All things Moldy Rehab

[KNewmar]

Very long story- short, we bought a 2001 Newmar Dutch Star 3852 Freightliner this last summer and what we thought was a dream come true has been our worst nightmare.

There were leaks and so much mold and the roof needed replaced (not new like they said) and had not been stored inside (like they said)...

We've remediated everything and it's starting to be built back up.

Now we trust NOTHING they said. Hoping this forum can help as we attempt to repair our coach... and our dreams of blissful RV life.

The current issue is roofing material so I'm here to find out what everyone is using - for rubber roofing - or is there something better?
Second will be flooring, thinking about LVP but we do get cold winters (it is stored inside but can freeze). Anyone with experience there?
Then all the rest - gotta rebuild the walls we pulled out, etc...
Wish us luck - and send all your advice!

[MrMark52]

Sorry about your experience - I realize the frustrations.

Just some thoughts - that coach looks pretty darn good for being an ‘01 for it to not have lived inside for most of its life.

And the roof looks pretty darn good too! Are you certain it is EPDM or TPO as I’m not sure they make color matching - from the picture it looks more like it’s fiberglass (I’m sure others will chime in to correct me).

And are you certain the water leaks are coming from the roof? The pictured damage is from an area around the windows - and many MoHo windows, depending on the design, will get clogged with dirt in the drain channels which results in rain water spilling over into and down the interior sidewalls of the coach.
Look at your windows from the outside - are there ~1/8” x 1.00” slots in the bottom of the frames? If so, you need to insure the drains channels are clear -

Get a piece of soft copper wire about 12-15 inches long, or weed eater line works good. While running water down the window from a water hose, run the line up inside each end of the slot to the left and right while watching to insure water is running out of the slot.
When you see dirt and grunge washing out, continue ramming the wire or line in and out of the slot until the draining water runs clear.
The dirt and grunge comes from blown dirt in the atmosphere and what gets trapped in rainwater.
I do this to our coach yearly - usually when it’s warm outside, and often when it’s a safe rainstorm.

Keep us posted on what you find. You can find EPDM or TPO roof kits for $400-$800, usually including glue. Not sure you’ll find any that will color match to your coach. Personally, when we replace ours (hopefully this spring/summer), it will be replaced with EPDM - and I’ll replace any rotted wood while in there. From everything I’ve read, I’m not a fan of TPO.

[jacwjames]

Did you already replace the roof??


The brochure for you coach says it has a Britetek roof, this post has nothing but praise for the roof. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/bri...ns-365482.html


One area you might look at is the belt molding that goes around the coach and seals the roof and side walls. This is a potential area for leaks.


I found a soft spot in the front of my coach and had to replace ~4X6' section of flooring. Here's a post I did on it. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/new...ks-564571.html


Original floor was an ODB type that had a black vapor barrier glued to the bottom. I essentially crumbled when I was removing it, I went back with a layer of 3/4" treated plywood first, I did paint it using an exterior primer and was able to salvage the vapor barrier and glued it back on used liquid nail and a roller to get full contact. I then used a piece of exterior panel siding to make up the thickness difference.

I don't live in extremely cold weather but I installed the Pergo LVPF early last year. This was the best one that Lowes had to offer. I didn't glue it down and it essentially floats so not sure how it would react in really cold weather. Installation was pretty easy other then having to work around everything. But it turned out pretty good.
You might check with some flooring replacement sites and see what they install and how they do it.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We’re sure glad you joined the gang here!

WOW! That's awful! Did you not inspect the coach before buying? We haven't had any serious roof problems except having to replace the shower skylight. I replaced the flooring with 12" LVT squares laid in a diamond pattern and we love it. Hope you can get everything fixed soon and get on the road.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Bobby F]

Re: Flooring:

I've put LVP into unheated cabins and RV's in Minnesota. It works. If you pay attention to the recommended edge gaps, don't glue to the subfloor, and avoid areas where the floor can't float - i.e., don't fasten items down through the flooring - it should work fine. My RV's LVP floor has experienced -20F to 120F and hasn't buckled or pulled apart.

We had buckling in one RV we did. My friend put in two captain's chairs when we were done, bolting them down over the flooring into the subfloor. The LVP couldn't expand horizontally between the two chairs, and when it got hot, it buckled up in that spot.

[Argosy]

I used Home Depot's Lifeproof 12x24 LVP in mine and haven't had any problems in Michigan.



They have an app online that will show you how different selections will look in your motor home. An option was to rotate it, I liked the way it looked better with the length laid across the width of the motor home. It probably was also easier to cut 12" to fit around everything than it would have been 24".

[KNewmar]

Hi, yes, the roof was a rotten EPDM... We've taken it off completely. And yes, most of the leaks to the interior were through windows. One without any seal (go figure) and one with a clogged drain (I'm an RV insurance Adjuster).

[KNewmar]

Thank you! I'll look into Brite-Tek!

And thanks on the LVP - We will have to bolt down chairs and a sofa so... maybe we will look at other products???

[KNewmar]

We really did inspect... but they bleached it and for "liability concerns " would not allow us on the roof... yes, we made HUGE mistakes. Just trying to rebuild now.

[ChrisDParise]

LVP flooring - glue down or floating is the question

Remodeled my 31' Class C on the E-450 chassis including replacing carpeting with LVP flooring..Kept rear bedroom carpeted

General remodeling done by my rv dealer including removing the dinette, carpeting, staples. He sub contracted the flooring work to an flooring specialist.

Flooring installer gave me a few choices of LVP each were rated to -20, we live in the north.

Installer called the LVP manufacturer about installation and for a motorized rv they said to glue it down.

5th winter, no issues.

Btw, I have personally installed floating flooring in our two sticks and bricks homes and it's been fine.

[Ray,IN]

To kill and seal mold and mildew, I've had great success with https://www.concrobium.com/