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.

[ford_truck_guy]

RobWNY wrote:

HappyKayakers wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
Well, at least others will be aware of Heartland problems.

I've seen a number of trailers cruising down the interstate with a big roof bubble going on at the front of the trailer. Pretty sure it settles down when they stop driving. Not necessarily just a Heartland problem.

I've seen that too. It certainly gets your attention as a fellow RVer. Who knows. Mine probably does that too lol

YUP.... seen that MANY times.....

Over on the Redwood forum there was a guy who lost his roof the same way a few years back... Since that time, I took a room of 6" eternobond and ran a strip from side to side across the front cap seam... That seams to be the weak point and it could allow enough air in to raise the rubber.. I ASSUME it worked, can't dee it while driving, and nobody ever waved me down , while pointing at the roof

[RobWNY]

HappyKayakers wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
Well, at least others will be aware of Heartland problems.

I've seen a number of trailers cruising down the interstate with a big roof bubble going on at the front of the trailer. Pretty sure it settles down when they stop driving. Not necessarily just a Heartland problem.

I've seen that too. It certainly gets your attention as a fellow RVer. Who knows. Mine probably does that too lol

[covered_wagon]

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 .

Good one......good ole'cowboy know how. 🙂

[wanderingbob]

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 .

[GrandpaKip]

Lscott88 wrote:
I can’t figure out how to reply to a specific post but I’m not certain if they got it from a show or not, it seems over the past few years these things are being made more and more carelessly with there record breaking sales. What’s crazy is we just had our mechanic up on the roof to reseal everything before we started this season a month ago, and we double checked all of his work and everything was sealed and fine looking before we left, he even notices places where they missed putting screws in at the factory in the front and fixed that.

Use the quote function at the top of a particular post.
Hope you get it fixed to your satisfaction.

[Lscott88]

I can’t figure out how to reply to a specific post but I’m not certain if they got it from a show or not, it seems over the past few years these things are being made more and more carelessly with there record breaking sales. What’s crazy is we just had our mechanic up on the roof to reseal everything before we started this season a month ago, and we double checked all of his work and everything was sealed and fine looking before we left, he even notices places where they missed putting screws in at the factory in the front and fixed that.

[deltabravo]

garyemunson wrote:
Doesn't Heartland warranty the roof longer than the rest of the camper? Most manufacturers do. Seems like this says 12 year roof warranty.

That would be the warranty on the actual roof membrane, not the fact that it stays attached to the RV.

[Guy_Roan]

I am curious; Did your dealer get that trailer from a show ?
From an experience I had with a new trailer I have a feeling that the manufacturers pawn their rejects off at the shows

Guy

[Blazing_Zippers]

Ah----Been There! Our POS 2016 Cougar fifth wheel roof came loose so badly that I could actually adjust the rear view mirror and see the balloon. We took it to a dealer and it was repaired for a fee. Just a couple months before, I had inspected all the roofing and nothing was amiss.
Your issue seems much more involved, I wish you success in finding a solution. Issues like these makes one hate RVing. Hopefully readers on here take note and remember when buying a rig.

[HappyKayakers]

jdc1 wrote:
Well, at least others will be aware of Heartland problems.

I've seen a number of trailers cruising down the interstate with a big roof bubble going on at the front of the trailer. Pretty sure it settles down when they stop driving. Not necessarily just a Heartland problem.

[kellem]

Wow, can't say I've ever heard of roof blowing off, very unfortunate.

Personally would screw back on with washers and lots of Dicor lap sealant vs spending thousands.

[jdc1]

Well, at least others will be aware of Heartland problems.

[Second_Chance]

garyemunson wrote:
Doesn't Heartland warranty the roof longer than the rest of the camper? Most manufacturers do. Seems like this says 12 year roof warranty.

Regarding your window seals...have you been tightening the inner frame screws annually? That is an important maintenance item. Then replace the Butyl tape sealer after 10 years as it will dry out. The sealer does not really shrink, the flexing of the RV keeps compressing it every time you travel making retightening necessary.

https://heartlandrvs.com/warranty/#summary

This has been recently discussed on another forum. The 12-year warranty by the manufacturer of the roof material is solely for the membrane material itself and does not cover installation (which likely caused your problem) or other issues.

Rob

[Lscott88]

I am going to call them first thing Monday to see, I read in the owners guide that they cover roofing three years (we are at 3 years 2 months) but it did have a caveat that they wouldn’t cover the EPDM material, which is in theory what ripped off. Wish us luck, after putting $1,000 into this thing already it was really upsetting to have this happen, I guess the only positive is that with being due with baby number 2 in a month we didn’t have other trips scheduled this year.

[Lwiddis]

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)”