2006 Jay Flight rotting roof - WHY?!!

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Important to redo the corners as they still use putty (which dries out over time) replace it with butyl tape. Similar to all other outside moldings, and the windows use foam seals, just replace them also with butyl tape and you'll never have any leaks. Regular roof maintenance with the appropriate type of sealer is a must.
The RV industry sell you an RV and you have to finish it.

Hah!!!! I love this line you use - "The RV industry sell you an RV and you have to finish it." How very true! Yes, I've removed the corner moldings and am not happy with what I see. I'll post those pics to my photo album soon.



I need to make some decisions at this point! I'll create a thread on that topic.

[madmaxmutt]

I would be fixing the damage, replacing the sheathing and adding RV armor instead of rubber sheet roofing.

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

I would be fixing the damage, replacing the sheathing and adding RV armor instead of rubber sheet roofing.

I'll need to research RV armor. Don't know anything about it. Presently I plan to use TPO (Thermoplastic Polyolefin), thicker than the original 30 mil, maybe I'll use 45 mil or even 60 mil. I watched a number of videos by RV Roof Install - now there's a roofing system! I plan to build curbs for all roof penetrations and weld custom TPO flashing to all those roof mounted fixtures. This method is show here -

-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBwNBYCpWo

I plan to install my own design of roof termination bars and faceplates at each end of the trailer as the original design seems to be the weakest points of the entire weak roof system. I'll base my design on the method we use in the inground vinyl liner swimming pool industry to seal faceplates on walk-in steps. This method and the welded curb method use no caulk. To my way of thinking, caulk as a primary sealant is kinda "hack" and a source of constant failure and maintenance. We don't caulk vinyl liner swimming pool fittings to keep the water in, I can't see why keeping water out would be much different!

[Tcdoughboy34]

The rv industry as a whole had serious roof leek issues in 2005-2007. The roof material manufacturers convinced everyone that the vinyl roof membrane with the felt backer was the state of the art product...wrong....Once moisture traveled in via the rusty screws on the top edge of the trailer, then the felt backer simply wicked the water up onto the flat area of the roof. jayco had a real problem with 25-27 rear bunk models.....sorry

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by Tcdoughboy34

The rv industry as a whole had serious roof leek issues in 2005-2007. The roof material manufacturers convinced everyone that the vinyl roof membrane with the felt backer was the state of the art product...wrong....Once moisture traveled in via the rusty screws on the top edge of the trailer, then the felt backer simply wicked the water up onto the flat area of the roof. jayco had a real problem with 25-27 rear bunk models.....sorry

Yeah, that figures. Gotta wonder - would stainless steel screws add that much to the production cost? I'll count the screws on my rood edging and get a cost difference. Yep - most are rusty, some exceedingly so. Another difference the swimming pool industry has - we always use stainless steel screws in everything! Not to say that's the entire answer by any means, but part of the solution.

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

I would be fixing the damage, replacing the sheathing and adding RV armor instead of rubber sheet roofing.

I checked this out, watched some videos. Looks promising! Gotta think on this but it seems like it's too good to be true......Wonder about other peoples' experiences. Madmaxmut - have you used it? Does it require their own people to do the job?

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by JaycoJake06

I checked this out, watched some videos. Looks promising! Gotta think on this but it seems like it's too good to be true......Wonder about other peoples' experiences. Madmaxmut - have you used it? Does it require their own people to do the job?

I have not. But, it will replace my roof if, well when we get another hailstorm. The rubber roofs just are not durable. And, they have too many possible leak points.

[happycamper007]

You will love Alaska. I hope you post about your trip when it happens. Most of my time in Alaska was on the Kenai Peninsula. Do you know if you will be going down the Peninsula or heading inland towards Fairbanks?

I bough the Jayco in September and have never run the air conditioner. It started leaking about six weeks ago when it rains hard. It won't leak for the first few hours it's raining though. It's like water pools up somewhere and then overflows and just keeps leaking until the rain stops. We get a lot of rain here in Western Washington in the winter. My son in law looked at the drip pan and said it looks clean. He didn't see an obvious problem but this is definitely not his area of expertise! I will research replacing the gasket to see how difficult it is and then go from there. It sure is a lot of learning but that's good for the brain.

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by happycamper007

Do you know if you will be going down the Peninsula or heading inland towards Fairbanks?

I bough the Jayco in September and have never run the air conditioner. It started leaking about six weeks ago when it rains hard. It won't leak for the first few hours it's raining though. It's like water pools up somewhere and then overflows and just keeps leaking until the rain stops.

We haven't established firm travel plans yet. A lot is "up in the air" thanks to Covid and an uncertain economic future.

"It won't leak for the first few hours it's raining though."

Gotta wonder if it's leaking due to a nearby roof problem and wicking its way to the A/C opening. Guess you'll find out when you pull the A/C unit. That isn't a terribly tough job. A tip, though - I first removed the inside ceiling flange and the four long screws that squash the unit to the roof. Once I got up on the roof and got to removing the A/C cover it was more difficult because it was stubborn and now that the unit was loose it made it trickier to unhook the cover from its snaps. Remove those 4 screws after you remove the top cover. Be sure there is no power to the trailer. You can get to the electrical connections from the roof. I ended up cutting the romex for the 110 volt and removing the entire electrical panel because the two cheesy white metal nuts holding the cover on had corroded to their screws and wouldn't budge. I soaked 'em with WD40 and will fight that battle upon reassembly. There is plenty of romex left to make new connections. Check the length of your's before cutting it if that's what you elect to do. Take a picture of your low voltage t-stat connections before removing those wires! There are at least 4 wires.



According to posts by others in this forum, mid 2000s Jaycos used a roof membrane that was fleece backed and the backing wicked water from wherever it could. Bad caulking and rusty screws are sure signs of water weeping in.

[LittleBill]

I have a 2006 26BHS that I bought used back in 2011. I have typically only used it once a year for hunting, as I have a 2018 40' 5th wheel for my other camping needs.

On the 26BHS the top membrane is in pretty good shape, no holes or tears. But over the years I have known that the decking was deteriorating. I was up on it earlier this year and the decking underneath it probably actually needs to be replaced at some point in time. I can walk on it but have to be real careful as there are several spots that there is nothing left under the membrane.

I did have the outer skylight develop a crack in it a couple of years ago. Tried patching it but never worked, so bought a new one last year that is working pretty well. Have noticed that at the front transition bar always seems to develop cracking and I suspect leaked as about 18-24 inches of the decking from it towards is completely gone as can't feel the deck at all. Inside no apparent water intrusion/damage. Both of these in my opinion didn't account for all the damage across all the roof.

This year I wanted to eliminate any further damage, so I re-sealed the four vertical corners and around the entry and access doors with Geocel 28127V flexible sealant. I also Eterna-Bonded all roof horizontal edges and seams, except around the A/C, followed with some lap sealant.

Thinking I may have to pull the A/C and replace the seal, I was looking in the manual that came with the unit and I discovered that you are suppose to snug up the four bolts that hold it in place at least yearly. I had never known this. When I went to snug them up one took quite a number of turns as it was fairly loose, two took 2-3 turns and the last one maybe 1 turn or so. I figure that this is what caused the major damage to the decking.

I would forewarn everyone with this type of TT to drop the inside A/C panel and check those bolts.

Side note, I did use it this past 3 weekends hunting and didn't notice any leakage at all. If down the road it deteriorates further I may bite the bullet and have it replaced. But at over $5,000 and the amount of time I use it, it will be a hard pill to swallow.

[JaycoJake06]

Originally Posted by LittleBill

On the 26BHS the top membrane is in pretty good shape, no holes or tears. But over the years I have known that the decking was deteriorating. I was up on it earlier this year and the decking underneath it probably actually needs to be replaced at some point in time. I can walk on it but have to be real careful as there are several spots that there is nothing left under the membrane.

The membrane on my roof looked perfect - no rips or tears, other than a 3/4" hole some moron drilled in the roof at the rear and never patched. I fixed that right away, but the worst damage to my roof was from the wicking of the fleece backed TPO membrane at the front. The moisture entered everywhere there were small cracks in caulking, all along the side roof rails through the multitude of screw holes (no caulk around the galvanized screws, as they rusted they got smaller and the leaking increased at each screw) and at the poorly designed front and rear termination bars.


Amazing what weeping can do over the years, like a smoldering fire!

[LittleBill]

Originally Posted by JaycoJake06

The membrane on my roof looked perfect - no rips or tears, other than a 3/4" hole some moron drilled in the roof at the rear and never patched. I fixed that right away, but the worst damage to my roof was from the wicking of the fleece backed TPO membrane at the front. The moisture entered everywhere there were small cracks in caulking, all along the side roof rails through the multitude of screw holes (no caulk around the galvanized screws, as they rusted they got smaller and the leaking increased at each screw) and at the poorly designed front and rear termination bars.


Amazing what weeping can do over the years, like a smoldering fire!

Hear you on the weeping. Once you get the roof redone, you might want to consider to incorporate Eterna-bond along all edges and transition points. For the reasonable cost and peace of mind it will be well worth adding additional protection to your work.

Good luck and be safe

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by Billandcarole

How good is the "Arctic Package"? 2016 REKS29 White Hawk.

Artic package is a 3 season rig.

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by JaycoJake06

I checked this out, watched some videos. Looks promising! Gotta think on this but it seems like it's too good to be true......Wonder about other peoples' experiences. Madmaxmut - have you used it? Does it require their own people to do the job?

My brother is replacing his roof, and is replacing the first with a layer with ice and water shield(peel and stick secondary layer first ). Then a self adhesive TPO from 3-m