Roof Maintenance

[rwbradley]

I am wonder peoples opinions on maintaining the caulking on the roof of their TT. I currently get a tube of Dicor caulking and pull out the caulking gun every fall after I clean the roof before it goes into winter storage. I will just do a touch up of any caulking that looks suspicious and continue yearly, which is about a $20 investment per year. I am wondering if there is a better way to do it. I can see two other solutions:
1) s****e the old caulking off, clean and fully re-caulk on a less regular basis, say every 3-5 years. I see this as being a lot of work but on a less frequent basis. Cost wise it is probably about the same as 1 tube per year for touch up vs about 3-5 tubes every 3-5 years.
2) put Eternabond tape over the caulking. I see this as a longer term solution, not sure how long Eternabond will last vs caulking because I see this as a very expensive solution, but if it lasts 10 or more years, it may be worth the investment.
Thoughts?

[Veebyes]

I am on the roof numerous times a year so it gets a look often. So far, so good. The gook looks good all round but when the time comes it will be the eternabond all round. Prefer to do it once with a good product than do it multiple times with a cheap product.

[nuckfan]

^^ YouTube is great for instructions ^^ not hard to do and if done properly won't leak for sure. Just take the time. I never removed the old caulking, just cleaned very good and applied/rolled the eternabond tape in the sun. The only way you could get a leak with this stuff is if it was not properly prepped or applied.

[pianotuna]

Yes, clean it up.

There is an excellent youtube for preparation.

Get a 1 inch roller for applying the Eternabond and use the 4 inch wide material. Press down HARD to activate the adhesive and do it on a warm day.

mitch5252 wrote:
How do you prepare to apply the Eternabond? Would I have to remove all of the caulk? Any other hints?

[spadoctor]

Never again Eternabond for me...the only time I ever had a leak

[xzyHollyxyz]

How do you prepare to apply the Eternabond? Would I have to remove all of the caulk? Any other hints?

I ask because pic below is my leak when the trailer was brand new. After having the dealer "repair" this leak, it opened up AGAIN, except worse. The dealer has supposedly "repaired" it again (trailer (2015 Fun Finder) is still in the shop to replace a window that exploded, replace the Atwood Helium fridge with a Dometic (courtesy of Atwood), and fix the broken MaxxFan.)

[SH]

nuckfan wrote:
I went the Eternabond route.

As did I!

[RAS43]

rw,
I have been doing exactly the same maintenance every spring on my 11 year old trailer. Takes 1-2 hours, caulk likes good, and no hint of any leaks. I believe this is better, and easier, then removing all of the caulk off and safer for the rubber membrane.

[nuckfan]

I went the Eternabond route. Applied to all seams and caulked areas. Looks nice and clean too. Prepping areas is the most important step, but once applied properly should last quite a few years. Well worth the investment IMO.

[Weldon]

Well said gbopp.

[gbopp]

Eternabond is a good option. It is on the expensive side but, it will last many years.

What you are presently doing is also a good option. You are inspecting the roof at least one time a year and can see potential problems. And it's relatively cheap.

Personally, I would spend the money and use Eternabond where ever possible. But continue to inspect the roof at least once a year.