WA1RI wrote: Yes, but there are also grades within the 'rubber' roof family. Brie-tek is a thermo poly olefin roof. Won't chack and oxidise like rubber does, but tends to get lumped in with rubber because it isn't fiberglas. Then in f/g there is sheet and formed. Some are sealed at the 2 ends, others are glassed together. You need to get into a pretty nice coach before that happens though.
National, Winnebago, Tiffin, Monaco and family are builders using f/g. American does the glassing together,
Fleetwood, among others use the TPO roof. Coachmen, Damon and many others use the rubber.
Downside of rubber is the oxidation and the chalking, this runs off with rain and condensation leaving the streaks. Of course, dirt lands on and washes off the rest of them, but these tend to be easier to clean. another is that it is the easiest to rip from a branch. My Coachmen caught a branch without me realizing and it created a faucet that night in a downpour. Fortunately my wife was inside and kept up with the leak, next day I 'patched' and fixed when we returned home.
Upside, is relative cost.
True. We've had aluminum, rubber, and Brite-Tek, and I've been in & seen enough F/G roof MH's to know all F/G is not created equal. For my $$$ I'll take Brite-Tek any day. I wouldn't take a true rubber roof as a gift.
As for toughness, on our '00 I needed to get through the Brite-Tek for a project I was doing. A brand new razor blade had all it could do to cut it. Some may call it rubber, but it's far from it.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910
There are some interesting comments made about rubber Roofing...
"Oh, I wouldn't not buy if the roof was rubber"
"I would never buy another RV with a rubber roof"
"I wouldn't take a true rubber roof as a gift."
I am not sure I would go to this extreme because of one option on an RV or another. Some would say the same things about Gassers vs Diesels Or pushers vs pullers Or 6v vs 12v batteries, Or ....
If you like the coach, you are happy with the layout, you should buy the coach with the understanding of what you are buying.
EPDM may require more maintenance but it does have its advantages. It is quieter in rain, very easy to repair, light weight,...
Here's the real facts from someone with 35 years in the commercial roofing business with a manufacturer that produced all types of roofing.
Rubber roofing = EPDM = Ethylene Propylene Deinien Monomer, a synthetic rubber. Strong points are that it is a thermoplastic meaning it can stretch and recover its shape like a rubber band. It weathers very well in its original state....black. When it is made white, the light oils which help it weather are replaced with titanium dioxide which make it white. It has been used very successfully as a commercial roofing material for over 30 years. Relatively cheap, easy to install and easy to repair.
TPO = thermoplastic olefin, a plastic material that will stretch but will not recover its original shape like EPDM. That doesn't make it bad because your roof shouldn't stretch that much or something else is wrong. It is more "boardy" or stiffer and is much more difficult to repair because in a cured state it's hard to bond something to the weathered surface. It is much more tolerant to exhaust fumes from manufacturing plants than EPDM but on an RV this should not be an issue. It has been on the commercial market for about 10 years. In simple applications like a roof for an RV it can perform as well as EPDM.
Fiberglass, aluminum, steel are rigid, weatherproof and durable but the weak point is the joints. Those can be easily handled with care and periodic inspections.
All of the above will outlast the rest of the RV with care and maintenance. After 35 years however I would opt for a fiberglass or aluminum roof if it were available. That said, I would not feel threatened by a unit that came with an EPDM or TPO roof.
jmanatee wrote: There are some interesting comments made about rubber Roofing...
"Oh, I wouldn't not buy if the roof was rubber"
"I would never buy another RV with a rubber roof"
"I wouldn't take a true rubber roof as a gift."
I am not sure I would go to this extreme because of one option on an RV or another. Some would say the same things about Gassers vs Diesels Or pushers vs pullers Or 6v vs 12v batteries, Or ....
If you like the coach, you are happy with the layout, you should buy the coach with the understanding of what you are buying.
EPDM may require more maintenance but it does have its advantages. It is quieter in rain, very easy to repair, light weight,...
JMHO
My issue with EPDM is simply the increased maintenance (streaking) over any other type roof available. Much like full body paint, once you've tried it you won't ever want to go back.
The beauty of the Brite-Tek (TPO type roof) is it enjoys all of the benefits of EPDM (quiet, tough, flexible) without the drawbacks (chalking and streaking). Much in the same way, given the choice, I wouldn't go back to a non-full body paint MH and I wouldn't go back to a true rubber roof. Too many other (better) options.
Bruce vcovered it very well. An\d my quote above I probably mis punctuated, "I woudn't NOT buy a MH with rubber roof" IOW, it would not prevent me from buying. In fact my coach has a rubber roof, Fleetwood didn't go to TPO till later. If I were to recover my roof I would probably go with tpo.
I would also like to have my partial pait fully painted, but at what cost on an 11 year old coach? I'll just try to keep the gelcoat shiny.
Bill & Jolene / FL 1997 Southwind 35P 2006 Yamaha 1100 Classic &
1970 Norton Commando 750 in state of recuperation (Almost road ready!!!)
6x12 Enclosd trailer
I have a 12 year warrnty on my Brite-Tek roof. If it was so easy to ruin I don't think they would warranty it that good. In my experience it all depends on what color streaks you want running down the side of your MH. With aluminum you will get black streaks, rubber will give you white streaks, and now I get no streaks down the side.
Offline
