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pewterman20's avatar
pewterman20
Explorer
Jul 29, 2014

Liquid rubber roof

I am in need of a new epdm roof on my 1997 Allegro. I plan on removing all roof fixtures before I begin. Then, I plan on cutting teh current roof just behind the end cap, pealing back the current roof, replacing bad wood, gluing the old rubber back and applying the liquid rubber.

Do I need to remove the side molding to get the epdm pulled up, or can I cut above the curve on the flat surface of the roof, do the repairs, tape the old rubber back down at the cuts, and apply the liquid rubber?

Additional suggestions will be greatly accepted.
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Weldon, it's Pewterman that is going to fix his roof, not me. Trailer is out in desert, hopefully won't have rot for some years.

    Rotten OSB pieces need to be replaced. You can cut the rot out, rebuild it with epoxy or Liquid Nails, and cover it up with luan, and this will work. There were members that chose not to put a luan on the entire roof after fixing the damaged spots, and this worked too. I guess, depends on how badly the OSB is damaged.
  • Almot, strongly suggest you get other opinions on this subject. Too much work and expense to make this kind of mistake.
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Weldon wrote:
    The new EPDM won't stick to the old wood I am thinking. If you remove all of the old EPDM you will need to cover the existing good wood with luan so the roof material will stick to the wood.

    Didn't try it, my rig is not at this age yet. But, if the old wood is not rotten, the new EPDM should stick to it same as the original EPDM did to original wood. Meaning - not too well. I see a lot of air pockets under my original EPDM, and when removing the antenna, I could separate the flap of EPDM from the underlying particle board very easy. There is a EPDM primer in places that sell liquid rubber, according to them it sticks to anything.

    If the old wood (likely, a 3/8" particle board or OSB) is in too bad shape, then yes, it's easier to cover it with a new 1/4 or 1/8" plywood than replacing it.
  • Yep - Just go with the Liquid Rubber over your existing.
    It penetrates into the old rubber roof.
    Just did mine - comes out very nice.
  • The new EPDM won't stick to the old wood I am thinking. If you remove all of the old EPDM you will need to cover the existing good wood with luan so the roof material will stick to the wood.
  • Remove the cap and all trim including on the sides. Install new EPDM. It is false economy to try and do otherwise.
  • If it were me, I would completely remove the rubber and apply new. Those edges under the side edge moulding tend to wear out and deteriorate from the sun. I think you are looking for trouble down the road with all those seams you will be creating.

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