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Roofing Fix

Adrian2Door
Explorer
Explorer
I just bought a travel trailer that needs the roof redone. I’m a contractor but new repairing RV’s. I heard about Dicor EPDM being the best option. I was wondering if anyone has every sprayed the roof with Spray foam like what they use on industrial building.
13 REPLIES 13

Adrian2Door
Explorer
Explorer
ItsyRV wrote:
Adrian2Door wrote:
Do you have any membranes that you would recommend. I went to two RV parts store and both talked bad about 3rd party EPDM and said only good stuff about dicor and didn’t recommend TPO

I have an aluminum roof so when it came time for replacement, I choose a liquid coating. Since I don't use membranes I'm not in a position to advise on any particular brand or type. I can tell you why I made the decision to use what I did, but you'll need to speak to those with a better understanding of membranes.

From my experience and conversations with other RVers, the type of roof and materiel is really equal to the installation quality. You can spend thousands on the best roof membrane yet have a hack installer and it fails within weeks. Likewise, you can run to the home improvement store, but a coupe of gallons of silicone roof coating for a couple hundred dollars, properly prep and apply the coating and 50 years from now it's still going strong.

When ever a person tells me to buy or not buy a product, I always ask them to explain why. Nothing worst than getting recommendations based on nothing but "that's what Frank used" or "Ed said that other product is bad".


I’m very interested in the liquid rubber roofing. Do you have any sources I can learn more about the preparation and install?

ItsyRV
Explorer
Explorer
Adrian2Door wrote:
Do you have any membranes that you would recommend. I went to two RV parts store and both talked bad about 3rd party EPDM and said only good stuff about dicor and didn’t recommend TPO

I have an aluminum roof so when it came time for replacement, I choose a liquid coating. Since I don't use membranes I'm not in a position to advise on any particular brand or type. I can tell you why I made the decision to use what I did, but you'll need to speak to those with a better understanding of membranes.

From my experience and conversations with other RVers, the type of roof and materiel is really equal to the installation quality. You can spend thousands on the best roof membrane yet have a hack installer and it fails within weeks. Likewise, you can run to the home improvement store, but a coupe of gallons of silicone roof coating for a couple hundred dollars, properly prep and apply the coating and 50 years from now it's still going strong.

When ever a person tells me to buy or not buy a product, I always ask them to explain why. Nothing worst than getting recommendations based on nothing but "that's what Frank used" or "Ed said that other product is bad".
1994 Itasca SunDancer 21RB - Chevy G-30 chassis.

ken56
Explorer
Explorer
Research the liquid rubber roof products that are out there. I just had an RV Armor roof put on and it's guaranteed for the life of the trailer and has a transferrable warranty. I like mine so far. No more checking the Dicor sealant around any openings. Heng's is similar and you can do it yourself. RV Armor requires you use their technician to apply it but they come to you to do it, no taking it to a facility.

Gulfcoast
Explorer
Explorer
My new TT has a TPO roof and many thousands do also.

When a salesman tells me how bad his competition is... I run the other way. What's their price?
RV'ing since 1960
Dodge Cummins Diesel
Mega Cab
Jayco Travel Trailer

Adrian2Door
Explorer
Explorer
ItsyRV wrote:
Polyurethane foam alone will not hold up on an RV roof due to the short span flexing. If used, you'll need to cover it with another material to provide the UV protection and a impervious surface to bridge any micro cracks. Most commercial spray foam roofs are either coated with another product or they have the coating blended into the top foam, but blending isn't very strong against water penetration when dealing with a moving roof structure down a road.

One important consideration is if you want a membrane roof or an applied surface roof coating. A membrane roof is usually a flexible sheet glued to the roof surface to make a continuous waterproof surface. Membrane roofs will have cut opening for all roof penetrations and will need to have a coating applied at penetrations and protrusions. An applied coating is a product applied (usually in a liquid form) to the roof surface and it bonds to the surface making ti;s own continuous waterproof surface. Applied coating contours and wraps around any penetration or protrusion making it's own waterproof seal.

Another important consideration is a membrane roof is like wall paper where applied is like epoxy paint. For most membrane roofs, replacement is rather easy. Applied roofs usually ends up replacing the wood surface as well because it's a bear to get off!

They both have pros and cons so doing a bit of research on which best suits your needs should be the first step along with understanding the terminology and types of various materials.
Do you have any membranes that you would recommend. I went to two RV parts store and both talked bad about 3rd party EPDM and said only good stuff about dicor and didn’t recommend TPO

Adrian2Door
Explorer
Explorer
Gulfcoast wrote:
RV roof by the foot
Do you know anyone who has used this membrane because I went to two RV parts store and they talked bad about every membrane other then dicor EPDM.

Gulfcoast
Explorer
Explorer
RV roof by the foot
RV'ing since 1960
Dodge Cummins Diesel
Mega Cab
Jayco Travel Trailer

ItsyRV
Explorer
Explorer
Polyurethane foam alone will not hold up on an RV roof due to the short span flexing. If used, you'll need to cover it with another material to provide the UV protection and a impervious surface to bridge any micro cracks. Most commercial spray foam roofs are either coated with another product or they have the coating blended into the top foam, but blending isn't very strong against water penetration when dealing with a moving roof structure down a road.

One important consideration is if you want a membrane roof or an applied surface roof coating. A membrane roof is usually a flexible sheet glued to the roof surface to make a continuous waterproof surface. Membrane roofs will have cut opening for all roof penetrations and will need to have a coating applied at penetrations and protrusions. An applied coating is a product applied (usually in a liquid form) to the roof surface and it bonds to the surface making ti;s own continuous waterproof surface. Applied coating contours and wraps around any penetration or protrusion making it's own waterproof seal.

Another important consideration is a membrane roof is like wall paper where applied is like epoxy paint. For most membrane roofs, replacement is rather easy. Applied roofs usually ends up replacing the wood surface as well because it's a bear to get off!

They both have pros and cons so doing a bit of research on which best suits your needs should be the first step along with understanding the terminology and types of various materials.
1994 Itasca SunDancer 21RB - Chevy G-30 chassis.

Rhino Coating
2015 Crossroads Rushmore Springfield
2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax

Adrian2Door
Explorer
Explorer
Gulfcoast wrote:
What roof do you have now? Whats the condition?
it was leaking and completely destroyed. Now it’s new plywood that I just replaced with the old one.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
Depending on your roof type and condition (a picture would help) Heng’s is easy to “paint” on.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

Gulfcoast
Explorer
Explorer
What roof do you have now? Whats the condition?
RV'ing since 1960
Dodge Cummins Diesel
Mega Cab
Jayco Travel Trailer

jdc1
Explorer II
Explorer II
If you know someone that does truckbed liners......