roof replace or coat?

[pianotuna]

Hi,

5I have some sort of flexible roof covering. It is from 2005. I purchased it in 2009.

I'm wondering about coatings and roll on treatments. Or should I bite the bullet and get it replaced?

I suppose retrofitting fiberglass is out of the question for reasons of cost?

[SJ-Chris]

If you can paint a room, you can probably do this....

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30201452.cfm

Total cost for me was probably less than $300. No leaks and still looks great.

Happy Camping!
Chris

[Elk_traveler]

Over the years I have used many coatings for trailers and 5th wheels roofs. Now drive a MH. Most of the previous coating have been of the acrylic type but two years ago I tried the Henry Tropicool coating. I am sold and find it to be extremely good after two years. The stuff sticks like GLUE and looks nice and actually does keep the inside cooler. The Tropicool has a solid track record on outdoor buildings and the like. I highly recommend it and it is safe and proven for RV Epdm roofs and the like.

[valhalla360]

pianotuna wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Probably simplest would be new rubber but how much is the RV worth.

It is highly modified for cold weather camping. Fair market value is probably not wonderful--but replacement cost is over 100 grand. I have champagne tastes--and a beer budget.

If you intend to keep the unit 10-20yrs, new rubber starts making a lot of sense.

It's not rocket science mostly just labor. Also gives you a chance to check out the underlying roof structure and if appropriate, even beef up if needed. I'm guessing from the upgrades you've mentioned on other threads, you are probably comfortable working on the roof. DIY it's not going to be too expensive. With some scaffolding and a reasonably competent helper, I'm guessing a couple of days to strip everything, lay the new rubber and reattach/seal everything.

If you find rot and other issues, all bets are off but better to find them than just slap a coating on the top.

[rhagfo]

BFL13 wrote:
Either way it has to be/should be done indoors where it is warm. Either way better to have it done by a pro if you can afford it. The roof must be dry before starting and no rain the whole time(several days)

Choose the right stuff!! You can get some that just peels off like a skin later on. I got the Liquid Rubber stuff from Amazon.ca based on a friend tried it on his RV and it worked well (after a struggle he had --see below--so I knew what I was getting into)

If you are "on a budget" you can do the coating job yourself but a real replacement job with new rubber, probably not.

Long story here to make you think twice about doing it yourself:

I did mine this summer with a lucky long stretch of sunny days and little wind. Pine needles get stuck in the wet coatings. It takes a day to dry before the next coat. It is still sticky after it is dry enough for the next coat, but you can't wait for it not to be sticky-- that takes a couple weeks and you need to do the next coat next day before it "cures".

I found you need to wear just your socks or bare feet so your shoes don't lift what is down so far. (You can do the prep coat half at a time and cover that half with the real stuff to dry so you can then be on the first coat to to the prep stuff and first coat on the other half--after that, you do the next coats however for being on yesterday's coat)

It took me five coats to use up the five "gallon" bucket enough to meet the instructions for amount per square foot to be thick enough. Learned to slop it on with the roller and not roll it thin or it just means more coats and so more nice days needed at one coat a day. The weatherman is not your friend. That is why they do it under cover (also fewer pine needles indoors!)

You need first to be sure what the roof material is, since they have different coatings and prep coatings depending on which type of "rubber" roof you have. There are youtubes on that- where to find a bit of loose roofing to see if the backing is black or white (inside the rv in a vent where they tucked some roof down inside, eg)

I was lucky when I learned my horrible 1991 roof turned out to be the wrong kind of rubber just before I used the prep stuff. They don't have any prep stuff for the other kind of "rubber") so I just used the actual coating stuff, and it did stick even though their tech support guy thought it would not for sure, and even to Eternabond--which apparently has different types of white stuff on top too which not all types will let the coating stick-it stuck to mine ok where I have lots of bandage patches. Anyway, it all took a week, and was something of a nightmare, but it got done. 🙂

Couple months later now and it is nice and hard with no lifting anywhere and is still a tiny bit sticky but gradually getting less so. It washes up nicely and no more roof troubles like before where it was turning into a giant mess of Eternabond patches. (Kneeling to work on a vent, eg, my toes would make a gouge in the old roofing to bare wood) Just awful. Now all fixed.

I could not have done it without that long stretch of nice weather--you don't get over a week with no rain at all often around here. Watch out for cool nights and condensation--wait till that dries off in the sun by lunch and do the new coat then so it is nearly dry before dark and cool again. In Saskabush you will not have pine needles, but probably get grass-hoppers instead. 🙂

I'm sure others who have done this job will say it is not nearly that difficult, but that's how it went and also pretty much what my friend went through with his. We are both happy with our new roofs, but it was quite a chore.

https://liquidrubber.ca/products/rv-roof-coating?variant=4274310340&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsIjJ7IiH8wIV-g...

I just completely recoat outside, week of about 80 degree weather, day one scrub roof with solution of powdered Tide detergent and semi stiff scrub brush and lots of elbow grease.
Day 2 edge and apply first coat of coating, work in using roller.
Day 3 apply second coat.
Day 4 full 24 hour cure time.
Worst part no AC during the four days.

ON EDIT: I used Heng’s rubber roof coating. I could have applied the second coat the same day, but I did want to take a chance on dew.

[pianotuna]

valhalla360 wrote:
Probably simplest would be new rubber but how much is the RV worth.

It is highly modified for cold weather camping. Fair market value is probably not wonderful--but replacement cost is over 100 grand. I have champagne tastes--and a beer budget.

[mlpeloquin]

If I was going to keep my rig, RV FlexArmor is the only one I would put on. Many locations, but only in the us. Snow birds could do it once you could cross the border.

[valhalla360]

We did coating on a prior unit...it bought us 3-4yrs on a 20yr old roof but when that started to fail, we sold.

Fiberglass is great but without adding a ton of weight way above the ground, too difficult to build up a structure that won't crack due to flexing.

If you can get aluminum sheeting wide enough, that would be a good DIY option...but then again, how many more decades do you plan to keep it.

Probably simplest would be new rubber but how much is the RV worth.

[Gjac]

If it is EPDM rubber I would just coat it with an acrylic coating. My roof is 25 years old and I just coated it for the second time and it has never leaked. The EPDM rubber has a white surface coat and wear off in time leaving the black under coating. The coatings also wear off after time which is OK. Hengs, Coolseal, Henry's, Bus coat, Rustoleom etc all make acrylic coatings. I used Coolseal in 2006 and it looked good for about 5 years then started to wear off but I only had enough for 1 coat plus a primer coat. I applied 2 coats of Rustoleam acrylic coating this year and used a gal and a half. The cost was only $20/gal which was much cheaper than the other brands and did not require a primer coat. TPO is a thermoplastic material and much more durable unless it is cut or leaks I would just wash it.

[BFL13]

"is it TPO or rubber?"

This was the issue I had. I didn't know about two kinds of "rubber". TPO is rubber same as, but you have to look underneath. Both are white on top, but TPO is white underneath and the other (more common in use type) is black underneath.

The product I used is hard to stick to the Exxx type so they made a special prep sticky stuff you put on first. That prep stuff does not work on TPO (which I seem to have, being white both sides).

I was lucky to learn that just in time. So do use the special prep stuff first if using that Liquid Rubber on Exxx but the LR worked on mine as it happened. Took a chance.

I really like how it came out as a hard surface you can sort of knock on, and it can be washed. Amazing how it is still a bit sticky after over three months, but you can walk on it ok with shoes on now.

When I bought this as is four years ago some previous owner had painted on some sort of stuff with perhaps no prep when it was raining, no idea, but ever since you could peel off pieces of it like a rubber skin. Stupid stuff. I managed to peel off most of that in the last three years before doing the new job (properly I hope) so the new stuff is not on top of the stuff that peels easily.

[Bumpyroad]

instead of fiberglass cost etc you would be better to put that money with your current unit on a few year upgrade, but I would think FG would be impossible.
is it TPO or rubber? if the material is solid, not cut up or torn etc. coating might work.
good luck
bumpy

[BFL13]

Either way it has to be/should be done indoors where it is warm. Either way better to have it done by a pro if you can afford it. The roof must be dry before starting and no rain the whole time(several days)

Choose the right stuff!! You can get some that just peels off like a skin later on. I got the Liquid Rubber stuff from Amazon.ca based on a friend tried it on his RV and it worked well (after a struggle he had --see below--so I knew what I was getting into)

If you are "on a budget" you can do the coating job yourself but a real replacement job with new rubber, probably not.

Long story here to make you think twice about doing it yourself:

I did mine this summer with a lucky long stretch of sunny days and little wind. Pine needles get stuck in the wet coatings. It takes a day to dry before the next coat. It is still sticky after it is dry enough for the next coat, but you can't wait for it not to be sticky-- that takes a couple weeks and you need to do the next coat next day before it "cures".

I found you need to wear just your socks or bare feet so your shoes don't lift what is down so far. (You can do the prep coat half at a time and cover that half with the real stuff to dry so you can then be on the first coat to to the prep stuff and first coat on the other half--after that, you do the next coats however for being on yesterday's coat)

It took me five coats to use up the five "gallon" bucket enough to meet the instructions for amount per square foot to be thick enough. Learned to slop it on with the roller and not roll it thin or it just means more coats and so more nice days needed at one coat a day. The weatherman is not your friend. That is why they do it under cover (also fewer pine needles indoors!)

You need first to be sure what the roof material is, since they have different coatings and prep coatings depending on which type of "rubber" roof you have. There are youtubes on that- where to find a bit of loose roofing to see if the backing is black or white (inside the rv in a vent where they tucked some roof down inside, eg)

I was lucky when I learned my horrible 1991 roof turned out to be the wrong kind of rubber just before I used the prep stuff. They don't have any prep stuff for the other kind of "rubber") so I just used the actual coating stuff, and it did stick even though their tech support guy thought it would not for sure, and even to Eternabond--which apparently has different types of white stuff on top too which not all types will let the coating stick-it stuck to mine ok where I have lots of bandage patches. Anyway, it all took a week, and was something of a nightmare, but it got done. 🙂

Couple months later now and it is nice and hard with no lifting anywhere and is still a tiny bit sticky but gradually getting less so. It washes up nicely and no more roof troubles like before where it was turning into a giant mess of Eternabond patches. (Kneeling to work on a vent, eg, my toes would make a gouge in the old roofing to bare wood) Just awful. Now all fixed.

I could not have done it without that long stretch of nice weather--you don't get over a week with no rain at all often around here. Watch out for cool nights and condensation--wait till that dries off in the sun by lunch and do the new coat then so it is nearly dry before dark and cool again. In Saskabush you will not have pine needles, but probably get grass-hoppers instead. 🙂

I'm sure others who have done this job will say it is not nearly that difficult, but that's how it went and also pretty much what my friend went through with his. We are both happy with our new roofs, but it was quite a chore.

https://liquidrubber.ca/products/rv-roof-coating?variant=4274310340&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsIjJ7IiH8wIV-g...

[TurnThePage]

I used Heng's Roof Coating on my 2004 roof a few years ago. It's holding up well. The roof is nice and white again, thus reflecting away a lot of sunlight and heat. If my RV was going to last me the rest of my life, I might whip out the checkbook for a new one. I would probably pay one of those services that professionally coat the current roof. I can't remember their names right off, but the price is less than a replacement and the warranty is longer.

[pianotuna]

The unit is from 2005

[NamMedevac_70]

I never had a roof leak or problem on my 15 year old TT using it under harsh conditions and such as setting outside on open storage lots in extreme hot Texas and Nevada sun, etc. At least once a year I cleaned and applied a coat of Dicor liquid rubber roof. It was easy and fun to do in cool morning hours with very little mess to clean up. Cheers to the brave