Camper Roof Sealing

[muddhunter]

I know there are a couple RV techs on this board. I have recently bought an early 80's 8' camper, and it has a few minor leaks. What product do you guys recomend to coat the whole roof? I plan to reseal around the windows and trim stuff on the side with some all purpose caulking, but is there a special product you need for the roof that will withstand highway speeds? And of course, can I get the stuff at Rona, cause it seems everything at an RV shop costs 3x as much!

[Dan]

DONT COAT THE WHOLE ROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and also

DON'T COAT THE WHOLE ROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and there is nothing you can buy at Rona that will properly seal a camper.

actually, the truth is , almost anything will seal almost anything, if aplied properly.

You've gotta completely clean off absolutely every little bit of all the old stuff before putting anything new on top of it. If you don't, there are several bad results that usually happen, ranging from the new stuff not sticking to the old stuff and peeling off, to a bad chemical reaction that bubbles up and makes a huge gooey mess thats nearly impossible to clean off later.

You can buy some paint on stuff fairly cheap at RV places, or good stuff in a caulking tube that costs about ten bucks a tube, and you'll need about ten to reseal the whole roof.

[Blue coyote]

What, ya mean a bucket of "SnoRoof" ain't gonna work? Damn, there goes MY plan "A"....

(I have a slightly leaky camper as well, but no truck to put it on)

[Regger]

On my 8', I bought a can (pint?) of that "SnoRoof" or whatever that white goop is in the red can from Cambodian Tire.

If I remember, it wasn't all that cheap.. but not so much that I had to rob the bank for.

Anyways, it took me a good half day to "try" and strip off all the old sealant.. I wasn't able to so I just cleaned it as best as I could using what chemicals I had (acetone and alcohol I Think.) and roughed it up with a good wire brush and scraper.

The fix lasted about 2-3 years. I had to go back up there and apply some more around the vents that started peeling and leaking again...

next best thing is just to re-do the whole roof...

HTH
Ryan

[raskal]

roofing tar from Rona, put about 2-3 inches of it on.


Or.... listen to Dan as he is a RV Tech :D

[jeeponrock]

Originally posted by raskal
roofing tar from Rona, put about 2-3 inches of it on.


Or.... listen to Dan as he is a RV Tech :D

My vote is for saranwrap and duct tape.

I had a professional reseal my roof. It still leaks. Probably because I helped though :redneck

[Road Dog]

I used some rubbery RV roof paint on my trailer. Clean and repaint every couple of years. Works fine. If the old stuff is lifting off then strip off as much as possible and pay extra attention to seams and joints.

I dont' understand the "DON'T COAT THE WHOLE ROOF" thing -- I'm sure my 30 year old trailer has always had a painted roof.

[Fredzepplen]

Originally posted by Dan
DONT COAT THE WHOLE ROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and also

DON'T COAT THE WHOLE ROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and there is nothing you can buy at Rona that will properly seal a camper.

actually, the truth is , almost anything will seal almost anything, if aplied properly.

You've gotta completely clean off absolutely every little bit of all the old stuff before putting anything new on top of it. If you don't, there are several bad results that usually happen, ranging from the new stuff not sticking to the old stuff and peeling off, to a bad chemical reaction that bubbles up and makes a huge gooey mess thats nearly impossible to clean off later.

You can buy some paint on stuff fairly cheap at RV places, or good stuff in a caulking tube that costs about ten bucks a tube, and you'll need about ten to reseal the whole roof.


I worked in the RV biz many moons ago. We used a mastic product called Vulchem to seal roofs, windows and edges. Very good product. Is that stuff still around?

[Dan]

Originally posted by jeeponrock


My vote is for saranwrap and duct tape.

I had a professional reseal my roof. It still leaks. Probably because I helped though :redneck

It ain't the roof, I'll give you a money back guarantee on that :laugh

[muddhunter]

Thanks for the info Dan, I'm kinda curious why you say don't seal the whole roof? I'm guessing just a waste of time and sealer, but any other reasons? So just seal the seams and around vents etc?

[rattle]

Originally posted by Dan
DONT COAT THE WHOLE ROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and there is nothing you can buy at Rona that will properly seal a camper.


Not doubting what you say but can you please explain?

I had an older camper that was leaking. Got a can of RV roof paint stuff (can't remember exactly what it was called) from Rona for around $40 for a gallon. Didn't leak for the two years I had it.

[westcoaster]

Elixer
plas-t-cote
Aluminum
alkyd fibered
Roof coating

*imagine a red can blue background and white lettering...*

$14.95 for a one quart (close to 1 litre) can from fraserway rv on annsis isl

I replaced the vents on my camper 8 years ago cleaned it right down to the aluminum polished it up nice and shiney. Gooped this crap on as per directions and it hasn't leaked since.

[Dan]

Originally posted by rattle


Not doubting what you say but can you please explain?

I had an older camper that was leaking. Got a can of RV roof paint stuff (can't remember exactly what it was called) from Rona for around $40 for a gallon. Didn't leak for the two years I had it.

Wow, for $40 a gallon you can buy Plas t cote from an RV dealer.

[raskal]

Originally posted by Dan


Wow, for $40 a gallon you can buy Plas t cote from an RV dealer.

hey, you skipped the important part

Not doubting what you say but can you please explain?

[Dan]

Originally posted by muddhunter
Thanks for the info Dan, I'm kinda curious why you say don't seal the whole roof? I'm guessing just a waste of time and sealer, but any other reasons? So just seal the seams and around vents etc?

Yep just he seams and around the vents, molding edges etc.

Yes waste of time and sealant, but the biggest issue is cleaning it the next time you need to reseal. This stuff isn't mean for a lifetime, its gotta be stripped off and resealed after a few to several years.

New selant won't stick to old sealant. Imagine trying to clean this stuff off the entire roof.

It also doesnt stick to dirt, bird crap, road grime, or whatever else is on the roof. What are the chances you'll be able to get the entire roof absolutely spotless?

Anywhere that wasnt completely clean, the sealant wont stick, if you give it an edge that isnt stuck down, you've given it a place to start peeling up the good stuff.

I've seen roofs that are completely coated, and you could feel the water bubbles underneath the coating. In theory it shouldnt be able to keep going to where it is stuck good, but the usual result of completely coating a leaking roof is a completely rotten roof two years later.

I've watched the snow roof informercials, and said to myself "wow that should work great"

but somehow, it doesnt work that great in an aplication that moves down the road at 100 km/h

my $ .02
multiply by RV SHOP Markup
= $2.20

[Blue coyote]

So, once I get it to that point, a good hot pressure wash with caustic, a good rinse, followed by primer and paint (aluminum & fiberglass sheeting) and sealer around the seams and vents should be good for a few years then? That's about all I figure it might conceivably owe me anyway...

(not trying to hijack the thread, but when I first read it, I had to wonder if it was posted by me under an assumed username. I hope I'm helping with my own Q's...) :redneck

[Dan]

Originally posted by Blue coyote
So, once I get it to that point, a good hot pressure wash with caustic, a good rinse, followed by primer and paint (aluminum & fiberglass sheeting) and sealer around the seams and vents should be good for a few years then? That's about all I figure it might conceivably owe me anyway...

(not trying to hijack the thread, but when I first read it, I had to wonder if it was posted by me under an assumed username. I hope I'm helping with my own Q's...) :redneck

primer and paint? On something you're gonna put a bunch of sealant over top of?

[Blue coyote]

No, silly. After the caustic pressure wash (its nice having access to stuff like that when you work at a toxic waste facility, eh?) I figure to prime and paint the whole roof to cover the bare sideing and fiberglass panels (might as well, I figure, since I can get the stuff free anyway), then use the sealer on the joints and vents.

I figure its either that or I use sealer on the whole roof, and some guy told us that's not a good idea....:redneck