Leak in roof...what to do?

Read and repair yourself. It's not hard or rocket science.

Duplicate post....

Patti,
If it were my trailer, I would cut my losses and sell it as is. we did this with a Gulfstream TT and tarded it in and let the dealer fuss with it. I'm sure you don't have time to deal with it and you will not get the money back out of it when you sell it.

Thank you all for the advice. I do need to sleep at night, and I can't really afford to do an expensive repair. So I guess I will disclose it and sell it at a reduced price. I just can't screw someone over knowingly just because someone else did that to me.

Luckily I do not owe anything on the trailer; that would be even worse.

I do think I'll talk to the dealer again to see if I can get an estimate of what it would cost to fix it and go from there.

I WISH I had the skills and know-how to fix it myself! It's at a storage place since it's too big to pull onto our property (our driveway is too narrow and there is a sharp turn there, too), and there is no way it could be repaired where it is.

Thank you!
-Patti

The problem with wet wood and wood rot is you have to be able to get it completely dry before attempting to recover or "patch" the skin. That is EXTREMELY difficult in an RV. I am not sure just covering the roof with another layer of plywood and covering it is the right fix. Especially if the wood is wet, the rot will spread and eventually start to affect the wood framing and interior paneling.

I realize you are selling it and this is where it gets tricky. If you were planning on keeping the unit long term, there would be a return on investment to repair the unit correctly. Since you are selling it, you are faced with 3 options.

1. Fix the unit correctly, sink lots of $$$ into the repair and not see a return on investment. This is probably not the option you want to go unless you can do the complete repair yourself and save money. There is a threat on the DIY forum here with a guy doing an awesome and detailed repair of a 5th wheel front cap, you should read through it and see what water damage looks like under the skin.

2. Do a quick patch, some roof tape, sealant, etc. The repaired area will raise a lot of questions by potential buyers and scare many off. You will end up taking a hit on the unit. Additionally, the water damage will not go away, it will probably spread over time. But if you disclose it and a buyer runs with it, then mission accomplished from your end.

3. Disclose the damage and sell the unit as is at a discounted price. This will allow a potential buyer to know what they are getting into and let them invest the money to repair correctly. You will probably sleep better at night and the unit might sell quickly this time of year especially if a DIY'er finds your listing.


Either way you are going to probably take a big hit on the $$$ that you put in your pocket at the end of this. I'm not sure if you owe money on the unit and need a minimum to get out from under it.

Water damage is not fun. We had a Class C that had a cracked shower skylight following the first winter here. The repair was a pain and I had to remove wood and paneling. It was amazing how much wet wood was a result of that little crack in the plastic. It would have cost me a fortune to pay someone. It didn't look the best on the outside when finished, but the interior was nice and it was sealed. When I sold it, the potential buyers noticed it, but I disclosed it and sold the unit at a discount of course.

Good luck.
OJ

I talked to a Jayco owner that had the roof repaired by the dealer. He said it was authorized by Jayco to put 1/4 inch plywood over top of the orginal rubber roof, then put a new rubber roof on that. Doing it like that would save a lot of time.

Well,

You'll need plenty of room to work the roof over.
All the side caps will need removing.
That involves a few hundred screws being removed.
After the cap trim is off all the rooftop vents and air conditioner need to come down.
After the roof is cleared of all screws, attachments, antennas etc...
The rubber membrane will have to be pulled up so that the underlayment damage can be accessed.
Underlayment is usually OSB (oriented stand board) available at any home center.
The OSB is probably stapled to the roof rafter\stringers.
It should be easy to pry up for replacing.

As you can see this kind of thing is just about all labor.
That's why repair estimates will be 2-3K for the job.

I am kind of a do-it-yourselfer type, but I don't know anything about RV roofs. :(

I guess I need to climb up there and look around. It's at a storage place about 40 miles from me, so that doesn't help. But I really wonder where the leaks are coming from.

At least I live in a dry climate (not St. Louis; that is where we used to live).

I just don't know what to do. The money from the RV was supposed to tide us over financially for a couple of months... :( I might try talking to the RV dealer again. Sigh.

Buyer beware...
I know you didn't want to read that :(

If you are a DIY type the materials to fix the roof are cheap in relative terms.

We had a pinhole leak in a former TT and we just traded it off when I noticed the soft ceiling below the leak.
Really liked that trailer too...