Our roof ladder says 200 lb limit... well... DH is a bit over that more like 50 lbs over that... So the roof isn't going to get visited by us very often. I'm not comfortable on roofs - especially fiberglass slippery ones.Hmm. so under such circumstances how does one wash the roof?

Safest Method- Hire someone to wash it.Next best- Use an extension ladder to get on the roof, wear non-slip shoes. Stay in the center and use a long handled brush that connects to the hose. Soap makes the roof very slippery so I only use water. The brush works well to get the roof clean.

You can use the 18 wheeler Truck Washes .. or purchase an 'A' frame ladder from Home Depot for the required height. Mine is a 14 foot ladder. Wear non-slip shoes and be careful at those heights. We aren't any younger .. so I have my adult son's wash it while at home.I wouldn't use the roof ladder either.

I wash my roof on my hands and knees with a scrub brush and a pail of soapy water, with the hose hanging on the fittings. If you start at the front and work your way back you won't be standing on any slippery surfaces.

mockturtle wrote:I wash my roof on my hands and knees with a scrub brush and a pail of soapy water, with the hose hanging on the fittings. If you start at the front and work your way back you won't be standing on any slippery surfaces.That's exactly the way I wash ours (no brush, fiber towel). I bought a pair of velcro knee pads which are so comfortable as my knees start to hurt on the hard roof surface.To OP, our rear ladder has a 300 lb. weight limit, at 180 lbs, I'm OK. I don't use the extension piece, I will put my six foot bifolding ladder at the base of the attached ladder and climb up. Seems a lot safer and sturdier for me.MM.

KampingKris, First off, the ladder on the back of about 99.9% of these coaches will tolerate the "over weight" (if I may for sake of conversation) for short periods of time. They (the builders of the coaches) know that not every one that purchases a coach is not tiny. What they don't want is someone "hanging" a ton of stuff, i.e. Spare tire and wheel, tool box, and a few million other things that people WILL DO unless there is some sort of "limit" placed in/on it. I too am 240 and regularly climb on ours to get up there and do maintenance. Now, ours is fiberglass too and, I'm one of those that really keeps the roof nice. Why, because I like to and, I get to keep an eye on all the seals, caulking, vent caps, vent covers etc. that can get damaged or, start to deteriorate and, because they're up and out of sight, many don't know it 'till it's too late. I just finished my annual machine buffing and coat of wax on it. Yep, it does get slippery, especially when wet. I did it last August and it was a pain due to the fact that, the roof had never seen any maintenance prior to our purchase of the rig. But, this time, it was a breeze. Between the machine buffing and a hand coat of wax, about 8 hours. Now, it's good for a year, and I keep it under a drive-under cover. It only sees the sun when we're using it. As for washing it, I do it two different ways. One, the cover is too low for me to stand up and wash it so, I stand on a nice, sturdy ladder and use a long handled brush with regular soap an water. Then rinse with the hose. The other way, when we get back from a trip, prior to parking it in it's "garage" (pole and tarp cover), I climb up there and do a quick hose down, wash, rinse and it's done. Not many folks maintenance their roofs on these expensive rolling gymnasiums and it's nice that you are concerned about getting it done. So, in your dilemma, your husband, may be a bit over the "labeled" weight limit of the ladder, I doubt that ladder will "tear" off the back of the coach for the brief time he's on it to climb up and down for some "once a season" type of maintenance. But, if you're not comfortable with that, then maybe you could check around for some RV detailers in your area and see what they might charge. It's usually by the foot but, not always. When I was growing up, there was always kids around wanting to earn money and many of them washed your car/truck etc. But, they're all playing NINTENDO NOW, so that idea's out. Good luck.Scott

roof ladder question | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

Windsor-Monaco
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
You can use the 18 wheeler Truck Washes .. or purchase an 'A' frame ladder from Home Depot for the required height. Mine is a 14 foot ladder. Wear non-slip shoes and be careful at those heights. We aren't any younger .. so I have my adult son's wash it while at home.

I wouldn't use the roof ladder either.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
Safest Method- Hire someone to wash it.

Next best- Use an extension ladder to get on the roof, wear non-slip shoes. Stay in the center and use a long handled brush that connects to the hose. Soap makes the roof very slippery so I only use water. The brush works well to get the roof clean.

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roof ladder question

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