Checking my roof for damage tips

[The John]

Hey everyone,
we were expecting to get a good amount of snow in the Portland, Oregon area over the last weekend, however this turned into a major ice event rather than snow (1-2 inches on everything, more on windward sides).

The bad,
my trailer is parked under a giant Doug fir, and has been hit with a bunch of large chunks of ice falling off the limbs after the temp warmed up to 43* this morning. Some of these chunks of ice are 2-3 inches thick (most are smaller), and falling from 75ft + sometimes.

Question,
once everything melts, what is the best way of checking my trailer for potential hidden damage in relation to this event? it is currently covered, so the cover will have to come off. I am worried most about hidden damage and wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the best way to approach it.

Disclaimer:
I dont know that there is any damage, but I am planning on some damage resulting from this storm. If we knew it was going to be an ice storm, we would have put it in a different location, but hindsight is 20/20.

We currently dont have power, and wont have power for a week maybe longer. There are a lot of downed trees in my neighborhood (you cant stand near a downed tree and not see at least one other in a ten mile radius).

[cruizerEd]

AZ Experts has a lot of detailed roof inspection videos for all different types of roofs. I've found them very useful for inspecting my roof and doing preventive maintenance.

He covers what sealants to use and how to apply them.

He is not a fan of roof repair tape like eternabond so he runs a little counter to the advise you get from a lot of RVers. He does defend his position.

[egwilly]

I think it's doubtful that the ice would damage the roof membrane to the point that the luan would be punctured. Maybe if heavy and sharp enough to slice thru it.

That said, all you can do is look for indentations all over the roof, and make sure no damage occurred to the machinery or other stuff up there. If you find one, then feel to see if it went thru and cracked the luan. The rubber membrane would prevent leaking.

If it did damage, then that's another story. Repairs would be in order.

You want a solid roof with no way for water to get in.

Good luck!

[Coarsegold]

Ice falling 75' could be like a piece of steel at 10' falling on it. Likely not so much hidden damage but a puncture causing a water leak that can lead to major problems later inside. Don't know what type of roof you have but they are all vulnerable to something sharp impacting it.

[iowaone]

That sounds worse than a hailstorm which can cause lots of damage. I would contact my insurance if I were you and get it inspected. I would make sure there is no leakage the minute you have temps above freezing. You have the potential for lots of damage. Hopefully, it is all fine but I would want to make sure. Hope you get power soon and all goes well

Get your insurance involved now. If you wait and there is water damage from melting who knows what they will do.

[bob26rls]

The cover may have saved you from membrane damage. I would suggest a close inspection of the cover when you get it off, looking for perforations (light from behind). That could provide a clue as to where to look on the roof for potential problems. Otherwise I think any damage to plastic bits will be obvious.

[The John]

Pulling the cover off this weekend, the ice on top has finally melted. See the attached picture for how much ice was left on Monday this week. the first picture shows a piece of ice that fell and stuck to the roof.

I don’t see any water intrusion yet, and so far my dries the air collectors haven’t picked up an unusual amount of water.

[iowaone]

Any update on what you found when cover off. I hope no damage.

[The John]

Update: no apparent roof damage at this time. I did however loose my TV antenna so that will have to be replaced (dont use it much but would hate to want to and it not work). Very happy that everything came out ok as I was figuring I was going to have to replace more things.

Thanks for the input and advice everyone!

[bob26rls]

Originally Posted by The John

Update: no apparent roof damage at this time. I did however loose my TV antenna so that will have to be replaced (dont use it much but would hate to want to and it not work). Very happy that everything came out ok as I was figuring I was going to have to replace more things.

Thanks for the input and advice everyone!

Thanks for the update. I'm glad the damage wasn't serious. Perhaps this is a good time to upgrade the tv antenna. I don't use mine much either, but I doubt that the factory antenna is a top-of-the-line model.

[The John]

Originally Posted by bob26rls

Thanks for the update. I'm glad the damage wasn't serious. Perhaps this is a good time to upgrade the tv antenna. I don't use mine much either, but I doubt that the factory antenna is a top-of-the-line model.

I am replacing with the original, we dont watch that much over the air tv, and I didnt see many units better that were non adjustable. I dont want one that you have to lift up or move around.

I am planning on installing a weboost at some point, but not sure when. This years upgrades are suspension related.

[iowaone]

That’s good. Sometimes these things are tougher than we expect.

[rpeders]

As far as antennas go, lots of products out there trying to get you to part with your $ for no real added benefit. Get one of these 'FLATennas' for $10 and you will find it doesn't take much at all to receive a useable digital signal in many cases. It's so cheap it's almost disposable! Get the amplified version for a bit more and you will be covered for most situations. Obviously not for roof mounting but given the simple construction it can be mounted temporarily with 2 sided tape in whatever orientation works best at a given location.

https://www.channelmaster.com/produc...na-cm-4001hdbw

[Coarsegold]

I hope you got on your hands and knees to inspect as all it takes is a tiny hole and the water goes in. Ask me how I know. Glad to hear you got lucky so far!!