Specialreserve
Mill Creek, Washington
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We took a trip over to Priest Lake Idaho last week and had a great time. Everything on the trailer worked great and we are pretty sure our days of tent camping are over! If you ever get a chance to get up to Priest Lake I would recommend it. It's got to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. One issue we had is we think a chipmunk got in the trailer somehow and got into a loaf of bread we had under the sink. I'll have to get under the trailer and see how it got in. After getting back and cleaning up the trailer I noticed a bubble on the front part of the roof. Taking a closer look I noticed that the roof has a couple of small tears. Could the wind get in there and cause that? Will eternabond fix this? The trailer is a 1997 so the roof has seen a few years of wear and tear.
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LAdams
Northern Illinois
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Looks to me like wind is getting under the rubber roof membrane and tearing it away from the backing substrate...
Eternabond will seal it but you need to repair the core issue, in this case, that looks like air infiltration somewhere on the roof when your traveling at speed...
Les
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the bear II
Torrance CA.
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Wind going over the top of the trailer will caused a vacuum and pull up the membrane if it's loose from the substrate.
You'll need to get the membrane reattached to the substrate and all of the air bubbles squeezed out and then seal the holes in the sides.
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JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
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It is my guess a water leak has caused the adhesive to degrade… especially if that is a TPO membrane…
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boosTT
Milwaukee
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That actually looks pretty bad. I would make a small cut in the roof materal and squrt some glue in there. Then I would seal the cut(s) and that caulk area with eternabond.
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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the bear II wrote:Wind going over the top of the trailer will caused a vacuum and pull up the membrane if it's loose from the substrate.
You'll need to get the membrane reattached to the substrate and all of the air bubbles squeezed out and then seal the holes in the sides.
Exactly, it's the same way a wing works on a plane - the fast air moving over the top create a higher pressure area underneath (called "lift"). It looks like it has been pulling out and someone kept just caulking it back up.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
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Dr Quick
M'boro, Tn
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Like mentioned above, the front of the trailer is in a vacuum zone caused by the air rushing over the front of the trailer and will want to lift the roof material. This is probably caused by insufficient glue in the area.
I would recommend that since the "bubble" at the front edge of the roof, remove the front trim strip to the aluminum siding. Peel back roof membrane as required. Then apply approved contact cement to both the deck and under side of roof material liberally, and reinstall trim strip with "putty tape" and seal with approved sealant.
I had to make a repair to the front of my trailer due to a leak. After pealing back roof membrane and replacing damaged materials. I used the same method to reinstall roof membrane and that was 5 years ago, and everything is fine.
Additional note: It is not that difficult to remove the caulking over the screws, caulk is fairly soft and comes up easy. Once heads are exposed they will come out without to much trouble. You will need a "square head" screwdriver most likely. I would not recommend that you cut and patch roof, and squirt some glue under roofing. It will not give you a good job, and you have a potential for future major problems.
* This post was
edited 08/22/12 07:24am by Dr Quick *
Dr Quick
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Specialreserve
Mill Creek, Washington
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Dr Quick wrote:Like mentioned above, the front of the trailer is in a vacuum zone caused by the air rushing over the front of the trailer and will want to lift the roof material. This is probably caused by insufficient glue in the area.
I would recommend that since the "bubble" at the front edge of the roof, remove the front trim strip to the aluminum siding. Peel back roof menbrane as required. Then apply approved contact cement to both the deck and under side of roof material liberally, and reinstall trim strip with "putty tape" and seal with approved sealant.
I had to make a repair to the front of my trailer due to a leak. After pealing back roof membrane and replacing damaged materials. I used the same method to reinstall roof membrane and that was 5 years ago, and everything is fine.
So somehow I'm going to have to remove all that material that is covering the screws holding that trim piece? Not a fun job!! I know the previous owner used kool seal every two years on the roof so is that what is covering those screws in the pictures?
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Weldon
Texas
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I would follow the advice from Dr. Quick, doing this you will be able to tell if there is damage to the substrate/wood roofing. Dicor has a roofing adhesive #901 BA that is poured on the roof then spread out with a squeegee or something comparable. The membrane is then placed over the adhesive.
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kzspree320
Louisiana
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Dr Quick wrote:Like mentioned above, the front of the trailer is in a vacuum zone caused by the air rushing over the front of the trailer and will want to lift the roof material. This is probably caused by insufficient glue in the area.
I would recommend that since the "bubble" at the front edge of the roof, remove the front trim strip to the aluminum siding. Peel back roof membrane as required. Then apply approved contact cement to both the deck and under side of roof material liberally, and reinstall trim strip with "putty tape" and seal with approved sealant.
I had to make a repair to the front of my trailer due to a leak. After pealing back roof membrane and replacing damaged materials. I used the same method to reinstall roof membrane and that was 5 years ago, and everything is fine.
Additional note: It is not that difficult to remove the caulking over the screws, caulk is fairly soft and comes up easy. Once heads are exposed they will come out without to much trouble. You will need a "square head" screwdriver most likely. I would not recommend that you cut and patch roof, and squirt some glue under roofing. It will not give you a good job, and you have a potential for future major problems.
This is the right way to fix it IMHO. It is more work than just cutting the membrane where it is bubbled, but you really want to put adhesive everywhere it is missing. You also want to look and see if all the decking material is fine. When it lifts it may have let water in while towing in the rain. If there is deck damage, you can fix it before you address the membrane. You may be lucky and the quick fix may work fine if there is no deck damage and most of the roof membrane is well attached. If you are not lucky, the issue may be worse and the membrane may lift again and/or there may be rotten decking. It is your call and your TT. Good luck.
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