pm

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If Rubber(Epdm/TPO), you remove the old. Redeck the roof with wood panels and then glue on new Rubber membrane. Doug

pianotuna

Regina, SK, Canada

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Posted: 07/02/22 10:18pm

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Gdetrailer,

Is your roof flat? Mine is curved. I like the aluminum idea.

dougrainer,

Redecking sounds expensive. But I do value your advice.

pianotuna

Regina, SK, Canada

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Posted: 07/02/22 10:22pm

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I know that eternabond is available in a four foot wide roll.

theoldwizard1

SE MI

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Posted: 07/03/22 08:21am

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First, I commend you for "doing the right thing", a complete re-roof ! It is the only way to know if there is damage to the roof deck and/or the supports. Any flexible roof covering has a life of about 10 years. UV (sunlight) is the enemy. Biannual washing and treatment with a UV protecting will help extend the life.

EPDM or TPO are the only realistic options. TPO comes in different grades/thicknesses. TPO does require some special tools to weld the TPO.

dougrainer

Carrolton, Texas

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Posted: 07/03/22 09:00am

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theoldwizard1 wrote:

Please explain welding. There is NO welding on EPDM or TPO roofs. Doug

dougrainer

Carrolton, Texas

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Posted: 07/03/22 09:04am

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pianotuna wrote:

Gdetrailer,

Is your roof flat? Mine is curved. I like the aluminum idea.

dougrainer,

Redecking sounds expensive. But I do value your advice.

Well, You CANNOT install EPDM or TPO over the existing EPDM/TPO. You CANNOT install new EPDM/TPO over the existing wood subdeck after you remove the OLD EPDM/TPO. You HAVE to redeck. You overlay the new decking with Wood Glue/screws. Doug