Hail on the roof

We had a big hail storm a couple years ago. A rental home that I have a few blocks from where I store the 5er required a new roof, the aluminum siding was peppered, the awning had to be replaced and several other items on the 5er were damaged, but the roof didn't show any damage. The appraiser told me that if it had problems later the insurance would take care of it. So far it's been fine.

Why would they peel back the roof when it is NOT leaking?? Just to create problems where none exist?

We had a hailstorm come through last summer. Over $9000 damage to our three vehicles and some minor damage to the house but the brand new RV in the driveway only suffered a minor crack on one of the taillights $12.00. The rubber roof and fiberglass walls and decals were fine. I had installed Maxxair vent covers and that saved the vents. The adjuster spent some extra time examining the awning. He said the top foot is often damaged as that can be cracked due to the hail freezing the vinyl and making it brittle. Our neighbors older aluminum sided RV was a total loss.

klr650goldwing wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input. I was shocked when I couldn't see any visible damage to the roof and skylights. The trailer has been in the rain since the hail storm and has no leaks so far. However, I'll be calling the insurance company and have it inspected by an adjuster. Better safe than sorry.

...........Personally , I'd be standing on a ladder when the repair facility peels back the old roof , then I'd perform my own inspection , taking lots of detailed pics ! Are they going to replace the plywood as well ? The plywood will show water stains if it got wet ! If , you don't perform your own inspection , they'll just add a new rubber roof and close it UP !, jf

We had a marble size hail in Mi. It broke 3 plastic vents, that I replaced. It was very loud inside and I have 4 150 watt panels that I was worried about.. After checking I saw no damage to the panels that are laying flat on the roof. My neighbors slide topper was riddled with holes

Thanks everyone for your input. I was shocked when I couldn't see any visible damage to the roof and skylights. The trailer has been in the rain since the hail storm and has no leaks so far. However, I'll be calling the insurance company and have it inspected by an adjuster. Better safe than sorry.

x2 with Dayle1---we had severe hail in 2011 that turned cars into golf balls, shattered windshields and resulted in replacement of an estimated 50,000 home roofs in our area. The only damage sustained to my fiver was a crack in the bathroom skylight, and a few chips out of the plastic trim molding along the back. The roof looked fine and has not leaked at all. I did not detect any evidence of damage underneath the roof membrane.

Took 10 months to wait in line for body shop repairs to my car. My home roof was only 3 years old, but the insurance guy said the hail aged it 15 years in 15 minutes, so replaced it.

I agree that you should have the roof inspected by an adjuster familiar with RV. But unless you see clear damage to roof vents, skylights, refer vent and holding tank vent covers, (all rigid plastic items) then it is unlikely that the rubber membrane or underlying plywood is damaged. Both are more flexible and withstand hail impacts pretty well. House shingles, especially aged shingles are much more susceptible to damage, yet the underlying plywood or OSB is rarely affected or replaced.

The Texan wrote:
Have a friend who is selling his RV on eBay because the hail actually punched over 30 holes in his unit. The big problem was the hidden bruising of the wood and structure under the roof membrane, which was much more extensive than he thought at first. If it were mine, I would call the insurance company and let them have it evaluated. I think you will be surprised at the damage it caused.

As my fellow Texan noted, the hail may damage the subsurface with little or no visible damage to the rubber roof cover. If the hail was bad enough to cause replacement of your house roof, it likely damaged the RV roof as well.

If you have insurance to cover the RV, definitely call the insurance company and tell them that your RV was damaged as well as your house. If they don't have the 'RV EXPERT' in-house, they will find one to determine the extent of damage, if any. Also, you could call an independent appraiser to check to make sure your insurance company is treating you correctly.