Roof Membrane Tear Question

[stateboy]

This is not going to be a, "What product should I use" question. It'll be Eternabond if I go the self repair route.

I have a 2016 X254. It was purchased new in February this year, so it's still under warranty. I decided to take a proactive approach to the membrane roof. I bought an Eternabond kit containing 100' of 4" tape with the cleaner and surface conditioner/adhesive enhancement. I got up next to the roof today on a step ladder to evaluate how I was going to approach this job and found a tear along the driver side of the TT. It actually looks like a rub mark about 2/3 of the way down the 25+ foot length along the edge. The cut is about 3" long. Some areas look like they tried to rip but "stuttered" with several pin holes. I've attached two pictures to try to show what I found.

I have eight more camping trips planned between now and the end of September. I've read about the down time with dealers hanging onto units for weeks or months and sometimes waiting that long just to get in got service.

An obvious question here is, did I see that damage when I bought the unit in February. No, BUT when I got on my ladder that I brought to look up there, I can't say I looked at the edges but was more at the flat portions and how well dicor was applied around vents, antennas and such. I can't prove or disprove the damage wasn't there at purchase. I can say that I did not rub against a branch or anything else in my four months of ownership. It's stored in enclosed self storage when I'm not using it.

So, here's my question and dilemma. Do I go ahead with a 4" perimeter tape job around the outer edge of the membrane like planned (and around vents, antennas and such), which would repair my tear OR wait on a dealer appointment to address it under warranty?

Thanks for your input!

[Grumpy]

Your issue will be, "who or what damaged it"? If it was mine I'd fix it and avoid the hassle.

[bluie5]

I’m with Grumpy. I’d fix it myself. If you wait for the dealer and continue to use it, and do nothing about the tear, who knows what kind of water damage you could end up with.

[Jagiven]

It looks like an easy repair. I tore my roof like the 1st picture with the knife. I did it the first time I went up on the roof with my extension ladder.

It could be hard to prove that it was delivered like that and not rubbed on something while you were out and about.

I used Eternabond. I did have to redo the spot the next day, as I stretched it as I rolled it over the edge, and it released. Lesson learned, do not stretch Eternabond when applying it.

[TWP723]

I agree. I'd repair it myself.

[BJR]

Just some anecdotal advice. About this time last year we were washing our 2016 for an upcoming July trip. I found some roof tears, smaller than yours:
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ons-37667.html


I also had about three staples I could see through the roof membrane. I was going to cut a slit to let it through then remove and patch with eternabond. For grins, I let the dealer look at them to see how they would do the repair.

Long story short, they replaced the roof. They had issues peeling up the old roof rubber so they wound up putting down another layer of luan and then roofing over that. It was somewhere north of $9k for the repair.

My advice is if you have the dealer do it check the warranty of the repair and actually use it during that warranty. We had ours done in January and we didn't have a chance to use it during the repair warranty period.

BTW, it wasn't the staples that got the warranty approved it was the small tear. There is a metal edge that stood proud of the roof. I had repaired the tear with a continuous strip of eternabond across the whole rear.

Good luck.

[Longleaf]

I agree with others, just fix yourself and move on. Sounds like you would need to cancel any number of planned trips and fight this out with dealer, it would be difficult to prove, if not impossible, to show who is at fault. I have had similar tears and have successfully repaired with tape like you are planning, for your own peace of mind, just repair, and enjoy your trips.

[stateboy]

So I went with the concensus. I, too, felt that trying to argue with the dealer as to prevent or post damage was futile. Since what I wanted to do to begin with, I started the project myself.

I started by power washing the roof. Then I used the Eternabond cleaner (it's acetone based in case you want to save money). I followed with the Eternabond primer to make it tacky. I then took one of my two 50' rolls of 4" wide white tape and cut it in half to make two 50' 2" rolls. Two 50' 4" wide rolls came with the kit so I still have one 50' 4" wide roll to work with as well. I worked down the length of both sides so far and am confident this will take care of any leak potential.

Next will be the rest of the perimeter and then around the skylight and other protrusions through the roof I can easily get to. Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggestions.

[Longleaf]

Repair looks great, Enjoy !

[Grumpy]

As Longleaf said, looks good.

I would also run a small bead of DICOR self leveling down the edge on the roof.

[stateboy]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

As Longleaf said, looks good.

I would also run a small bead of DICOR self leveling down the edge on the roof.

Is that to prevent water leaking under the tape or the keep the edge from curling up with age/westher?

[brained]

The edge of my roof was damaged by the dealer I bought the trailer from (dragged a pressure washer hose up and over is my suspicion).


When we traded it in at a different dealership the Eternabond I had sealed it up with was not considered a "Repair", only a "Patch".


Fortunately insurance covered having the new dealer replace the membrane (as well as clean up some of the other crappy work from the previous dealer). Only then were they willing to go through with the trade.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by 36fire412

Is that to prevent water leaking under the tape or the keep the edge from curling up with age/westher?

To keep anything from catching the edge.

[faststandard]

When running Eternabond down the sides of the trailer, is advised to overlap the Eternabond onto the vinyl strip that covers the attaching screws of the side trim. Prior photos seem to show this. If this is the case, how would that vinyl strip be replaced when necessary?

[stateboy]

Originally Posted by faststandard

When running Eternabond down the sides of the trailer, is advised to overlap the Eternabond onto the vinyl strip that covers the attaching screws of the side trim. Prior photos seem to show this. If this is the case, how would that vinyl strip be replaced when necessary?

I don't anticipate ever having to replace that vinyl cover. However, if I did, I cut just above the vinyl (or even the rain gutter itself those screws under the vinyl are holding up, replace the vinyl strip and follow with an overlapping new piece of Eternabond over the old one back down to the previous location. Perhaps, even with a wider piece of Eternabond than the first piece to overlap the entire old piece.