Roof type?

[Kscacc01]

I just bought a sunline solaris travel trailer 26 ft made in 1996.
Trying to figure out what type I roof I may have to reseal it as there was some previous water leakage and damage in the bedroom ceiling

[JohnB]

Welcome!

A 1996 Solaris camper would have a EPDM rubber roof if it still the original. The membrane material was known as Dicor Brite Ply 40 mil EPDM rubber.

If the bedroom had a roof leak and the roof was not opened up and repaired properly, you can/will have issues trying to seal the roof as the roofing backing/substraight supporting the rubber can be compromised. When the rubber backing material gets wet, it deteriorates leaving the thin rubber membrane very loose/flappy and water can pond in large places and not drain off creating even more issues. Before coating or sealing the roof, ideally it should have the roof substraight repaired first and then coated to create a lasting repair.

We can help show you how to correct the situation if needed/wanted, but we need some more info/pics on what you have to help better. We can also help on how to inspect the damage and see how large it may or may not be before taking anything apart. Just let us know what help you need.

A friendly heads up, most likely the roof of your Sunline is not a direct walk on roof. Sunline did have an optional full or partial decking walk on roof, but they were special order and not many had that feature. The standard non walk on roof, means you need to take precautions to spread your weight out when servicing items on the roof. Such as, place a trap, canvas or other soft material on the roof surface to protect abrasion to the rubber. Then place manageable size plywood sheets 3/8" thick or thicker you can lift up safely and place on the roof wide enough to span across at least 2 or 3 rafters. I use multiple plywood pieces, most are 2 ft- 2 1/2 ft wide x 4 ft long x 1/2" thick. The rafters are nominally on 16" centers. Looks like this





Take great care getting on and off the roof to not fall. The rafters will support your weight, but the space between the rafters will not, you can damage the roof trying to walk between the rafters.

If you are standing on a ladder leaning over the side, you can feel the roof surface and if it feels like a big tire tube, rubber band bouncy feeling in the area of damage, then the backing material of the rubber is compromised. The normal Sunline roof does have a slight soft feel to it, very stiff at the rafters and softer between them, but it is not that rubber band/tire tube feeling when you press down on it. Take extra care on the roof as the rafters may be rotted pending what the water damage was.

Hope this helps

John