Crack in Rear Shroud
 

I'm just wondering if anyone has run into this problem before. We just arrived in the beautiful [and very cold] shores of Lake Eufaula, in Eufaula, Oklahoma. It is cold and going to freeze tonight so I didn't hook up any outside hoses [water or sewer]. As I was finishing setting the Hi-Lo up, I noticed something that was not there before. A crack has developed on the rear shroud covering of our Hi-Lo. When we awoke this morning it was raining and I arose and did my normal bathroom thing, a drop of water hit me on my head. It was coming from the vent above the toilet. I pulled at the edge of the interior frame, and a considerable amount of water leaked into the bathroom. It eventually stopped and I thought it must be because of the high winds and rain we experienced all night.

After arriving in our new campsite today and as I was seting up this afternoon, I looked up at the back of our 2406 Towlite and I saw a crack in the back shroud that I had not noticed this morning. We had traveled some back highways in Oklahoma and they were pretty rough but not anything that I thought could have caused this. My wife, Carol, said it must have happened last Saturday when we had the RV detailed and the guy was on top of the RV cleaning the black off the roof. Maybe so, but I think I would have noticed it at the time. The man who was on the roof weighed only 160 pounds which should have been okay at that weight.

Anyway, there is a crack that has develeoped n the rear cover just over the running ight lens and I can clearly see daylight through it.

Aside from the obvious, that is, I must make some quick temporary repairs with some caulking, I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and.. what is the suggested fix?

I appreciate any suggestions.

Jerry & Carol Curtis Fredericksburg, TX
2406 T Towlite F250 4x4 7.3 Diesel

Crack repair
 

Jerry, as far as a temporary repair, you can go to any hardware store (maybe even Wal Mart) and buy a roll of aluminum faced tape. This tape is mainly used for air conditioning duct work. Clean the area thoroughly with alcohol, let it dry and apply a strip of the tape over the crack, then apply an additional strip of the tape just off center of the crack, this should provide a sufficient patch unless you get into a severe thunderstorm. As far as a permanent, I would check with a reputable fiberglass repair shop (boat repair), they should be able to make this repair for you. It is very possible that the crack occurred because of a rapid drastic drop in temperature which may have caused the plastic shroud to shrink unevenly.

Hope this helps, Richard and Barbara

2003 27' Towlite
2002 F150 5.4 Super Crew
ror007@aol.com

Crack in rear shroud
 

Thanks Richard,

I did come prepared for anything [I have a roll of Duct Tape in my tool box] LOL.. I have some of that tape you described but it is 600 miles away in my work shio. I am hoping to be able to borrow a tall ladder so that I can get some duct tape on it tomorrow before the rain really sets in. If not, I did bring a shorter step stool but it is co cold I just didn't want to have to suck in the slide out and let all the heat out.

Yes, I would think a professional should be able to repair it and hopefully do a match on the colors so it won't look too bad.

I am thinking I should remove the frame around the vent and possibly place some heat and a fan on it to prevent roof and interior deterioration. WE both have family here so I should be able to borrow some tools and make some temporary repairs.

I appreciate your help, Richard.

Jerry

Crack in shroud
 

Sorry to hear about your cracked shroud. I think it would be worthwhile to stop at walmart and get a roll of aluminum tape. Thay cary Ductbrand tape(silver) that would be great for this temp. repair. Costs about five dollar. You also might consider a close by RV place that sells Externabond tape. Get externabond tape even if you have to pay for expediated shipping for where you are. I don't think the guy up on your roof did this dammage. The fiberglasses flexes a lot as you bounce down the road. Get this covered up today. Use a folded cheap shower liner if you have to. Prevent any further water intrusion. We developed a serious propane leak on the inside of our stove(cracked fitting). Our can of plumming putty was at home. Had to purchase one anyway. I think I will purchase a small roll of externabond tape for emergency repairs. Just remembered JB Weld it comes in a tube in the automotive section at Walmart or any hardware store. A great product to have on hand. Hope these ideas help. Your trailer will defeniately be fixable by a professional fiberglass body person. Boat shops seem to be the best.

Cracks in the front and rear end caps were epidemic when Hilo changed the plastic material in their caps in (I think) early 2000's. This is a well known problem.

We replaced the rear end cap, and took off and patched the front, of our 2005 27' Hilo. The cracks will get worse, and they magically appear - probably not the result of anyone walking on the roof.

You can get some of the cracks repaired by plastic welding - check our local RV dealer, maybe they know.

If you take the end caps off, you can reinforce the inside with fiberglass cloth and epoxy like we did on the front cap. Let me know if you are going this route - I took extensive pics of the 'operation'.

Good luck!

Crack in end cap
 

Jerry, you mentioned using regular duct tape, this probably not a good idea, duct tape doesn't like either water or cold temperature. If aluminum duct tape isn't available you might consider using a good grade of silicone bathtub seal.

Crack in end cap
 

Had to leave and get my daughter from Target(seasonal job). Hubby said your end cap is made out of plastic. I was going to look up old posts because I seem to have a recolection of this problem. He also said to use caulk to temporarily fix the problem. WallMart carries bondo.ect. for this type of repair. I would be really mad at HiLo for changing to inferior parts and still charging top doller for new units. Tried and true stands the test of time. Glad to have others that have done this repair advise you.

I'd also try to get to the end of that stress crack and drill a small "stop" hole there to keep it from extending further!

- Jack

Crack in rear shroud
 

Jack & Janet,

I went to the local end cap repair shop [Wal-Mart, LOL] and purchased a roll of weatherproof/waterproof aluminum tape and cut it the 10-1/2" length of the split and made temporary repairs. There was no need to place a 'stop hole' as it began at the very top and stopped right at the right lens cover of the running lights. While on the ladder, I did notice that it appeared that almost every other screw hole, that holds the end cap in place, had mini-splits beginning to appear. There were even two mini stresses that were not associated with a screw hole!

I'm thinking that I should follow the advice of Reno and remove the shroud [cap] and use a fiber glass cloth and epoxy and strengthen the underside of the cap possibly all around the full measure of the circumference to prevent future such events. Or, as I recall reading a post a while back of an older Hi-Lo that was being scrapped, I'm wondering since it was pre-2000 if it was made of the stronger material and if they are all the same size? If so, I should consider seeing if he is willing to take the cap off and sell it to me and replace this shoddy, cheap plastic material that Hi-Lo used?

I hope the new Hi-Lo owner is paying attention to these posts. The material got weaker and the cost still went up! Something is wrong here.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Jerry & Carol Curtis
2406T Towlite Ford F-250 4x4 Diesel

Beginning with the 2010 models the end caps were made of fiberglass. Whether this will be continued is yet to be seen.

ABS was used on Coleman popup roofs and they had many problems with stress cracking. The repair was much the same as with the HiLo, drill holes at the ends of the cracks and seal the cracks with a flexible sealant.

I have a question as to how fiberglass repair will work on the ABS material, will it stick?

That's my concern too. I honestly don't know the answer to this. If it does, reinforcing the holes and repairing any cracks would of course be the obvious thing to do. I do know that silicone caulk will adhere, but I also know that there are people on this forum who don't like the concept of silicone on trailers. Would anyone care to tell me why?

One other approach though, once you stop the crack from spreading with the stop drill technique, and have filled the crack with whatever works, would be to cover the cap with an elastomeric membrane of the kind that is used in roofing, under the white rubberized coating. I think that would adhere, and the final product should be totally weatherproof.

- Jack

End Cap crack
 

Rich:
Fiberglass will adhere to most anything, but the prep work is extremely important. The surface has to be thoroughly cleaned and surface roughened. The biggest problem is the same in welding, usually the weld won't break, but the material on both sides very well may.

Today I winterized our 2406 T Tow lite and I read through various posts on winterizing and 'took notes. 'I have to say, I don't think I have ever winterized an RV as quickly and easily as this one. They had placed a clear hose onto the water pump that you just drop into the anti-freeze container and after closing all the valves, it took no time at all to run the antifreeze through all the water lines. 15 minutes and it was done!

We have just returned from a trip to Oklahoma and had a BIG problem. One morning we woke up in a blizzard like condition and 16 degree temps. I found the gray and black water tanks were frozen. Actually, it was just the exterior drain pipes. Fortunately, I had brought some heat tapes with me and after about three hours, the pipes thawed and all was well. We started using the camp shower after that. We were pleased at how comfortable we were in the cold temps, although we did have to place towels and blankets over some of the areas where cold air was entering, especially around the door.

As we were winterizing today, Carol noticed a black streak running down the interior wall just above the dining table. I have attached pictures of what I had found and felt it was worthwhile to let the forum know that we should not neglect to check the roof vent areas and all along the sides and ends of the roof for potential problems. My inspection disclosed several areas that need immediate attention.

You may recall I posted a problem with a crack on the end cap of our Hi Lo a couple of weeks ago. Today I got the ladder out to check it out and plan for repairs. Good thing I did. The attached pictures show what I was explaining about the end cap and you can see in a couple of the photos the cracks emanating from around where the screw holes that hold the end cap onto the top surface. The 10" crack I mentioned in the previous post can be seen in the second picture of the end cap. It still has the weatherproof tape over it. I also noticed several weather cracks around some of the vents and on the roof's edge just above where that black mark on the wall that indicated a leak.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a fair day so I plan on using a polyurethane sealant to cover the areas shown in the pics. The type I got is supposed to adhere to 'anything' and should work especially well on the plastic end cap to repair the cracks around the screw holes.

Thanks to everyone for the advice you have posted.

Jerry and Carol Curtis
Fredericksburg, TX
1406 T Towlite Ford F250 4x4 7.3L Diesel

Thanks for keeping us up to date Jerry and Carol. I have the same caps on my 02 towlite and after reading about your first crack, I checked mine over really well. Sure enough, I have several small cracks about 2 inches long on mine. I drilled them and sealed and will keep a better eye on the caps from now on. I don't have the large gaps in the sealant that you do but I'm due for a re-seal.

New Post on Crack in End Cap/Roof Repair
 

I am just a little confused about how to post a "new thread" or a new subject. This is actually not a new post but a continuation of a problem I encountered as explained in last night's post regarding a crack I discovered in our rear End Cap. I had tried to post this information on an earlier attempt and had all my information together to post but instead, I chose the preview option [after uploading pictures] and hit a wrong key and everything I had prepared just disappeared. This time, I am copying the data and making sure I don't have to go through that ordeal again. LOL. I'm certain it was no problem with the forum's procedures, but a mistake on my part as I was moving from one tab to another and exited the forum before it was ready to post.

I sent in a post last night and showed several pictures about a leak that developed on our Hi Lo. Today, as I was beginning to do repairs, I ran into this problem. I was removing the remainder of our 'stuff' on the Hi Lo so I could lower it and begin my repairs. When I opened the right side cabinet over our slide out, I reached in to retrieve the blanket and it was wet, not damp, but wet! There was a large 'blister" in the ceiling inside the cabinet that not only filled most of the compartment but extended out beyond the cabinets about 6 inches just over the window by the dining table. I got the tall ladder out and immediately found the cause.


Beginning at the front driver's side of the camper, nearly all the way rearward to the AC unit, there were [39] small holes in the roof! Some of them were tiny, nonetheless, they were there. A conglomeration of them were just above the area of the blister I had just discovered. Another grouping of them was over the area in which we noticed a tell-tale leak yesterday [on the driver's side] just toward the front of the window of the dining area and which Iposted last night.

I took several pictures of the 39 holes in the roof and will post them tonight. I'm wondering if anyone out there has experienced the same problem?

We bought the trailer this past July without any knowledge of how it had been maintained, but it looked almost new inside and had none of the telltale signs I discovered today. Regardless, as I surveyed the roof discovering the small holes, I knew I had to do some repairs, and real quick.

I made several puncture holes in the blister and removed a bit of the ceiling inside the small cabinet material to allow the water trapped inside to dissipate. I then set up a space heater to draw the moisture out of the ceiling area. It has been about 4 hours since I did this and the blister has actually shrunk quite a bit. I plan on leaving the heater on the small cabinet overnight [on low] just to keep drawing the moisture out. I also used an ice pick to puncture holes on the outside of the cabinet so moisture could escape. I may move the space heater over to that spot in the morning to continue the drying process.

Now, to the pictures; as I said, I counted [39] visible puncture wounds in the roof on the driver side, all within a direct line about 18" from the outside edge of the driver side roof extending all the way back just short of the AC unit. These holes, looked to me to be a result of electrical sparking, like a bare power wire skipping about the roof surface in a direct line, all the while burning small holes in the fiberglass roof. That being improbable, another cause might have been a low lying limb partially resting on the roof and moved about by tbe the wind, may have caused it, or, possibly a larger limb fell onto the roof and caused penetration of the roof in several different locations. The holes do resemble an effect caused by an electrical current that was seeking ground [through the trailer jacks] and leaving small holes where it a touched the surface of the roof.

Now to the gist of the problem. I purchased a tube of BASF Polyurethane to repair the cracks in the end cap. I got on line to check it out and they stated it was very good for bonding and sealing numerous types of material and included plastic and fiberglass siding. Will this work on the roof or do I need a different sealing product? Should I prepare each of the holes in any particular manner like sanding or buffing, or just make sure the holes are clean and dry and proceed to just fill in the holes?

I am letting it dry out tonight and the weather overnight is very favorable, but I do have to begin the repairs tomorrow. I would appreciate the advice and expertise of the forum members who might have had some experience in this area.

Thanks to all,

Jerry & Carol Curtis
Fredericksburg, TX
jcurtis95@austin.rr.com

P.S. Ladies, we had to remove a curtain and will eventually clean it because of this. I'm sure Carol would appreciate what you have done in the past to remove water stains on the fabrics used for window coverings in the Hi Lo.

Jerry,

I moved your post here from the exterior wall corner thread.

There is a naturally occuring phenomenom when you have two dissimilar metals in contact with each other which can cause small holes. Sounds like that may be happening on your roof.

There is another thread on this forum that describes this in great detail, but I cannot locate it. Anyone remember where that was?

https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f25/...intenance-203/

Roof repair
 

I am so sorry that you have roof problems on top of your cracked shroud. I will let someone who is better able to describe how to post a new topic do so. Many of the forum members have had to repair their roof. I know they will respond. The problems you are having are all fixable by you. We all love our HiLo's no matter what!!!!

Jerry and Carol,

Regarding your end shroud cracks, someone posted that this was a well known problem with Hi-Lo's products in the 2000s. I also experienced it on my 2007. After three end cap replacements paid for by Hi-Lo under warrenty before they went under, still have the cracking problem. Paid my dealer 100 bucks to do some plastic welds, but they broke again. Further, the overlaps of the edges to the horizontal portion of the roof started to buldge, causing more gaps. So, I inserted many more screws to fasten it down. And I am caulking liberally and monitoring the situation. I also store it with a cover. But really not sure what to do for permanent fix at this point, and I don't think there is one.

Regarding fixing the holes on the top of your roof, the worst kind of holes are pinholes that one cannot see. I am not aware of any on my unit, but had them on a 1999 unit. On that one, I used a product called FormFlex 6000:
FORMFLEX 6000 RUBBERIZED ELASTOMERIC ROOF COATING (5G)

Many others recommend Kool Seal which is certainly less expensive. Can't say which is best approach.

Roof coatings
 

Wow what a web site!! Sounds like a good product for any type of roof sealing/repair. The only drawback I see is the size (five gallon pail).We only used half a can of roof sealer on our 25ft. classic

Crack in rear shroud
 

Bruce, etal,

Thanks for the information and advice. Considering the low daytime temperatures and expected rain, for now I am going to make individual hole repairs with what I have on hand. I do have a good cover for the trailer so the combination of the two actions should get me through until next spring when the warmer temps will be better for applying the rubberized paint which I think would be the best solution and also give me some peace of mind.

I thank all the forum members for your advice.

Jerry & Carol
2406 T

Crack in Shroud - Roof Repair
 

This will be my last post on this [until next spring]. I gave you some mis-information earlier. When I had the Hi Lo cleaned last month, the man remarked that it had a vinyl roof. When I initially found the damaged roof, I thought it was a metal roof and remarked the holes looked like they had been caused by an electrical burn. My initial thoughts turned out to be correct.

It was a cold day here in South Texas and I delayed repairing the roof until it had a chance to warm up, but it never got above 40 degrees. I don't like to apply Polyurethane or any other sealant material in this cooler temperature but I really had no choice as it is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. I warmed the sealant over the kitchen range before finally going out mid-afternoon.

I began by sanding the surfaces of the [39+] holes and discovered my initial observance was correct, it is not vinyl, rather it is aluminum with a vinyl coating. After cleaning each sanded area with a vinegar and water solution and letting it dry, I completed the initial repair. I do plan on using a rubber based roofing paint and cover the entire roof next spring as suggested by Bruce in yesterday's post.

I thought the forum should have an idea of what I found after sanding the area surrounding each hole so I have included additional photos. It is a mystery to me as to what happened on the roof. The affected area is in a direct line and extends approximately 10 feet on the driver's side down to just short of the AC unit. I am more certain than ever that the damage was caused by some sort of electrical contact seeking a path to ground. Each hole appears to have a burnt area surrounding the hole. The other sections of the roof show no damage whatsoever. Some of the holes are tiny while others are pretty large.

The BK polyurethane went on rather easily even in the cold but I had to stop and warm the tube so that it would come out easier. After I finished, Carol and I unfurled the RV Cover and put this baby to bed for the winter.

The interior dried out rather nicely with the heater blowing on it all night. Carol will get some contact paper to cover the affected cabinet area next spring. Hopefully, with the repairs and RV cover, we should have no further damage until we can continue repairs in the spring.

Our wishes go out to all members of this forum that you have a safe and very Merry Christmas.

Jerry & Carol Curtis
Fredericksburg, TX
2406 Towlite

Sam and All,

On the Formflex, you put it on very thick and, while I can't remember, the directions say two coats so I must have done that. I remember speaking with the fellow that owns the company that produces it to get good instructions but can't recall how I got his name. I put it on a 1999T and of the five gallon can, I had about 1/4 of the can left that I have kept for the future. Because I sold that unit, can't really say how effective it was in the long term, but the Formflex owner said his product is good for ten years.

When I get to doing this on my 2707T, I intend to apply it over everything including the caulked seams which is also what I did on the 1999T per the owners instructions. I'll also put it on the top of the end cap where the cracking occurs although don't know if that would seal it 'permanently' given the obvious stress on the end caps that causes the cracks.

Bruce

That probably is the electrolysis/chemical reaction between the the aluminum roof material and the steel screws that hold the plywood to the steel frame beneath. There evidently is no type of an electrical insulation barrier between the two metals. This is a common happening on many roofs. It starts as tiny pinholes and progressively gets worse. I don't know what the perfect repair is for it but you definitely need to get the holes sealed over with something to keep water from getting in and ruining the interior. Koolseal elastomeric roof coating is an excellent substance to use, and I'm sure there are other equally as good coatings.

This problem is something that should be monitored on a regular basis by everyone that has a HiLo with an aluminum roof, which is an overwhelming majority. Rubber roofs have their own problems.

Crack in Shroud
 

Rich R,

I understand your synopsis on electrolysis/chemical reaction due to interaction between dissimilar metals and my roof problem could very well be caused by that. If the affected area were more widespread rather than being confined to a narrow linear section, I would be more prone to accept that theory. Regardless of cause, the effect could have been disastrous had it not been detected early on. The temporary fix and being under a cover should protect it until next spring.

We did get some good news today. My wife had contacted our insurance company on another matter and she casually told of our RV roof problem as we had taken out a policy for the RV. The Rep said the policy would cover the roof and subsequent damage. Since we had just bought the Hi Lo, I got on the phone and told her that I had not filed a claim because I believed it to be a pre-existing condition. She agreed that the roof repair would not be covered but she thought any interior repairs would be. She said it is like buying a house and the roof leaked into the interior and caused damage and that damage would be covered. She urged me to file a claim or at least allow her to make a note of it on our policy should it develop into an expensive repair. I opted for a notation for if I filed a claim I would have to take it to an RV Repair Shop for an estimate and we had just put the Hi Lo to bed for the winter months and I didn't want to undo all that it took to get that cover on and haul it 40 miles to get the inspection.

Now, I have the winter months to plan ahead and determine which of the elastomeric paint's I will use to cover the entire roof next spring. I got several good recommendations from previous forum posts.

Jerry & Carol Curtis
2406 Towlite

I do know that the electrolysis/chemical reaction does occur on HiLo trailers. My HiLo dealer friend has told me about it. It usually shows up as tiny pinholes and progresses from there. That causes water infiltration and and I assume that accelerates the process from there. Doing the elastomeric coating is probably the best fix short of replacing the roof.

Keep us posted as to how your experience with the insurance coverage goes. That may be of great help to others here on the Forum.

Have a great winter! I believe I am going to go into hibernation until about March 1st. :o

Jerry, Here is a couple of emails I sent to Kool Seal and the answers I got back. I looked at that other coating someone suggested and it said something about not for rv, but I don't know if they where just talking about the rubber roof type.


USES: Formflex 6000 is a Heavy Duty Rubberized Waterproofing Coating. Non-Flammable.
Use Formflex 6000 to waterproof:
•***** EPDM Roofs (non-traffic commercial. Not for RV roofs)**********
• Fiberglass Roofs (non-traffic)
• Asphalt Roofs
• Metal Roofs
• Tile Roofs
• Foam Roofs
• Mobile Home Roofs
• Parapet Walls / Cracked Stucco surfaces
• NOT recommended for TPO or PVC roof materials



Message From koolseal.com Visitor:

I just bought a 96 Hi-Lo Rv
with roof leaks, looks mostly like pinholes in
the Aluminum roof. Some real small and a few up to a 1/4 inch in
diameter. To seal this roof I am going to take all vents and the AC off the roof.
What I would like to know is if your product Xtra-Lite Premium
White Elastomeric Roof 63-800 would be a good choice for this project and
if you have any tips for me. Thinking of getting a roll of eternabond
tape to fill in the pinholes that I can find or do you have a better idea.

Dear Gary,

Thank you for contacting KST. We appreciate your inquiry.

Our elastomeric roof coatings are actually designed to be applied as a
system. This will include the use of the required patching materials as
well to achieve pleasing results. You should be able to use our products to
repair the small holes on your RV roofing substrate. Should you wish to use
the Xtra-Lite product, this should work. For a longer lasting (and more
durable coating), I would suggest going with the Premium White Elastomeric
Roof Coating (63-600). To apply this system per directions, thoroughly
clean the roofing surface and remove all areas of rust (taking care to
prime them with a rust inhibiting primer). When the surface is cleaned and
prepped, proceed with the application of the patching materials. You will
want to apply the Patching Cement over all cracks, seams, holes and around
any protrusions (any place where two unlike surfaces meet). While this is
still wet, lay down another layer of Reinforcing Grid, followed by another
coating of the Patching Cement (creating a sandwich of product). Ensure
that any questionable area is treated with these patching materials, and
then allow to dry. Proceed with the two required coats of your chosen
elastomeric for a pleasing waterproof substrate.

I hope this information is useful. Please let me know if you have any
further questions by replying with message history.

Sincerely,

Jessica
KST Product Support



Jessica,

I found a 5 gallon container of 63-600 at our local Ace Hardware store and was wondering what the shelf life is of this product. I won't be coating
the rv roof until the spring, which is quite a long ways off, but would buy it now because of the good price.



Thank you for responding back.

The shelf-life of our coatings unopened will be three years, so long as the
product is stored appropriately. Namely, you do not want to allow the
product to freeze, as this will cause the coating to "spoil." Store the
container in a temperature regulated area, such as a hall closet or heated
basement, and you should have pleasing results when you go to apply this
coating next spring.

I hope this information is useful. Please let me know if you have any other
questions.

Best regards,

Jessica
KST Product Support

Crack in Shroud
 

garyk52,

Thank you so much for your valuable information. What a coincidence. I was just down at our local Ace store yesterday and I saw a 5-gallon can of Kool Seal Elastomeric Roof Coating. I didn't get the number off the can but when I read your post, I called and spoke to the 'paint guy' and he went back to get the information. I also asked him to provide the expiration date and he said he had ordered it in the past few months. It was what was recommended to you by the factory rep, the 63-600. And, it was on sale for $69! The reason he said was that they were phasing it out and were going to a different brand. So, I will go by and pick it up today and store it inside the house per instructions you got from the rep.

Like you, I had planned on removing the vents and AC unit as well as removing the gutter moulding on the sides, and run a strip of Eternabond Web Seal Bonding Tape along the openings and edge seams. When doing the roof edges, the process calls for lapping over the joint and to do this I plan on removing the gutter moulding, place the eternabond tape on the seam with a short overlap not exceeding the width of the gutter moulding so it will not be seen on the sides after replacing the moulding. Did you do this on your repair project? They also recommended replacing the factory screws which are brass with a steel screw. Did you do this and if so where did you get the screws?

I am also considering lapping the eternabond tape over a portion of the end caps that cover the roof edges on each end. My thinking is that doing so would perhaps fix or help the cracking problem that the plastic end caps are experiencing. I think your end caps are fiber glass so you probably didn't need to do this. [I would like to hear what others might think of this approach].

I would also like to know if you ran the eternabond tape over the rib joints connecting the aluminum panels? I had to place some BK Sealant on two areas where it appears they have become separated. This may have ocurred when the guy was on the roof washing it last month.

From what you have told me, your roof problem is very much like mine and substantiates what Rich R's analysis of the cause being electrolysis and or chemical action. I'm curious of the placement of the holes in your roof that you described. Were they scattered throughout the roof's surface or were they like mine, in a row and confined to a few linear feet?

I am hopeful that future readers of this post will find some helpful information should they experience the same problems we have encountered.
Thanks again for the information.

Jerry & Carol Curtis
2406 Towlite

Jerry,

I'm in the same boat as you. I just got my Hilo in the middle of October 2011 and the only thing I have done so far is tear out the wet paneling and styrofoam. I covered it with a tarp I bought from Amazon.com for the winter as I believe we both need warmer weather to work on these campers. The pinholes in my camper are scattered mostly on the back 1/4 of the roof, door side.

Cheers
Gary

Roof repair,JCurtis95 &Gary 52
 

Gary52 Thank you for contacting kool seal and posting the great reply. I,m sure it will help others as this will happen over and over again to HiLo trailers. My two cents worth. Jerry I would write a letter to your ins. co. requesting a delay in bringing the trailer until the spring. State it is covered up to prevent further dammage. The advantage of having it inspected in the bad weather is the Rv shops are less busy in the winter. Wouldn,t it be nice if you didn,t have to do the repair and it was covered by the ins. co.? I have ordered stainless steel screws from McFeelys several times over the years and recently in our 90 HiLo restoration. Ask them if you can get $1.00 shipping. This $1.00 shipping post card is included with your return order. When you place the order they tyell you if it is in stock. I,m sure they are on the internet and you could request a catalog. Stainless steel screws aren,t cheap but hold up and are worth the extra $. Done once and done right. Finaly when coating use blue tape and you will get a "sharp line /neat looking job".Didn,t think to do this when we coated our roof. Best of luck to both of you with your repairs.

The pinholes from electrolysis are only in the spots where the screws beneath make direct contact with the aluminum roof material. So you may see the pinholes in rows or at hit and miss locations.

When applying the Koolseal be sure to mask off areas that you don't want it to be because it really sticks.

Applying Kool Seal 63-600
 

I will be beginning my roof repair in March. The Hi-lo will be inside the RV garage and I will choose a warm day [or two] to do the application itself. Meanwhile, I will remove vents, AC, and gutter molding and do the preparation required before applying Kool Seal.

I am a little confused as to the preparation prior to applying the Kool Seal itself. When Garyk contacted the factory rep, his instructions were as follows:

1.clean the roof
2.prime with a rust inhibiting primer
3.apply patching materials [and reinforcing grid [?]]
4.apply Patching Cement over all cracks, seams, holes and around any
protrusions (any place where two unlike surfaces meet).
5.while this is still wet, lay down another layer of Reinforcing Grid, followed by another coating of the Patching Cement (creating a sandwich of product)
6.apply [2] coats of Kool Seal

My confusion lies in an earlier post where it was recommended that eternabond web seal tape be used. Am I to understand I have options here? If I use eterna-bond web seal tape does that replace steps 3, 4, & 5 above? Or is eternabond web seal tape to be applied after doing all the above steps?

If I have the option of doing one or the other, or if all the above is required, I would like suggestions for the patching materials [patching cement and reinforcing grid]. Am I also understanding it correctly that if the webseal tape is used, nothing other than a clean surface is necessary before application?

Sorry for all these confusing questions but I want to do it right the first time.
Thanks for your advice and input.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T 2000 F250 7.3L 4x4

jcurtis95

The drift I get from this is Kool Seal wants you to use their patching materials and not eternabond. They don't make any money from eternabond. I'm going to use whichever is cheaper ( 16 year old camper ) either eternabond tape or patching cement and reinforcing grid which I presume is nothing more than a nylon screen sandwich.

Cheers and Good Luck
garyk52

Oh yea the primer thing is just on rust spots

Here's what i did to my 2001 19' last summer.

1. 1. wash roof with tsp, rinse

Here's what i did to my 2001 19' last summer.
1. wash roof with tsp, rinse 2. cover all seams, top of end caps and visable pinholes with etrnabond web seal tape 3. paint roof with 2-3 coats of elastromeric covering. I purchased the covering at Home Depot. It looks good but I've noticed a few bubbles under the coating. I don't known if the electroylis is causing this or trapped mositure before coating. I plan on cutting the blisters out next spring and recoating the area.

ABS plastic repair
 

I know this is a hilo forum but i use to own an apache popup camper , no canvas but it has abs pannels in place of canvas, the suggested for cracks to use MSK, which is liquid used in automotive body shops, comes in quart size and i found mine at Menards, What they suggested was to first put some MEK into a metal or glass jar with some small chips of abs plastic, ( you can purchase it, ) or find a piece of abs plastic, cut it into small chuncks, like 1/4 inch, put it in overnight into containter with MEK, and lid on tight, look at it the next morning and what you have is a brushable goo. On the crack area lightly sand the crack area, brush alittle mek on and then put a cut to length piece of sheetrock joint fibermesh over the crack for strength, brush another layer over the top and then leave alone, may require several coates, but hardens in hours and is as good as the original abs plastic, I have used this on my hilo battery box and electric cord box from damage from hitting stuff from previous owners . Fiberglass on abs plastic works but will eventually let loose and have seen the results.