Re-seal or patch

smkettner wrote:

jdog wrote:
Had a leak in my roof from a roof vent.

Just recaulk the vent and move on.
Good time to upgrade to a MaxxAir or Fantastic Vent if you are inclined.
Have you been doing an annual inspection and recaulk?

OPPS Double Posted

mlts22 wrote:
There is always the Rhino Eco-Coat option. Expensive, but will put the argument of caulk versus Eternabond to rest for good.

If I were planning on selling my rig, I'd use caulk because that is what buyers expect.

If I were going to keep it until the wheels fell off, I'd use Eternabond and EternaCaulk on the edges of the tape so dirt doesn't lodge there and cause it to look bad. One can get Eternabond in varying widths up to 48" by 50 foot rolls, so done right, it can be used for a good seal. It looks ugly, but Eternabond does solve the problem and does the job for the long haul.

Of course, before any re-sealing, I'd make sure to do any replacements of roof stuff, from a new RV skylight (might as well replace it and coat the replacement with 303 Aerospace Protectant so it will last a bit longer to the UV rays), to better vents for the black/grey tanks (either the passive ones that use a venturi effect with the wind, or one that uses solar with a small fan), to updating the vent with a Fantastic Fan.

If I was going to do that, I might as well get a new roof or buy new motorhome.

There is always the Rhino Eco-Coat option. Expensive, but will put the argument of caulk versus Eternabond to rest for good.

If I were planning on selling my rig, I'd use caulk because that is what buyers expect.

If I were going to keep it until the wheels fell off, I'd use Eternabond and EternaCaulk on the edges of the tape so dirt doesn't lodge there and cause it to look bad. One can get Eternabond in varying widths up to 48" by 50 foot rolls, so done right, it can be used for a good seal. It looks ugly, but Eternabond does solve the problem and does the job for the long haul.

Of course, before any re-sealing, I'd make sure to do any replacements of roof stuff, from a new RV skylight (might as well replace it and coat the replacement with 303 Aerospace Protectant so it will last a bit longer to the UV rays), to better vents for the black/grey tanks (either the passive ones that use a venturi effect with the wind, or one that uses solar with a small fan), to updating the vent with a Fantastic Fan.

jdog wrote:
Had a leak in my roof from a roof vent.

Just recaulk the vent and move on.
Good time to upgrade to a MaxxAir or Fantastic Vent if you are inclined.
Have you been doing an annual inspection and recaulk?

jdog wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

Mocoondo wrote:

Eternabond is fine if you should damage your EPDM roof and require a repair, but it is *not* a sealant for every seam on your roof. A roof all taped up with Eternabond tells me that the owner was looking to cheap out on proper maintenance and would immediately drive me to closely inspect other areas of the RV where proper maintenance may have been cheapened out on.

yep, nothing like a bunch of tape all over the roof and seams of a RV roof to totally turn me off.
if eternabond was so great and permanent, why don't the manufacturers use it and use it as a selling point? and what will a mess of tape look like 7-11 years down the road when you go to sell it?
bumpy

1. Caulking is CHEAPER than Eternabond. Saves manufactures MONEY
2. Some manufactures do use Eternabond on the top of cap joints after caulking for a better seal.
3. Why would the Eternabond tape be a mess? Why would you have pieces on the roof in a random fashion. There is no seam in the middle of the roof. Put it on the vents and the top of the cap seams.

just saw a roof top picture recently in this forum of a patched up mess with eternabond. we are talking about tears here and these can happen anywhere.
which manufacturers put it on top of cap joints?

bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:

Mocoondo wrote:

Eternabond is fine if you should damage your EPDM roof and require a repair, but it is *not* a sealant for every seam on your roof. A roof all taped up with Eternabond tells me that the owner was looking to cheap out on proper maintenance and would immediately drive me to closely inspect other areas of the RV where proper maintenance may have been cheapened out on.

yep, nothing like a bunch of tape all over the roof and seams of a RV roof to totally turn me off.
if eternabond was so great and permanent, why don't the manufacturers use it and use it as a selling point? and what will a mess of tape look like 7-11 years down the road when you go to sell it?
bumpy

1. Caulking is CHEAPER than Eternabond. Saves manufactures MONEY
2. Some manufactures do use Eternabond on the top of cap joints after caulking for a better seal.
3. Why would the Eternabond tape be a mess? Why would you have pieces on the roof in a random fashion. There is no seam in the middle of the roof. Put it on the vents and the top of the cap seams.

I have been annually maintaining my roof with caulk, like Fleetwood used when they built my coach. This year I scraped all that caulk mess off and put down the tape product and it looks alot better.

Mocoondo wrote:

Eternabond is fine if you should damage your EPDM roof and require a repair, but it is *not* a sealant for every seam on your roof. A roof all taped up with Eternabond tells me that the owner was looking to cheap out on proper maintenance and would immediately drive me to closely inspect other areas of the RV where proper maintenance may have been cheapened out on.

yep, nothing like a bunch of tape all over the roof and seams of a RV roof to totally turn me off.
if eternabond was so great and permanent, why don't the manufacturers use it and use it as a selling point? and what will a mess of tape look like 7-11 years down the road when you go to sell it?
bumpy

Eternabond is not a "cheap out" for maintenance. Eternabond 50ft. 4 in. roll cost $84.00. That is enough for both tops of the end caps and to go around 4 vent. openings. Caulking is a lot cheaper than that. Caulking is the cheap way out!

jdog wrote:
Had a leak in my roof from a roof vent. I went to an RV repair shop and asked about taping all of my roof seams with Eternabond. He said that is not the way to go. He wanted to do a $200.00 air test and then caulk as needed. Who knows what he would come up with such as windows leak-need new ones, need to reseal roof and repair holes, or even the sides leak, maybe all of it. He tends to get carried away. Am I correct in not agreeing with him? May be O.K. if money was not a problem! Just how much does a pressure leak test cost?

Who ever said that RV maintenance is cheap?

Your dealer is giving you solid information. A leak test is always the first line of defense. From there, any roof leaks should be addressed with Dicor self-leveling sealant.

You should be doing this on an annual basis as part of your overall regularly scheduled maintenance program.

Eternabond is fine if you should damage your EPDM roof and require a repair, but it is *not* a sealant for every seam on your roof. A roof all taped up with Eternabond tells me that the owner was looking to cheap out on proper maintenance and would immediately drive me to closely inspect other areas of the RV where proper maintenance may have been cheapened out on.