Roof

chappyk · 01-22-2020, 03:04 PM

Just curious if the sunline campers have sturdy enough roofs to stand on? I purchased our 1995 Solaris last year and I'd like to coat the roof with some rubberized paint to make sure it's sealed.

Tinstaafl · 01-22-2020, 03:37 PM

It's very unlikely you have a walk-on roof. They were made that way only by special order.

If you really need to get up on there, lay down a sheet of plywood/OSB spanning 2-3 "rafters" to distribute the load. Put a dropcloth or blanket beneath it to protect the rubber from the edges of the plywood.

chappyk · 01-22-2020, 03:39 PM

Glad I asked lol...I didn't want a skylight

I could probably even use a long roller from a ladder at the side

johnmanna · 01-24-2020, 01:39 PM

Yes dont try to walk on it we had a plywood walk on put on ours i saw how it was before use a sheet of ply wood

chappyk · 01-24-2020, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnmanna

Yes dont try to walk on it we had a plywood walk on put on ours i saw how it was before use a sheet of ply wood

I could try the board across......at least the roof isn’t that big for a 25 footer. Easy to get at with a roller. Thanks Johnmanna

**JohnB** · 01-26-2020, 10:04 AM

Hi chappyk,

I'll see if I can help some, you mentioned this.

Quote:

I'd like to coat the roof with some rubberized paint to make sure it's sealed.

We commend you for wanting to help seal up your roof and will pass along some info on your rubber roof. Roof maintenance and roof sealant checks are a must, to stay ahead of roof leaks. Active roofs leaks in a camper can go unnoticed for a really long time (months to years) before you see signs of water leaking inside the living space, and by then the damage is well advanced inside the walls, ceiling and or floor system. The good news, you are starting out on the right track to learning about camper roof.

This post can help explain some of what roof coatings are intended to do. There are pictures of a rubber roof in that post where the white layer has worn enough to need a coating applied to restore the whiter layer. http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f6...tml#post150400

Ideally, you do a close visual roof inspection of all caulking sealants at the edges and openings in the roof, the support bud board layer under the rubber is all intact, and the condition of the rubber itself. Then create a roof program on how to extend it's life. We can help with how to do the inspection when the time comes.

That linked post also explains about the caulking sealants used that seal the roof rubber to the camper sides and roof openings. Roof sealant failures are one of the most common sources of roof leaks. Those caulking sealants should be repaired and in top condition before recoating a roof over the caulking.

The right coatings can do a good job at helping extend the life of the actual rubber membrane, but they often fall short on correcting failed caulking as the coatings are thin. Yes, they can help a little, but they are not a long term fix for a failed caulking foundation underneath the the coating. Bad caulking that is coated over may start to leak in a short time, 1 year, 2 years or maybe less as the failed caulking can still separate under the coating and crack the thin coating allowing a leak to continue.

Read over that post and ask any and all questions to help understand your roof efforts approach to correct the right areas, with the right products to give you something that will last.

When you can get back to the camper, posting pictures of the roof rubber and the caulking can help show us what yours looks like and allow us to give you a better recommendation. Your prior owner ('s) may have had a good roof maintenance program or very little roof maintenance which sadly has happened many times due to lack of understanding the camper roof system.

Hope this helps,

John

GrumpaJohn · 01-30-2020, 10:46 AM

I have a 1993 Solaris and weigh 245 lbs. I've walked on the roof without plywood and have experienced no problems with support.

**JohnB** · 01-30-2020, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrumpaJohn

I have a 1993 Solaris and weigh 245 lbs. I've walked on the roof without plywood and have experienced no problems with support.

Welcome GrumpaJohn!

The 93 Solaris's are listed as having a rubber roof. H'mm, by chance do you know if you have the walk on roof option? It would have 3/8" OSB board under the rubber. If you press on it out in an open area, it would be hard like plywood under it across the entire roof area. Note: Try the pressing out in the middle of an open section, not along the walls or other openings as Sunline reinforced those areas on the standard rubber roof.

The thought to be normal standard Sunline rubber roof has a heavy thick corrugate liner bonded to the rubber and then draped over the rafters. It would look like this. They used to call that corrugate liner, budboard.

Rolling the roof back, you can see the rafters exposed, no decking. This camper is water damaged so that is why some looks bad.

If you press on a rubber/budboard roof out in the open area (again not by a wall or roof opening) that does not have water damage, it is a firm feel, but not hard/solid like 3/8" decking under it. It will bow down some by hand. If you feel along the roof, you can find a rafter about every 16" and it will then be hard/solid while on the 1 1/2" wide rafter then go back to more flexible.

If yours is hard, like plywood all under all of the large open areas, you found one of the custom ordered walk on roof optioned Sunlines.

That or Sunline did something very different in the early years of the rubber roof on the TT's.

Curious to know what yours is like. We keep learning new history all the time.

John

GrumpaJohn · 01-30-2020, 11:42 PM

I'm not about to roll back the roof and there is no noticeable corrugated surface. The roof is firm throughout so I would guess I've got the optional hard roof offered back then.

**JohnB** · 02-02-2020, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrumpaJohn

I'm not about to roll back the roof and there is no noticeable corrugated surface. The roof is firm throughout so I would guess I've got the optional hard roof offered back then.

Hi GrumpaJohn,

For sure, no you do not want to, or need to, roll the roof back to just look and see if you have the noticeable corrugate surface. You can press from the top down and feel a difference if hard solid, to a softer give budboard backing.

If you want to know for sure and not go up on the roof, there are 2 ways you can look from the inside of the camper and not damage it in the process.

If your camper has a shower skylight dome, (not all do) you can take down the inside steam dome and look up. The steam dome normally has about 6 screws inside that once you take them out, you can see up to the roof line. The white rubber roof is there exposed a little hanging inside the opening. You would see the brown corrugated backing. Looks like this.

The steam dome removed, looking at the skylight. You can see the brown corrugate liner board.

This is a close up to just show what it looks like. This pic has the dome off for replacement.

The other location is at a roof hatch vent. The crank up roof vents that is. You take down the plastic shroud at the 14" x 14" opening at the inside, it is about 4" tall. Most have 4 screws to remove that you can see inside. You may be able to see the rubber there looking up, If not then take the screen off and look up at the edges up at the hatch opening.

Looks like this. You can see the rubber hanging just below the screen. And then, you can look for the brown corrugate liner board.

Sunline did put 1/2" OSB board around the roof openings that you can see from the inside on the budboad roofs. That is just a band of about 4" wide of OSB board at the opening. So, don't let that only trick you to thinking it is a walk on roof.

If you have the walk on roof, the rubber is glued direct to the OSB, there is no brown corrugate liner bonded to the rubber. You might see just a flap of rubber with black on the back of a walk on roof. That is normal.

Great for you if yours is one of the few walk on roofs. Makes it much easier when servicing the roof.

John

LeAnn · 02-15-2020, 06:24 PM

Talking about roofing....i have an aluminum top or metal top. Im replacing all the roof vents and might as well pull it up to check all the bad wood. Do i have to pull thr back wall siding up to pull the top off?

**JohnB** · 02-15-2020, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeAnn

Talking about roofing....i have an aluminum top or metal top. Im replacing all the roof vents and might as well pull it up to check all the bad wood. Do i have to pull thr back wall siding up to pull the top off?

Hi LeAnn,

I will answer your roof question in your post in the repairs and maintenance section. Your great questions fits better there in your repair post. Your simple question above is going to be off topic for this post and somewhat lengthy. This post was about how to walk on a rubber roof camper and not to repair a metal roof.

See here https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post151405

No worries you posted anything wrong, in the wrong spot per say. You didn't, we just like to keep to the post topics close to what the original poster started it as.

John