rideagiant wrote:
This is a great thread!! I'm currently educating myself on the best way to protect/repair my roof on my 28' 2000 Tioga.
I don't see a clear reference to this so I wanted to ask; does it seem like the best practice is to remove the black membrane altogether and then apply a new coating? Mine is bare and black/chalky in several large spots allover my roof. It looks as though the previous owner didn't do a good enough job on the white coating the last time he covered it.
There is very thin (3/16-1/8") plywood directly under the black membrane. I just planned on ripping the whole membrane off and going the Grizzly coating route (just got off their chat line) right over the plywood. Probably curing the first coat, eterna-bonding the seals, flashing, and seams before applying the second coat.
Would removing the membrane have any advantages/disadvantages to applying the bedliner type coating?
Fred, thank you for being so active and involved in this thread. You don't find too many threads THIS helpful!
--Jonathan
I had thought that Herculiner would be a great coating, but it ended up not lasting so long. After a couple of years, it started to peal off where it was applied to thin, and washed away where I had not cleaned the roof very well when I applied it back in 2011.
Read the first page again, and it's update edit where I said I coated my RV with a two part EPDM coating. I would highly recommend coating your remaining roof material, not bare plywood.
I would not recommend any single part coating from a can (though Herculiner and Rino Liner are actually rubber particles suspended in solvent, so once the solvent evaporates, then the second part is left behind as a durable solid). The two part coating that I applied last fall, it has a catalysist that is stirred in for about 10 minutes, then let to combine for about 1 hour, then it is applied with a remaining 'pot' life of about 4 hours at 65F, longer when it is cooler, and less time on a really warm day. It cures if exposed to over 55F in about a week, quicker when warmer.
Some have ordered EPDM or had it factory installed where their motorhome was manufactured. The factory install has the advantage that a RV manufacture buys huge 500' long rolls of EPDM at a fantastic price per square foot. ALso they pull the RV between two long scaffolds, say 40' long, and can work on the roof without bending over or needing to climb ladders.
If your roof is really bad, I would say replace it. It would involve removing all the vents, A/C, antenna, ect. It would be time consuming, if you put a new post asking what is involved with EPDM roof replacement at home, some will chime in with advice, and perhaps pictures on what they did.
Good luck,
Fred.
