Gap in terminal bar on roof

[06denali]

I've begun repairs on our 5er due to water (of course) and bad caulking. There's layers and layers of caulk. 3 different types it appears. And none of them working well. So I'm scraping all the crap off that I can get and will be cleaning it up and reappling the dicor.
Working on the roof front terminal bar, I discovered these massive gaps where the bar does not touch the roof. It's was all covered by caulking but obviously water got under it at some point. There's at least one rusted off screw and one that moves in the plywood. We're not redecking at this point ye but know it's going to need it in a few years.
My husband thinks we should not pull the bar up. Just jam the dicor under the gap and then add more/bigger/longer screws in the bar to get it to pull down. + my original plan of dicor then eternabond tape over that.

Does that sound like the best option for now?

[cavie]

I would remove the old bar and replace with a new one. MUCH easier to do the job. It is a common piece.

[Rolfsted]

Wow and I thought my previous 5th wheel roof was a mess. It amazes me how some people think the more caulk/silicone or both together will make a leak go away. I had to remove the whole roof to fix mine.

[WantAB]

Husband wants to go with plan "A".
Wife wants to go with plan "B" and asks us to chose sides.
No thank you.

[mobilemike]

Longer screws wont work because the plywood is thin and the holes are stripped out and rotten from water running down the shank of the screw. . Moving the screws a few inches away from the original hole is the best bet. Removing the strip completely and cleaning the whole area properly is the best way to ensure the new sealant sticks.

[Rolfsted]

Originally Posted by WantAB

Husband wants to go with plan "A".
Wife wants to go with plan "B" and asks us to chose sides.
No thank you.

Yep.....my advice for it's worth….new roof and new husband.

Happy travels!!

[06denali]

Replacing the roof is in the long term plans. Hoping to make a big push on it this weekend. Got delams in front and back and a roof leak in the middle slide out. All due to bad repairs in the past, poor caulking and our inability to jump on the problems eariler. But, I've pulled most of the bad stuff out already, and have the supplies to repair on hand, just need the time!

I think I'm going to pull the bar on top today, see if we can't get it bent to a better shape to fit. Cause leaving it like that is just asking for more trouble.

[charliez]

What is that wire for? Did someone drill a hole and add that? It looks like asking for a leak. Can it be removed and/or put somewhere different?

[Paul R. Haller]

Eternabond is not needed if calking is cleaned off and all new caulk is put on to prevent water intrusion on all joints. Use a heat gun to help in removing old Dicor. Dicor is not to be used under any transition strips, skylights, vents, ladders, or vent pipe covers, side transitions, or anything else attached to the roof membrane. Only Butyl tape is used there. If you pull up old transition strips. Be certain to add butyl tape under new aluminum transitions and screw down between the fiberglass and EPDM roof membrane using new stainless screws so no further rust can start. If it’s been cleaned throughly and new butyl tape applied under the transition strips and rescrewed down and Dicor self leveling applied over the top of all of it...why apply Etrnabond? That’s like applying a bandaid over the healed stitches after surgery 3 years ago. There is no need. My last roof job I did on a 38 foot trailer required almost 25 tubes of Dicor self leveling chalk, so, buy it in quantity not in single tubes. Amazon or other web based sales centers are way less especially if bought in quantity. If I remember right one or two tubes were about 12-15$ each. 6 tubes if bought at once, were something like 36 $ dropping the price from 12 dollars a tube to 6$ per tube. Paul R. Haller