liquid rubber roof

[TowPro]

My pickup camper rubber roof has been leaking and I did not discover it in time. Now I have a soft spot in the roof. I noticed it when I put an AC unit on top. Just in front of the AC unit is a joint in the roof plywood and the one side is dropping about 3/16".



Here is my plan to repair it.



clean the rubber roof.

Remove the AC.

Put a piece of plywood, (maybe 5/8" or 3/4") over the area and joint where the AC sites, and the leak was. This plywood will be as wide as the camper so its weight is carried on the side walls.

Coat this plywood with liquid rubber roof .

let it dry.

Cut the AC hole out and remount the AC with a new gasket

Then on the inside of the roof where the one layer of plywood is dropping down I will put a metal carpet edge strip with screws long enough to catch the new plywood.



What do you guys think? I really don't want to pull the whole roof off a $500. 00 camper.

 

[SMorneau]

Pitfalls of a rubber roof I guess. I have a 93 with a metal roof and I was comparing it with a new model of the same make that has a rubber roof. A rep from Lance was at the dealer at the time and he decribed your exact situation as a common scenario.



Anyway, I would check with the spray-in bedliner companies to see who could do the roof and down the sides and Inch or two. If your climate warrants it you may want to keep a dehumidifier in it during storage. Once you get the rubber roof off you can see how thick the original plywood is. You may just have a broken piece of wood and not a huge amount of rot.





3/4 plywood is a lot of weight to put up on top and you may be better of going with a 3/8" thick quality birch plywood with thinner plys. If you screw it to the roof really well all over it should work fine.



Treated plywood is even heavier and may not bond well.



LOL

 

[PaulCreamer]

Leak

Can you see where the problem is? Is it due to the new a/c install, or from something else caused by manufacturer defect, or maybe a gouge from a branch or something? Rubber roof caulk may be all that is needed (assuming that you can find where the water is infiltrating). Its pricey stuff, but a lot cheaper than liquid rubber roof and a piece of 3/4.



Hope this helps'

Good luck

 

[TowPro]

Re: Leak

At one point someone must have ripped the Tv antenna off, and did a poor job of sealing it. this allowed moisture to get into the plywood area where the AC mounts, making the plywood weak.



I ordered Liquid roof, but it was back ordered so I called the

manufacture pro guard (who just happens to be only 1/2 hour away in Denver PA) They said they can only sell Liquid roof through the RV dealership network, but they have something called Liquid Rubber, which is the exact same thing, only it has a little blue tint added to it to make it different then liquid roof. Best part is 1 gallon cost $40. 00 where liquid roof is $23. 00 per quart! I don't care about the color, its on the roof where I can't see it



Something else about calling the manufacture, they are able to give me great technical advice. They also sold me some special tape to do the seams with and a fabric to reinforce the seams. They told me how to first paint the plywood with an oil based primer so the rubber will not get soaked up into the plywood, then use the whole gallon so I have a thicker coating.



Nice to call people who know more then just how to enter the part number into the order system!

 

[PaulCreamer]

Wow, what a find!

Sounds like great advice to me. Most of the manufacturers that I deal with, (distributors), won't talk to you unless you are a dealer. I think I'd tattoo that phone number to my arm so it would never be lost.



Good luck and let me know how it works out

 

[wcjp]

My old slidein had problems. For sealing the small cuts and other water intrusion areas I used a chemical called Parr parlastic. It's made by the H. B. Fuller Company. Available at my local RV dealership. This stuff is similar to clear RTV. It stays very flexible after drying. Liquid Roof was then applied over the parlastic. It's been worked well for the past 6months.

 

[clem]

Camping World has a rubber roof repair kit some RV dealers carrie it. The kit has a roll of rubber roof material glue and sealer and instructions. Well worth the cost. That way you can cut the roof back to repair the under side. Then fix the roof like you repair a intertube for a tire. Have used it on mine. Parks have these things that over hang just waiting to catch me not watching