advice on roof maintenance

[wiredgeorge]

Just bought a 2011 Sunnybrook Harmony 21FBS. This trailer is sweet and exactly what I was looking for in a first RV (besides my old truck camper). A little background: Trailer bought new in New Mexico in 2011. Driven here to about 7 miles from my home and parked and never used. Sat out and the fibreglass skin on the sides and rubber roof on the top got a bit of mold and crud and needs to be power washed. I aleady know that.

OK... want to hold off on power washing until I have a chance to do any necessary re-seal maintenance. As stated, top is a piece of rubber. All the penetrations and two outside seams have a heavy black sealer of some sort; sort of looks like flashing cement but isn't very pliable. All the black stuff looks pretty much intact but has a bit of crazing in the finish from expansion/contraction but this is only on the surface and there is at least a 1/4" of solid black sealer below.

To my question: Should I try and remove this black goop and re-seal? If so, what should I use? The manufacturer is no longer in business as they were bought by Winnebago about 5 years ago. There is no owner's manual available but for other Sunnybrook Harmony models of the same vintage the owners manual doesn't say what to use but to call a dealer to find out. Any suggestions would be appreciated! TIA.

[ScottG]

Agree with the others, dont pressure washer.
I suspect that really is Dicor sealant and it's just covered with what ever black mold type junk attacks everything around here.
I would scratch away a little of it and if it is white, it probably is the right stuff. I would use some mineral spirits (as recommended by Dicor) to clean some of the black off. If what's underneath is fine then I wouldn't bother it.

[edatlanta]

I would never use a pressure washer on a rubber roof. That stuff is paper thin and fragile enough anyway, not to mention loosening up the many feet of caulking.

YMMV

[rwynkoop]

Do not remove it. Clean it and cover with more dicor. Check on youtube for some example on how to do this.

Here is an example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQDRp_Zkzpo

I cleaned mine like the video, and did the whole edge. Mine was not leaking, but had some minor cracking.

[gat75]

I parked my 33ft B-Ridge 5v on my driveway, positioned my rolling scaffold on one side, then used a razor scraper to gently remove the heavy application of dicor directly over each roof screw.

I was not looking to remove all the old dicor, (old dicor is a good base to apply eternabond tape to). I mainly was looking for a somewhat flat surface to apply the tape to.

* I would remove about 7ft of dicor, then clean thoroughly with soap & water
* After ensuring that surface was dry, I would then carefully apply a roll of 4'' eternabond tape over the screws
* Did the above steps down both sides, then both front & back of RV
* I then used the same process above (along with a pencil, compass & some metal shears) to splice several short pieces around each roofing protrusion, (for example, pipes)

If done correctly, you will end up with a "roof over a roof"

Do yourself a favor & visit eternabond's website to learn more about this amazing product!

[MitchF150]

If that's a rubber roof, you really don't want to use a pressure washer on it anyway.. Regardless of the sealant used or the surface cracks on it..

Would you put your hand under a pressure washer nozzle? The thin rubber isn't much stronger than your skin, except it'll handle UV rays a lot better.. 😉

All I do with my rubber roof is get up there with some car wash soap, water and a soft scrub brush that I use to wash all my other vehicles, to clean off the surface dirt on the roof and be done..

Been doing that since 2003 with mine. I wouldn't even think of using my pressure washer on it..

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

What I don't like with that "caulk" job is all the "pools" it makes between the joints, but I guess there is not much you can do about that now?

Mitch

[oldokie]

That looks like dicor sealant and if so you can just was it off with dawn soap and water. It should come out white if you wash it well. I would not try to remove it ,just clean it and cover any cracks in it with more dicor.

[westend]

How much time do you want to throw at this? I'm guessing the stuff that is on there is some type of butyl sealant and will last a good bit of time.

To remove it will take effort. I'd start out with a chemical remover like 3M caulk remover and see if that softens it. Mechanically removing the sealants will take a good bit of time. I did it on my roof because there were a variety of sealers used and none of them worked. I ended up removing everything and then used Eternabond tapes to make sure everything was sealed. I'd bet I have over 40 hrs in removing sealants/sealing the roof.

A pressure washer can be used but only with a wide fan tip and the best use is not to try removing mold with it. For that, get a dedicated siding cleaner or mold soap and let the chemicals do the work.

[wiredgeorge]

The power washer seemed like a good idea. House has vinyl siding and missus has been after me to clean off the green mold on the south side for at least a year. Will buy one of those long wands at Walmart in the RV section and some cleaning detergent stuff made for the purpose.

Not sure I will take up the old caulk (if that is what it is) at this point or not. Dicor seems to be the goop of choice. When you say caulk, I assume you refer to the black stuff? There is a caulk type stuff at the union between the side panels and roof. The black stuff is only on the penetrations.

[donn0128]

Carefully using a heat gun and a plastic scraper you can remove the old caulk. Reapply using Dicor clean the rubber membrain using appropriate materials and go.
Never ever use a pressure washer. Inappropriate use can create all sorts of damage.

[downtheroad]

Looks like someone did a pretty good job of making sure it didn't leak...really kept after the resealing and maintenance....

Don't know what that stuff is, but is your trailer leaking? If not, you might want to leave it alone.

I'm not a fan of using a power washer on our trailer(s). Lots of chances to cause damage and create problems... If you do use a power washer, dial down the pressure to a LOW setting.
I also don't care if my roof is sparkling white.

[MFL]

If what is on there is solid, I would just clean it well, and fill in any cracks/openings with Dicor self leveling.

Jerry