Forum Discussion
17 Replies
- travelnutzExplorer IIWe had a tornado go over us when down in Florida last winter and large branches falling butt-end first gouged thru the rubber roof and also gouged the plywood under it in 6 places on our Carriage CarriLite 5th wheel. I cleaned the local areas around the rips with lacquer thinner, let it dry, and Gorilla Tape covered the ripped area so it wouldn't leak. Worked perfect! So well bonded that when they tried to remove the tape so the insurance adjuster could see the actual damage, the rubber membrane ripped everywhere around the tape rather than come off. GOOD STUFF+! Even the adjuster was impressed!
Wanting to keep the 5th wheel as they are not made anymore and we absolutely love the CarriLite as it's built like a real 5th wheel should be, I looked into having the roof Rhino coated instead of another rubber membrane. However, the insurance company wouldn't go for the nearly double the cost and we didn't want to pay the extra costs ourselves due to our age, so another layer of exterior plywood was glued and screwd down over the existing plywood, snaded smooth, and rubber again was glued down. It was was done by someone our choice who is extremely good and we have known for over 30 years. He does it RIGHT and does it for a living. Our insurance picked up the entire bill including our $100 deductible. Yes, we are very happy! We'll probably never need another roof since we are 71-1/2 now and will likely not be towing the 5th wheel much or at all when we're in our mid 80's+. That said, I know personally how superior the Rhino is compared to the rubber membrane and if we were younger it would have been Rhino without any question.
Rhino IS the way to go if the circumstances fit. It's fabulous stuff as it truely seals thickly and expands/shrinks with all temp variations and is not compromised by the sun. It will outlive about any RV owner or their RV's chassis. - I_am_still_waynExplorerTwo problems: 1. weight, and 2. replacing plastic roof vents after the material is applied.
- motorcycle_jackExplorer III looked into it for the future covering on my 5th but found out it was twice what redoing the roof with rubber would be. Since I don't plan on doing it until my rig is 10 years old it is cost prohibitive, IMHO. If I damaged my roof from limbs or some other manner, then I might do it sooner.
- DtaylorExplorerCheck this out: Roof stuff
- rpa91ExplorerSounds like a great alternative. What is the typical cost for this procedure?
- BumpyroadExplorerits gotta be an improvement over rubber (EPDM)
some folks here made it a DIY project.
bumpy - colliehaulerExplorer IIIExcel is using it on there RV's
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