Warranty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

I have a 2014 Sundance XLT. I noticed a small 3" tear on the rubber roof edging where the roof bends down toward the wall. I can see metal flashing underneath has made the tear. I am considering using roofing caulk to repair it myself. However, maybe I should take it in if it could become a bigger issue?

My questions.... should I have the dealer fix it with caulk or insist on a whole new rubber roof?
If the repair is going to be to slap some caulk on it, what product should be used? I'll just do it myself.

Thanks!

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

If it is still under warranty and a valid warranty claim, I would most definitely request an entire new roof with a repair to the metal flashing that caused the tear. A patch job is temporary at best. IMHO

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

The area you are describing is where many folks, myself included, have hit low hanging tree branches. Is there a chance the flashing poked through after an impact?
If this is a manufacturing defect, it should be a warranty issue and resolved at that level.
If it is not a defect and this was caused by an impact of some kind, chances are it will not be covered under a warranty. An insurance claim for a small tear such as this would be overkill, IMHO.

If it's a fairly small tear you can repair it with EternaBond rubber tape. This is sold at RV stores and even Walmart.
Be sure to read all instructions and apply carefully. The result should be a decent looking waterproof patch. I have used it myself and it works well for small areas. Trace

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

Hi Harlo,

Something to consider with respect to replacing the entire roof. This is a major big deal where the rubber is torn off and the luan underneath comes apart. A new luan layer needs to be put down along with the new rubber. The repair shop will not install the new rubber roof the same way the factory does, which happens before the front and rear cap are installed. You'll end up with seams where the new rubber meets the caps and will have to be very vigilant to make sure these seams are very well maintained. Also, the Air Conditioner(s), fan(s) vents, and ladder all have to be removed and replaced after the new roof is installed. There's plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong.

Obviously when there's major damage, you have to accept these issues as part of the fix. When there's minor problem, you might do better with a minor fix, in which case Eternabond is the right choice.

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

For a three inch tear I would use eternabond tape, but make sure the flashing is not the cause of the tear and is just exposed because of the tear.

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

Eternabond tape is a perfect fix for this type of repair.

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

My view: Small roof tears are akin to door dings or small scratches to your vehicle's paint. Would you repaint your car for small dings or would you use touch up paint to repair the offended area? Now maybe it's not quite the same but I have chosen to patch small tears because there is probably another one around the corner. When the number of repairs become questionable I will get a new roof installed. All this is assuming the tears are end user effects and not defects. A word of caution. You better get the repair tape aligned perfectly when you place it over the tear because the tape sticks like crazy and you will not remove it without causing further damage.

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

Dicor, the rubber roof manufacturer, has its own tape like Eternabond, along with its own Lap Sealant. These items are available at Camping World, and they even have a rubber roof patch repair kit with an 8" square of the tape and a caulk tube of the Lap Sealant. Dicor gave these away at the Goshen rally this year.
Here is alink to the Dicor website: https://dicorproducts.com/catalog/roof-products/

I went up on my roof yesterday to inspect it in advance of a little rain predicted for Southern California tomorrow. Well I found that when I installed my new ceiling fan inside, and stiffened up the mounting box with some new screws, one of the deck screws went clean through the roof and was sticking up about 3/4 of an inch above the roof surface. Needles to say, I clipped off the protruding screw body, and got out my Dicor patch material.

While up there on a cool morning that had some light overnight fog, I saw that I could easily find and mark my roof stud positions, as the dew stayed on the between the stud areas, evaporated at the studs, and the studs were neatly outlined. I need to do this for a solar panel install.

Thanks for all your excellent responses and sound advice. I'll be looking for eternbond or Dicor tape.

Craig

Roof maintenance is one of the most important maintenance issues of the RV since failure to do it can cause serious issues such as water intrusion. Also the roof is easily damaged by tree limbs, low hanging signs etc. Do you know your exact height? We are 13'2" and have had to cut low hanging trees limbs at RV Parks on several occasions. One we could not get into the site until the manager reluctantly cut the limbs back. A roof repair kit is a must have item in your repair kit. We have repaired our (on previous SOBs) and it is easily done. BTW we carry a pair of limb cutters in our truck tool box. Oh, and even if the limbs don't damage the roof the air conditioner cover breaks easily too. (don't ask how we know)

Jim:
Good post on roof repair. After having my rig raised 2 inches with the Mobile Outfitters Correct Track axle alignment device, I went up on my Bighorn roof at the storage yard with a section of 2 by 4, and a string with a weight on the end. I laid the 2 by 4 across the air conditioning cover, and played out the weighted string over the side of the trailer from the 2 by 4 until it touched ground. I marked that point where the string started down at the edge of the 2 by 4, and later measured the string length to get a clearance of 13 feet 8 inches.
The low limb problem at RV parks presents me a lot more difficulty since I am by myself. All I can do is stop often before any perceived overhanging obstructions and look at things. I got my roof pretty good last year at the Cody, Wy. rally from an overhanging branch where I was concentrating on just getting the rig backed in with a bad RV space angle and obstructions to the truck cutting hard in front.
I guess the one thing I have going for me is that I live in a lot drier climate than most Heartlanders. I agree that water intrusion can be fatal for RV's.

One thing we just did on this past Thursday is went to the Escapee's Rainbow Park in Livingston, TX (about 20 mi from home) and got our new rig weighed at the Smart Weigh station there. Cost was $55 and they also measure the height in the cost. The height is measured with a stick like an 18 wheeler is measured. We measured 12'11" but the front of the trailer was about 3 inches lower than it should be so my 13'2" measurement was what we went with. BTW the weights were all within tolerances except we are about 120 pounds too heavy but their scales are + or - one percent so that puts us right on. We will try to lighten the load some though. The pin weight is 3900 pounds which is quite a few pounds heavier than advertised (surprise surprise lol). The Smart Weigh station at the Rainbow Park is open M-F by appointment, so if you will be going close to Livingston TX on your way south, I would suggest you stop by and get weighed. They do a great job.

$55 to have a trailer weighed seems a bit pricey to me. Although it does provide you with the weight on each wheel. I would rather pay $10 at a Cat scale plus the $2 re-weigh for the tv to get my pin weight. JMO

Swanny59 said:

$55 to have a trailer weighed seems a bit pricey to me. Although it does provide you with the weight on each wheel. I would rather pay $10 at a Cat scale plus the $2 re-weigh for the tv to get my pin weight. JMO

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Ray - the wheel-by-wheel weight is a very good thing to know in order to determine whether you are within tire/wheel/axle specs. It's possible to be under gross overall but over on one axle or 1 tire/wheel. I always recommend this sort of weighing to be done at least once, early on in your ownership of your RV. Do this with the RV loaded for your typical travel.

Short of being able to get a wheel-by-wheel weigh, getting a CAT scale weight like you're doing is also a good thing. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Warrenty work or Self-repair? (Rubber Roof Tear)

Here is how it all went down when I went to my Heartland dealer in Elkhart. I had some other warranty work to be done so I showed them the tear in the roof. They gave me the advice to turn in a claim with my insurer and have them replace the entire roof! I looked at him cross-eyed and decided to look into a different option. I found out that the Dicor makes the rubber roof material for Heartland. I also found out that their factory is in Elkhart too... across the street from the Heartland factory. I went to the Dicor HQ's and asked for some advice. A really knowledgable lady came to my aid with part #'s, retailer locations and instructions. By the afternoon I was totally repaired and even put some extra tape and caulk around the edges of the roof where I could see some very slight abrasions. I check the patch every time I leave a site or before rainy weather is predicted. So far it looks fantastic!

Now, what should I do about the Heartland repair shop? I feel pretty confident that he was looking for a big job to work on for the winter. He completely refused to do that patch job there even though I saw a box of Dicor tape near his desk (perhaps a gift from the big Dealer show the month before?) In fact, I had to sign a release that said I refused to have them replace the roof. I suppose someday that paper could come back to haunt me if there is ever an issue with the walls.