TT with Bare Aluminum Roof in AZ

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whatmeworry

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2016
Posts
24
Location
Philly Burbs
Going out west, where its very hot.
Will painting the bare aluminum roof help reflect the heat off it ?
or should I buff it up and clear coat it ?

Will be living in it for awhile.
 
I would not paint it..But that's just my aversion to paint talking. LOL

I would clean it and let it be.

Depending on your plans to live in it...If your going to park it consider get a carport to cover/provide shade on the trailer.
 
I had several work trucks with racks and aluminum tool boxes here in Phoenix. The racks were painted white and stayed cool enough to touch. The boxes would get hot enough that my guys has to wear gloves to get near them. Even now we are in the high 80's to mid 90's and anything left in the sun for even a short time heats up beyond being able to touch it comfortably. Paint is your decision but I would say that roof will get well over 120*+ by noon this time of year. BTW, garage doors, facing south and painted darker colors, have been recorded at over 180* by my infrared thermometer. I would not stay in a trailer in the desert in the summer in southern AZ.
RichH
 
A bare aluminum roof can be coated using any of the mobile home elastomeric or fibered roof coatings.  On my aluminum roofed 5th wheel it eliminated the radiant heat I felt on my face coming through the ceiling on hot days.  It also muffles the sound of rain hitting the roof.

I used Henry's Elastomeric Mobile Home Roof Coating, it looks and goes on like thick white paint.

Make sure you prep the roof according to the instructions before applying the coating. 
 
Might be interesting to go there and do nothing to the roof for a month or so and then make a change to the roof.

You'd have something to compare it with then to see if what you did helped. Then let us know what you recommend.
 
I agree with Arch, go there and see how hot it gets, you might end up under a shade trees.  Painting white will definitely help, and as Lou said, they make the stuff, pretty cheap for mobile home roofs, and sell at Hardware Stores like Lowes and Menards.  All I would do is a good wash with dish soap to get the basic dirt off before painting. Easy project to do while there if you desire. Buy the basics, coat it, and pitch all the leftovers :)

 
Hi Whatmeworry,

Saw this a bit late. I have an idea that might work. Put some white tarps over the roof and strap down with ties. You'd have to keep clear of the A/C cause you'll need those no doubt. Parking in shade when you can find it will also help keep the temps down.
 
As far as the airlines, their concern is not cooling. At 20,000 ft. plus the temperatures are usually well below freezing. They appreciate the heat gained by aluminum skins. Additionally, paint adds a great deal of weight to the plane.

Ernie
 
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