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Old 03-26-2006, 03:26 AM   #1
genecurp
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nashville
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M.O.C. #2535
rubber roof bubble

Sweeping my roof yesterday I notice a bubble under the rubber roof. It is all accross the width of the trailer (8 feet). It is smaller on one side than the other. The small side seems to want to stick back down with just hand pressure. It was about 40 F. The larger side is about one to 1.5 inch wide. The bubble is right at an expansion joint at the highpoint of the roof. On my 3295 RK that means just aft of the door.

I read the rubber roof posting from the last year. I talked to my dealer who said bubbles are caused by moisture getting under the roof and lossening the water based adhesive. Further, dealer said bubbles are common and no problem so long as they remain small.

I am under warrenty until November.

My conclusion is I do not have a problem. Am I screwing up?

Thanks for your help.
Gene

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Old 03-26-2006, 04:06 AM   #2
Karl
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The bubble may (or may not) become a real problem. The roof of an RV acts like the wing of an airplane. The air moving over the roof when travelling causes a "lift" which is greater with increased speed. In our case, the bubble resulted in a complete shredding of the front 10 feet of the membrane while we were travelling 60 MPH against a 35-40 MPH headwind. We were under warranty, and the entire roof membrane was replaced. My suggestion would be to be sure that your dealer (AND MONTANA) be informed and that you attempt to get assurance in writing that in the event of a problem after the warranty expires the warranty would still cover it. My dealer said the membrane replacement job would have cost about $5000 had we been charged.

The bubble you have seems quite small in comparison to some I have seen while meeting other RV's where there seems to be a big bubble rising over the entire front section of the unit.
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Old 03-26-2006, 04:40 AM   #3
c est la vie
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Karl

The bubble may (or may not) become a real problem. The roof of an RV acts like the wing of an airplane. The air moving over the roof when travelling causes a "lift" which is greater with increased speed. In our case, the bubble resulted in a complete shredding of the front 10 feet of the membrane while we were travelling 60 MPH against a 35-40 MPH headwind. We were under warranty, and the entire roof membrane was replaced. My suggestion would be to be sure that your dealer (AND MONTANA) be informed and that you attempt to get assurance in writing that in the event of a problem after the warranty expires the warranty would still cover it. My dealer said the membrane replacement job would have cost about $5000 had we been charged.

The bubble you have seems quite small in comparison to some I have seen while meeting other RV's where there seems to be a big bubble rising over the entire front section of the unit.
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Old 03-26-2006, 04:48 AM   #4
c est la vie
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I have a 2003 Mountaineer and have same condition in 2004 the dealer removed the rear section of the roof to look at another problem something was pushing the roof up in RR corner about 2 feet in length now the roof is lifting up in the same area again plus many other areas near what appears to be joints in under roof construction especially in the area where the roof curves over the edge of structure, on both sides. I recently coated it with the cool seal products and both dealer,Montane,and cool Seal people tell me that it is not a problem, Makes one wonder doesn't it? Personally I'm not too happy about it.
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Karl

The bubble may (or may not) become a real problem. The roof of an RV acts like the wing of an airplane. The air moving over the roof when travelling causes a "lift" which is greater with increased speed. In our case, the bubble resulted in a complete shredding of the front 10 feet of the membrane while we were travelling 60 MPH against a 35-40 MPH headwind. We were under warranty, and the entire roof membrane was replaced. My suggestion would be to be sure that your dealer (AND MONTANA) be informed and that you attempt to get assurance in writing that in the event of a problem after the warranty expires the warranty would still cover it. My dealer said the membrane replacement job would have cost about $5000 had we been charged.

The bubble you have seems quite small in comparison to some I have seen while meeting other RV's where there seems to be a big bubble rising over the entire front section of the unit.
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Old 03-26-2006, 07:28 AM   #5
richfaa
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There are bubbles in roofs because there is no adhesive under that particular spot.No matter what any dealer or Keystone rep may say a bubble in MY roof will not be "normal" It will reported while under warranty and documented (pictures).We will also ask that the "it is normal" statement be documented in writing by whoever said that. True a tiny bubble or bubbles may NEVER cause a big problem, howver it is still NOT NORMAL. We have seen over the years many roofs of many brands of campers flapping in the breeze.Will never forget being at a campground in PA about 5 years ago when a nice camper pulled in with the entire front section of the roof peeled back. We asked him if he had not noticed anything wrong with the roof before and he said no, there were just a few small bubbles along the front but they had been there since day one and never caused a problem..till now that is...
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Old 03-26-2006, 08:33 AM   #6
Illini Trekker
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I have the bubble line you described on my roof too. I do the roof maintenance thing and the lines have not grown 1 year old now. Could it be Keystone leaves glue off at the seams to allow expansion or movement in the roof and ease the wear on the rubber membrane?
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Old 03-26-2006, 10:21 AM   #7
Kathi
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Here we go again....They are replacing the whole roof on my 2005 3400RL because I ask the dealer to go up and check it out for me. When he came down, he said there were so many bubbles up there because of NO ADHESIVE BEING THERE! When I questioned the age of the trailer he knew I couldn't get up there so he got his digital camera and took pictures and showed me...OK.....So if you are under warranty get it done, don't wait till that runs out because you know what will happen then. You will have a real fight on your hands....
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Old 03-27-2006, 02:36 AM   #8
genecurp
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Thanks to all for their help.

From reading last year's posts, I saw several home/dealer fixes mentioned. One was to inject glue with a needle under the membrane and seal the pucture. Another variation was to slit, glue and seal the slit with Eternabond. One posted said Dicor told him to cut away completely the damaged section of membrane, and apply Eternabond as per directions directly to the DRY wooden roof.

I also noticed many postings about the front end shredding problem. It seemed most common to find that was from the front end cap flexing and breaking its roofline attachment screws, thus the roof membrane becomes subject to highway "wind" getting under it. My bubble is well rear of the bedroom area at mid-coach.

I take to heart the prudence of a little documentation. Think I will climb up there again with the camera.

Thanks again.
Gene
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