How to re-caulk my RV roof?

[peters]

I'm recaulking my RV trailer. Going well except these heavy lines of something slathered on the roof. When I try to lift, it seems the rubber roof lifts with it. The RV repair shop said the rubber membrane is actually in good enough shape, but it will be no good with the method I'm trying to remove this stuff. How can this be repaired? Eternatape? "Through the Roof" sealant (https://a.co/d/60sjA3J)?
Is there a good product I could just go over it with? We got the trailer for cheap and the look of the repair isn't as important as making sure it won't leak in the future.
For the smaller caulk lines I'm using thermoplastic caulking that people use for caulking outdoor window trim which is going well.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Kirk]

Without knowing what that is it is impossible to say how to get it off but if it is that tight, why do you want to take it off? Caulking doesn't leak it just gets loose and/or cracked and so needs to be replaced. It looks like someone also removed the trim for the metal strip and just caulked over the mounting screws. The only part that looks to be loose in your picture is that right at the corner at the bottom of the picture. It also looks like it has been a very long time since the roof was cleaned properly and so unless it is leaking the first thing to be done is a through cleaning of the entire roof.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There is no requirement to remove well-adhered caulk, except maybe for cosmetic reasons. So why not just leave it in place?

You didn't describe your method other than it apparently involves lifting. Are you using a hot putty knife blade to slice away the old caulk? It takes some care but it works. Clean up the residue with a cloth dampened with mineral spirits or alcohol.

It's not unusual for the roof membrane to be loose from the substrate; maybe because it was never bonded well or from subsequent deterioration of the adhesive. The manufacturers of EPDM rubber for RVs (Dicor and Alpha Systems) both say this is not a problem and does not void their warranty.

 

[COCJ]

I agree with Gary that if it is stuck tight, don't try to pull it off. In the commercial roofing business we generally used acetone for cleaning TPO and PVC membranes and white gas (Coleman lantern fuel) for EPDM. I like urethane caulking such as NP1. I believe that Home Depot also sells a urethane caulk but I don't remember the name. Read the label on the tube. Whatever you do, don't use silicone.