Advice on cleaning and recoating our T1700 roof (alumininum)

[Tracey]

We've had our Sunline 3 years and we want to keep the roof maintained.
The RV place said that we had an aluminum roof and I know our year (1996) could have been either rubber or aluminum.

What products should we use for cleaning and recoating?

Also, we need to replace the bathroom vent hatch and fan. Is that a standard size that can be found on E-Trailers?

Any advice on the products and process will be greatly appreciated!

[JohnB]

Hi Tracey,

I can help, but we need to confirm your roof type. 1996 was a year when Sunline started to convert all campers to a rubber roof, yet your RV place seemed to have stated it was a metal roof. It may be yours was an early build date and has a metal roof, but we need to sort this out. Washing either roof style is about the same; coating them can be very different. The needs for maintaining them are also very different pending metal or rubber.

Can you post a picture of the roof? We can tell by the picture what you have and what coating or care needs to be done. Also, please post pics of the roof caulking so we can see its condition and what to do with it. We can see if a prior owner put some other coating on it. If I give you a plain generic answer, it might not be correct for your camper as a previous owner changed what Sunline shipped initially. When we talk about roof coatings, the metal roof may not need a coating, but the metal roof seams and joints need to be addressed. On a 1996 rubber roof, due to its age, a coating may very well need to be done due to the thinning of the white shed layer. There are several rubber roof coating options, but need more on the condition of your roof before suggesting what it is you want to do.

Cleaning:

To get the dirt off, you have a few options for cleaners for either style. Dawn dish soap, Tide laundry detergent, Or other brands of those kinds of cleaners will remove the dirt and not harm the siding if the cleaner runs down the side. Use a long pole car wash brush from a ladder on the side, and reach over to clean and rinse. Rinse off the siding when you are down with a roof area after moving the ladder to the next stop. Do not walk directly on your roof; they are not made for direct walk-on without using extra support plywood over a protective tarp unless you have a special order camper with a walk-on roof that Sunline installed at the time of manufacturing.

The metal roof may come clean by washing the dirt, but not always. The rubber roof most likely has black mold specs on it, and the only reasonable way to get the mold off the rubber roof is to make a separate mold kill after the dirt wash. On the rubber roof, do not scrub hard, trying to get mold off with the dirt cleaners, as the excess scrubbing will take off too much of the white shed layer. The bleach mold kill uses 3 parts water to 1 part unscented household bleach in solution. Wipe/brush it on the roof with the car wash brush, wait 10 to 15 minutes, and keep it wet with the solution, do not do it on a hot summer day in full sun; it dries too fast. Rinse the siding/decals of any bleach solution as soon as you get off the ladder to move to the next spot. After the soak time, gently scrub if needed, or reapply stubborn places. Rinse the roof and siding well when done. It may only take 1 to 2 qt. of bleach solution on your small camper.

The roof vent, the standard-size roof vent, is a nominal 14" x 14" opening in the roof, not including the outside metal flange of the roof vent. Etrailer sells a lot of different roof vent options; not sure about the one you were looking at. Check if yours is the 14 x 14, then select the one you want. Please post a link if you want us to help check for you.

I hope this helps get you started.

John

[JohnB]

In case you need help on posting pics,

There are 3 ways to add pics.

1. Upload pics to a specific post attaching them at the end of the post.

2. Linking them in from a public viewable web photo hosting service you have.

See here for 1 and 2 https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...html#post86041

3. You can upload pics to the forum in your own personal photo album. Then link them to anywhere in the text of a post. See here for how to create an album. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...html#post87945

If you still get stuck, let us know. Pic's go a long way in helping show things you are working on, and we like seeing Sunline pics!

[Tracey]

Thanks John B for your detailed response!

The RV place said it was an aluminum roof that had been coated. I value your opinion because you know Sunline!

The patch on the roof was there when we bought it and appears to be watertight.

I am going to try to attach a picture.

Thanks!
Tracey

[Tracey]

Let me know if you need more pics!

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tracey

Thanks John B for your detailed response!

The RV place said it was an aluminum roof that had been coated. I value your opinion because you know Sunline!

The patch on the roof was there when we bought it and appears to be watertight.

I am going to try to attach a picture.

Thanks!
Tracey

Hi Tracey,

I downloaded your pics and zoomed in on it. It is fuzzy, but it "appears" the roof is built as Sunline did, a rubber roof, not a metal one. It is hard to tell with the coating on it and the distance from the roof.

Your main concern is ensuring the roof is sound and watertight. Yes/no?

Assuming the answer is yes, I will need closer pictures to see the condition of the coating and what is left of any sealant. Pics of the following will help, try and get closer if you can, 3 feet, etc., away. We need details now to see the condition of these areas.

1. The front of the roof molding joint. This joint is the end of the front wall siding and the start of the roof. It appears as a cap molding at this joint that runs the full width of the roof. Need views of the front left and right corner joints looking down from the top while on a ladder from the side.

2. The back wall to the roof molding joint. This joint is the end of the roof at the back wall. On top of the roof is a molding that is partly on the roof (about 1 1/4" wide) the full width of the camper and runs down the back wall about 3/4". Need views of both the rear left and right corner joints looking down from the top while on a ladder from the side.

3. The long side of the roof, on the left and right sides. Yours may have a gutter rail on both sides. There would be caulk sealant under the roof coating at that side wall-to-roof joint.

4. General pics of the condition of the main roof surface coating. Try and get about a 3 ft x 3 ft or 4 ft x 4ft area of the roof in a few locations. If anything looks suspect or different, please get it also.

The potential leak issue is the condition of the sealants where a hole was made in the roof for a screw, vent, or other opening in the main membrane. Whoever did the coating, did they ensure those sealants were in good shape before coating? We can sometimes see that sealant condition even if the thin coating is over the old sealant. The pictures will help tell you and us something about the condition of your roof.

Now, is it a metal or rubber roof? Sunline did make all one-piece smooth metal roofs; they were special order and I only knew of one made that way, all one piece, and it was a 2005 or 2006, I think, camper. As the normal metal roof of the 70's to early 90s, the metal was smaller sections seamed together and then seamed to the front. And the metal was corrugated, not flat and smooth. Your pics do not show any corrugations.

Here is one sure way to tell if your roof is metal or rubber.

At your rear crank-up roof vent, you will need to take the outer shroud down, then the crank handle, then the screen, and look up and take a picture. See these pics of doing this:

Here is the entire roof vent inside. There are 4 screws holding the plastic shroud onto the ceiling; remove the 4 screws, and the shroud will come down. There may be dirt/dead bugs on top of that shroud; take care not to get a face full when you remove it.


Once the shroud is down, unscrew the crank handle and remove the screen. The screen is sometimes held in with 2 small screws. holding it up to the metal and little teeth that hook the screen. You gently squeeze the sides of the screen at the screw holes after the screws are out to lower the screen.

Here is the outer shroud, and the screen removed


Here is the tell-tail picture that will confirm. Do you have a rubber roof or a metal roof? The vent opening will look like this, with the screen removed on the rubber roof. The rubber membrane is folded and stapled to the sides of the 14 x 14 rough opening. The rubber is white on one side and black on the side touching the camper.


They normally do not fold the roof into the rough opening if it is a metal roof. It is trimmed at the roof line to be the same size as the opening. It takes more work to fold the metal down into the opening. If you look up with a flashlight on the side of the vent metal flange, you would only. see the vent flange and maybe some butyl sealing tape used to seal the vent metal flange to the roof surface.

The patch you described looks like multiple pieces of 6" wide Eternabond web seal. This is a common roof repair tape and if done correctly, a very sound repair. It can be used on both rubber and metal roofs to patch hole areas.

I know the above sounds like a lot of work to get, but we need to see the condition of what you have to help give you options that apply to what you have.

I hope this helps.

John

[Tracey]

John B, you were right! It is a rubber roof. I don't think we will go back to that RV place!

I will be sending pics soon. I enlisted the help of my husband and a ladder. The roof is very pliable like a rubber roof and the tell-tale sign is the rubber wrapped and stapled under the plastic shroud. It looks identical to your picture.

We can work on a plan once you see the pics

Thanks for the time you put into helping Sunline members.

[Tracey]

Here are some more detailed pics. I have more, and will send if you need them.

[JohnB]

Hi Tracey,

I'm getting back to you; sorry, my internet signal is limited, but this may help.

First off, thank you. Yes, I enjoy helping others fix their camper or even helping them figure out the problem, even if they do not have the means to fix it themselves.

Now to your roof. YES, you certainly have the Sunline EPDM rubber roof made by Dicor Corporation, which they call, Brite Ply roofing membrane.

To your pics, more pics are always better; you can attach 6 per reply, and do extra replies to get more if needed. From the two you last sent, I can see what looks like the coating is breaking down, but the closeness and clarity of the pics are not enough for me to be sure.

I took your pics and drew on them, if you want to know more, you will need to take close-ups to show the areas I will talk to.

Here is the right side of the camper. We need to see the close-up detail of the area in the big red circle. I need to see the texture of the rooftop and if it is starting to peel apart.


The Yellow circled areas are of large interest; I cannot tell if that is dirt or a heavy coating deterioration.

The red arrows indicate areas where the factory applies roof sealants to seal the gutter rail to the roof membrane. They coated over the sealant, but a close-up pic may help show if it was heavily cracked before coating the roof.

I will post this reply now; while I have a signal, I will add more in a second reply very soon.

Be back, hopefully soon.

John

[JohnB]

Your roof, page 2,

Here is the next pic, the rear roof seam from the roof to the rear wall.


Need close-up detail of the area in the big red circle to see the texture of the roof surface and the sealants if deterioration is present. The red arrows point to the areas where Sunline added roof sealant to the joints between the moldings and the roof membrane. Need to see if these show heavy cracks or not.

Also, add the camper front roof seam and molding to your detailed picture list. I did not have a pic of this to draw on, but it needs the same detail as the rear roof seam to show that molding that goes across the full width of the camper and covers the seam from the front wall siding to the rooftop.

The four corners of the camper are some of the worst actors for leaks. The camper flexes the most in the four corners and takes its toll on the roof sealants. If the owner (the prior owner) never learned about how campers leak and the need for constant roof maintenance of the sealants, then in time, issues will come.

Did the selling dealer/person or any other dealer know the brand of applied roof coating? There are many camper roof coatings out there, some good, some not, and even the good ones not applied correctly, not to have issues as time passes. Knowing the actual coating helps.

There is another thing you (hubby) can do to check the roof for prior or current leaks, again, if you want to know.

From a ladder on the side of the camper only, do not go on the roof; feel the surface, the Sunline rubber roof was semi-soft, even when new. But when a leak occurred, the water damage deteriorated the thick corrugated backer board the rubber was glued to. Here is how to tell if an area had a prior or current leak.

Feel the surface with your hand, pressing down with a semi-hard push. The normal feel will be slight compression, but it is still semi-solid and will pop back up when you remove your hand. It will feel very solid when you find a roof rafter or a localized extra support board under the membrane. Between the rafters, it is semi-solid, then very solid at the rafters, and back to semi-solid once off the rafter or extra support wood under the membrane.

If you press down and it feels like a rubber band, like an old tire tube, and it is bouncy, you can repeat the test in the same area to confirm, then at some time in its life, it had a leak and deteriorated the backer board. The bouncy feeling area will be as large as the water wicked across the backer board area. All you will feel is the rubber membrane, just like an old tire tube. You can do this test as far as you can safely reach from the side on a good solid step ladder around the roof's perimeter.

With some more detail from you, I can give you an assessment of what you have and possibly some options to consider on what to do. Also, let me know how long you want to keep the camper, as there are short-term and long-term options. This assessment can help you sort out what you want to do.

Hope this helps

John

[Tracey]

Hi John B,
I always look forward to your responses - I am learning so much about my Sunline!

First, I'd like to give you a little background on it. We bought it Jan. '21 from a couple that had it less than a year. He was an autobody paint teacher at a local college and had given it a nice paint job. He did not know anything about the roof - only that it had no leaks. The interior had also been redone by another previous owner. We were happy to find a nicely restored older camper.

Our main concern is to keep it leakproof and watertight! We really enjoy the camper and hope to continue to use it in the years to come. At some point, we will probably upgrade to something newer and downsize to something more compact like a Casita. We hope to go on a longer cross-country trip once my husband retires. However, each time we go camping, we realize how nice of a camper the Sunline is!

Of course, we would like an easy fix and maintenance plan, but I guess that will depend on the condition of the roof! We will do a closer examination and the touch test you suggested and get back to you.

Here are more pics. We will take more targeted pics of the areas you wanted to see.

Thanks again for your help!

[JohnB]

Hi Tracey,

I’ll wait for your more detail pics before I will give you some options on what to do. From your last added more far away pics, it does look like your existing coating is coming apart or your have a somewhat major mold growth issue on-top of the roof. Or both.

Thanks

John

[Tracey]

Hey John B
We took more pictures concentrating on the 4 corners and front and back roof seams.

We did the hand press test and we can feel some backing resistance throughout the top, except for the 4 corners, where it felt soft and bouncy.

What is the backer board material? My husband thinks it 1/8 in luan plywood.

We also did a moisture reader test inside the camper and the front inside edge was high.

The camper roof is dirty and the old coating is wearing off but there does not seem to be any mold.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tracey

Hey John B
We took more pictures concentrating on the 4 corners and front and back roof seams.

We did the hand press test and we can feel some backing resistance throughout the top, except for the 4 corners, where it felt soft and bouncy.

What is the backer board material? My husband thinks it 1/8 in luan plywood.

We also did a moisture reader test inside the camper and the front inside edge was high.

The camper roof is dirty and the old coating is wearing off but there does not seem to be any mold.

Hi Tracey,

I may have to do this response in a few replies, I am still on limited internet signal, and it's more complex to post pics and links, but this may help get us started on thinking about what you want to do.

With your closer and more clear pictures, I can see that whoever coated the roof did not address the roof sealants/caulking before they coated it. They most likely did not understand what roof coatings can do or not do. And it depends on the type of coating if they can repair cracked sealant joints.

I am not sure of the brand of your roof coating, but it appears to be an acrylic type of coating. And it is breaking down and peeling.

What should be understood is what those types of coatings can do well and what they have a hard time doing. The coating does an OK job restoring the white shed layer of the EPDM rubber roof. The white layer thins over time, and when you see the black layer showing, it needs to be coated or replaced. Again, this is the rubber membrane, not the roof sealants/caulk. This is where the misconception/misunderstanding can come in. If someone sees a leak, they may think, let's use this roof coating to stop it. The info on the can says it helps stop leaks. The context is incorrect regarding the sealants thinking that using the thin coating will repair failing roof sealants. While they may stop an active leak in failing roof sealants for a short time, it is not a lasting repair. And you end up where you are now.

The correct way to use that type of coating is to address all sealants/caulk on the roof first. Make sure the roof is spotless with no dirt or mold; remove old cracked bad sealants, and apply new ones so they bond to the roof membrane, the siding, and the moldings and that they have adequate cure time to gas off, which can be up to 30 days on Dicor lap sealants. Once those sealants are "all" addressed and in good shape, the roof should not be leaking anymore and can handle the rigors and flexing of towing down the road. Then, and only then, you start the roof coating and can coat over the new roof sealants to help keep the sun's UV rays from breaking down the sealants. The coating restores the worn shed layer and protects the new sealant. The confusion comes when the owner thinks the old bad sealants will be fixed with thin coatings.

Here is what I see on your pics

Your rear right corner.


The yellow circle is old cracked roof sealants left and not addressed before the coating went on.

The red circle is the old sealants under the coating, cracking and then cracking through the coating.

The orange circle is hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like cracked sealants under the coating. One small circle may look like a hex screw head not sealed with the caulk.

This joint is in bad shape, and coating over this is not a lasting repair.

This front left corner joint shows a new lap sealant applied over the top of the coating, which needed to be applied correctly. Someone saw a leak potential and just caulked over it. I suspect the old sealants again were not addressed before the coating was applied, and they are failing under the coating. When the new roof sealant was applied, it stopped very short and did not go up high enough on the front seam molding. It will shrink in time, pulling away from the molding and allowing a crack/hole to start back in the front seam. The caulk must reach the top of the molding creating a strong bond to the metal. While adding new caulk is a good thing, it needs to be applied on a spotless surface and applied in enough volume in the correct way to bond the metal moldings, siding, and rubber roof.


This area shows the old sealants starting to split under the coating


This pic shows more cracked sealant on the siding side of the roof seam molding. If the front is cracked like that, odds are high; all the other caulk was in bad shape also.


I'll post this reply now and add more in the next reply.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tracey

We did the hand press test and we can feel some backing resistance throughout the top, except for the 4 corners, where it felt soft and bouncy.

What is the backer board material? My husband thinks it 1/8 in luan plywood.

We also did a moisture reader test inside the camper and the front inside edge was high.

The camper roof is dirty and the old coating is wearing off but there does not seem to be any mold.

You get an A+ for testing the roof and using the moisture meter. Good job!!!

Your soft bouncy corners are signs of prior or active leaks. The moisture meter confirms this. Now comes the bigger decision, what do we do with this situation?

You do have a few options, and how long you plan on keeping the camper will; play into this.

You have wetness in the attic now; if it is not dried out and the leak stopped, over time, the wetness will rot its way into the living space. It is hard to tell from here or with pics if this will be 1 year or 3, but suspect somewhere in that timeline especially if the camper lives outside all the time out in the open.

With any of the options below, all start with cleaning the roof off so you can see all the issues and if the cleaning peels away some of the old coating top layer and what is left under it.

Option 1, stop the current active leaks only. You scrape up all the old sealants on the front and rear seam, clean the areas locally and apply new lap sealant. This will most likely extend to the gutter rail area and some of the roof vents etc, if they now show signs of failing caulk. Nothing at this point is done with the coating; you leave what is there out in the open. It is protecting the white shed layer, at least, just not the sealants. This option buys you some level of more camper use time without taking on more water and feeling good the leaks have stopped. Worst case, it takes 9 tubes of Dicor lap sealant to do the entire roof joints. If you are able to do this work, the material cost is low. This option does not address the ongoing rot in the attic.

Option 2, Do local repairs to the front and rear leaking area in addition to option 1. This requires you open up the roof, dry it out, treat the wood to stop future dry rot, and stiffen up the ceiling board. Repair any rotted wood areas. Prep the bad rubber backer board areas with 1/8 or 3/16" plywood, glue the membrane after prepping it, and reassemble the roof area. Then do the all-new roof sealants. Nothing at this point is done with the coating; you leave what is there out in the open. This option buys you many more years of camper use. At some point, you may need to address the coating if it wears off enough to expose the black layer of the rubber. This is a good amount of work to do, but it will be less than option 3. The cost, if you can do the labor, will not be that high for materials; it could be in the $500 to $800 range on materials.

Option 3, is an entirely new roof. This is the ultimate approach and will last 15 to 20 years IF the roof is properly maintained and ideally covered or stored under cover in the off-season. This is the high-cost option. If you can do the work it will be less. If this is hired out at an RV dealer, it could be $8,000 and up with today's labor and materials. If you can do it yourself, the materials could be $2,000 to $3500. A total workup with today's costs would need to be done to get anything closer to the cost.

Option 4, coating the roof to repair the worn white layer and coating. This is not the sealants, only the open roof membrane area. This option becomes complex in your situation, as whatever coating you apply has to bond to the old coating. Before any coating option is considered, I recommend an adhesion test be done on the existing coating to see if the new coating, whatever it may be, will bond to the old coating and pass the roofing industry test of 2 lb. per sq. inch or higher, adhesion test. And many locations are done on the roof to ensure all areas will have a good bond.

There may be more options others can present, the above ones are the ones I have used, and each depends on what is found once the roof is opened up. You may find that you intend to do option 2, and have to do option 3, once you open up the roof, as the damage is that bad.

If you go to an RV dealer, I suspect they will only offer option 3. They normally do not want to deal with option 2.

See this post; it has links to other pics and posts about doing some of the above repairs. It can help you sort out if you want to attempt opening up the roof to repair.

https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...air-20068.html

Here is a link to a rear roof seam I did on one of my project campers. It is to my Flickr photo hosting site. This "temporary" repair bought me time to use the camper to come back later and do an entire roof replacement. I never did a post on this yet, but the pics can help.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskBWidPa

Also, the backer board used on the rubber roof is not 1/8" luan; it is a thick 1/16" corrugate board that flexes. It also wicks water when wet. It will show up in the pics in my links.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions, as there will be some.

John

[Tracey]

Hey John B
We decided to go with Option 1 and replace the sealant/caulk around the entire perimeter of the camper.

We will do a thorough clean on the roof to start.

We may also do Option 4 once the sealant has gassed off. We will wait to see how the roof cleans up.

What is the best method of scraping off the old sealant? A putty knife in the channel?

Also, what is the best way to remove the bathroom roof vent so that we don't compromise the roof membrane?

Thanks for your help!
Tracey

[JohnB]

Hi Tracey,

Due to a really poor internet signal, I will respond next week when our internet service is fixed.

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tracey

Hey John B
We decided to go with Option 1 and replace the sealant/caulk around the entire perimeter of the camper.

We will do a thorough clean on the roof to start.

We may also do Option 4 once the sealant has gassed off. We will wait to see how the roof cleans up.

What is the best method of scraping off the old sealant? A putty knife in the channel?

Also, what is the best way to remove the bathroom roof vent so that we don't compromise the roof membrane?

Thanks for your help!
Tracey

Hi Tracey,

We made it back home to a reliable internet signal. Here is the answers to your questions.

To scrape off the old sealant: There are two main tools to use.

1. I use a heat gun to soften up the old sealant. It is your friend in these cases. It can be a simple 2-speed, 2-heat gun, 1,400 to 1,500 watts. Even as simple as a $20 Harbor Freight gun will work. This one https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-w...ugg_q=heat+gun

The one I linked is fragile; don't drop it, but I have one, and it does work. Since I use one so much, I have a higher-end one also, but if all you are ever going to use it for is one roof, then it will work. Lumber yards have them too.

2. A 1" wide metal stiff blade putty knife. You have to dull up every edge on the tip of the blade with a file, grinder, sander, etc. No sharp edges. You want a fine 1/32" radius on all edges of the blade so it will not dig into the rubber roof.

The process:

Gently warm up the old sealant. Keep the heat gun moving, don't stop in one place, as it can burn. You only need the "right" amount of heat. Start with only a little and then add more heating time as needed. If it gets too hot, the caulk gets gooey.

Then, use the scraper, hold the blade parallel to the roof, and push for a long bead of caulk, like a gutter rail or the front & rear roof seam. You want to skim over the top of the roof, not dig in. Once you start, you can add heat in the same scraping direction as you push to keep peeling it up.


You dig out to get the caulk off the screws in the end cap moldings. Heat the area and, in a circular motion, go around the screw head and peel it up.

Clean the area before applying the new caulk; it can have some old but good bonded caulk left over, but no dirt, etc. The new caulk bond is only as good as the prep work or the old caulk it is sticking to.

If you accidentally poke a hole in the rubber; you need to repair the hole, not just caulk over it. You clean the area well back down to the rubber with scraping as best as possible, follow up with a rag with mineral sprint on it to clean down to the bare roof membrane, and wipe/scrub the area. Do not let it puddle; it will affect the rubber if left for a long time. Wipe it dry, then follow up with a high flash cleaner such as Naphta, Denatured alcohol, or home rubbing alcohol to remove any residue from the mineral spirits and let it dry.

Then, cover the holes with Eternabond Roof Seal. They make it in 4" and 2" wide for small holes. They sell shorter rolls, 25 ft is the shortest I have seen. I use so much of it I get the 50 ft rolls and keep it on hand. Create a patch with at least 1" or more around the hole. There are directions in the package.
Here is one place that has the smaller rolls
https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Etern.../RSW-4-25C.htm

To this question,

What is the best way to remove the bathroom roof vent so we don't compromise the roof membrane?

You use the heat gun and scraper again to remove the caulk from the screw and roof area. Back to the heat gun to get the roof vent up off the roof. After the screws are all out, warm up the entire metal flange around. Then, lay the scraper flat and work it into and under the metal flange at a corner. Push, heat some more, and wiggle the scraper in. You will have to do several spots to get started. Once it starts to lift, add more heat and lift and heat. It will come up. Sort of like this









The old vent will be damaged beyond repair in most cases. If you want to save it, you must work it up more with the scraper pushed into the cut the sealant more and lift less, heat more, lift a little more, and keep going gently.

Once the vent is off the roof, clean up all the old butyl tape and caulk off the membrane with the heat gun, a scraper, then mineral spirits, followed by a high flasher cleaner to get any residue of the mineral spirits off. Use high-quality butyl sealing tape to create the new seal on the new vent.

This link may help show how much the new roof caulk has to go up the side of the moldings so it does not shrink away. This is a new roof install, but it has pics of the caulking.
https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post154679

I hope this helps, and ask away for any other questions.

On the roof coating, you may be thinking about, before you start that, let's talk about it and what the roof looks like after cleaning.

John

[Tracey]

Thanks John B!
We are busy camping this month but will tackle this the beginning of October.

Is it the Dicor self-leveling lap sealant that I should buy? I found it for about 10$ a tube. Does that sound about right?

I will have more questions after we start!

Thanks again for the detailed procedure!

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Tracey

Is it the Dicor self-leveling lap sealant that I should buy? I found it for about 10$ a tube. Does that sound about right?

You do want the Dicor Self-leveling for almost all the roof joints.

But, getting 1 tube of Dicor Non-sag, non-leveling is good for the top of the gutter rails. On the small edge of the gutter rail, the self-leveling can flow over into the gutter. But, the non-sag formula stays put where you put it. It will not run downhill. You just pump the non-sag where you want it, then with a wet soapy finger, gently smooth it out.

The non-sag can also be used anywhere on the roof, just it will not flow out; you have to spread it out.

To the cost, $10 a tube is a good price with all the inflation going on. I used to be able to buy it for $7 a tube pre-covid, but no more. Some places want $15 and higher.

Thanks and happy camping!

John