Sunline Rubber Roof Structure

**JohnB** · 03-04-2008, 08:55 PM

I know a few months ago we had a post asking about how Sunline rubber roofs where made up. And some of the comments where it was heard they where glued to cardboard.

And I think Queste was the one that found out for us that that backer is called “Bud Board”

Well I had my roof vents off this past weekend and I was up close and personal with the roof structure.

Here are some pics that might help fill in the missing pieces on the rubber roof make up at least in the 2004 time frame. This is a NON walk on rubber roof. The walk on’s are most likely different to some extend in the under layment.

On top of the roof rafters, (2 x 4’s in an arch) there is 1/8” Luann sheet. The sheet is not a lot different then the Luann used all over the camper. Then the rubber membrane is bonded to a fiber sheet, the Bud Board. It is not card board like you think of a cardboard corrugated box with flutes. This fiber board is solid. It looks like a light in weight structure that the rubber membrane can be bonded too to give it some strength as the rubber membrane is placed over the Luan board.

I know the thought of card board or fiber board on a roof sounds cheap and is not good, but this fiber board is tough stuff. And if it gets wet, well the same goes for the Luann sheet or 2 x 4 wood, insulation etc. Not good in any case.

See the pics

The rear vent area

The bath vent area. This section lifted so I glued the rubber back down to the Bud Board before putting the new vent back on. The rubber membrane is thin. Maybe only 1/16” if that.

If anyone wants to see this in their own camper, just take down the shower inside dome if yours is one of the new inner shielded ones. You can see the structure there.

Hope this solves some of your roof curiosity for those inquiring minds that need to know.

John

**Tweety** · 03-05-2008, 06:32 AM

Mystery solved! Thanks John!

luvrque · 03-05-2008, 12:27 PM

John,
Excellent job on all your roof vent posts and PRICELESS PHOTOS !!

I just have one question

oes the luann cover the entire roof?

On my 2007 Que I am replacing my bath vent with a Fant-astic fan vent.
On Sat. 3/1 I removed the old vent and it looked just like your second photo. I have not received the new vent yet. After reading this post I was curious about the luann,so I just went out to ck.it.
This is what i found: I took the staples out from one side and lifted the membrane which is 1/32"thick & bonded to cardboard,bud board I guess
like (Queste said) which makes the total 1/8"thick. under that is 1/8" luann like you said. I put my hand under the membrane and the luann ONLY goes 3" out from the vent on all sides. The rest of my roof has NO luann under the membrane. I can also tell by pushing down on the rubber.

Thanks for all your info. and GREAT PHOTOS.................Joe

**JohnB** · 03-05-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrque

John,
Excellent job on all your roof vent posts and PRICELESS PHOTOS !!

I just have one question

oes the luann cover the entire roof?

On my 2007 Que I am replacing my bath vent with a Fant-astic fan vent.
On Sat. 3/1 I removed the old vent and it looked just like your second photo. I have not received the new vent yet. After reading this post I was curious about the luann,so I just went out to ck.it.
This is what i found: I took the staples out from one side and lifted the membrane which is 1/32"thick & bonded to cardboard,bud board I guess
like (Queste said) which makes the total 1/8"thick. under that is 1/8" luann like you said. I put my hand under the membrane and the luann ONLY goes 3" out from the vent on all sides. The rest of my roof has NO luann under the membrane. I can also tell by pushing down on the rubber.

Thanks for all your info. and GREAT PHOTOS.................Joe

Joe

First off, thanks for the kind comments. I was hoping the pic's help as we all take away something different from them some times.

Now to your question on the Luann covering the entire roof, let me fill you in on some more as there may be more then 1 way they do the Luann board.

My first mystery to help solve was the fiber backing sheet the, "Bud Board" That one, the curiosity is now over.

BUT after reading your post on your Que, let's compare notes.

For a few more months I have qty 2, 2004 campers. And there is a difference on the roofs of them. I thought it was me feeling it wrong but maybe not after your note.

On my T2499 camper, (7,000# GVWR rated) the roof feels and look different on the outside. I even redid this test this weekend. The membrane sort of sags a little from rafter to rafter. Not much but by close eye you can see it. Also if I tap it in the middle of the 2 rafters it bounces pretty good and sages below the rafter and then back up. It is like you are describing, that possibly the Bud Board is only layered over the rafters.

Now on my T310SR camper (10,000# GVWR rated) that rood is a lot more solid. There is no sag at all. In fact I have to really work at it to find a rafter. And when I tap on the roof, it does not bounce or go below the rafter like the T2499. A very noticeable difference.

It was so different that I thought; maybe by pure luck I have a walk on roof as you can see the structure wood plywood around the vent hole. So I did like you, I took the staples out and peeked under it. Bummer, the plywood only went in about ~3" but the 1/8" Luann sheet went way over. Like it went from rafter to rafter. Which explained why this camper roof felt so much more stiffer.

See here on the T310

There very well could be a few methods on how they did this. It could be the larger camper can handle the weight more and they added the full Luann sheet. Where the lighter camper, everything is so weight conscience they did not.

I have 1 more vent to do on the T310. I will peek again and try to confirm the Luann sheet. I will also take down the shower dome in the T2499 and look to see if I can see anything on that one. It is made different some how. Not exactly sure how.

So the roof mystery continues....

Thank

John

luvrque · 03-05-2008, 09:04 PM

John
OK I guess we know there are at least two different types of roofs. One like your T2499 & the Que and a more solid one like your T310SL.
Maybe the TT's with slideouts need to be built sturder (more rigid) OR
maybe all the larger TT's were built with the stronger roof.

Keep up the great posts and photos...........

Joe

RV4three · 07-09-2017, 02:42 PM

JohnB, because Daddy is going to be replacing ac this week he wants to clean the roof. I still find this forum hard to find things on. O have used search of "roof", "rubber roof" and combined those with "maintenance". I fond this post of your which is very good. I have seen references to washing the roof frequently using Spic & Span and Tide along with a "medium bristle" brush. I saw one postcwith a question about using a coating called Blackjack something or other coating. That's what Daddy has been talking about getting. It has me worried sick that he is going to coat that roof with something and ruin it. How dan I find out EXACTLY what we should use? Is "coating" the roof with something the thing we should be doing? I'm sorry to sound panicked but...I'm PANICKED!

**PTHutch** · 07-10-2017, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV4three

... How dan I find out EXACTLY what we should use? Is "coating" the roof with something the thing we should be doing? I'm sorry to sound panicked but...I'm PANICKED!

I'm guessing you have the whit EPDM roof, like what JohnB pictured in his original post.

Check out Dicor Roof Products web page, particularly the Restore Products page. All of these products will be safe for your roof and for you to use, since your EPDM roof material is probably made by Dicor.

I've also heard of people using EPDM Super Coat to cover their roof, though personally I would stick to the Dicor products.

If you're looking to do patching, get some EternaBond tape and Dicor Self-Leveling Lap Sealant.

If you're looking to redo the whole roof, check out RV Armor web page. They come to you and re-coat your roof.

Hope this was of some help.

RV4three · 07-10-2017, 01:56 PM

Thank you so much! I will check that out! I also found this:
http://www.radioarizonarv.com/downlo...oofbook_16.pdf
It seems definitive as to the EDPM roof I have. Yes PTHUTCH, it is the white EDPM rubber Non-Walking On Roof!

**JohnB** · 07-11-2017, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV4three

JohnB, because Daddy is going to be replacing ac this week he wants to clean the roof. I still find this forum hard to find things on. O have used search of "roof", "rubber roof" and combined those with "maintenance". I fond this post of your which is very good. I have seen references to washing the roof frequently using Spic & Span and Tide along with a "medium bristle" brush. I saw one postcwith a question about using a coating called Blackjack something or other coating. That's what Daddy has been talking about getting. It has me worried sick that he is going to coat that roof with something and ruin it. How dan I find out EXACTLY what we should use? Is "coating" the roof with something the thing we should be doing? I'm sorry to sound panicked but...I'm PANICKED!

Hi,

I am on a very poor remote internet connection, I cannot open your link. You started out with asking about cleaning the roof. This is good and a needed routine maintenance item. 3 to 4 times a year. The tide will cut the dirt and not harm the roof. If your roof has mold on it, the tide will not touch mold.

This is a direct link to Dicro products who makes the rubber roofing. It talks about using Tilex to clean the mold. The mold can show up as black specs and sometimes the specs are fairly big. 1/2" or 3/4". In cases of long neglect in cleaning, the mold can cover the entire roof. https://dicorproducts.com/product/di...oofing-2/#care

I have use normal non scented household bleach mixed in a bucket of water. Approx 1/2 to 3/4 cup to 2 gallons of water. I also use a long car cleaning pole brush and reach in from the sides

Wash the dirt off first with Tide or other laundry detergent. Rinse very well.
Then wet the roof with water and use the bleach solution with the brush. Let it sit for approx 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse very well again including the sides of the camper where it runs off. Do not do in real hot sun as it drys too fast.
Repeat if needed if mold is still large enough to be a concern.

In my case I only need to do the bleach treatment approx every 3 to 4 years to keep it in check. You do not bleach treat every time you clean the roof. In your case, you inherited what was ever is on the roof from the prior owner. Once cleaned up, then you can just use the tide to cut the dirt. I also use 303 UV protectant after each cleaning to help extend the life of the rubber. Also use it on anything plastic on the roof including the Dirco caulking.

The coatings, what are you trying to fix with the coating? The coatings are not cleaners they are used when the rubber has worn and the white coating has been worn off down to large black spots of exposed rubber. These black spots are exposed black rubber that is thinner then original and not mold. There is a difference. And if you are coating, I wold do a bleach kill before coating over the top of a molded roof. I have never heard of the black jack product you are referring too. What PTHutch posted is good info

Searching the forum, have you tried the Google Custom search https://cse.google.com/cse/home?cx=0...95:95x3m3w6lto

Our Admin made that for us and it works better then the embedded search tool on the forum. Scroll down to the "Google Custom Search" and enter your words and hit the blue Go button.

Hope this helps

John