Roof types - RV-Dreams Community Forum

manning · RV-Dreams Community Member

Roof types

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have had aluminum, fiberglass and now EPDM. Of all, the only one that has not leaked is the EPDM. I have been careful to keep the caulk inspected on all of them. But, both the leakers have had issues with caulk "cracking" in the most unlikely areas. Both the fiberglass and the aluminum had a seam down the middle of the length of the trailer, and I suspect there was a bit of frame flex involved.

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, I have had all three at one time or another. By far the superior roof material in my opinion is fiberglass. The EPDM stuff is and interesting kind of stuff. I really did have issues with caulking with the EPDM. The caulk would crack and allow water to infiltrate the crack. It would seem to be sucked into the crack, of course it was just water's surface tension that cause that effect but I had to seal those cracks in the caulk at least every 90 days. One also has to be careful with what types of caulk to use because EPDM does not like silicone based caulks.

I was just at the FMCA rally in Perry GA and I saw a very interesting concept in roof sealing. They now have a spray on material, much like the spray on bed liners for pick up trucks. It looks like it would be a permanent solution to sealing any of the 3 types of roof.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

fiberglass is the best IMO, G

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have had two different trailers with epdm,never had a leak.

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've had aluminum, fiberglas and now EDPM.

All 3 needed maintenance to prevent leaks. About every 5 years I go over all seams, screw holes and any other possible leak areas to make sure the sealant is in good shape. Any suspected areas I clean and re-seal.

I don't use my roofs for observation platforms, if I did, then the fiberglas would be my choice.

All 3 have performed equally in my opinion. By the way each RV provided over 15 years of service for us.

Lyman · RV-Dreams Community Member

ahoweth wrote:
Well, I have had all three at one time or another. By far the superior roof material in my opinion is fiberglass. The EPDM stuff is and interesting kind of stuff. I really did have issues with caulking with the EPDM. The caulk would crack and allow water to infiltrate the crack. It would seem to be sucked into the crack, of course it was just water's surface tension that cause that effect but I had to seal those cracks in the caulk at least every 90 days. One also has to be careful with what types of caulk to use because EPDM does not like silicone based caulks.

I was just at the FMCA rally in Perry GA and I saw a very interesting concept in roof sealing. They now have a spray on material, much like the spray on bed liners for pick up trucks. It looks like it would be a permanent solution to sealing any of the 3 types of roof.

Do you recall what the spray on material is?

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Had rubber type (real material unknown) and fiberglas. The fiberglas (on Elite Suite) leaked from day one and was a constant problem for the 4 years we owned it. In our case there were 2 problems. Most significant was that the seams kept pulling apart (road flex?) and we constantly had to reseal them. In addition the fiberglas itself continually developed cracks in the surface. I think any roof, if properly installed and maintained will work. Based upon my experience with fiberglas however, I'd never get glas again.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've had them all, on several rigs. I've had two types of fiberglass roofs. By far the fiberglass is the best. Far easier to clean and performs better in most cases. It also does not require near as much maintenance.

On my Royals International I had a fiberglass roof that was slick - no pebbling. What the heck was Carriage thinking? That roof was like ice with even light dew on it. REALLY dangerous to be on. It also had two seams in it that required judicious maintenance. And it tended to pull away from the plywood substrate in certain places as the glue released due to age.

My two New Horizons have a one piece - NO SEAMS - continuous sheet of pebbled fiberglass laminated as part of the roof structure. This will not separate, and you can walk on it when wet. To me, a perfect roof.

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

The spray on material is the same as the bedliner. RVers have used Rhino and LineX or Herculiner with success.

My EPDM is at the point after 16 years where I need to do something. I'm going to try one of the bedliner type material.

waltben · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've had alum. & EPDM. Don't even want to talk about the alum., but while EPDM is really great, be careful about getting poked by the odd low-hanging branch. It's easy to repair smaller holes and such, but you could have a problem with something larger. Looking forward to having fiberglass on a diesel pusher - and I'll make certain it's got a texture from what Jack said!