Roof Coating/Painting

[daveinfl]

Greetings my friends. It is time for me to get busy on my TM 2619. Going to retire in May ... so my goal is to have it ready to go.

Here is my issue. In the 1.5 years we have had the TM we have had a problem with consistent leaks in the roof. I have, in every case, narrowed it down to the air vents. I spent two days removing caulk from all the vents and around the A/C unit and resealed with super expensive Eternabond tape. I really cleaned around everything and thought I had done a really good job. I sanded and let things sit for a week in the garage so any water intrusion might dry. I couldn't see how anything would ever leak. But .... I left the trailer out of the garage ..... we had a Florida gulley washer. Low and behold it leaked. And it leaked from around the vents. After putting the TM in the garage and examining the tape, everything looked good except in corners and right up close to the wood riser TM uses when they mount the vents. Upon further examination, in some way water had penetrated the tape all the way around the vents. It was like a channel had develeoped all the way around. I took a razor blade and sliced a bit of the tape up close the the wood riser, and out comes the water. This was on all three vents.

So much for the $125.00 tape. So now I'm stuck because we were leaving on a trip. I quickly sliced around the vents to get the water out and let everything dry for a couple days in the garage. I found out that once the tape cured it was nearly impossible to remove. So I went to plan "b". To ensure bonding, I used 3M 5200 in case of any dampness (you can use it below waterline in a boat and it will hold). I resealed everything with that. During several outings, we didn't have any leaks. We have not gone out this year yet. But the roof around the vents looks awful because 3m 5200 is not self leveling. OK ... this is not a big deal. Not to me anyway. But it bothers my wife.

So ... I noticed the front of the front shell is looking not so great. We have had a problem with the Valspar coating pealing off. I'm not sure why. Our TM is a 2010 and we bought it previously owned. So I was thinking to make our TM look better I would paint the roof with the DICOR metal roof coating. Wrong. Too much work. I would have to take it down to bare aluminum for it to properly work. Lots of work. So I was looking at other alternatives. The Rhino ECO roof really caught my attention. It nearly puts a shell on everything (even around the vents). After this very long winded explanation, I'm just wondering if anyone has done this? I've read some really good reviews.

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. I just don't want to have leaking issues this year.

Thank you.

Dave in Florida

[FujiPedaler]

I was told by the Factory that the extra weight of the material will mess up the lifting so not a good idea.
Sorry for the bad news but others will chime in.

[Wingedryder]

daveinfl,

I know several good minds here on the Forum must be at work on your leaking vents/roof problem. Afraid I have no answers myself, and am just as intent that you find a suitable answer as you! I have a 2013 TM, but am not as convinced, nor as handy, as some on this Forum, as to the TM's reliability just yet. I'll be 'listening' intently, as the TM looks to me as vulnerable as the tent-trailer I had constant roof/leaking problems with. Will log off in hopes you get some good help, indeed!

What say you, Bill?

[daveinfl]

Wingedryder - I ran into a man in Branson, Mo. last summer that said when he had his TM he had to paint his roof with some kind of a coating every two years. He said that the coating was purchased from Campers World. I have gone through everything they have and can only find the Dicor products for an aluminum roof. When I went to purchase it, the very knowledgable gent talked me out of it. He said the problem is that you need to sand down to bare metal. Then prime and then two coats. The reason is that it will not adhere properly to the aluminum if it is lightly sanded and primed. The primer needs to set with the Aluminum. I am not a scientist ... so that was beyond me. That is what has led me in another direction.

I believe the big problem is the way TM installs the vents on the wooden risers above the roof. Other manufacturers seem to have another way of doing that. I assume the A/C is similar. I have not taken that apart to find out. And I have not had any leaking from that.

I know some weight will be added to the roof to coat it with something .... but my gut says it will be that much. Maybe I am just the lucky one that had all the vents installed on a Friday just before happy hour :-).

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Wingedryder

What say you, Bill?

Assuming you are talking to me (we have severals Bills on the forum), I can't offer very much. I have never been through a roof leak problem. The weight-on-the-roof argument seems a bit thin, until I remember that you (FujiPedaler) are working on the biggest TM, a 3326. A big roof will take a lot of roofing compound, which would weigh perhaps 100 pounds once cured. And when you are done, if it is too heavy, I bet the 3326 already has TM's strongest torsion bar, so you cannot get a stronger one. So in this case, at least, I would listen to the factory.

The one reminder I would make is that like most caulks and sealants, Dow 5200 and probably Eternabond will stick very well to almost everything except themselves. Putting new caulk / sealant on old cured caulk / sealant is an exercise in futility. Instructions for preparations always seem to require that ALL old caulk be cleaned off, and the surface mechanically cleaned or chemically etched. For most of us, I imagine this means a lot of scraping with a putty knife or similar, followed by some coarse sandpaper, followed by a final wipedown with something like paint thinner. You did this, Dave, so I don't know what else could have gone wrong unless there is a break in the plastic housing of the vents themselves. That would be my next examination. Presumably you sealed the cracks when the vents were up. When you crank them down hard, do you see any cracks develop in the plastic or the base as the pressure deforms them?

Bill

[Wingedryder]

daveinfl,

Was hoping you'd hear more suggestions here on the Forum by now regarding your leaking vents & roof seeping problem. "Bill" who, at my request did respond to you, was the gentleman I was hoping might have some background knowledge of your predicament as he's had a lot of TM experience (he's was instrumental in setting up the TM Forum, and his opinions I have come to regard highly, appears a real TM trooper, & is a very reliable source for TM fixes).

I'm surprised at the advice you rec'd from your 'Camping World' fellow. I know that the TM's aluminum exterior is coated with 'Krypto-something or other', a type of fiber glass (other TM owners may help me out with more specifics here).

When I speak of my former tent-trailer, it also had an aluminum roof, but had a thick, rolled on, fiber glass exterior (the thickness of a sheet of linoleum). W/in a year it began cracking and leak around the vents occurred). Camping World advised me to use their "Dicor" fiber glass roof sealer. I 'painted this on' two years in a row, and think it was well worth the trouble (but you have to apply a cleaner first, then skirt the sides to keep it from running down the sides - rather a chore!). Two coats of Dicor sealer for two subsequent years was not much more weight than a thick coat of paint would have been. My thoughts are certainly with you as this topic has been near and dear to my heart, unfortunately!

However, I do think you'd be well advised to contact the TM factory before applying anything at all. "Hopefully", you'll get a straight answer from them.

Best of luck! Will be watching your thread!

Originally Posted by Wingedryder

(snip) I'm surprised at the advice you rec'd from your 'Camping World' fellow. I know that the TM's aluminum exterior is coated with 'Krypto-something or other', a type of fiber glass (other TM owners may help me out with more specifics here).
(Snip)

TMs are coated with Valspar Krystal Kote, a paint treatment, not fiberglass.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...hlight=Valspar

[daveinfl]

Thanks for the comments so far. Bill ... two of the three vents I replaced. I don't see cracks around them. But you never know. I'm glad you haven't had the leak problem. It can be a pain and you worry and watch every time it rains.

Wingedryder - The DICOR product that I was going to use was for aluminum. I saw the product you were talking about. But I was afraid it would not work. I do have one more idea that I may try ... if I can find the product.

Back in the 80's I customized a van myself. I put roof vents in and didn't have any trouble with them. But one thing I did was put a product as a last step that was almost like a self leveling rubber. It was gray in color and went on with a heavy paint brush. I ran this stuff up just barely under the vent and painted it out about 2" all the way around the vent opening. If I can find what it was, I might give it a try before I go to the expense of taking it in for a new roof. To me it almost worked like a flashing around a chimney.

Hopefully this thread will generate some more ideas as I know this is a problem for many in the forum.

Thanks again everyone!

Been a while since I bought it, so I don't recall the name, but Camping World sells a self leveling sealant you apply from a caulking gun tube. Used it on the vents I installed in our fifth wheel. Like a thick paste that cures to a flexible coating. You can paint it with a trowel. It seals all kinds of holes or water penetrations.

It was pure white too, not gray.

[Bill]

In desperation, I ask - how about that spray goop that is "not sold in stores"? You know the stuff I mean - you blow the bottom out of a rowboat with a cannonball, then you tack a window screen over the hole, then you spray the screen with the goop, and put the boat in the water. Not only does it not leak, but miraculously the screen doesn't even bow upwards from the water pressure below!

I hate the ad - it is so bogus - so I suggest this only semi-seriously. Anyone have any experience with it?

Bill