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Old 05-31-2016, 11:28 AM   #1
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how to weatherproof the roof

when i picked up my x17z from de-winterizing they mentioned that the most important thing is to weatherproof the roof about every 6 months.
they said i should hose it down, then spray a sealant on it and then rinse again.
Does that sound about right? what do you guys do? any tips or tricks?

thanks
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Old 05-31-2016, 12:22 PM   #2
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Yup one way to do it I just got done doing mine I mix the roof cleaner 16 oz with a gallon of water hose it and then wash with soft brush one area at a time rinse right away and do another area until the whole roof is done I have a x19h. 2011
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Old 05-31-2016, 12:28 PM   #3
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Thanks. That sounds like a lot of work. So, do you climb on top of the roof or how do you get it all
Over?
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Old 05-31-2016, 12:36 PM   #4
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You need to clean and inspect the roof twice a year. I clean with a car wash Brush and Dawn dishsoap. Inspect the caulk and call it a day.

I inquired with the dealer about sealants for the membrane and they said the sealers are a waste of money, but the caulking keep up with it.
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Old 05-31-2016, 12:51 PM   #5
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Interesting. But in order to caulk, wouldn't you have to be on top of the roof? I'm a little afraid that it might not hold my 220 lbs.
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Old 05-31-2016, 01:30 PM   #6
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Interesting. But in order to caulk, wouldn't you have to be on top of the roof? I'm a little afraid that it might not hold my 220 lbs.
It will hold you. Just try to focus your weight on the trusses. They are pretty easy to see through the plywood and membrane.

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Old 05-31-2016, 01:47 PM   #7
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Keeping a rubber roof in top shape does involve a lot of work and a lot of caulk to inspect and replace when needed. It isn't for everyone and not cheap, but when my rubber roof membrane started leaking through the membrane my solution was: rvroof.com. No more rubber roof and no more caulking EVER!
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Old 06-01-2016, 10:30 AM   #8
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RVroof.com sounds interesting. Unfortunately no location close to where i am.

Are there any other ways to seal or apply some sort of coating to the roof so that one doesn't have to wash and caulk it twice a year?

also, is there a spray that seals the roof? or just the caulk to fill in the cracks?
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Old 06-01-2016, 10:47 AM   #9
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You need to clean and inspect the roof twice a year. I clean with a car wash Brush and Dawn dishsoap. Inspect the caulk and call it a day.
Same here, except that I use generic OxyClean. This is not that big of a deal to me to clean and inspect. I use an AC cover in the winter so I have to climb up there either way.

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Are there any other ways to seal or apply some sort of coating to the roof so that one doesn't have to wash and caulk it twice a year?

also, is there a spray that seals the roof? or just the caulk to fill in the cracks?
Not really. No truly easy way out on this. Coatings are useless. The caulking will eventually dry out and crack no matter what you do. And it's not that hard of a job to recaulk. Use Dicor self leveling where you have to replace it, and use Eternabond for seams.

Because I keep up with this I caught one minor leak on our old trailer on a seam when it was about 7 years old. Fixed it with Eternabond and never had to touch it again.
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Old 06-01-2016, 10:58 AM   #10
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So for those who bought their trailers new, how long was it before the original caulking/lap sealant needed attention?
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Old 06-01-2016, 11:07 AM   #11
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So for those who bought their trailers new, how long was it before the original caulking/lap sealant needed attention?
That's a good question.

I've owned my trailer a little over 2 years. That means 4 inspections so far (#5 is due currently, but it won't stop raining) and nothing to report. Everything is holding up well, so I'm curious when others begin seeing problems.
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Old 06-01-2016, 11:39 AM   #12
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I inspect mine often. No leaks in 5+ years but I have caulked several areas that were cracking around the ladder and places that get a lot of flexing. I installed Eternabond tape on the front and rear caps and around the roof openings.

Waiting till you see water damage is not the way to go. Regular inspection and attention is the only way to go. I would not trust it to anyone that I did not trust either.
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Old 06-01-2016, 11:40 AM   #13
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So for those who bought their trailers new, how long was it before the original caulking/lap sealant needed attention?
In my case; I have a 2012, Last fall I found a few spots on the walls that needed a bit caulking. This spring was the first time the roof needed any caulking. This spring I found a couple more spots on the walls that needed a little attention. I am seriously thinking about buying a roll of eternabond, and do all the roof seams this fall, to eliminate most of the future work.
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Old 06-01-2016, 11:48 AM   #14
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Depends on the climate i would think. Here i colorado it gets super dry during the summer but then heavy snow in the winter.
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Old 06-01-2016, 12:53 PM   #15
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In my case; I have a 2012, Last fall I found a few spots on the walls that needed a bit caulking. This spring was the first time the roof needed any caulking. This spring I found a couple more spots on the walls that needed a little attention. I am seriously thinking about buying a roll of eternabond, and do all the roof seams this fall, to eliminate most of the future work.
I'm pretty close to doing that myself. I just don't know if I can convince DW to let me pull the trigger (it would be a bit of money, and means working on the roof where she doesn't like me being). She figures if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I figure, I'd rather fix it so it don't break. It's always been an issue in our marriage. She puts WAY too much faith in the people who design and put these things together. On the flip-side, I probably put too little faith, but I like my way better.
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Old 06-01-2016, 01:46 PM   #16
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Before taking delivery of the last three campers I had the roof done with eternabond tape. No leaks. Inspections are simple you just look to see if any of the tape has lifted, done. I worked with a new dealer on my last purchase and was told by the service manager that they had never seen a roof leak from a camper that had the seams covered with this tape unless they tape had been put over a dirty roof or was stretched when it was applied, IOW not following the instructions on install.
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Old 06-01-2016, 02:30 PM   #17
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when i picked up my x17z from de-winterizing they mentioned that the most important thing is to weatherproof the roof about every 6 months.
they said i should hose it down, then spray a sealant on it and then rinse again.
Does that sound about right? what do you guys do? any tips or tricks?

thanks
Wait... what? Your roof is rubber. Its already weatherproof. You don't need to "seal" a rubber roof, they are just trying to sell product.

Find out why manufactured your roofing material and follow THOSE instructions. The only thing that you need to worry about is the caulking between the roof and the sidewalls and the penetrations through the roof.

Some people absolutely have to have a clean roof, so they clean it, condition it, seal it, etc. There is ZERO need for that. The EPDM roofing material was designed for commercial use where it would be placed and left alone. 10 or 15 years ago there weren't any specific cleaning products for these roofing systems, because there wasn't any need. People started looking around for products to use because they just felt the need to do something. Because people were looking to blow money on a product, companies started to make products to sell.

The reality is that you can clean your roof if you want to, but there is no need (other than for inspection of penetrations and edges). If you want to clean, you don't need a specific cleaner, sealant, conditioner, etc. You can use regular car wash soap and a soft bristle car wash brush and clean the roof. It won't extend the life of the roof. It won't make it "more" waterproof. It won't make women attracted to you. All it will do is make your roof clean for a short period of time before it gets dirty again.
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Old 06-01-2016, 03:21 PM   #18
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And you still need to inspect it for nicks and caulk cracks no matter.
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Old 06-01-2016, 06:41 PM   #19
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I bought a 2001 Jayco Kiwi17a in May of '14 that had been sitting neglected and uncovered since it was purchased. The former owner had made an attempt at covering it with tarps but by the time I discovered it, the tarps were ripped to shreds. I got it for such a low price, that all the money invested to bring it up to decent I considered a bargain. Anyway, the first thing I had to do was seal both ends where the roof meets the caps with Dicor self leveling lap sealant. in Sept of last year I bought 2 gallons of the roof reseal (the 2 part kind) I only needed one though. I rolled it on and it is looking good! I did put the cover on it about 3 weeks ago even though it will be coming off in another month for our first summer outing.
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Old 06-01-2016, 06:53 PM   #20
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In my case; I have a 2012, Last fall I found a few spots on the walls that needed a bit caulking. This spring was the first time the roof needed any caulking. This spring I found a couple more spots on the walls that needed a little attention. I am seriously thinking about buying a roll of eternabond, and do all the roof seams this fall, to eliminate most of the future work.
I just did the Eternabond route this past weekend. Purchased all of it from Amazon. I got 4" & 6" wide tape and a roll of Eternabond seam eliminator. It's 8" wide x 10' long. That went over the front cap seam. I went over ALL the Dicor.
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