Fiberglass as a replacement for EPDM

Rebuilt my camper a few years ago. New joists etc... decided to go all aluminum for the roof. Went to my local metal roof supplier and bought it off the roll from them. Been over 4500 miles with it with this roof and still looks like new. Also no black streaks on the camper sides now. Used roofing screws and eterna bond for the seams.

Chris

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Thanks for all of the feedback. I guess I did not think how much the 3/8" plywood flexes between roof trusses (16" O.C. or 24" O.C.). Doing more than 2 layers would be cost prohibitive.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Several RV dealers that I contacted mentioned a product called Peel & Seal.. The dealers did not want to order standard RV rolled roofing..

It is a sticky rubber backed material with a thin layer of aluminum foil on the top.

This product looks very promising !

Gdetrailer wrote:
This is the second year on this material and so far has fixed my leaking issues...

We need an annual report ! I would say if it lasts 10+ years, it is a winner !

Gdetrailer wrote:
If I was going to ever face redoing my roof again, it WILL be a one piece sheet of heavy aluminum. Lasts much longer than an rubber or soft roofing.

"Heavy" aluminum ? While I do think aluminum with as few seams as possible is probably the best solution, material cost and installation would be very challenging !

free radical wrote:
I covered my TC plywood roof with aluminum sheet 0.025 gage (25 mil/22 gauge ?). Used very expensive Evercoat tube epoxy @ 70$ a piece, to glue all edges down. To save money, I also used exterior carpet adhesive in the middle of these panels. Still dam expensive but it should last forever.

Do you recall what type of aluminum it was (60xx or 52xx or ????)

THESE guys used to sell .050 thickness rolled aluminum roofing cut to the length you specified..

They do still sell roofing aluminum but looks like you will have seams in order to get it done.

The biggest issue with aluminum is the shipping, must ship truck freight and with truck freight unless you have a dock and a forklift unloading might be pretty darn tricky, not to mention the higher shipping cost involved.

Installing aluminum is easier than laying down a rubber roof once you get the roll on the roof. Nothing to glue, just roll out, center, roll on the putty, then fold down the edges over the wall siding, reinstall the trim..

While were I work does have a dock and forklifts, the company sort of frowns on employees having large things sent there and local RV dealers did not want to get involved with special ordering rolled aluminum..

I would have kept the rolled aluminum on my trailer but the previous owner decided to use a air nailer during a failed attempt to rebuild the trailer.. Thousands of neat little pin holes where they shot brad nails through the roof..

If the peal and seal gives me any trouble, I WILL be checking with a local custom horse trailer manufacturer to see if they would be willing to get me what I seek..

That rubber roofing is simply a short lived cheap product, meant for the average short life of most RVs which is 10-15 yrs.. Aluminum if nobody does anything stupid like sending brad nails through it can easily last 30 or more years..

Thanks for all of the feedback. I guess I did not think how much the 3/8" plywood flexes between roof trusses (16" O.C. or 24" O.C.). Doing more than 2 layers would be cost prohibitive.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Several RV dealers that I contacted mentioned a product called Peel & Seal.. The dealers did not want to order standard RV rolled roofing..

It is a sticky rubber backed material with a thin layer of aluminum foil on the top.

This product looks very promising !

Gdetrailer wrote:
This is the second year on this material and so far has fixed my leaking issues...

We need an annual report ! I would say if it lasts 10+ years, it is a winner !

Gdetrailer wrote:
If I was going to ever face redoing my roof again, it WILL be a one piece sheet of heavy aluminum. Lasts much longer than an rubber or soft roofing.

"Heavy" aluminum ? While I do think aluminum with as few seams as possible is probably the best solution, material cost and installation would be very challenging !

free radical wrote:
I covered my TC plywood roof with aluminum sheet 0.025 gage (25 mil/22 gauge ?). Used very expensive Evercoat tube epoxy @ 70$ a piece, to glue all edges down. To save money, I also used exterior carpet adhesive in the middle of these panels. Still dam expensive but it should last forever.

Do you recall what type of aluminum it was (60xx or 52xx or ????)

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Has anyone every replace an EPDM/"rubber" roof with fiberglass ? Once the old roof, adhesive, roof mounted vents/air conditioning and caulk are removed, I would think it would not be too bad of a job. Pretty much the same as installing a new rubber roof. More expensive for sure, but I would think 2 layers of 7.5 or 10 ounce cloth would be good for a lifetime.

Of course, most resins do breakdown when exposed to sunlight so a marine topside paint should be applied.

If you clean prep it well,it should work..
Heckuva smelly job though..
I covered my TC plywood roof with aluminum sheet 0.025 gage..used very expensive Evercoat tube epoxy @ 70$ a piece, to glue all edges down,,to save money I also used exterior carpet adhesive in the midle of these panels..still dam expensive but it should last forever..

There also exist some kind of spray on adhesive,,not sure of the name that can be used,,
Someone even used truck bedliner coating..many choices,,next time I build or buy a camper it will be aluminum or fiberglass with gelcoat,,
Hemp plastic would be even better IF someone built such campers..

https://youtu.be/srgE6Tzi3Lg


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TugMbfnA3GI

goducks10 wrote:
Fiberglass would crack as soon as you stepped on it. The 3/8" ply on the roof is soft and flexes. Seems very labor intensive especially making the curve look nice on the roof edge to side wall.

I'm not sure about that. The process described is pretty standard for plywood boats and strip canoes these days, and lighter-duty ones do flex as they go through the water. The fiberglass is bonded to the plywood with the resin, so they flex together. The joints in the plywood would need to be much more tightly bound together, either by scarfing the sheets or by putting on a backer strip on the other side of the joint to join them solidly together so they don't shift in relation to each other.

I don't see any real advantage over traditional RV roof techniques. Using epoxy resin, it would need a lot of rather expensive materials to cover the roof, and be a lot of unpleasant work. Repair work would also be non-standard, and you'd still have to seal around all the vent and other openings and at the edges where the roof joins the walls, and these are the most common trouble points anyways on any RV roof.

goducks10 wrote:
Fiberglass would crack as soon as you stepped on it. The 3/8" ply on the roof is soft and flexes. Seems very labor intensive especially making the curve look nice on the roof edge to side wall.

The OP is only planning two layers of fiberglass, so yeah, I would have to agree with goducks10..

Two layers simply will not be enough, it will take considerably more layers of build up to prevent cracking and breaking and that is without even standing on it..

One would want to consider going with a bulk resin gun and chopper gun to make that size of a job get done in a reasonable amount of time and cost..

Spray a layer of resin then layer of chopped fiberglass, work in with roller then repeat the process multiple times..

Fiberglass panels for a roofing application does not really work well.

I tried FRP panels, that worked for about 4 yrs, then started getting rips and tears from the extreme temp changes that happen on a roof.

Fiberglass has a pretty high expansion/contraction ratio and eventually that weakened the FRP to the point of cracking and ripping.

I faced the problem of finding another type of roofing..

Several RV dealers that I contacted mentioned a product called Peel & Seal.. The dealers did not want to order standard RV rolled roofing..

It is a sticky rubber backed material with a thin layer of aluminum foil on the top.

HERE

This is the second year on this material and so far has fixed my leaking issues..

You roll it out, use a roller to press it down and you overlap any seams.. It IS extremely sticky and you only get ONE chance to lay it down (picking it back up is not an option without destroying it)..

You WILL want a helper to help and do the install on a over cast day otherwise the shiny foil will burn your retinas..

Alternately, if that method does not appeal, then just order standard RV rolled roofing..

If I was going to ever face redoing my roof again, it WILL be a one piece sheet of heavy aluminum.. Lasts much longer than an rubber or soft roofing..

Fiberglass would crack as soon as you stepped on it. The 3/8" ply on the roof is soft and flexes. Seems very labor intensive especially making the curve look nice on the roof edge to side wall.

You want to look at Filon

Are you talking about taking a flat sheet of precured .030-.050 FG and wrapping it over the entire roof around the radii to the side walls then securing the sides with screws, or laying down 2 plys of dry cloth and resin and letting it room cure on your roof?