Roof replacement is completed

Capt Skup · 04-09-2012, 03:28 AM

More than a month ago I posted on here the sad state of the roof of our Sunline fifth wheel. Soft spot in the left rear corner, edge of rubber roof coming loose. The trailer is going on ten years old but I have taken what I would call pretty good care of. I knew how much repairs would cost if I took it in to a rv dealer, or the trials of doing the job myself in the driveway. Thankfully another member, EMD driver (Gary) read of my plight and sent me a PM to tell me of a man that does repair work on rv's not too far from me (about 150 miles) that he has used with great success. I contacted the gentleman and set up for the repairs. Hitched up the Sunline and made the trek to the mountains where he lives. We agreed on the repair and the app. cost so I left it in his hands. Yesterday we drove over to pick up the trailer and I tell you I could not have been any happier. It looks beautiful. Not only did he repair the hidden damage from the water intrusion but replaced all the roof underlayment, which sadly Sunline used basically thick cardboard, with 1/2" plywood, laying down a new rubber roof membrane, totally resealing all the vents, vent fans, etc. I also asked him to replace the awning fabric and the spring latching of the long Dometic awning. It is almost like having a new trailer. With our uncertain economic times certainly not getting any better, and our Sunline being long paid for, so nice to know it will be good for many years of fun family vacations. I will post pictures of the finished product when I get a chance. Thank you very much Mr. Miller and Gary for providing me his name. Now to start packing and prepping the trailer for another rv adventure.

Poppy & Nana · 04-09-2012, 05:10 AM

Glad things worked out and you are happy with the repairs......and the Sunny will continue to live a long happy life!

**Sunline Fan** · 04-09-2012, 10:22 AM

Great news, glad everything worked out with him and the repairs! I think you made the best decision to fix it and enjoy it some more.

**JohnB** · 04-10-2012, 06:01 PM

Capt Skup,

This is good to hear. High quality work at a fair price "sells".

Do you happen to know what the water intrusion point was? Cracked caulking or water wicking in the screws behind the edging strip or something else?

It is always good to learn from these things as the more we know the better we can hopefully prevent it from our own rigs.

Thanks

John

Trailblazer · 04-10-2012, 07:19 PM

Capt Skup, thank for the great review. Glad everything worked out. I also plan to have Mr. Miller take a look at our roof and give me a quote on a similar replacement to yours. So far we have not had a leak, but with it being 10 years old, I fgiure best to get it fully inspected and determine how long it has left before it needs to be replaced. My best guess is that ours will need replacing within the next two years and based on both EMD_driver's and your experience, I plan to have Mr Miller do our roof as well.

Capt Skup · 04-11-2012, 05:10 AM

The rubber roof material was intact without any cuts or tears, and I had replaced the Dicor leveliing sealant around the perimeter and vents, etc. several times. The damage was limited to the left rear corner. For some reason Sunline used a raised edging around the roof that allowed rainwater to pool, probably allowing wicking through the edging. Anyways I was taking a look at the roof probably in Feb. and noticed the "soft spot" on the roof in that area. I could actually pull the rubber from the clamping trim strip that runs along the edge of the roof. What I saw made my heart sink. It was brown mush. Later at Rogers he pulled it out more and informed me that this brown mush was infact the underlayment that Sunline used on the roofs of all the roofs that he has worked on. They did install chipboard under things like the roof mounted a/c, antennae, etc. The wood that runs along the top of the walls in that area also was rotted and had to be replaced. Roger removed everything, up there, installed 1/2" plywood from front to back. Now I have a real roof that I can walk on safely without fear of putting my foot through it. The EPDM membrane is now rounded over the edges and secured behind new trim, removing the pooling effect that the as built installation allowed. I highly recommend that anyone with a Sunline take a careful look at your roof, feeling for soft spots which is a good indicator that the watertight integrity has been compromised. In short order any water will soon start rotting of the wooden structure which I had in the rear most roof rafter and wall support in the left rear roof area. It was funny and sad to see how Sunline created the roof rafters that they used. I swear that Sunline might have been ahead in the game of recycling because it looks like they did not waste an ounce of scrap wood, they used it all to form the roof rafters. The side plates were actually scrap pieces of luan board stapled to the 1x1's. I saw what Northwood used in their rafters, steel plates with blocks reinforcement.