Community Forums

harleyjt · 12-03-2017, 10:27 PM

I have a 12 yr old Newmar Kountry Star with the Brite-Tec roof. The membrane appears to be in good condition. However, in looking at the roof, I'm finding a significant amount of areas where the roof membrane has let loose of the underlying plywood. In those areas, the plywood seems very soft. I believe the previous owner did not keep up with roof maintenance causing leaks and damage. Just prior to my purchasing the rig almost 3 years ago, the dealer resealed all the seams on the roof. It appeared to be a good job, although in my inspections I did find 2 small gouges from when they were scraping the original sealant off. I sealed them with Dicor as soon as I found them. I think it was leaking before the dealer resealed it and the water has now rotted the plywood over the last 3 years.

Anyway, it appears to me I am going to have to re-roof in the near future. From my research, it appears there are a couple of options. First would be a tear off, replace any damaged wood and reroof with a new membrane.

The second option is a liquid roof. I'm looking RV Roof - Flex Armour. It carries a life time transferable no leak guarantee. This is the liquid roof that is sprayed on indoors. They remove everything from the roof, make wood repairs, then spray, and reinstall everything. I'm particularly interested in hearing about reroofing with the FlexArmor system. Has anyone here done it? Good - bad - ??

I guess one other possibility would be to peel the existing membrane off, fix the decking and reinstall the existing membrane. Would this be a possibility?
jt

LVJ58 · 12-03-2017, 10:48 PM

You may want to check out RV Armor roofing at:

Welcome to RV Armor - Home

Good luck and safe travels.....

Gary RVRoamer · 12-04-2017, 05:25 PM

Since your existing membrane is "in good shape", coating it with Flex Armor is a waste. You are concerned with the [apparently] soft wood underneath, not the existing membrane. If you believe the substrate is rotted/damaged, stripping off the membrane and repairing the wood substrate is the only option.

Loose membrane alone is not an issue, though I would inject some adhesive under it to hold it back down.

In your position, I would take no further action unless and until there is evidence of water inside (and I would investigate that very carefully!). If no water sign, wait until the BriteTek actually needs replacing and then strip it off and do whatever needs to be done with the substrate.

harleyjt · 12-06-2017, 04:35 PM

Thanks for the replies so far. I see opinions and advice but I'm looking for. Those that have replaced their roof either with a traditional membrane or especially looking for those that have actual experience with the RV FlexArmour system.

cbilodeau · 12-06-2017, 04:59 PM

I have cover my old roof with Dicor rpcrc1 three years ago and my roof is like new.

If the plywood is soft but still strong, I would let that way. If there is no more leak, it will never get worst.

But if I had a zone with a serious plywood problem under my rubber sheet roof, here's what I would do. I never did it and I am no expert.

Step 1: Let say the zone is 2' x 2'. I would take four 2' long aluminium flat bar and screw them over the roof to make a square around the plywood problem zone. I would screw each inch. We have to use very strong screws so that it is the pressure of the metal falt bar that keep the roof sheet on the plywood by friction, otherwise the sheet will tear. Sorry my english is not perfect.

Step 2: I would cut the roof sheet inside the aluminium square leaving at least 4 inches all around. It is important to leave many inches so that the roof sheet stay strong every if it moves a bit under the metal bar over the time. Keep the cutted square sheet since we will reuse it.

Step 3: Repair plywood weak spot.

Step 4: Reinstall the square that you cut. Dicor sells rubber repair tape and coaking. Put also a log of coaking each side and on top of the aluminium bars and screws. A lot.

Step 5: Instead of the rubber tape, consider adding a smaller aluminium square to hold the reinstalled square sheet. I would install it directly on the cut with a lot of dicor coaching. The tape would give a better result for smaller square, but 2' x 2' is quite a lot and a aluminium square is safer.

Step 6: You think this solution is ugly, buy a solar panel and put it over the square. If you do a good shopping, you should pay 1$ per watts. So 100w is 100$. No need to plug it if you have only 100$. To plug it you will need to send the wires throught the refrigerator vent and add a controller for another 200$. On my motorhome I have three big 300w solar panels. It covers a lot of space.

This solution should work. You already have big holes for the AC, the bathroom vent, etc and the sheet is ok. So creating just another square or rectangle is no big deal. What is important is that you screw it very tight to have maximum friction between the sheet and the plywood. This solution would work even if you have ten spots and is very cheap. Probably 100$ to 200 for 10 spots.

Aluminium bar at amazon, click here.

harleyjt · 12-06-2017, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbilodeau

I have cover my old roof with Dicor rpcrc1 three years ago and my roof is like new.

If the plywood is soft but still strong, I would let that way. If there is no more leak, it will never get worst.

But if I had a zone with a serious plywood problem under my rubber sheet roof, here's what I would do. I never did it and I am no expert.

Step 1: Let say the zone is 2' x 2'. I would take four 2' long aluminium flat bar and screw them over the roof to make a square around the plywood problem zone. I would screw each inch. We have to use very strong screws so that it is the pressure of the metal falt bar that keep the roof sheet on the plywood by friction, otherwise the sheet will tear. Sorry my english is not perfect.

Step 2: I would cut the roof sheet inside the aluminium square leaving at least 4 inches all around. It is important to leave many inches so that the roof sheet stay strong every if it moves a bit under the metal bar over the time. Keep the cutted square sheet since we will reuse it.

Step 3: Repair plywood weak spot.

Step 4: Reinstall the square that you cut. Dicor sells rubber repair tape and coaking. Put also a log of coaking each side and on top of the aluminium bars and screws. A lot.

Step 5: Instead of the rubber tape, consider adding a smaller aluminium square to hold the reinstalled square sheet. I would install it directly on the cut with a lot of dicor coaching. The tape would give a better result for smaller square, but 2' x 2' is quite a lot and a aluminium square is safer.

Step 6: You think this solution is ugly, buy a solar panel and put it over the square. If you do a good shopping, you should pay 1$ per watts. So 100w is 100$. No need to plug it if you have only 100$. To plug it you will need to send the wires throught the refrigerator vent and add a controller for another 200$. On my motorhome I have three big 300w solar panels. It covers a lot of space.

This solution should work. You already have big holes for the AC, the bathroom vent, etc and the sheet is ok. So creating just another square or rectangle is no big deal. What is important is that you screw it very tight to have maximum friction between the sheet and the plywood. This solution would work even if you have ten spots and is very cheap. Probably 100$ to 200 for 10 spots.

Thanks. Thats definately an approach I hadn't considered. Actually, I think it is continuing to get worse. I believe there was moisture from previous leaks in the wood and it continues to deteriorate although it is now sealed and no more water is getting in.
jt

4Fingers · 12-16-2017, 03:41 PM

We did RVRoof.com. We are very satisfied with it. Not cheap, but lifetime warranty.

bhreno · 12-22-2017, 09:00 PM

I recently had Elite RV in Palmetto, Florida replace the roof on a 38 foot fifth wheel toyhauler with the RV Flex Armor roof system. Had to replace two sections of roof decking as well due to hail/water damage. Extremely happy with RV Flex Armor roof and am thrilled with never having to caulk or seal roof seams, end caps, vents, etc, again. In fact, I am so satisfied that I plan on taking my new motorhome there after the holidays to have the RV Flex Armor system installed.

grindstone01 · 12-22-2017, 09:14 PM

My fifth wheel slide had a soft spot on the roof. I ended up removing the TPO roof and found rotted wet plywood which I replaced with a thicker plywood and new rubber roof. It appears the TPO roofing material has a fabric backing which was wicking wind driven rain from the exposed TPO edge under the gutter and soaking the plywood. The rest of the camper was caulked under the gutters, so I believe this slide was missed during manufacturing.