Community Forums

JWLSC · 03-17-2013, 07:11 AM

I have a 2000 Fleetwood Southwind and has a rubber roof. I recently purchased the RV and was doing some maintenance on the roof. Cleaned the roof with a soft bristle brush. The condition looked like what I would consider good all the sealers around the vents, drains, end caps etc had been recently redone and looked good. No lifting of the rubber, except one spot that was not located near any opening, was not soft just roof just was not secure to wood. I did find 2 small(less then ½ in) tears in the rubber, and the seam running the length of the drains needed to be resealed, so I cleaned and repaired. Did the inspection on my hands and knees. I did not find any black showing except one spot on the side which might be from a tree branch rubbing it since I don’t see any more black showing. Now the questions the roof has some light gray spotting which I think is normal. The surface of the roof feels almost smooth, but it has very fine what I would say are cracks(look like surface) not deep. Almost like what you see on human skin. Is it normal for the roof to look like this or is it time to coat. What is a good indicator to repair the roof with a rubber roof sealer or new roof. I understand the EPDM roof should last about 20 years. Thanks in advance for all the help

Thanks
John
USMC
1981-1993

Old Bounder · 03-17-2013, 10:32 AM

John, You might have a TPO roof rather than an EPDM roof.

TPO is white all the way through the membrane, while EPDM will be black membrane with a white coating.

TPO roofs don't require a coating, but can be repaired with DICOR lap sealant or Eternabond tape. It doesn't sound like your roof needs any coating just yet.

JWLSC · 03-17-2013, 11:30 AM

I believe I do have an EPDM roof. I had a spot about 3/8 of an inch in diameter that was down to the black. I got this picture from the net but my roof looks like this,mine has a little less cracking.

Thanks
John

Old Bounder · 03-17-2013, 12:22 PM

If it were mine, I would wash it with a mild (not weak) bleach/water solution to kill any mildew in those tiny cracks, and then use a coating of 303 protectant to seal them.

JWLSC · 03-17-2013, 02:06 PM

Can I use any Elastomeric Coating on a EPDM roof. I know there are coating by dicor and EPDM Liquid Roof. But I have see other Elastomeric Coating such as Henry 287 SF – Solar Flex® White Elastomeric Coating.

Thanks
john

JWLSC · 03-17-2013, 04:10 PM

Reading more on roofs, I think I might have an alpha brand roof who I think is a little different then the Dicor. I believe I have an Alpha because of the orange peel looking top coat. Do i have a TPO or EPDM. Is maintenance and recoating different. Any one have thoughts on this.

Mr_D · 03-17-2013, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWLSC

Reading more on roofs, I think I might have an alpha brand roof who I think is a little different then the Dicor. I believe I have an Alpha because of the orange peel looking top coat. Do i have a TPO or EPDM. Is maintenance and recoating different. Any one have thoughts on this.

Dicor is the major (and maybe only) distributor of roofing materials made by Alpha to the RV industry.

Old Bounder · 03-18-2013, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Dicor is the major (and maybe only) distributor of roofing materials made by Alpha to the RV industry.

Mr D, you and I have been down this road before and your statements are very misleading and meaningless in this discussion. Please stop confusing the issue by trying to sound like the expert.

Dicor may be a major distributor of ALPHA roofs, but that doesn't mean they are identical or even compatible products. They are, in fact, a different composition of EPDM membrane and can require different coating products.

Fleetwood will tell you that their EPDM roofs were made by ALPHA, and they will NOT recommend ANY coating, for liability reasons.

ALPHA will simply tell you that their roofs do not require ANY coating. If it turns black, they recommend using their primer and coating products or simply leaving it alone.

Pro guard (liquid Roof) will tell you that they have had enough complaints about ALPHA roofs turning soft and sticky, when coated with their products, that they recommend using a primer first.