I need advice on roofing - Fleetwood

[mossyback]

I am new to RV’s. 3 years ago my daughter bought a Fleetwood 5th wheel to live in. It had a slight leak so I built a pole barn over it. In March of 2020 the land she was on sold and she lost her job. So I moved her house, put a tarp over it, and told her I’d repair the roof in July. In June I started researching RV products and after hours of watching videos on Youtube and reading manufactures sites I purchased Dicor 501LSW and five gallons of Proguard F99911 Liquid Roof only to have Amazon inform me that they were out of the F99911. This might be for the best as I subsequently read that Fleetwood is not a true EPDM and that plan would have failed without an unnamed primer. So I have ordered four gallons of RV Roof Magic as it says it works on both Alpha System and EPDM Roofs. Question 1: Will this combination work out well for us?


NEXT, When I cleaned off the roof with Dawn dishwashing detergent I found problems.
1. There is a patch - a 4” by 12” bandaid - that didn’t quite work. I found a Youtube vid using a patch kit from Camping World that looks like this patch - it looks questionable, is it a good product and just poorly applied? Should I get a larger patch and put a new bandaid over the old one?
2. Across the ‘stern’ there are tiny cracks along the ‘carpet strip’ that ties the corrugated aluminum to the EPDM. On fiberglass boat I’d lay a mat down, resin over it, and then put the gel coat over the entire thing. It would be ugly but it would not leak. Putting a liberal coating of the Lap Sealant over this is 90% likely to be good enough, my guess without having ever worked with this product or application. Is there a standard way to deal with this fatiguing rubber sheeting edge? Would getting a roll of the Camping world roof patch and putting it across the entire seam be a disaster or a good fix?
3. Across the ‘bow’ we have a similar issue only there is an extra ‘carpet strip’ I’m guessing someone put this down after manufacturing because otherwise why wouldn’t the builders just use a wider joining strip? I don’t think this leaks, but he front right corner has damage showing inside the house and a notable 8” diameter soft spot about a foot back and in from the edge. And the roof is detached from the dual carpet strips for about 3 inches from the side. I can not see where the leak is but it clearly has one! I am considering buying a bucket of emergency patch and slathering it over the entire area and putting down a two-foot square of aluminum plate/sheeting over the mess then painting the liquid roof over it. Are there any of these patch in a bucket products that do not adhere to Alpha or EPDM or RV Roof Magic products?
4. Knowing I would need to learn about patching as soon as I started blowing the roof off I removed the radio antenna. That hole is about two feet away from a bad soft spot close to the back of the RV. The soft spot has holes in the black rubber. Maybe a dozen of them with the longest being about an inch long. To just slather a patch here like I’m considering for the front right corner would be about 3-foot square. Do any of you have a better idea? Thank you for your time and expertise!

[dougrainer]

Kevin D pem wrote:
I was in an RV parts and sales place in AZ and was told silicone is a bad choice because it reacts with the rubber roof. I disagree.

Henries roof coat and patch available at homedepot and other retailers was developed for mobile rubber and metal roofs. You don't have to take my word for this. Henries website explains. The catalyst used is water so it will not react with the roofing material.

I use the patch (100 percent silicone) to patch. I impregnate fiberglass drywall seam tape with the silicone for holes I need to cover.

When dry I paint the entire roof with henery's 100 percent silicone roof paint(tropi-cool brand name) for UV protection from the sun. This stuff

caries a life time warranty and was made for the job.

1. Silicone WILL NOT adhere to TPO/EPDM RV rubber roofs. PERIOD
2. This is what Henries website states

s. This coating is not intended for
application over plywood, walking decks, uncoated SPF roofs, rubber or PVC sheet roofs, silicone coated roofs, shingles of any kind,

[mossyback]

dhull THANK YOU

[mossyback]

rvrev2 Thank you for your advice. If I'd have heard of RVRoof.com a little earlier in this process that is probably what I would have done. I've found the lack of compatibility charts frustrating in the extreme. I keep thinking if metal working supplies were sold like this how would anyone ever know as simple a thing as if they need flux!

Finding this Good Sam forum was the highlight of this process. Thanks for helping out the FNG.

[dhull]

The new eternabond tape won't take a Hengs coating. Eternabond too new and slick. I Hengs our camper last year and it didn't stick on the patches I covered the holes from luggage rack removal. Once weathered it might bond though...
Dicor edges of tape then paint over that. Hengs will stick to new dicor.

[mossyback]

My next question is: Does anyone have experience with painting any liquid roof products over EternaBond tape?
I have put 12" EternaBond tape over bother termination strips and the hole where the radio antenna used to be. Should I paint up to the tape, overlap the tape a couple inches or pat the tape to the metal surface?

[mossyback]

jdc1 Thanks again. I'm making progress. But it isn't done yet. The research part of this project has taken more time than the actual work!

[rvrev2]

If you can afford it, I would stop trying to fix that ailing roof and just take it to an RVRoof.com location and get it coated with FlexArmor. After preparing the roof, they spray on a thick FlexArmor coating, producing a monolithic, flexible, and strong roof that covers all roof terminations (carpet strips) and roof penetrations (vents, etc.). You never have to caulk the roof again. Lifetime, transferable warranty and no-leak guarantee. They give free estimates, based on the length of your rv.
If you can't afford that, then you could use eternabond tape on all the roof terminations (carpet strips), and over the old patch area. Then you could put your roll on roof coating. You will still need to check the roof multiple times each year to check all the caulking for cracks, weathering, and holes.

[Kevin_D_pem]

I was in an RV parts and sales place in AZ and was told silicone is a bad choice because it reacts with the rubber roof. I disagree.

Henries roof coat and patch available at homedepot and other retailers was developed for mobile rubber and metal roofs. You don't have to take my word for this. Henries website explains. The catalyst used is water so it will not react with the roofing material.

I use the patch (100 percent silicone) to patch. I impregnate fiberglass drywall seam tape with the silicone for holes I need to cover.

When dry I paint the entire roof with henery's 100 percent silicone roof paint(tropi-cool brand name) for UV protection from the sun. This stuff caries a life time warranty and was made for the job.

[mossyback]

The RV Roof Magic hasn't arrived yet. 7 days since we ordered it.

[rsgs]

Thanks for the heads up on the RV Roof Magic!

[theoldwizard1]

You need a complete tear off an redo !

[jdc1]

Dawn soap and a low pressure nozzle on a pressure washer to clean. Scrub with a brush. Use Eternabond tape on ANY suspect areas of concern, laps or old patches. Heng's is a good roof coating. But, the one you chose, if it is not silicone based migh be just as good. When you finish coating the roof, use the self-leveling Dicor caulk at all points of penetration and other suspect areas. Cleaning the roof properly is the biggest task.