MH Rubber Roof Repair? (pics now)

chalking and flaking of the top coat is common
and yes you can DIY
wash with mild soap and lots of water, NO hard bristle brushes, use sponges etc..
rinse with plenty of water, let it dry
then apply one of the EPDM White coatings, designed for that purpose

there are two types of rubber roof material, you need to use the correct coating
average is (i think) 5gallons to every 6ft of length
a 30ft roof use 25 gallons,
someone will correct my number if i'm wrong
it was yrs back when i did a previous MH but IIRC it 42sqft per 5gallon bucket
the instructions are usually well written

I would wash it with soap and water then think about applying some of this stuff.

http://www.epdmcoatings.com/rv_roof_repair.html

It is easy to apply, just like painting a room. I bought a coffee cup at a yard sale, and dip it in the thick coating, pour it on the roof, and then spread it around with a 4" wide paint brush. It will stick to the round sidewalls. I have a Fleetwood Bounder, so same type of rubber roof. Mine is a 97.

It comes in a 4 or 5 gallon pail, or 1 gallon if you like. I ended up using 9 gallons to totally coat my roof about 1/8" thick. I expect the roof to last a long time! No more white streaks down the sidewalls either. The factory roof material would leave streaks of white product that fluffs off to keep the roof looking white all the time.

Mix in the hardener, and let it sit 1 hour or so (less if it is over 80F. Then apply, you will have a 4-5 hour pot life before the product starts to skim over in the pail. I actually had 1 gallon left over, and put it in my freezer for about 6 months, then applied some on another RV. It is also holding up well - even after sitting in the freezer all winter!

Once on the roof, it hardens when it is above 55F, or will sit there soft below 55F. A couple of warm days in the sun, and it will become solid!

You could use it as a 6" wide seam filler if you like, and wait on doing the whole RV for another time. But no time like the present! If you coat it all now, while the roof is still in decent shape, you will be doing yourself a favor. Waiting like I did until the roof is in poor shape and leaking - not recommended. There is less material to have the new stuff stick to! And replacement EPDM cost about $4,000 installed at a RV repair place. No thank you!

Some might suggest putting blue painters tape over the awning drip rail, but the product is thick enough that I did not find it necessary in my case.

Good luck!

Fred.

Below are some pictures of my roof being coated.



This is the mount it is held on with three rivets into the frame, and then the bottom half is 6" long aluminum, with nutsert in the upper piece, bolt you can not see from the outside edge pointing inward.

Cover the roof seams with Eternabond.

For caulking, use Dicor Self Leveling Caulk.

Shop around for the best prices.

From the pictures it looks like the PO applied some acrylic coating and that is what is peeling off. I have seen EPDM sluff off/wear off but not peel like that. When the top layer wears off, you start to see black spots until it wears off entirely.

I used dicor roof coating on my old rubber roof. It took about four gallons for my 33 footer. Very easy to do and what a differance. I can't find any before and after pics of mine but I know fire up has some pics of his.

gbopp wrote:
Cover the roof seams with Eternabond.

For caulking, use Dicor Self Leveling Caulk.

Shop around for the best prices.

+1. did it myself and very happy with the results

mike brez wrote:
I used dicor roof coating on my old rubber roof. It took about four gallons for my 33 footer. Very easy to do and what a differance. I can't find any before and after pics of mine but I know fire up has some pics of his.

you are correct
its one gallon every xx sq ft, not five

five gallons will do most RVs, except those in the 40ft range

Agree with Gjac's post. Looks like your roof has been re-coated at some point, possibly with an acrylic. The EPDM coatings (liquid Rubber) would require a primer over that coating before applying the new EPDM..

Quoting Gjac:
"From the pictures it looks like the PO applied some acrylic coating and that is what is peeling off. I have seen EPDM sluff off/wear off but not peel like that. When the top layer wears off, you start to see black spots until it wears off entirely."
So can my husband still use the Eternabond tape to seal the edges of the roof and some tears etc? We have been reading, watching YouTube etc but I am a little confused over which Eternabond tape to use.
We have seen the "Eternabond OneStep Miracle RV Roof Tape 4 in. x 50' White" and then the "EternaBond RSW-4-50 White Roof Seal " which is also a tape. So which one to use? Or can we use this product with the suspected existing EPDM? We are planning on recoating the entire roof once the tape is in place.
We keep seeing "kits" that include caulking, cleaner, primer etc.
So which one? And what coating or primer/coating if its EPDM to go over the whole thing? How do you tell if its EPDM? Or?

I would wash the roof well with a stiff brush to remove the loose flaky coating or use a power washer carefully to clean that loose stuff off the roof. I don't know how well liquid rubber which is EPDM will adhere to the acrylic coating. If you can't remove all of it I would apply another acrylic coating like Cool Seal, Bus Coat, Henry's etc. I don't know how bad the rest off your roof is, maybe you can post some photos of the top that show how bad the tears are, and you will get more detailed answers to your issues.