Travel Trailer Rubber Roof Blew Off

[Lscott88]

We have a 2018 Heartland Trail Runner 34SLE. Coming home this weekend the rubber roofing material blew off all the way back to the air conditioner and even ripped off the antenna! Has anyone ever heard of this?? I tried calling the dealer about this and the other issues we have had after only three years with the camper (had to replace tires, window seals all shrunk, leak in the front; heater was broke and had to replace the circuit board, leaf spring cracked and had to be replaced, now have a window leak) but they said that there is nothing they can do because it is out of warranty and have to call Heartland. I just can’t comprehend why the roof would blow off after only three years, we even sealed everything this spring! The dealer said it would be $6-8k to repair I was just so floored.

[falconbrother]

wanderingbob wrote:
Been there , done that . Since I lost a roof 12 years ago we have had 5 RVs with fabric roofs . I now check my roof for " bubbles " , when I find one I drive brass carpet tacks down in loose area and cover with self leveling Dicor . Once I sliced with a razor knife and lapped over before the Dicor .

If I found that my roof was bubbling up this is exactly what I would do. I would try to find some flat head brass screws. I would worry that tacks could be pulled out with the bubble. I see lots of 5th wheels flying a bubble down the interstate, and a few travel trailers. Looks like a common issue. I miss they days of tin RV roofs.

[covered_wagon]

I have a friend that showed up in his fifth wheel with eternabond repairs. The southern climate where he is from caused the top layer of the tape to shrink and lift up. As he traveled the wind would lift it up even more. With time it curled so bad from shrinkage and uv deterioration that I decided I would no longer recommend using it.

The self leveling caulk is a much better option.

[Lscott88]

covered wagon wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
What roof maintenance have you completed in the last two years? Any pictures of the roof or maintenance? RVing since 1978 and I have never seen an RV roof on the side of the road.

What do these items have to do with the RV’s roof? “had to replace tires, window seals all shrunk, leak in the front; heater was broke and had to replace the circuit board, leaf spring cracked and had to be replaced, now have a window leak)”

It shows a general lack of workmanship on every level, that's what! And is a good thing to inform others.

It doesn't fly off as in resting on the side of the hwy. As soon as its lifting up gets to the A/C unit its held up to that point. The roof comes off because of improper install of the adhesive before rolling out and compressing into place.

We have maintenanced the camper and actually just got done paying for an entire reseal two months ago, where the mechanic found that the moulding didn't feel particularly secure likely becuase of how they put these things together so he even added additional screws to secure further. The other items mentioned were all things that should not happen the third season with a brand new camper, it will catch up with these manufacturers eventually that they are putting these things together like garbage. I honestly wish that we would have looked harder to find a pre-2015 model in the floorplan we wanted becuase it seems since the camper boom beyond at that time they are made like garbage just to get more out the door, but with my husband being a professional auto mechanic for the past few years we wanted to buy something new that we could keep new for years to come, but i guess that isn't a reality with campers these days.

[covered_wagon]

Lwiddis wrote:
What roof maintenance have you completed in the last two years? Any pictures of the roof or maintenance? RVing since 1978 and I have never seen an RV roof on the side of the road.

What do these items have to do with the RV’s roof? “had to replace tires, window seals all shrunk, leak in the front; heater was broke and had to replace the circuit board, leaf spring cracked and had to be replaced, now have a window leak)”

It shows a general lack of workmanship on every level, that's what! And is a good thing to inform others.

It doesn't fly off as in resting on the side of the hwy. As soon as its lifting up gets to the A/C unit its held up to that point. The roof comes off because of improper install of the adhesive before rolling out and compressing into place.

[Lscott88]

I did look into that, but we live in Buffalo, NY and there is nowhere near here I can find that does it.

[spoon059]

Lscott88 wrote:
Update: our insurance adjuster did come out the other day, he seemed a bit skeptical because there was no obvious sign of puncture but covered it under comprehensive, THANK GOD. Thanks everyone for your advice these forums are great, just wish campers were made a bit sturdier but we keep buying them.

Good, glad to hear. I would encourage you to have them cut you a check and look at the RV Armor roof system. It is a true maintenance free system that is vastly superior to the EPDM or Alpha Ply roof that you would otherwise use. Its a little heavier, but so much better. Usually insurance would just pay for direct replacement, hence the need for a check to be issued.

[GDS-3950BH]

Roof Blew Off

[Lscott88]

Update: our insurance adjuster did come out the other day, he seemed a bit skeptical because there was no obvious sign of puncture but covered it under comprehensive, THANK GOD. Thanks everyone for your advice these forums are great, just wish campers were made a bit sturdier but we keep buying them.

[spoon059]

Hopefully the trailer is insured, because that would be covered. We pay a very small amount to insure our travel trailer and have never needed to use it. Like Coleman said, if I was replacing a roof I wouldn't use rubber again. That flex armor roofing looks like a great product. I wish it wasn't so expensive though, or I would get all my campers redone immediately upon ownership.

[reno6]

You may end up just buying a ton of wide eternabond and cover the entire section that blew off. It shouldn't cost more then $500 for the rolls. It will seal, it will work, and it's on the roof that nobody can see.

These trailers are made by the lowest wage employees without quality control. I almost wish they were made in mexico as the quality would probably be better.

[rbpru]

These are the problems that drive people crazy. Not just roof problems but other major failures like end caps and laminated side wall panel failures. Why and how on a production line, these types of mistakes can get through is mystery but they certainly do.

The real issue is, these stupid problems are not brand specific, they seem to pop up on virtually every make and model.

In my opinion, it is the "shove it out the door" mentality, and the willingness to accept an occasional failure to keep the cost down.

But, they make them and we still buy them.

[2012Coleman]

If you plan on keeping this TT, consider This

[todde278]

I noticed a bubble in my roof a couple weeks ago on a trip to Moab. My camper is 5 years old now and 2 years ago I put a strip of eternabond across the seam on the front cap. I cleaned the area really well but putting the tape on was challenging due to the different heights on the surface.

during this trip is was particularly windy. I noticed at a gas stop that the eternabond had started to lift from the aluminum front cap. By the time we reached our destination we had a huge bubble I could see in my mirror. I got on the roof and pulled off as much of the eternabond and old caulking as I could. I went and bought some dicor and sealed it all back up.

On the trip home I was still getting the bubble. When I got home I removed all the dicor and disassembled the front cap far enough back to get under the tpm material. I bought a gallon of adhesives and reapplied as far back as I could reach. I then resealed it all up again. Hopefully this will take care of the issue.

My point in this story is that I think the eternabond tape softened the dicor underneath it and caused it to crack. Once the eternabond lost its grip on the front cap it was flapping in the wind and causing the wind to be pushed under the front cap. Moral of the story is eternabond is great stuff but if I use it again I will follow up with dicor along the edges of the tape for extra protection.

[colliehauler]

I seen a TH with a huge bubble on the roof. I was driving 75 mph and he went around me. I doubt he made it to his destination with roof intact.