Bubbled up roofs on the hwy

[Crodad]

I've noticed quite a few 5th wheels traveling down the interstates and their rubber roofs are bubbled up in the front. The wind is getting under the rubber membrane. I can't see my roof when traveling and know those people can't see it either. And when you stop I'm sure the roof goes back down, so you couldn't tell it did that. I wish there was a way to let people know that their roof is catching air. I know this can't be good.

[tragusa3]

I'm the type to drive along side and let someone know of such things. However, the 3 or 4 I've seen doing this were all traveling 70+mph...no way I was going to help.

[billmac]

I noticed mine while riding my motorcycle in front of my wife with our rig. Mine was rising up about 2ft and was from the front to almost the front bedroom a/c. You could see the rubber roof was loose although it layed flat when the rv was stopped. I just called a mobile rv tech who said he had fixed several.

He removed the front cap seal at the front of the roof. He showed me where Forest River only installed about 1/3rd of the screws. He showed me where about 6 ft. of extra roof rubber was laying inside the front cap. He said they don't bother to cut it off at the factory.

The RV Tech said air comes in from under the 5th wheel hitch into the front cap. It will get under the rubber roof and past the cap seal and raise the rubber roof up.

He cut off the excess EPDM roof beyond the front cap. He glued the roof back down and installed an extra cap seal with ample screws to ensure the air doesn't get under the roof. He charged $400 and I have not had any problems with it in the 6 years since.

[PMiller228]

We were on our way to Florida in July and someone in a travel trailer came along beside me and rolled their window down. I had that sinking feeling something was wrong and rolled my window down. They yelled over the road noise that my roof was raising up. I said ok and thanked them. We angled our side mirrors up to try to see the roof and sure enough we could see the front part of our rubber roof billowing up. I made it to our campground and took a look. It didn't tear (luckily), but I could see where it had pulled out from underneath the front strip a bit. On the way back home, I used rope and lashed it down to prevent it from ballooning. Made it home fine. Now I have to fix it.

[Curly2001]

So where do we all go to get help from the industry with crappy builds on trailers? There should be a watch dog group that can assist us other than attorneys, to watch the quality of the rigs and then when we get **** assist us all in forcing the manufacturers to remedy the issues. It is sad that we allow them to build such garbage with no consequences. They should all be in "time out".
Curly

[bucky]

^^^^^^^^^^^Smart man^^^^^^^^^^^

[DickOK]

Any time I am behind a semi with stainless rear doors, I always check my roof.

[Chrisatthebeach]

This is why I wish the industry would give us a choice to go back to aluminum sheet roof instead of rubber.

I never had issues with the aluminum roofs on previous units but plenty with rubber.

If purchasing new I would not hesitate to pay more for a roof that will not rot.

[MFL]

rhagfo wrote:

Crodad wrote:
I've noticed quite a few 5th wheels traveling down the interstates and their rubber roofs are bubbled up in the front. The wind is getting under the rubber membrane. I can't see my roof when traveling and know those people can't see it either. And when you stop I'm sure the roof goes back down, so you couldn't tell it did that. I wish there was a way to let people know that their roof is catching air. I know this can't be good.

Could also be failed adhesive, and the lifting effect of air rushing over a curved surface. This may be harder to determine.

I agree Russ. I think the adhesive is the problem in most cases, causing air lift, rather than air getting under.

Jerry

[rhagfo]

Crodad wrote:
I've noticed quite a few 5th wheels traveling down the interstates and their rubber roofs are bubbled up in the front. The wind is getting under the rubber membrane. I can't see my roof when traveling and know those people can't see it either. And when you stop I'm sure the roof goes back down, so you couldn't tell it did that. I wish there was a way to let people know that their roof is catching air. I know this can't be good.

Could also be failed adhesive, and the lifting effect of air rushing over a curved surface. This may be harder to determine.

[kep5niner]

ford truck guy wrote:
we had someone over on the Redwood forum that this happened to.. His wife used to follow him in another vehicle , that is how they found it..

I placed a 6" strip of Eternabond over the area where the front cap meets the roofline. . Hopefully this will do 2 things -

protect against a leak . .
Protect against a bubble up issue..

^^^^ Exactly what I did. Conducting a post-flight inspection on the roof, and noticed the Dicor had split where the roof meets the front cap. Documented it and sent it to the dealer, figured I'd fix it myself with 6" Eternabond. I described to the dealer what I was going to do, and Forest River said that's exactly how they would remediate the problem as well.

Do I still have the balloon issue? I haven't had Chock 2 check it out since my repair, but it doesn't appear that the Eternabond is budging, so I'm happy.

[ford_truck_guy]

we had someone over on the Redwood forum that this happened to.. His wife used to follow him in another vehicle , that is how they found it..

I placed a 6" strip of Eternabond over the area where the front cap meets the roofline. . Hopefully this will do 2 things -

protect against a leak . .
Protect against a bubble up issue..

[bobsallyh]

Korbe, that is true if the owner is able to get up on the roof. We have a friend that comes from Missouri for the winter to Yuma, AZ. During the summer he and a tree had an issue with his fiver. Some shop in Mexico, MO. said the whole EPDM roof needed replacing. They did a half-baked job knowing full well that he could never get up on that roof to check the job due to physical limitations. Thanksgiving morning, his wife gets out of bed to a soggy bedroom floor due to an unusual night time rain in Yuma. A friend and I went up to check things and the outfit put the material in under the aluminum extrusion between the front cap and the roof. Unfortunately, only tucked an 1/8 inch under and of course pulled out from under the extrusion traveling. His insurance agent back in Missouri worked with him, as we took pictures of the ripoff job that the insurance company paid for in Mexico, MO. and authorized him to get it done again. He got a reputable repair place in Yuma to do the job and they did it on his site.

[korbe]

It would seem to me that if the owner would go up on his roof once in awhile and crawl around, he would easily see the problem.

[TakingThe5th]

I have seen a number of problems that I'm sure the owner would appreciate knowing - things like open compartments, flopping trim and panels, bad tires, etc.

What would be a good way to communicate? If I saw another RV flashing their lights or 4-ways repeatedly I might consider pulling over for a quick chat but in today's world that could also be a risk. What if I'm something other then an RV and need to communicate? Wish I had the answer.