Reseal Roof myself?

[mabynack]

How difficult is it to reseal my fifth wheel roof? What product do I use?

I just took my 9 year old RV out for the first time in a year and a half and it appears that I have a leak in the roof near where the front cap fits. I would like to redo the roof, but can't afford the $1000 the dealer wants to do it.

[fyrflie]

Research all of the blogs on the internet.
I resealed my roof last year and this is what I did.
Cleaned, inspected and resealed all joints. Applied epdm tape over all seams and joints. Applied epdm liquid over entire roof.
Easily a two day job with no major repairs made.
If I were to do it again, I would borrow or rent some scaffolding for access and safety. Climbing up and down that RV ladder is not safe.
Good luck with your project.

[down_home]

Yeah do it yourself and save some money. Be sure to study up on how to remove the old the right way and clean it and seal everything including marker lights or replace.
At the factory they had 5 people, with monkey straps to keep from falling
The one thing is don't get absent minded. Three aquaintences fell, off their roofs over a few years. One broke his hip and several ribs.

[DaHose]

I have a friend who owns a Desert Fox TT and he just sent it up to Oregon for some bubbling in his siding. Turned out to be a water leak. They honored his warranty and re-sealed the roof. Even sent it back to him with the right supplies to re-seal next year. I think it did cost him a little extra, but it was great that the manufacturer covered ANY of the cost under warranty. He will certainly recommend the manufacturer to anyone who asks him about a good TT builder.

Jose

[BarneyS]

The roof warranty is just for the rubber material itself. It does not cover leaks from joints or penetrations. I have never seen or heard of anyone having the rubber material deteriorate to the point of leaking. In my opinion, that 10 year (or however long it is) warranty is useless and not needed.

If I were you, I would check all the seams around that front cap and also the clearance lights on the top front and on the top sides. The leak could very well be coming from them.
Barney

[mabynack]

Thanks, folks. Now I have to get my big butt up on top of the RV and find out where it's leaking. The water spot is in the closet at the front of the fifth wheel. It's almost directly under where the front cap meets the body of the coach, so I'm assuming that the leak is near there.

The coach is 9 years old, so I was wondering if the warranty on the roof was still intact. Unfortunately, the place that sold it to me went out of business shortly after I bought it.

[DaHose]

Another Eternabond user here also pointing out how important it is to clean properly. When you clean it well, it sticks like crazy. You MUST get a steel roller though. Rubber just doesn't cut it. Once you have Eternabond well adhered, it will just plain refuse to come off.

Jose

[wintersun]

Be sure to follow the Eternabond recommendations for pre-cleaning the surface before applying it and wait for the warmest time of the day with your RV out in full sunlight.

I don't try to apply Dicor unless it is at least 70 degrees outside and even then I wait for the hottest time of the day and full sun on the roof. Otherwise it has not been self-leveling when I have used it even with pre-warming of the tube of caulk inside my house.

[bcsslc]

Ron3rd wrote:

mabynack wrote:
Thanks. I just ordered the eternabond tape. Hopefully I caught the leak before any major damage occurred.

Good choice, EB tape is a longer term solution but more work to do properly. Dicor is fine and much easier but needs to be redone every few years, or checked to make sure there are no cracks in the Dicor.

x2

[Ron3rd]

mabynack wrote:
Thanks. I just ordered the eternabond tape. Hopefully I caught the leak before any major damage occurred.

Good choice, EB tape is a longer term solution but more work to do properly. Dicor is fine and much easier but needs to be redone every few years, or checked to make sure there are no cracks in the Dicor.

[mabynack]

Thanks. I just ordered the eternabond tape. Hopefully I caught the leak before any major damage occurred.

[WyoTraveler]

Dicor self leveling caulk, may also need eterna bond tape, mineral spirits for cleaning. My front and rear cap needed attention. Total for supplies were less than $100. Eterna bond tape is about $2 a ft for 4" wide. If you already have a leak you may need to re-tape where the cap meets. Fairly easy job. After you finish check roof every couple of months so you can catch problems before they get really bad.

[BarneyS]

Take a look at this thread.
Barney