Yeah, so, we went out for some Labor Day Weekend camping.
I get the big idea to wash the roof before we go. I figure, since I haven't washed it in about a year, it's time to do the dirty deed. I get all of the necessary buckets, brushes, spray nozzle, etc. together, and I can't find my "Costco Sized" bottle of blue Dawn detergent anywhere to save my soul. I give up the search, go to the kitchen and grab the "lemon fresh" Joy, and continue on with the task.
.......fast forward 5 days, breaking camp after a wonderful time on the Oregon coast. I climb up on the roof to make sure there are no sticks, pine needles, or some-such on the slide tops before bringing them in. There were some pine needles on the desk and kitchen slides, so I am sweeping them off, ......what's this?! Oh, crap! There are 2 dime sized holes on one edge of the desk slide rubber roof material!!!!
Gah!!!!!!!! I hope the little S.O.B. gets an intestinal blockage from the chunks of rubber that he ate, and crawls off somewhere to die.
So, now I am in the process of patching with EternaBond, which is an adventure in itself. It seems that Camping World wants $12 for a 6"x6" piece of Dicor patch material, which seems kind of expensive to me. So what do I do in protest to these outrageous prices? ........Well, I run down to the local roofing supply store and buy a 6" by 50 foot roll of EternaBond, of course! Seems like the only sensible thing to do, right?
It set me back $82, but at least I'll be prepared for when I lose an argument with a tree, or be able to help out another RVer in dire straits.
It was cheaper than anything that I could find on the internet once you figure in the shipping cost, and no waiting for the UPS truck to arrive with a mangled box.
Oh, by the way, in case there is anyone wondering what the difference is between the high priced EternaBond "EternaBond OneStep Miracle RV Roof Tape" that you can find at your RV dealership, and the more reasonably priced (on the internet or local roofing supply store)EternaBond RoofSeal, .....the absolute, only difference is the available sizes that you can get them in, ....that's it, same exact stuff, different size!!! The "RV" one comes in 4" wide by 37 feet long, the "regular" one comes in a multitude of widths from 2" to 48" wide by 50' long.
Go figure!
Anyway, I'm off to do some roof repair. Lesson learned, re-washed roof with extra strong solution of Dawn, letting it soak in for quite a while. ...and I will NEVER, EVER again use Lemon Joy for anything on my rig!!!
I guess that I'm lucky that the squirrels didn't make Swiss Cheese out of my entire roof.