Roof Bubble

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Doc Roads

Doc Roads

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Posts
175
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Southern Arizona
I was up on the roof of my 2015 Adventurer 37F and noticed what appeared to be some lifting of the surface on the roof.  I pushed on it and there was some give, however there are no cracks or splits in the surface.  It appeared to be the outer layer was lifted a bit.  The size is about 3-4 inches across.  I know this is not good ... so what?s happening and what can I do about it?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated ...

Doc
 
If it was mine, and it only lifts a tad, (1/4" or so) I would just circle it with a marker and keep my eye on it.
If it gets larger, I would cut it out and if the under surface is dry and has nothing wrong with it, after cleaning it good with alcohol, just put a peel and stick patch over it, with a little self leveling Dicor around the patch edges.

Jack L
 
Thanks ... I have no idea how long it?s been this way ... I?m going to watch it closely ...
Still not sure what is causing it ... any other insights?
 
It's not unusual for bubbles to appear, but keep an eye on it - repairs are in order if it grows. We had to have major repairs done after a large section of rubber separated, then a leak developed.

A small area can be repaired by cutting a small slit in the rubber to gain access, gluing the rubber back down, then covering the slit with Eternabond tape.
 
Thanks JL & HW ... I will continue over watch ... I want to nip this problem in the bud ... as usual, early detection is the key ! ?
 
That's probably the Filon veneer separating from from the luan backing. If it bothers you enough you could drill a small hole in one or two places and inject epoxy - this might stop any further delamination. This technique is rather common with marine repairs. I remember reading about one guy that got an incrediable deal on a 40' Valient sailboat because the deck material was separating from its core material. The guy drilled about a thousand holes in the deck and injected epoxy, I don't remember any other details about the repair unfortunately. He got a $100K boat for peanuts.
 
I know this is not good ... so what?s happening and what can I do about it?
Click to expand...
Probably not "bad" either.  You have a fiberglass roof membrane and the fiberglass itself is watertite as long as no holes or cracks. It's not real unusual for a small area to be inadequately glued down and the roof material makers don't insist on it for warranty purposes either.

The only real concern is whether water has somehow penetrated underneath and caused the glue to fail there. Thus the advice to keep an eye on it to see if it spreads or the substrate gets soft. If it doesn't, no worries.  However, if there is water penetration the section needs to be cut out, the area repaired underneath, and then the section glued back in and sealed at the edges. All this after finding and fixing the source of the leak, of course.

Others have described a way to fix it cosmetically so I won't repeat. You can choose to do it or not, at your whim.
 
Thanks John et Gary!  I need to check the area around it for possible entry points and continue to monitor for growth and/or softening ... Thanks to all ... appreciate the insights and your experience!
 
The roof sandwich (top down) is:

Filon
luan (1/8" 'plywood')
Styrofoam
luan
headliner

There are also structural elements in the roof. I would go ahead and inject epoxy under the Filon to get it bonded back to the luan. Moisture will ultimately penetrate the walls and roof, Ive found many rusted fasteners in sidewalls. It just happens, maybe through osmosis or ??
 
The WEST system is the gold standard for all manner of epoxy and fillers. They might even have the syringe for injection, haven't looked at their site in a while. They have fast cure and slow cure hardeners. Their epoxy without fillers is not very viscous so it can be used in a syringe.

It's not cheap but it is the best.
 
The point of epoxy is it can be injected in a tiny hole - if you want to slit the Filon and peel it back then the choices of adhesives is endless. If this was my roof, I would inject epoxy.
 
I brought that up because it's "liquid adhesive" that is the important aspect for injection, not the fact that it is an epoxy.  Many flooring and laminate adhesives are sufficiently liquid to be injected.  Urethane adhesives too.  Heck, even Gorilla Glue would work.

Agree that injection is a good method for small areas like this one (3-4").  Injection is a PITA for large areas, though, so a slit works better. Don't necessarily have to peel it back - just raise enough to get a nozzle or broad putty knife under it.
 
Thanks for the information on the alternatives ...John and Gary, I appreciate the discussion on alternatives because this may not be the last irregularity on the roof!

-doc
 
Sounds from above, it may be easier/cheaper to repair yourself but,
what kind of warranty does it have?
Our 2008 Winnebago Journey, I think had 10 year labor and roof skin warranty.
 
Our 2008 Winnebago Journey, I think had 10 year labor and roof skin warranty.
Click to expand...
I think you will find that warranty covers only the material itself and not the installation of it. Here's an excerpt from one 2004 owner manual:
Winnebago  warrants  the  aluminum  roof  skin  to  the  first  retail purchaser...  The aluminum roof skin will not rust, rot, corrode, or require painting or  refinishing  (normal  pigmentation  change  excepted)  under  normal  conditions of use.
Click to expand...
Oddly, I did not find a similar statement in more recent owner manuals. Have they dropped the 10 year coverage?
 
John Hilley said:
I didn't know Winnebago had any aluminum roofs and I'm sure the OPs roof is Fiberglas
Click to expand...
Our 1990 SuperChief had aluminum roof.  All Winnies we have owned since 2003 are fiberglass.
 
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