Rubber roof

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Rene T

Rene T

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Joined
May 20, 2011
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22,417
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Farmington NH
My neighbor has a rubber roof that's all I know.  Don't know what the material is. He was told it needed to be sealed. I just went up there and what I saw was a lot of small cracks which looked like tempered glass when it breaks. 1/4" pieces. I tried to pick it with my nails and it was still solid. The RV is a 2005.  Any suggestions?
 
Not sure of the cost, or if your neighbor's rv is worth it but rv armor and a couple of others similar may be just the ticket.
 
kdbgoat said:
Not sure of the cost, or if your neighbor's rv is worth it but rv armor and a couple of others similar may be just the ticket.
Click to expand...

I was mainly wondering if this minor cracking is grounds for resealing. It's like cracking on Michelin tires sidewall. They say it's OK on tires but what about a roof.
 
Recalling my old trailer days, I think that the cracking while superficial is something to take care of. The EPDM rubber roofs that they are using these days are pretty hardy and many are warranted for 10 years. But that would be to the first owner, and if it was taken care of. 

If it were my rig I would have the whole thing coated as suggested. If even one of the 1/4" cracks opened up the rest of the way and started to leak, the results could be significant.
 
I'm mystified because rubber roofs don't crack like that - the fabric is too soft to crack or craze. Nor does TPO. Fiberglass could, though. If you see cracks liek that, maybe your friend is wrong about his roof type.

In any case, it could be coated with an elastomeric roof coat product. If it really is rubber (EPDM), the coating must be compatible with EPDM. If its fiberglass, any type of elastomeric will do.

Whether it NEEDS coating is something that requires a bit more skillful analysis.
 
White Vinyl/Rubber Adhesive Duct Tape 3903, 12.6 psi Tensile Strength, 50 yd. length, 49" width

Who would have thought they make Duct tape this wide...LOL

https://www.amazon.com/3M-3903-49-50YD-WHITE-Adhesive/dp/B0191XF5WE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543021989&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=3M+3903+49+X+50YDGREY+Grey+Vinyl%2FRubber+Adhesive+Duct+Tape+3903%2C+12.6+psi+Tensile+Strength
 
kdbgoat said:
Not sure of the cost, or if your neighbor's rv is worth it but rv armor and a couple of others similar may be just the ticket.
Click to expand...

I don't know about rvarmor, but rvroof.com...which touts  themselve's as better....when I had mine done the price is on par with a standard re-roof installing a new membrane.

I have no experience with it, but from what I understand this might be more in line with a re coating product and not a full re-roof.  Still, if it came to that I like my roof coating from rvroof
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I'm mystified because rubber roofs don't crack like that - the fabric is too soft to crack or craze. Nor does TPO. Fiberglass could, though. If you see cracks liek that, maybe your friend is wrong about his roof type.

In any case, it could be coated with an elastomeric roof coat product. If it really is rubber (EPDM), the coating must be compatible with EPDM. If its fiberglass, any type of elastomeric will do.
Click to expand...

Gary, it is some form of rubber. I was up on it today.
 
OK, but what are the cracks and 1/4" pieces you described? A rubber roof is rubber-coated fabric, not very thick and certainly not something that can be cracked into 1/4" pieces.  I suppose that TPO might crack if exposed to some chemical action that hardened it. It's less flexible than EPDM rubber. Could it maybe have some previous over-coating?  You are the guy with eyeballs on it, so you will have to figure it out.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
OK, but what are the cracks and 1/4" pieces you described? A rubber roof is rubber-coated fabric, not very thick and certainly not something that can be cracked into 1/4" pieces.  I suppose that TPO might crack if exposed to some chemical action that hardened it. It's less flexible than EPDM rubber. Could it maybe have some previous over-coating?  You are the guy with eyeballs on it, so you will have to figure it out.
Click to expand...

When I say 1/4" pieces I meant that the cracks for pieces are similar to what it looks like when a tempered window cracks.  The pieces I refer do are not at all loose. They are firmly adhered to the base material whatever that is.  I don't believe anyone has coated it but I'll go back up tomorrow and look again. You could be right. He just bought the RV last year.
 
I've seen other post photos of roofs like that before

I was thinking about this...if the picture in my mind is accurate, Id'd wonder if these cracks go through the elastomer surface all the way to the backing...or close to it.  If it's not...and assuming I could determine the cause as something not likely to get worse... then I'd be thinking about coating..  If it's all the way through (or close) I'd be thinking of a re-roof or something like rvroof.com

Was the elastomer still elastic and pliable or was it stiff/hard/brittle?
I'm just thinking "out loud", but I'm thinking
maybe a defective material from a bad batch
or maybe someone used a completely wrong thing up there to clean it, condition it, etc...
 
The newest thing in roofs is Silicon or silicone or something like that  about 1500 Dollars 45 year guarantee... Ok, not interested (too muh $$$$$$$$ but... Give me a week and I can post a dealer's name. (price is the best guess of my mobile RV tech who does NOT do that work).
 
Rene T said:
When I say 1/4" pieces I meant that the cracks for pieces are similar to what it looks like when a tempered window cracks.  The pieces I refer do are not at all loose. They are firmly adhered to the base material whatever that is.  I don't believe anyone has coated it but I'll go back up tomorrow and look again. You could be right. He just bought the RV last year.
Click to expand...


Can you post a picture of the cracking on the roof?
 
No I can't.
This post originally started because my friend had a water leak. When it rains here in FL in the spring and summer, it comes down in buckets. It looks like the water was running off the roof in the right rear corner, over the flange which holds the gutter on the side of the RV and then out the spout. I looked at the plastic molding which covers the gutter screws ans there was quite a bit of rust. The water was getting behind the molding, rusting the screws and leaking into the RV. Time to put some Eternabond tape over the molding.
He's only going to keep this RV for a couple of more years so he's going to leave the roof alone. The roof material is still sound and not flaking off at this time and the cracks don't appear to be deep at all. Just superficial.
 
blw2 said:
I don't know about rvarmor, but rvroof.com...which touts  themselve's as better....when I had mine done the price is on par with a standard re-roof installing a new membrane.
Click to expand...

From what I have read, I agree, rvroof seems to be a better product. The only advantage of rvarmor is that they can come to you, whereas with rvroof, you have to take your rv to one of their locations. I have also read where rvarmor is nothing more than Uniflex, which is now owned by Sherwin Williams.
 
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