Community Forums

rubberduckie · 05-22-2021, 04:33 AM

Had a leak over the winter on my 2014 Dutchman. Going with a TPO membrane 60 ml thick total replacement. Going to be costly and scary, afraid of going through all that work and expense and still have a leak. I have been watching allot of u tube videos. Any suggestions on materials, adhesives, sealants or any other advise?

Thanks

**hamm2018** · 05-22-2021, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubberduckie

Had a leak over the winter on my 2014 Dutchman. Going with a TPO membrane 60 ml thick total replacement. Going to be costly and scary, afraid of going through all that work and expense and still have a leak. I have been watching allot of u tube videos. Any suggestions on materials, adhesives, sealants or any other advise?

Thanks

You doing the work?
I am thinking of when the time comes to have the spray on roof installed.
https://rvroof.com/find-a-location/
I have had friends go this route and they said it was cheaper and easier, plus a lifetime warranty against leaks.

mjf55 · 05-23-2021, 11:31 AM

You should watch ( if you haven't already ) a YouTube channel called RV Roof Install. He professionally installs 60 mil tpo roofs and heat welds parts together. The older videos gave some more details, but I suspect he got overwhelmed with email help requests. Anyway, watch as many as you can, he does go over all aspects of an install ( little by little )
Huge job for a DYIer. If you do this, start a thread on your progress.

BCam · 05-23-2021, 11:38 AM

Check out AZ Expert's YouTube channel's TPO roof videos:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AZExpert/s...ery=tpo%20roof

rubberduckie · 05-23-2021, 02:40 PM

Yes I am doing it myself. The camper is at a permanent campground site. I have a large deck built around it and a 38 food hard awning attached to it, so its not going anywhere. I estimate $ 1500.00 in materials and that's only because I have to purchase a 100 foot roll of TPO material, when I only need 28 feet.

I have watched a lot of their videos, they do awesome work. If the camper could be pulled off site I would take it to them. That TPO material has a 20 year life expectancy, I will take that.

Its not that technical just scary. It has to be perfectly water tight. I feel confident, I think. The one thing I am not sure of is how they attach the TPO material along the side of the camper under the termination plate.

I am thinking that they actually heat welt it to the camper exterior wall then place the termination plate over top of it. The video on E Trailer web site shows a layer of butyl tape installed the length of the exterior wall. Then the TPO material over top of the butyl tape, followed by another strip of butyl tape followed by the termination strip screwed on. One thing I have learned from their videos is they hate butyl tape and heat weld everything.

Boogie_ · 05-23-2021, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubberduckie

Yes I am doing it myself. The camper is at a permanent campground site. I have a large deck built around it and a 38 food hard awning attached to it, so its not going anywhere. I estimate $ 1500.00 in materials and that's only because I have to purchase a 100 foot roll of TPO material, when I only need 28 feet.

I have watched a lot of their videos, they do awesome work. If the camper could be pulled off site I would take it to them. That TPO material has a 20 year life expectancy, I will take that.

Its not that technical just scary. It has to be perfectly water tight. I feel confident, I think. The one thing I am not sure of is how they attach the TPO material along the side of the camper under the termination plate.

I am thinking that they actually heat welt it to the camper exterior wall then place the termination plate over top of it. The video on E Trailer web site shows a layer of butyl tape installed the length of the exterior wall. Then the TPO material over top of the butyl tape, followed by another strip of butyl tape followed by the termination strip screwed on. One thing I have learned from their videos is they hate butyl tape and heat weld everything.

Must buy a 100' roll???

You're shopping at the wrong place.

28' of TPO for $300 bucks w/free shipping
https://www.recpro.com/superflex-rv-...g-by-the-foot/

Also, I've done several camper roofs and have never heard of heat welding it to the sides. Or anywhere else.
However, I am not all knowing or all seeing.

Just did the roof on my 5ver and used nothing but butyl between the rubber and the moulding, with lap seal on nonvertical mouldings.
No leaks.

rubberduckie · 05-23-2021, 03:40 PM

Yes from a local contract supplier, 60 ml TPO ten foot wide. This is the material they use on large commercial building roofs. I have two contractors near me one will sell to public, one will not. Pretty sure the adhesive only comes in 5 gallon pales.

jergle · 05-24-2021, 07:23 AM

I replaced the roof 2 summers ago on my 28' Jayco. It's a lot of work, but not all that complicated. I bought a "kit" from Recpro that had the TPO membrane, adhesive, and several tubes of lap sealant. I replaced all the plastic parts such as plumbing vents, sky light, and replaced the TV antenna while I was at it. I also had to replace 2 sheets of plywood on the roof, and rebuild part of the front end due to water damage. Between me, my wife, and my teenage son, we had about 120 hours of labor in it before it was done. A lot of that was scraping off old butyl tape to reuse the molding, and of course some was spent rebuilding the front end. I had a covered shed to keep it in, so didn't have to tarp it while we were working. I think my total cost was about $1200 in materials. As far as the sides, you just have to take off the molding, overlap the tpo, and apply butyl tape under the molding when you put it back. I did use a thick gorilla tape just for some extra protection under the TPO membrane at seams and corners. So far, no problems. I watched a lot of you tube videos, which helped.

Boogie_ · 05-24-2021, 08:13 AM

What is the reasoning behind using 60 mil rubber?

mjf55 · 05-24-2021, 10:11 AM

Commercial grade 60 mill tpo will last 20 years, as long as you don't have an accident or cut it.
As far as side wall termination, I don't think RV Roof Installers heat welded it to the side, as there is nothing to weld to. Earlier videos talk about how they did it.
I also found the 100 ft min on that tpo. I figured I could resell the remainder to other folks who want to do the job.
If you want to heat weld, look on ebay for used heat gun to use. I found some when I was looking. Last thing you need is a heavy roller, I was planning to rent one for a week to do it.
Your biggest surprise may be any issues under the top when you expose it.
You seem to have a great setup to do the work. Good luck. Please document what you do here on a thread. It will be very interesting.

rubberduckie · 05-24-2021, 04:35 PM

I have a 12"x12" soft spot, so I will have to replace at least one piece of plywood. I hope to have it done in two to three days with two guys. If you watch RV Roof Install videos they make curbs covered it TPO material for all vent holes. Not sure how they make them.

I thinks they heat form the TPO to the wood and then glue it??? I did find a video labeled four winds 5000, they show the TPO stapled to the side of the camper, then the termination plate over it. Now the question is what do they put under the termination plate?

jergle · 05-25-2021, 05:36 AM

If by "termination plate" you're talking about the aluminum strip that runs the length of the camper at the top that you screw in every few inches to hold down the membrane, I would put butyl tape underneath it, mainly to seal up the screws.

mjf55 · 05-25-2021, 04:02 PM

rubberduckie, they use the heat gun with a flat nozzle was heat both layers of the tpo ( roof and curb ) and melt them enough so they stick together, hence 'welding'. This is something I would practice. I'll look for the video where he shows it.
Also, AZ Expert ( mentioned above) posted today putting down the gaf tpo roof.

Here it is

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBwNBYCpWo

rubberduckie · 05-25-2021, 06:09 PM

Yes the termination plate, strip is the aluminum strip the runs down the length of the camper. They called it a termination plate, strip in an early video and it stuck with me.

If I can not figure out what RV Roof Install uses under the termination strip before I undertake this project, I will use butyl tape. E trailer install video shows a strip of butyl tape the length of the camper under the TPO membrane then butyl tape on the termination strip. The termination strip is butted up against the edge of the butyl tape that is under the TPO membrane then screwed down.