Fixing Small Roof Tear

whs9841 wrote:
I had a tear in my roof that my RV dealer repaired with Eternabond tape. It looked great when I picked it up. We went camping the same day I picked it up. When I got to the campsite I went up on the roof to check the repair and the roof had pulled apart....the Eternabond tape didn't hold. I took it back to the dealer on the way home and I'm picking it up tomorrow morning. I'm not sure why it pulled apart, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out. I'm not sure if it was an Eternabond issue, or a user error when applying the tape.

Can't say for sure, but it sounds like poor prep (ie failure to clean area properly before applying eternabond), but of course you'll never get a dealer to admit to that, i'm sure they'll come up with an interesting excuse.

If you have a rubber roof over plywood, I would make an aluminum patch. Just a scrap piece of aluminum one inch larger than the tear in any direction. Drill and counter sink a couple holes near the corners, and put some dicor under it as you screw it down. Then put dicor over the top just like all your vents, pipe stacks and ladder mounts. Never worry about it opening up again. I've done several repairs like this that turned out well.

I had a tear in my roof that my RV dealer repaired with Eternabond tape. It looked great when I picked it up. We went camping the same day I picked it up. When I got to the campsite I went up on the roof to check the repair and the roof had pulled apart....the Eternabond tape didn't hold. I took it back to the dealer on the way home and I'm picking it up tomorrow morning. I'm not sure why it pulled apart, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out. I'm not sure if it was an Eternabond issue, or a user error when applying the tape.

Thanks for the comments. Looks like either Eternabond or Dicor will work for the application. I'm sure the EPDM roof repair kit works fine too. I'm leaning toward the Eternabond because it comes as "tape" vs. a patch sheet (Dicor). Due to the nature of the tear, I'll probably gt mor use out of the tape.

MFL wrote:
You can purchase a EPDM quick repair kit, that has a permanent adhesive back patch. I have no experience with it, so can't say as to the long term results.

Jerry

I have used such a repair kit and it is a permanent repair. It's available at many RV stores.

Dicor tape is permanent also, just like Eternabond.

You can purchase a EPDM quick repair kit, that has a permanent adhesive back patch. I have no experience with it, so can't say as to the long term results.

Jerry

I think the Dicor will work. But, why not use Eternabond?
You'll have to check and reapply the Dicor.
Eternabond is a one time repair.

Maybe put some Dicor under the tear then over the tear to seal it.