Forum Discussion
- theoldwizard1Explorer IINot familiar with TPO other than it is a rolled roofing material. Fiberglass will degrade with UV exposure so it must be painted or have a UV resistant coating.
Pros and Cons of TPO Roofing - John_JoeyExplorerIn the beginning about the same. 20 years later fiberglass. How long are you planning on holding onto the RV? :h
- ScottGNomadSpent two days fixing leaks in a fiberglass roof for a buddy. All the while that itchy airborne stuff was swirling around us. The sun had destroyed it.
Couldn't give me one but to each his own. - FIRE_UPExplorer
theoldwizard1 wrote:
Not familiar with TPO other than it is a rolled roofing material. Fiberglass will degrade with UV exposure so it must be painted or have a UV resistant coating.
Pros and Cons of TPO Roofing
Well,
Our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, is now 14 years old and the fiberglass roof is in flawless condition. I do wash it once in a while and, when needed, a coat of regular auto wax. We've camped in extreme weather all over and so far, no degradation yet. Our previous coach, a '99 Fleetwood Bounder, had a rubber roof. At right close to 7-8 years old, about 90% of the "white" on that roof, had degraded to almost all black so, I had to do a fancy surface prep and coating with some Dicor coating. It was very nice after that but, I swore I'd never have a rubber roof again.
Scott - Isaac-1ExplorerThe thing to remember is no type of RV roof is maintenance free. EPDM and TPO require the most maintenance, special cleaners, and generally have the shortest life. Fiberglass comes in multiple types from thin Filon roll material, to stuff as thick as a boat hull, it too needs care, which includes repainting every 5-10 years (many people use boat deck paint). The final somewhat common type of roof is Aluminum roofs, again they can be thin roll type material, or thicker peaked roof material. Aluminum roofs are nearly maintenance free, but may need repainting in rare situations. All types of roofs need attention to their edge sealing, and caulking around roof penetrations (vents, antennas, etc.).
- AvaExplorerMy 94 Bounder has a rubber roof and is still in good condition. I think with any roof it comes down to maintenance and having good covered protection for the time not on the road.
- MrWizardModeratorIMO
fiberglass is easier to care for, and will outlast TPO EPDM etc..
i've had them including Alu - 10forty2ExplorerNeither...metal.....
- rgatijnet1Explorer IIIMy Monaco coach has the heavy gauge aluminum roof. I can walk all over it and even put chairs on the roof if I want to. It is a peaked aluminum roof with one seam down the middle. It is heavy enough and insulated enough that rain is not a noise issue. I am positive that no one is using this roof now as there are much cheaper, and inferior, roofing materials out there.
- tinkererExplorerNot taking sides here but my motorhome is 11 years old with a rubber roof and it looks like new. But I clean it with the proper cleaner and put on the treatment once a year.
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