Community Forums

DansBounder · 02-27-2018, 05:48 PM

I have a 2004 Fleetwood Bounder. Found bubble near a/c unit last August. They replaced gasket on the a/c. Two weeks ago when I took cover off the bubble seemed to be larger. Service tec. says now wood under roof material is bad..

and needs to be replaced. Also he says roof material needs to be replaced..

My question is can you replace a portion of the roof that is bad or do you have to replace the whole roof like they want to do??

Any help with this is much needed..
Dan

Quincy · 02-27-2018, 07:09 PM

Is the roof leaking? Are there any water stains on the ceiling inside around the penetrations or corners? Any signs of water damage anywhere but the bubble?

If water got in to bubble the wood and that is all just fix that small leak and possible reseal the roof so no more leaks develop. That you can do yourself if you want to for about fifty bucks for a gallon of roof seal.

We just bought a '99 and I was able to get away with just that a roof seal with a product called Heng roof sealant.

Gary RVRoamer · 02-27-2018, 07:12 PM

I'm not convinced that a bubble in the EPDM means the wood substrate is bad, but it's certainly possible. On the other hand, RV shops aren't all that great on diagnosis and they often just take the easiest course of action (easy & profitable for them, anyway.

Yes, you could tear up just a section, repair the wood and replace the rubber membrane, but many shops probably would refuse to do that. Too risky for them If there are further problems (you would complain!). It's difficult to determine the extent of the damage without taking all or most of the membrane up anyway.

I'm not clear on why the gasket under the a/c was replaced or if that has something to do with the bubble. Did you have a leak that let water into the interior? If so, there well may be damage to the wood substrate, but it's not a given.

DansBounder · 02-28-2018, 02:03 PM

Thanks Quincy and Gary, I should have given more info. Service tech said a/c gasket was bad which caused the leaking on one side so I had them replace it. That was in August and it was covered after November for the winter. When I took cover off Feb. 18, the air bubble seemed bigger. so after they checked it last week I was told the wood under the membrane was bad and needed to be replaced. After talking to them today I said to put glue under the membrane and see if you can roll the air out. Hopefully it will stick. We will see if that works. Not ready to spend over $8000 on it right now. There are no stains on ceiling anywhere.

Thanks Dan

FIRE UP · 02-28-2018, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DansBounder

I have a 2004 Fleetwood Bounder. Found bubble near a/c unit last August. They replaced gasket on the a/c. Two weeks ago when I took cover off the bubble seemed to be larger. Service tec. says now wood under roof material is bad..

and needs to be replaced. Also he says roof material needs to be replaced..

My question is can you replace a portion of the roof that is bad or do you have to replace the whole roof like they want to do??

Any help with this is much needed..
Dan

Dan,
There’s a couple of ways to look at this. First, your coach is an ‘04 so, it’s 14 years old, correct? So, being it’s that old, what kind of mileage is on it? What I’m getting at here is, that particular area may NOT be the only one in question. You may have other areas that you just can’t quite see yet that may be getting bad too.

Second, if you really like the coach, and don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon, there’s alternatives to look at. One in particular I’ve seen in person is a Rhino lined roof. When done, you now have a complete, hard as a rock, totally sealed roof that you can get up there and have a dance party on, should you desire to do that.

They are considerably quieter, and reflect a very large percentage of the suns rays. And, they are warranted for life, if I’m not mistaken. You have lots of options so, this is just one to think about.
Scott

harleyjt · 02-28-2018, 10:11 PM

I agree with the above post. With the age on the coach, unless the roof has been meticulously maintained, I would be willing to bet there are other damaged areas as well. If you plan to keep the coach, it would probably be a good idea to think about replacing the roof before too much longer. I would not consider a Rhino roof. There have been a number of issues with them and I'm not sure they still do RV roofs anyway. However, there is an alternative roof that is sprayed on and forms a leakproof roof and carries a lifetime warranty. This is what I opted to do. I'm glad I did as most all of my roof decking was wet and rotting. All the roof decking had to be replaced. However, I was lucky that I caught it in time as no water had gotten thru to the insulation and interior ceilings. Look for FlexArmor roof. I highly recommend their system. Disclaimer: I have no interest in the company, just a happy customer.
jt

jfran304 · 02-28-2018, 10:22 PM

Contact these folks and see what they say:

Home - RV Roof - FlexArmor

They say their product is guaranteed for the life of the coach.

harleyjt · 02-28-2018, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfran304

Contact these folks and see what they say:

Home - RV Roof - FlexArmor

They say their product is guaranteed for the life of the coach.

And its transferable to subsequent owners. The best part of the whole system is I don't have to worry with caulking every 6 months now. There is no caulking!
jt

Quincy · 03-01-2018, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DansBounder

Thanks Quincy and Gary, I should have given more info. Service tech said a/c gasket was bad which caused the leaking on one side so I had them replace it. That was in August and it was covered after November for the winter. When I took cover off Feb. 18, the air bubble seemed bigger. so after they checked it last week I was told the wood under the membrane was bad and needed to be replaced. After talking to them today I said to put glue under the membrane and see if you can roll the air out. Hopefully it will stick. We will see if that works. Not ready to spend over $8000 on it right now. There are no stains on ceiling anywhere.

Thanks Dan

I thought water swollen wood when you said bubble. Your most recent post said air bubble. That, to me, is even better. If that is all it is the air could have gotten under the roof when the fan in the A/C was pushing air against the seam. That might be all it is. Your instructions to work out the bubble are right on point as far as I know.

Keep us in the loop please.

DansBounder · 03-01-2018, 01:53 PM

Thanks Quincy, Yes I think it is just air because you can take your finger and press down on it maybe 1/8 or 3/16 in. I did not see the wood under the membrane myself but you should be able to feel if it is ruff so I'm hoping it will work.
The service tech also put a fan inside with the RV all closed up to check for air leaks and there were none.

Scott asked about the miles, it has 64920. I have kept up with all the service including the roof so I don't plan on getting ride of it any time soon.

Thanks for all the info from everyone. I will keep you in the loop.

Dan

Love our Bounder...

Gary RVRoamer · 03-02-2018, 01:43 PM

I don't consider 14 years to be a really old roof at all, and would expect both the substrate and the top membrane to be is good condition yet. The exception, of course, would be an unrepaired and fairly long term leak. The luan layer of the roof substrate will eventually rot if it stays wet. However, a one-time leak that gets fixed within a reasonable time rarely results in rot, or even mildew.

One method of determining for sure is to put a small slit in that bubble so the substrate below can be inspected, either by eyeball or by penetrating with a sharp blade or point (to check for softness). If it's OK, glue her down and a dab of lap sealant or piece of Eternabond will fix the tiny opening you made.

Quincy · 03-03-2018, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quincy

I thought water swollen wood when you said bubble. Your most recent post said air bubble. That, to me, is even better. If that is all it is the air could have gotten under the roof when the fan in the A/C was pushing air against the seam. That might be all it is. Your instructions to work out the bubble are right on point as far as I know.

Keep us in the loop please.

If the tech did just that, put a fan inside and closed up the rig, then all he did was to circulate the air inside the RV without checking for anything, unless he was adding air from outside somehow.

Quincy · 03-03-2018, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I don't consider 14 years to be a really old roof at all, and would expect both the substrate and the top membrane to be is good condition yet. The exception, of course, would be an unrepaired and fairly long term leak. The luan layer of the roof substrate will eventually rot if it stays wet. However, a one-time leak that gets fixed within a reasonable time rarely results in rot, or even mildew.

One method of determining for sure is to put a small slit in that bubble so the substrate below can be inspected, either by eyeball or by penetrating with a sharp blade or point (to check for softness). If it's OK, glue her down and a dab of lap sealant or piece of Eternabond will fix the tiny opening you made.

X 2

Motor7 · 03-03-2018, 07:37 AM

First thing I would do is pull the A/c unit off and really take a look at what is going on with your own eyes. Anything less than that is speculation. Then inspect every other item protruding through your TPO(vent pipe, refer, skylight/etc). When was the last time you re-sealed all the seams?

If it's rot, how far back from the opening does it go? Once we have that info, you can get much better advise. Oh, and pulling the A/c is a very easy job btw.