Is my roof supposed to be like this???

Ok getting worried that my used WC may have been a headache for the last owner...

among other things I have found a roof leak during our last few days of rain...My little diagram shows a cross section or an end shot of the camper...

The rubber roof is raised up about 3/8 to 7/16 of an inch the entire way down the length of the roof...what this does is create a valley so any water shed off the roof runs to the front and back of the camper...

whats more of a concern is that if you press along the raised up section it will move back down... I'm not sure about the construction of the roof but It seems like there is another layer of material just under the rubber roof and on top of the actuall roof material...My guess is that this small layer is bent to conform to the roof plywood and has come unglued or what ever...

So all the rain is directed to the drain spout it never hits the drip channel...this might not seem like a big problem except that the factory sealant was not brought down to the same level as it was in the right side of the camper...its obvious how it should be but its not... Water had been getting in behind the plastic corner cap and then down into the laminated sides at the corner...

I never noticed this before I bought it its an 09 so I figured the roof would be ok structurally...Stupid me for trusting...

I'm curious is this normal....have any of you looked at the edge of your roof and seen this...

The red area in my diagram is exaggerated but you get the idea...

Thanks for any input

Here is my take on how the rubber roof goes on. They roll on a layer of glue over the whole roof and then adhere the rubber roof to it. The rubber overhangs the edges of the roof a little and then the side drip edge is screwed into the side of the trailer. This is when I feel the slight bulging of the roof material takes place. If they don't take extra care (which they don't) to make sure the roof is tight this bulge can easily take place. This does focus most, if not all of the water from the roof to the corners of the roof which should be checked VERY often for water penetration. Now, one thing I have asked myself before is maybe they want this slight bulge on the edges for some reason. I don't know. All I know is my trailer has it and I am up there multiple times a year checking the integrity of the sealant everywhere. May not stop the leaks but at least I did my best to prevent them.

My 32QBBS is the same way. Looking at an original brochure, Forest River call it, radius corner roofline. It appears to be a peice of tin or flashing under the membrane that runs the entire edge so there are no sharp corners.

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/resources/brochures/Wildcat_2007.pdf

87CrewDually

Nice graphic Tim.

TC

87CrewDually wrote:It appears to be a peice of tin or flashing under the membrane that runs the entire edge so there are no sharp corners.

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/resources/brochures/Wildcat_2007.pdf

Ok well that makes sense...I feel a little better about it...I still dont like it though.

At least mine is like some others....

I've been looking into some ideas to augment the factory sealant around the roof edges...I bought an approved EPDM roof caulking yesterday to make some repairs seems like good stuff...

Dealar Quote," Oh Hi tim, hows the new trailer...oh really, we never noticed that...Sorry bout the leak. That will be $10.95....have a nice day... BTW the tires that were all chunked up at the time of delivery will be ready for you to pick up in the next town over, then you can just slap em on...wont take you much time..."

LOVE IT....

welcome, 87crew dually and thanks for the input

87CrewDually.

The Metal that caps the top creates a rise in my roof. Channels a lot of the water to the sides.

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:I bought an approved EPDM roof caulking yesterday to make some repairs seems like good stuff...

Tim,
Did you buy Dicor roof caulk? its self leveling and works great. Should only costs 7 or 8 dollars though.

87CrewDually wrote:My 32QBBS is the same way. Looking at an original brochure, Forest River call it, radius corner roofline. It appears to be a peice of tin or flashing under the membrane that runs the entire edge so there are no sharp corners.

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/resources/brochures/Wildcat_2007.pdf

T&S...It was dicor but not self leveling as I needed to blend it down the edge of the corner cap, I figured the self leveling might just run off the side...

Soapy water and rubber gloves works well to work it into shape with your fingers...It wont stick to you,It came out pretty good shouldn't leak but I'll keep a close eye on it..

Thank you all for the welcome.

Tim, did you consider the EternaBond tape. When time comes I think I'll give it a try. I noticed alot of the Cedar Creeks we looked at had it on all the slides. The salesman said they come like that from the factory.
Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYwxEX3SBK4&feature=related

That tape looks like something that you need to keep in the emergency repair box anyway. I might keep some of that in the boat to.

Admin wrote:That tape looks like something that you need to keep in the emergency repair box anyway. I might keep some of that in the boat to.

I was thinking that too, at the very least. If prepped correctly it looks pretty impressive and simple.

eternabond is good stuff, I use a product made by the same company for sealing HVAC ducts...the only thing is its slilver backed but its the same otherwise I'm looking into seeing if my supplier could possibly getting the white..

WARNING if you use it on the cab of your painted truck it will peel the paint off when removed...

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:WARNING if you use it on the cab of your painted truck it will peel the paint off when removed...

Umm, and how do we know this????

Well I had the bright idea of putting a piece about 8 inches long over my CB antenna wire to keep it from scuffing the roof paint when it blew in the wind...

About two years later when I went to remove it...Ahh not so good