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albow's avatar
albow
Explorer
Jul 30, 2017

Rubber roof is BILLOWING!

Cousin following me saw where my roof was floating and billowing high enough that he couldn't even see my ac and he was a good ways behind me. Wife saw it too as I turned off the highway toward the house. I got on the roof and could not find evidence where air would be coming in and getting under it. I did find a few spots that could use some caulking along the edge next to the gutters and what looks like a very small tear but it is probably less than 2 feet from the rear over to one side. It is so small I'm not even sure it's torn but it sure seemed like inspecting it fully would result in it being so.

We went through 2 hellacious rainstorms this week prior to returning home where noticed the billowing as soon as I hit the highway, but noticed no leakage into the trailer during these storms. The last one had hail but not enough to cause damage I would think. All I can figure is the epdm has come loose from the adhesive use when putting it down. I was on the roof immediately prior to leaving for this trip and I did think it looked a little wrinkled, but it's always had some wrinkle to it and I've heard there is some movement due to temperature. I have had bad luck with my roof in that it had to be replaced once from a tear and then the place installing a new ac tore the roof and put a new one on about 3 1/2 years ago. Unfortunately, they are out of business now to even ask about this.

Would this be something to take up with my insurance company? I'm already about to contact them anyway because of damage suffered from a blowout and a second tire separating at the same time on the way back that I am going to post about. PS, Safeco roadside assistance SUCKS! They did try however. The lady said she contacted 15 different places and I was either out of area or they wouldn't service an rv. Apparently getting it towed wasn't a problem but when it wont roll, what good is that?

Any ideas as to what is going on? My first plan is to go ahead and Eternabond all my caulk sites just for permanence instead of recaulking but that wouldn't stop the billowing.

37 Replies

  • newman fulltimer wrote:
    the rubber part is not glued down as you go down the road the wind sucks it up.
    you can make cuts and reglue and eternabond the cuts or get a new roif put on your call
    It did cross my mind but hate to cut it. Sure can't afford to rerubber it.
  • The low pressure might cause a little bubbling/lifting, but unless there's a hole somewhere for the pressure to equalize I don't think it would billow enough to obscure the AC from view.
  • I think that just driving at freeway speeds creates a low pressure area on the roof which causes the loose rubber membrane to bubble up.
  • There are probably no holes where the air is getting under the rubber.

    Like newman fulltimer said, the wind sucks it up as you go down the road.
    It's lifting because of the difference in pressure under the rubber and the air flowing over the top of the rubber.

    This is what creates lift on aircraft wings.
  • Just completed a 5000 mile trip west. Saw several 5th wheels coming at me in the opposite direction with the front rubber billowing up. These owners had no idea this was happening! There must be a leak somewhere along the front cap for air to be entering.
  • the rubber part is not glued down as you go down the road the wind sucks it up.
    you can make cuts and reglue and eternabond the cuts or get a new roif put on your call