Hi Fellow Campers
A number of questions have come up about roof care for our Sunlines. This info message is intended for the rubber (EPDM) roofs. Hopefully this will help folks new to this know what to look for and some options for correcting suspect spots.
This spring I found more then what I thought was normal cracks in my roof caulk. This camper was built in Oct 2003 and has lived outside all it’s life. I’m sure this has played a large roll in the issues I have found. It seems once you hit the 6 to 7 years mark the amount of splits goes up, again if the camper lives outside. Small splits can show up after 2 to 3 years but the number of them increases in time. Having your camper inside under cover greatly retards this caulk cracking I have found.
The key to staying ahead of a roof leak is early detection and correction. Once you have a leak the correction is much more complex pending how bad the leak is. The first thing to see is how the caulk reacts over time. Basically it starts to spilt. Generally very tiny splits at first which are not yet at a leak stage and are really small that then grow larger eventually can lead to a full blown leak.
Here are some examples of splits in various stages.
Front seam joints
Shower dome lap seal
The long edge along to top sides of the camper
The rear seams of the camper
The splits like I said start small. That is the time to deal with them. An inspection in the spring and one in the fall before winter I would say is a minimum if your camper lives outside all the time. I do mine every time I wash the roof which is about 4 maybe 5 times a year. I’m already up there so a look and see is easy.
These little splits can be harmless in there beginning stages. However once water gets inside and it freezes, then it forces the split open really fast. This is an issue going into winter as a small split then grows over the winter. In the summer the split may act as a stress release point and start to be come wider as you tow down the road or go in and out of hot days where the entire camper expands and contracts.
By doing an inspection in the spring, you found what cropped up over the winter and then fix them. By doing an inspection in the fall the roof is sound going into winter as the winter freezing can be the worst.
Now what to do when you see them? This is how I have treated mine. There is no exact must do way but the need is to make sure the opened split is sealed shut.
I make a judgment call on each split and I have about 3 types of fixes and they all start with Dicor self leveling roof sealant. Dicor Lap Sealent You can buy it at several places on line or at RV dealers parts stores. It comes in colors and different types. Sunline use to be able to sell me a wider gap compound but I have not been able to find it on the public market. Dicor 501 LSW - White is what I can find. It is self leveling and white. It forms a 1/4 to 3/8" bead of caulk. Sunline sold me 502 LSW which would make a 3/8 to 1/2" bead and that helped when you have large gaps. If you can find it, good let us know. If not the 501 LSW works just we need to make more passes to get a wider joint coverage.
This stuff is amazing. It comes out of a standard caulking gun like a real thick creamy pudding so to speak. And it then skins over and starts to flow to help level out. The self leveling feature helps us who are not expert caulkers have something that looks half way decent.
1. For a fine tiny split, clean the area, let it dry and then put fresh caulk right over it. It is a judgment call on what tiny is. For me it is a hair line crack.
2. If the split turns into a blister, I dig out the blister back down to fresh looking caulk. Reasoning is the blister is full of black/gray crud and I see no reason to seal that back in. The old Dicro scraps up relatively easy. You must be careful you do not dig too deep or poke the roof.
I clean the area first the dig it out.
And then make sure the area is clean is still clean and apply new.
3. If the split or in this case crack is deep and long, being an inch or more, well I make sure I take out all the old first. And this may be all of it. The Dicor does soften up to scrape out easier if you warm it with a hair dryer or constant motion of a heat gun if needed. But do not blast it with high heat as this may affect the rubber roof.
I do not like splits or cracks in the corner areas so I clean them all out and start over.
This is the basics of the roof caulk repair. It is not that hard to do and early detection is key. And if you did not know, many camper roofs are "not" what is called a walk on roof. A Sunline walk on roof is an option from the factory that used I think 3/8 or 1/2" OSB board over part or all of the roof. For roofs that do not have that feature you need to put a canvas, carpet or tarp to protect the rubber from abrasion and the use small sheets of plywood to space out over the roof rafters to take your weight. This is how I do this.
Start with a solid step ladder on a stable surface.
And then a tarp and plywood. This is from cleaning my AC unit but I use the same setup when doing anything where I need to reach in more then the ladder will allow.
Hope this helps
John
PS there are other options for caulking repair/elimination however they are more involved but offer longer lasting protection. The caulking does work and is on probaly 98% to 99% of all rubber roof campers. Just you have to stay on top of it for splits and cracks. I will soon be posting an Eternabond post which is an alternative to keeping on top of the roof caulk. See here for the Eternabond post: http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/eternabond-roof-seal-tape-on-a-sunline-lots-of-pics-11610.html
To help add some more to what cracked and deteriorated caulking looks like, see this post. It has a lot of pictures in it and it shows what happens when the roof caulking is neglected. http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/2004-t1950-restoration-project-ugly-picture-heavy-17684.html The original owners just did not know that they needed to do annual and frequent roof cleaning and inspections to help keep their camper leak free.
A number of questions have come up about roof care for our Sunlines. This info message is intended for the rubber (EPDM) roofs. Hopefully this will help folks new to this know what to look for and some options for correcting suspect spots.
This spring I found more then what I thought was normal cracks in my roof caulk. This camper was built in Oct 2003 and has lived outside all it’s life. I’m sure this has played a large roll in the issues I have found. It seems once you hit the 6 to 7 years mark the amount of splits goes up, again if the camper lives outside. Small splits can show up after 2 to 3 years but the number of them increases in time. Having your camper inside under cover greatly retards this caulk cracking I have found.
The key to staying ahead of a roof leak is early detection and correction. Once you have a leak the correction is much more complex pending how bad the leak is. The first thing to see is how the caulk reacts over time. Basically it starts to spilt. Generally very tiny splits at first which are not yet at a leak stage and are really small that then grow larger eventually can lead to a full blown leak.
Here are some examples of splits in various stages.
Front seam joints
Shower dome lap seal
The long edge along to top sides of the camper
The rear seams of the camper
The splits like I said start small. That is the time to deal with them. An inspection in the spring and one in the fall before winter I would say is a minimum if your camper lives outside all the time. I do mine every time I wash the roof which is about 4 maybe 5 times a year. I’m already up there so a look and see is easy.
These little splits can be harmless in there beginning stages. However once water gets inside and it freezes, then it forces the split open really fast. This is an issue going into winter as a small split then grows over the winter. In the summer the split may act as a stress release point and start to be come wider as you tow down the road or go in and out of hot days where the entire camper expands and contracts.
By doing an inspection in the spring, you found what cropped up over the winter and then fix them. By doing an inspection in the fall the roof is sound going into winter as the winter freezing can be the worst.
Now what to do when you see them? This is how I have treated mine. There is no exact must do way but the need is to make sure the opened split is sealed shut.
I make a judgment call on each split and I have about 3 types of fixes and they all start with Dicor self leveling roof sealant. Dicor Lap Sealent You can buy it at several places on line or at RV dealers parts stores. It comes in colors and different types. Sunline use to be able to sell me a wider gap compound but I have not been able to find it on the public market. Dicor 501 LSW - White is what I can find. It is self leveling and white. It forms a 1/4 to 3/8" bead of caulk. Sunline sold me 502 LSW which would make a 3/8 to 1/2" bead and that helped when you have large gaps. If you can find it, good let us know. If not the 501 LSW works just we need to make more passes to get a wider joint coverage.
This stuff is amazing. It comes out of a standard caulking gun like a real thick creamy pudding so to speak. And it then skins over and starts to flow to help level out. The self leveling feature helps us who are not expert caulkers have something that looks half way decent.
1. For a fine tiny split, clean the area, let it dry and then put fresh caulk right over it. It is a judgment call on what tiny is. For me it is a hair line crack.
2. If the split turns into a blister, I dig out the blister back down to fresh looking caulk. Reasoning is the blister is full of black/gray crud and I see no reason to seal that back in. The old Dicro scraps up relatively easy. You must be careful you do not dig too deep or poke the roof.
I clean the area first the dig it out.
And then make sure the area is clean is still clean and apply new.
3. If the split or in this case crack is deep and long, being an inch or more, well I make sure I take out all the old first. And this may be all of it. The Dicor does soften up to scrape out easier if you warm it with a hair dryer or constant motion of a heat gun if needed. But do not blast it with high heat as this may affect the rubber roof.
I do not like splits or cracks in the corner areas so I clean them all out and start over.
This is the basics of the roof caulk repair. It is not that hard to do and early detection is key. And if you did not know, many camper roofs are "not" what is called a walk on roof. A Sunline walk on roof is an option from the factory that used I think 3/8 or 1/2" OSB board over part or all of the roof. For roofs that do not have that feature you need to put a canvas, carpet or tarp to protect the rubber from abrasion and the use small sheets of plywood to space out over the roof rafters to take your weight. This is how I do this.
Start with a solid step ladder on a stable surface.
And then a tarp and plywood. This is from cleaning my AC unit but I use the same setup when doing anything where I need to reach in more then the ladder will allow.
Hope this helps
John
PS there are other options for caulking repair/elimination however they are more involved but offer longer lasting protection. The caulking does work and is on probaly 98% to 99% of all rubber roof campers. Just you have to stay on top of it for splits and cracks. I will soon be posting an Eternabond post which is an alternative to keeping on top of the roof caulk. See here for the Eternabond post: http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/eternabond-roof-seal-tape-on-a-sunline-lots-of-pics-11610.html
To help add some more to what cracked and deteriorated caulking looks like, see this post. It has a lot of pictures in it and it shows what happens when the roof caulking is neglected. http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/2004-t1950-restoration-project-ugly-picture-heavy-17684.html The original owners just did not know that they needed to do annual and frequent roof cleaning and inspections to help keep their camper leak free.
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The one thing I will go back and fix this fall are the corners with the aluminum joints. I did not clean the corners out as well as you did. I will use a heat gun next time. Thanks again for all your help on this forum.
