Aluminum roof maintenance on my Jayco

I have 2 trailers with single sheet aluminum roofs now (90 and 91) and have had several before that required almost no maintenance at all… I haven’t had to recaulk anything for years and I never painted any of them so don’t know if or how much benefit it would be…

Single sheet aluminum is my roof of choice, although I haven’t had a problem with this rubber roof either, I have had to have replaced the rubber roof on another trailer…

thanks for the advise. Im going up this weekend to give it a good look. Sounds like a summer project.

Aluminum roof material flexes with heat/cold and really gives the caulking a workout. Much more than a rubber roof which is has less maintenance issues.

Painting was done to help make the trailer cooler in the summer. The old mill finish aluminum really heats up in the sun.

I would just keep up on a annual maintenance a couple times a year and add Dicor or other sealants mentioned. If you use the Eternabond tape I would add Dicor around the edges to make a smooth OEM look water proof seal. Lots of good you tubes on using Eternabond tape or the new sealants.

If your caulking has cracks, then it is NOT "in-tact". Water will infiltrate via those cracks.
I would prep the seams real well and then apply Eternabond.

WARRIOR_JOE1 wrote:
Thanks, what kind of calk for the seams? I would normally just use some GE silicone2

That's what I thought, too, with my aluminum roof, just use a good caulk and a lot of it. Didn't work. Silicone will come loose and I bet you'll have a leak.
What I ended up doing was to remove all of the caulk and clean it to bare metal. I cleaned the bare metal with solvents and then applied Eternabond tape to all the seams, the edge trim , and around any roof through holes like vents and stacks. It's not necessary but I decided to paint the roof with white elastomeric roof paint. It does bring the temperature inside the rig down quite a bit when parked in the sun. I haven't had a leak and I don't think any are possible with the Eternabond, the stuff sticks like no tomorrow!

BTW, if you do go the caulk route, buy some Geocell 2300 or Geocel Proflex RV sealant. Both are far better than any other caulk I've used.

Thanks, what kind of calk for the seams? I would normally just use some GE silicone2

I have had aluminum roofs and the only maintenance it required was to caulk seams as needed. They are pretty much maintenance free. I don't know why they quit using them.