Roof Repair - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

jcurtis95 · 02-12-2012, 08:42 PM

I began a post last year that was about a crack that appeared in the rear end cap on our 2406T Hi-Lo. After addressing that problem, I continued on that same thread with another problem that came about, a leaking roof. A large bulging "sac" developed in one of the cabinets just over the tip out and extended outside the cabinet a short distance. I punctured the sac and released the water that had collected and caused the welt. After ensuring it had been thoroughly dried out, I had to get to the cause.

I discovered a section of the roof, on the driver's side, that began near the front end cap [the large crack was in the rear end cap] of the RV and extended down to near the AC unit. Upon closer inspection, I found 40+ holes in the metal roof ranging from pin head size to 1/2" [after I had scraped the deteriorated portions away]. I also noticed a lot of the areas of the roof/wall junctures around the trailer as well as some of the roof vent junctures had degraded with noticeable gaps in the sealant material. It is difficult for me to say with certainty whether the leak in the ceiling was due to a particularly large hole or the degradation in the sealant on the roof/wall junctures. I tend to believe the latter. I also noted that the lateral metal roofing joint connectors had some separation in places which could have allowed rain water to enter and be channeled to the interior leak.

It appeared to me that the holes in the aluminum metal had been subjected to electrical contact causing burn holes and they were in somewhat of a confined area about 10 to 12 feet in length on the road side only. Forum Moderator RichR correctly identified the holes as being caused by a chemical reaction due to contact of two dissimilar metals [screw/nails and the aluminum roof material] causing what I call 'metal rot'.

How did this come about? I'm not sure but I envisioned two factory workers applying the ceiling material to the roof using two different nailing guns, one having too much air pressure or using nails/staples that were just a little too long. Just my guess. Regardless, I had discovered I have what could become a big problem with the pin holes, the lateral roof joints, and the deterioration of the poor quality caulk-like sealant applied at the factory.

I began my research and decided I needed to address all these potential problem areas and come to a permanent solution. I have decided to use the KoolSeal Elastomeric Paint 63-600 after reading the recommendations of some forum members and testimonials from other users. I wasn't completely sold on KoolSeal's Patching Cement or Reinforcing Grid so I searched further and ordered two rolls of EternaBond's Web Seal Tape [4" x 50' rolls]. The web seal tape is more expensive but after watching the application films on their website, it seemed the natural choice to ensure a good seal over the various junctures and roof openings. The factory rep did not recommend using their primer unless the temps are 40 degrees or below. I will probably buy their primer to use on the pin holes to ensure permanent adhesion.

Forum Moderator, RichR suggested I begin a new thread, provide some pictures and explain my processes as I go through the preparatory work and conclude with the recommended two coats of the elastomeric paint. I will attempt to do this as I will begin work on the project within the next two or three weeks weather permitting. While the work will be done in our attached RV garage, it is not heated and it remained right around 40 degrees today which made me decide to go ahead and order Eternabond's primer for we are just now getting into the cold weather here in South Texas.

I know there are other Hi-Lo owners out there that have, or will, experience the same type problems as I have described. Many of them discovered the problem too late to avoid extensive and expensive repairs by professionals. Being a retired do-it-yourself kind of guy, I prefer to keep as much of what money we have, in the bank account, and rely on my own abilities to do repairs such as this. I hope to be able to accomplish this on my own and if it will help some of you, I will try and keep a log and pictures of the process as I make the roof repairs.

If anyone out there has gone through this ordeal before and can offer any helpful suggestions before I begin, I would appreciate your input.

Jerry Curtis
2406 Towlite; Ford 2000 F250 7.3L Diesel 4x4

sam · 02-13-2012, 01:20 AM

We haven,t had todo roof repair on our 90 HiLo Classic restoration. Make sure you tape off the enge where you don,t want any primmer ect.to go .Use blue painters tape and remove as soon as possible. I,m with you about keeping as much $ in your pocket as possible!! I would call JR and get advice before you start your repair. Do you think you are going to have to do a total tear off or just repair with externabond tape and roof sealer.? It would be great if you could do a detailed description and include before and after pictures. I know several other have done roof repair.

jcurtis95 · 02-13-2012, 05:34 AM

Sam,

Thanks for the advice with the tape. I remember your stating that before and I already have a roll of that blue tape left over from a house paint job I did. No, I don't think this is a major roof replacement job. I just want to take steps to avoid having that occur in the future. I believe I saw the signs very early on. Just a few weeks prior to our discovery of the leak, I had the trailer thoroughly washed, including the roof that had a lot of black build-up. The man was on the roof for quite some time cleaning it and nary a sign of a leak inside. It was just a few short weeks later on a trip to Oklahoma over some very rough back roads that we were in a heavy rain/snow storm while set up in an RV park that we first saw some signs of moisture coming in around the bathroom vent, in the area of the 1/8" crack that had developed in the rear shroud. I made some temporary repairs and from that point on I was very alert to any further leaks. When we returned home a couple of weeks later and I began winterizing the trailer, is when I first noticed the water accumulate in a 'sac' inside one of the cabinets that lead to the discovery of the problems in the roof. Perhaps when the man was washing the roof [he did not use a power washer, just detergent and a water hose and brush], may have been the cause of some of the problems, for example the lateral roof joints separating in places.

I believe I caught it in the early stages and hope the steps I'm taking will prevent any future deterioration.

Jerry Curtis

RichR · 02-13-2012, 07:31 AM

Jerry, I moved your thread to Maintenance and repair> Exterior at your request. I never did that before, I think it worked okay.

As Sam said, a call to JR Repair may be a good idea. They have seen it all over the years.

jcurtis95 · 03-02-2012, 09:50 AM

Today I took the first step in beginning the roof repairs on our 2406 T. I have had it stored in our driveway with a cover over it for the past 3 months and in anticpation of beginning repairs, removed the cover and moved the trailer into our RV garage so that repairs may begin. We normally use the RV garage for parking the truck but it is important that the trailer be in a dry environment for a prolonged period of time so that necessitated moving it inside.

Before moving inside, I had to temporarily move [5] shelving units and a freezer so that I would have access for the repairs. I positioned the trailer in such a way that repairs could be made from both ends and one side with full access while the road side would give me limited access. This was due to the limited space in the attached RV garage which would not allow sufficient access from all [4] sides.

I raised the HiLo to check the interior and found that the cover had provided the necessary protection keeping further leakage from occuring during its 3 month outside storage. In fact, the damaged interior ceiling area had dried further as evidenced by the shrunken bulges so I anticipate no severe damage has been done to the roof.

Due to our attending a convention next week, I will limit present activity to removing the side gutters and prepping the cracked endcap, and figuring out a method using boards to spread my body weight while working topside. I have all materials ready except for the primer which should arrive any day now.

I will have 3 weeks to complete the roof repair prior to an expected RV outing to Oklahoma in April. Future updates and pics on my progress will follow.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

sam · 03-02-2012, 09:41 PM

Whew !! what you had to go through to even start repairs. Sounds like you are prepared material wise. Best of luck.

jcurtis95 · 03-02-2012, 10:00 PM

I spent some time today prepping the RV for the upcoming roof repairs I intend to make. I began by taking off the curbside gutter and awning. One advantage of being a HiLo owner is that with this type repair, you can do a lot of work from the ground without having to be up a ladder.

I first removed the awning from the lower brackets after opening it up for about a foot or so. I extended the arm down to the floor and wrapped the upper arm in an old rag to prevent scratching the sidewall. I removed all the screws holding the gutter, and began removing the gutter from the wall mount. As I pulled the gutter from the wall, I had to use a knife to cut through the caulking as it had adhered very well to the fiberglass siding. Once that was done and before completing the operation, I had my wife hold the end up to insure I would not cause any damage to the gutter as I removed it. Once I had cut through the caulking, we moved the awning off to the side where I will clean the caulking off it after removing the remaining caulking from the wall & roof.

Near the rear end cap, The rubber caulking material was discolored and while it had adhered to the end cap very well, it pulled loose from the roof rather easily. I began pulling the end and discovered discoloration on the bottom of the caulk that was on the metal roof, indicating that eventually it would have allowed rainwater to enter into the covered area of the end cap.

I also discovered that the front end cap had developed a crack since we had put it away for the winter. The flimsy plastic end cap material was easily depressed which would have allowed entry for heavy rains. Yet another repair that I will have to make along with the crack in the rear end cap. I haven't decided yet how to make these repairs on the front since it had cracked in a spot that repairs would not be aesthetically pleasing. I had decided to use the eternabond tape on the rear crack and place a piece of reflective tape over it as it will be centered and will not look bad. The front crack however will call for a little entrepreneurship to make it look good aesthetically.

I am attachng several photos of today's operation. Tomorrow I will remove the roadside gutter and clean the old caulking off the roof/wall areas as well as the guttering. My primer came in today but it will be next week before I am ready to apply the tape and paint.

More operations and pictures to follow.

Jerry Curtis 2406 T

jcurtis95 · 03-04-2012, 11:16 PM

Saturday I cleaned the caulking from the roof/wall juncture and gutter/awning mount in preparing for the primer, eternabond tape, and paint. If I had this to do over again, I do not think the removal of the gutter/awning mount was necessary. Being ignorant of how the roof was applied, I found that the aluminum roof metal was crimped and folded over the outer wall with very little chance of being a site for leakage into the interior wall or ceiling. I will complete this since I have gone this far and will probably remove the gutter on the road side also just to maintain balance in the appearance.

I am taking several pictures of the cleanup task and also some pics of the rear end cap, skylight, bathroom, vent, and sewer vent. It is evident that the sealant over much of these roof areas has degraded to the point that it needs repair/replacement, probably due to the extremes in the northern Minnesoata cold and Southern Texas heat.

My question to the forum, the eternabond webseal tape I bought if 4" wide and according to the tech will adhere to just about anything. Do you think I should remove all the old swealant/caulk or just cover it? I'm leaning toward complete removal of all the old caulk/sealant.

I included a pic of the caulking sealant used on the rear end cap and you will notice the deterioration plus the rather large gap that exists separating the cap and the roof. Aside from the poor quality of the end cap [being plastic] the engineering tolerances for the 'fit' seem way out of line for a snug fit. I hope the new owners of the HiLo plant take note.

sam · 03-05-2012, 11:43 AM

Just saying,I think you should remove as much old caulk as possible.This will ensure the best possible result for no leaks. DH says if the caulk comes off easy then go for it. If you are able to get all the caulk off then in future years you might be able to recaulk on caulk. Seems you are doing a fab. job. Take your time. You are ordering the correct materials. It will pay big dividends when it is pouring outside and you are high and dry.

jcurtis95 · 03-25-2012, 05:24 PM

It has been a while since I posted anything on the project due to other activities we have had going on. I worked on the Hi Lo for the past week and have made a lot of progress. I did remove all the wall vents and drip covers over the door and slide out that had been discolored by the sun and painted them and the rain gutter and awning gutter with Krylon's Plastic paint available at WalMart. There are not too many paints for using on plastic but the Krylon made them look new.

I will not post any pictures until after I have applied all the eterna-bond tape to all the potential exposed junctions in vents, end caps, etc. Yesterday I began placing it on a roof vent, air vent, sun roof, and one roof lateral junction. I discovered that the two rolls of 4 inch x 50 feet will not be enough to do everything I want to cover so I ordered another roll of tape today and had it expressed to me. The eterna-bond tape really adheres well and I have confidence that when I will have completed these repairs, I will not have to worry about the roof leaking again for many years.

BTW, if anyone plans a project using the eterna-bond tape, I found a source that sells a 50' x 4" roll for around $59 including shipping. That sounds high but I have seen RV places that sell if for well over $100 for the same size tape. If interested, send me a private message.

I have decided to use eterna-bond tape on the splits in the end caps. I will patch a larger area than necessary, paint it white, and then we will place an American Flag decal over the patch job to make it aesthetically pleasing.

Once I am finished with this project, I will remove all the windows and replace the deteriorated window caulking that has aged and turned black. This Hi Lo is a 2006 model and I would not have thought the caulking would be that bad, but I don't know where the previous owner has been or how he had stored it. Where I have used the caulk on the wall vents, I have applied a bead of white rubberized calking to prevent the aging and eventual black streaking.

I will try and post some pictures later this week.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

sam · 03-25-2012, 07:50 PM

Sounds like you have been busy and productive. I agree that you time and effort will pay big dividends. You will have a leak free roof for many years to come.

campthewestcoast · 03-25-2012, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcurtis95

It has been a while since I posted anything on the project due to other activities we have had going on. I worked on the Hi Lo for the past week and have made a lot of progress. I did remove all the wall vents and drip covers over the door and slide out that had been discolored by the sun and painted them and the rain gutter and awning gutter with Krylon's Plastic paint available at WalMart. There are not too many paints for using on plastic but the Krylon made them look new.

I will not post any pictures until after I have applied all the eterna-bond tape to all the potential exposed junctions in vents, end caps, etc. Yesterday I began placing it on a roof vent, air vent, sun roof, and one roof lateral junction. I discovered that the two rolls of 4 inch x 50 feet will not be enough to do everything I want to cover so I ordered another roll of tape today and had it expressed to me. The eterna-bond tape really adheres well and I have confidence that when I will have completed these repairs, I will not have to worry about the roof leaking again for many years.

BTW, if anyone plans a project using the eterna-bond tape, I found a source that sells a 50' x 4" roll for around $59 including shipping. That sounds high but I have seen RV places that sell if for well over $100 for the same size tape. If interested, send me a private message.

I have decided to use eterna-bond tape on the splits in the end caps. I will patch a larger area than necessary, paint it white, and then we will place an American Flag decal over the patch job to make it aesthetically pleasing.

Once I am finished with this project, I will remove all the windows and replace the deteriorated window caulking that has aged and turned black. This Hi Lo is a 2006 model and I would not have thought the caulking would be that bad, but I don't know where the previous owner has been or how he had stored it. Where I have used the caulk on the wall vents, I have applied a bead of white rubberized calking to prevent the aging and eventual black streaking.

I will try and post some pictures later this week.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Would like to see pictures, will be doing this same repair on my 2206T when the weather warms up and the rain stops. Got most of caulking replaced/repaired before the rain started(late rain this year for us).I have the eternabond tape ready to go but I found it bonds better in warm weather.

jcurtis95 · 03-25-2012, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam

Sounds like you have been busy and productive. I agree that you time and effort will pay big dividends. You will have a leak free roof for many years to come.

Thanks Sam,

And, yes, I [we] have been busy. We just finished placing the eterna-bond over the rear end cap and one more lateral. I will send pics when we are completely finished with the eterna-bond. If the tape I just ordered were here, we would be painting Tuesday!

Alas, hindsight is so much better than foresight, I did not figure in the laterals on my eterna-bond requirements, so, I will wait for the remainder which will hopefully arrive Thursday

My thanks to vdubn for recommending the 'Simple Green' for cleaning the roof. I have used it for over half the trailer and it works great!

Maybe by Saturday, I can provide everyone pics of the eterna-bond and primer applications.

Jerry Curtis
2406T

jcurtis95 · 03-25-2012, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campthewestcoast

Would like to see pictures, will be doing this same repair on my 2206T when the weather warms up and the rain stops. Got most of caulking replaced/repaired before the rain started(late rain this year for us).I have the eternabond tape ready to go but I found it bonds better in warm weather.

Les,

i will surely post pics, I am just waiting until I get all the eterna-bond tape in place. I do not know how much you ordered/have, but if you approach it the way I did, it will take [3] rolls. Several weeks ago I spent a half hour searching the web looking for the best price for the tape. The gentleman I got it from sent me my tracking number 5-minutes after I had placed the order. His price was $48.25, plus shipping, which is less than half the going price anywhere you look.

Send me a private message or email me direct at jcurtis95@austin.rr.com and I will gladly share the seller's location.

Here in Southern Texas, we are going to skip Spring and move directly into Summer. Our temps today were unusually warm for this time of the year. We made it into the 80's and we are in the 'hill country'!

Les, I will be more than happy to share my experiences with you. Send me an email and I will give you our home phone and we can talk directly.

Jerry Curtis
2406T 2000 F250 7.3L Diesel, Super Duty, Ext. Cab 4x4

P.S. Please send some of your rain our way!

campthewestcoast · 03-25-2012, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcurtis95

Les,

i will surely post pics, I am just waiting until I get all the eterna-bond tape in place. I do not know how much you ordered/have, but if you approach it the way I did, it will take [3] rolls. Several weeks ago I spent a half hour searching the web looking for the best price for the tape. The gentleman I got it from sent me my tracking number 5-minutes after I had placed the order. His price was $48.25, plus shipping, which is less than half the going price anywhere you look.

Send me a private message or email me direct at jcurtis95@austin.rr.com and I will gladly share the seller's location.

Here in Southern Texas, we are going to skip Spring and move directly into Summer. Our temps today were unusually warm for this time of the year. We made it into the 80's and we are in the 'hill country'!

Les, I will be more than happy to share my experiences with you. Send me an email and I will give you our home phone and we can talk directly.

Jerry Curtis
2406T 2000 F250 7.3L Diesel, Super Duty, Ext. Cab 4x4

P.S. Please send some of your rain our way!

Jerry,

Sorry, but we need to keep the rain, or there might be a shortage of Napa Valley wine.

jcurtis95 · 03-25-2012, 09:38 PM

Les,

Won't bother me... I like my Canadian Blend Whiskey.

Jerry

jcurtis95 · 03-30-2012, 07:10 AM

As promised I am attaching some pics of the taping process using eterna-bond tape around roof penetrations, lateral joints, end caps, and wall-roof junctions and areas where holes were found in the roof from pin size to 1/4". At last count there were [44] holes confined to a small section of the roof. I have used almost [3] rolls of the eterna-bond tape on our 24' hi-Lo. It is best to have two people working on the taping of long runs but unfortunately my wife was ill and I had to do the long runs by myself. I finished the taping last night and hopefully today I will get the primer down and possibly the first coat of Kool Seal elastomeric paint Saturday with the second and last coat Sunday afternoon. I am having eye surgery Monday so I want to complete this project before that takes place.

When this is completed, I will move the Hi Lo outside and replace the caulking around all the windows. It will be nice to have some working space again as the confinement and limited access made the roof repairs more difficult.

I will be glad when this project is completed so I can get my garage back in order.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

sam · 03-30-2012, 07:29 PM

Looks like you did a mighty fine job on your roof repair. So clean and crisp white. Best of luck with your eye surgery. I am going to have half of my Thyroid taken out Wed. April 4th. One night inpatient to make sure I have no bleeding or infection. Prayers for both of us. I too have a couple of things I want to get done before I go under the knife.

jcurtis95 · 03-31-2012, 12:35 AM

We finished all the preliminary work today and tomorrow the roof gets its first coat of Kool white Paint. I have removed all the old caulking and replaced it with new, applied the eterna-bond web tape to all the roof penetrations, and now everything has been masked taped and visqueen in place so tomorrow is the day! One more coat on Sunday after church and I will put this baby to rest, except for changing out the window caulk in all windows!

I went to Pro-build today and got a tube of Devcon High Strength Plastic Welder made especially for hard plastics. It is a two-tube dispensable mixture that once extruded, you have to blend the two liquids together. After that you have [4] minutes to apply it

Just for the heck of it, I have attached [4] shots of the Hi Lo after applying visqueen and blue tape. I ran out of visqueen so I used an old card board box for the rear protective cover.

Hopefully I will have some pictures after the first coat tomorrow.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

jcurtis95 · 03-31-2012, 11:02 PM

It has been a heck-ova-day. It was one of those days when everything is stacked against you. Because of errands and other duties, it was late afternoon before I got started painting. The big problem was finishing before it got dark because the bugs down here in South Texas are prolific. It got up to 97 degrees here today! I have been working with the light on at night but the bugs are attracted to the lights and I didn't want to contend with them while I was painting. Finally got it done and took some pics of the first coat which are attached.

I included a pic of "Rocky", my constant shadow and companion, and in his mind..., my helper. Every time I went up the ladder, Rocky was there. Every time I came back down, Rocky was there. When I went for more paint, Rocky was there. Each time I moved the ladder, Rocky was there. This went on for 2-1/2 hours as has been the case every evening since I began this project.

Carol and I became friends and partners with Rocky and got him from my sister-in-law in Oklahoma two years ago. He had been abandoned when her neighbor moved off. Two years prior we had just lost our boy, Bronco, who was a 125 pound Akita/English Mastiff, and like Rocky, followed me every step of every day for 15-1/2 years. when I had to put him down, it was 30 days from his 17th birthday. When Rocky became available, my sis called me and said it is time for us to have another furry friend. We have never regretted that we accepted him into our home and our lives. We go to several conventions each year and Rocky goes with us. His loyalty is his greatest trait. It is like having a little boy following around watching everything you do with wonderment in his eyes! I just had to share this bundle of joy with the forum. He is a true friend.

Second coat tomorrow and I will be done with the roof. I just have a question for the forum. In reading the application instructions from the side of the Kool-White container, it states the first coat should go on using a north-south direction application and the second coat should be applied using an east-west approach. Anyone care to explain why? That means I will have to get upon the roof for the 2nd coat which does not appeal to me. Just curious if vdubn used this method?

Jerry Curtis
2406 T