Had a new rubber roof/membrane installed on my 28' 2003 Fleetwood Wilderness TT. The roof was 14 yrs old so thought it was time to replace it! The installer called with BAD news saying that there were bubbles under the new roof. He clams moisture from leaks on both rear corners and the R/F corner caused the separation ALL OVER THE ROOF. The old roof didn't have bubbles! He said some bubbles were 4" - 5" , Some were round and some were shaped in a "V" I can maybe see moisture separation close to the damp corners, but all over the entire roof? Any Ideas? GDStarkey
Bubbling Under New Roof Membrane
- Thread starter GDStarkey
- Start date
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Gods Country
Well-known member
I assume the installer is claiming the moisture made the adhesive fail?
Seems to me if there were leaks when the roof was removed the areas in question should have been repaired, dried out, or any number of things prior to installing a new membrane. You need to go wherever the trailer is and see for yourself.
Seems to me if there were leaks when the roof was removed the areas in question should have been repaired, dried out, or any number of things prior to installing a new membrane. You need to go wherever the trailer is and see for yourself.
Rene T
Site Team
First, welcome to the forum.
Are you saying that he is installing the new roof right now and bubbles are starting to show up?
Are you saying that he is installing the new roof right now and bubbles are starting to show up?
blw2
Well-known member
regarding moisture away form the leak point..... I discovered that the TPO mine has is backed with a felt. The folks at rvroof.com told me they see it a lot where a leak will get into this felt and wick across wide areas of the roof.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
If there is moisture under the membrane, the bubbles can appear anywhere because the air vapor moves easily under it and the weakest places show up as bubbles. But if the roof was previously not leaking, where did the moisture come from? But then, you probably didn't replace a roof that wasn't leaking, right? So this is probably not a black & white case.
A competent shop should have determined that the roof substrate was dry as part of the prep work. If they just slapped a new membrane down, perhaps on a substrate that was exposed to dew overnight, then air bubbles are not too surprising. The bubbles themselves are largely a cosmetic issue - the membrane is still water proof. Dicor (the largest manufacturer of RV membrane roofs) has a FAQ on this. See https://dicorproducts.com/faq/#air-bubbles
A competent shop should have determined that the roof substrate was dry as part of the prep work. If they just slapped a new membrane down, perhaps on a substrate that was exposed to dew overnight, then air bubbles are not too surprising. The bubbles themselves are largely a cosmetic issue - the membrane is still water proof. Dicor (the largest manufacturer of RV membrane roofs) has a FAQ on this. See https://dicorproducts.com/faq/#air-bubbles
