I found the guys card. David's Permanent Coatings. web site RVRoof.com.I remember the sample he had was pliable.I think the cost was around 120.LF or 2400 for 20' roof.I would spend that for a permanent roof.I'm not in need of one at this time,but will look into it further when the time comes.By then hopfully others will have tested it.
silversand wrote: I did some checking on Rhino Liner post-application weight: an 8-foot pick-up bed application would add about 60~70 LBS to the truck (applied at 0.25 inches on bed floor area; and half that thickness on bed/tailgate sides)...
Minus the weight of the original roof being removed...hmmm...wonder what the net weight gain/loss would be?
I would guess not too great a differential, 60-70# no too big a deal...
Anyone got a feel for what the original roofing material weighs?
Tx, B
2006 Chevy D/A CC
Adventurer 810WS
25'Airstream Excella
"Good People Drink Good Beer"-Hunter S Thompson
Our TPO roofing is feather-light. Add to that the 3/16ths full felt underlayment, I would guestimate our original roofing build-up thus:
15.7 foot roof x 7 feet = 109.9 sq/ft * both materials @ 4 oz/sq ft = 439.6 oz | 27.47 LBS (adhesive weight unknown).
Thus, my estimate of 4 oz/sq ft would be our factor (everyone else will have to calculate their unique roof build-up factor). TPO roofing material is very, very light. EPDM rubber ply, by comparison, is substantially heavier I believe.
....another alternative is high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE) (Spectra or Dyneema). These products have an extraordinary 200,000+ monomer units per molecule (compared to high-density polyethylene, at: 700 to ~~1500!).
The 1st time I ever encountered Spectra was as a tester: Folbot folding kayaks gave us Spectra sails for our Central America kayaking expedition to test out; and Kelty outdoor products also had a Spectra backpack {ultra-lightweight} we were negotiating with the Kelty Manufacturing company to field-test in one of the roughest environments on Earth {the backpack had a pricetag of close to $1800 13 years ago}).
I don't know why RV manufacturers have never considered Spectra or Dyneema as a roofing membrane? This stuff is truly indestructible. In fact, it has an abrasion resistance far better than carbon steel, and yield strengths in the 350,000 PSI range at an incredible specific gravity of appx ~0.95 (compared to carbon steel, carbon steel cannot even compete at 0.5GPa and specific gravity of just about 8 {but who would ever wear a carbon steel backpack?; Or, sail with carbon steel sails? Or, wear a carbon steel jacket?}) (!) So, Spectra/Dyneema would be far and away lighter than TPO, and magnitudes stronger and perhaps even magnitudes more resistant to environmental weathering/chemical break-down.
Interesting…but yes cost is always a factor. The consumer says they want the best product…but who wants to pay for it?
We are working with TPC’s (thermo-plastic composites) for aero-space applications. These are PEEK, PEI fused with traditional composites (carbon fiber).Think “traditional composite combined with injection molding”. The properties are incredible…so is the cost. The current technology can produce sheet 1 meter square, so an RV would require some type of seam.
I have noticed that some RV Mfr’s are starting to use TPC’s with lower end thermoplastics (PA, PC) this would be less expensive than what we use of course, but still have better properties than the materials currently used for RV’s. The use of these materials is mentioned on their websites and in brochures and they are not specific in where/how they are using them. I don’t see it on any roofs though. More likely being used for framing and/or chassis members.
With some type of IR heat source you can even repair the stuff on-site if it were damaged.
So who knows, the technology is trickling down. As more suppliers jump in, the cost will be further reduced. There really is no practical reason you cannot make the majority of an RV out of TPC. The initial tooling cost would be substantial, but with good design you can use common blanks and (machine) or water jet (that’s what we use) the various geometries.
I think some combination of lighter weight advanced materials (roof/floors) with traditional materials
(side walls to make mounting cabinetry easy), tighter quality controls and good design to eliminate leaks, would address a lot of the problems we see today. And be less expensive than using exotic materials across the board…
Would I pay more for an RV that would last “forever”?
Maybe…we do own an AirStream…
* This post was
edited 04/30/12 07:17pm by billtex *
Sleepy it was not available in white because it actually has aluminum particles in the mix, giving it a grey/silver color.
Price IS a factor. Price should ALWAYS be at least ONE factor. It is not the ONLY factor though to be considered of course!
I don't plan on keeping my 15 year old camper for the rest of my life, nor do I expect that the housings for all the vents, etc. will last the rest of my life, NOR do I expect ANY company to be in business for the REST OF MY LIFE, so a lifetime warranty really does not mean anything to me. It's a selling gimmick to me. For these reasons putting $2,300 into the roof as opposed to a new rubber roof with a 12 year warranty that I can still add, change roof components, etc., makes a lot more sense to me. I will most likely sell my camper LONG before the 12 year warranty is over.
To each his own.
Dak
1995 Weekender model 910 extended cabover
Calvin, the 1996 creampuff Chev Silverado 3500 extended cab dually
I'm going to read up on TCMs a bit more (Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials)....PEEK step growth polymerization, very interesting! On edit: This really isn't my field of expertise; however, as an end-user with performance criteria perhaps magnitudes greater than the average user, I follow this technology very closely...
Cheers,
Silver-
* This post was
edited 05/01/12 05:38am by silversand *
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