Roof repair

[Sdexte]

Hi all, I have a 2019 HC 373RD and a few months back I was cleaning the roof and noticed a small (about 1/2") tear in the roofing membrane right at the edge of the roof above the bedroom. I'm thinking I caught a tree branch at one of the state parks we had been at. I applied some flex seal tape on it and it appears that it sealed really well. Prior to finding it I know we had some periods rain and not knowing when exactly the tear happened I do not know how much moisture might have gotten under the roof membrane. Well today I was up on the roof again and noticed that the area near the tear did not look right and when I checked, pressing on the roof in that area, I noticed that it felt somewhat soft especially along the outer edge so I am assuming water had gotten in and caused some decay to the roofing material which I am guessing is plywood. It does not appear to be anything that is structurally detrimental at this point and I am considering my options for repairing it. My first thought is to cut the membrane and flip it back to expose the affected area of the roofing and replace that, then flip the membrane back and apply dicor ( I think that is what it is) tape to seal it back up. I am wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience in this type of repair. We are full timers so I do not have the option of taking it in somewhere and leaving it to get repaired. I would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks

[mlh]

It sold to me like you have a good plan. Roll the roof back let it dry if it’s wet. It shouldn’t be wet though. The roof is vented. Whatever is bad replace the small area then put the roof back down. Wait for a few days of good weather get a tarp just in case and fix the roof.
Lynwood

[Carl n Susan]

Just a suggestion, use EternaBond rather than Flexseal to cover the edges of the repair. Then Dicor the edge of the Eternabond to ensure a good, leak proof seal.

[Sdexte]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

Just a suggestion, use EternaBond rather than Flexseal to cover the edges of the repair. Then Dicor the edge of the Eternabond to ensure a good, leak proof seal.

Thanks I couldn’t remember what the tape was called.

[psomers]

More than likely your decking is 7/16" OSB. Mine is. Need to replace decking from a trust to a trust to support. Be careful with depth of cut as there is a reflective membrane right under decking.

[jimcol]

Not sure if it is true on the newer models but on my dinosaur the outer edge of the roof is sheet metal forming the radius bend so the roof membrane material can meet the exterior wall. That always feels soft but it is actually just the sheet metal flexing. You don't know when the tear happen and you describe the roof as being somewhat soft. The roof is always softer between the truss, and that sheet metal edging has a lot of give. If it were mine, before I started cutting the roofing to look for a problem I'd patch the hole as Carl suggested and continue to monitor the situation with monthly inspections. Just my thoughts!

[Sdexte]

Originally Posted by psomers

More than likely your decking is 7/16" OSB. Mine is. Need to replace decking from a trust to a trust to support. Be careful with depth of cut as there is a reflective membrane right under decking.

Thanks for that info, do you by chance know what type of fasteners they use to hold the OSB to the trusses?

[mlh]

Originally Posted by jimcol

Not sure if it is true on the newer models but on my dinosaur the outer edge of the roof is sheet metal forming the radius bend so the roof membrane material can meet the exterior wall. That always feels soft but it is actually just the sheet metal flexing. You don't know when the tear happen and you describe the roof as being somewhat soft. The roof is always softer between the truss, and that sheet metal edging has a lot of give. If it were mine, before I started cutting the roofing to look for a problem I'd patch the hole as Carl suggested and continue to monitor the situation with monthly inspections. Just my thoughts!

Excellent advice.
Lynwood

[Mikendebbie]

There are several factory tour videos you can find to show how the roof is constructed. I like the "Home with the Hoopers" video here...

https://www.keystonerv.com/keystone-...s-factory-tour

Go forward to about the 10:45 minute mark and start watching. The workers are using power guns to shoot the fasteners thru the OSB deck, and based on other threads I have seen about the roof construction, they are probably shooting staples. Some folks have reported staples working thier way out and pushing up on the roof membrane (not necessarily poking thru the membrane). The general advice for what to do when you find a staple poking up on the roof membrane - is to do NOTHING. It ain't broke. Trying to pound it back in will likely damage the membrane.

[mazboy]

i'd wait and take it to the national rally next september and have a tech look at it and offer suggestions. also i would not us anything but EternaBond something made for rv roofs.
you may be getting into a huge project when you start talking about replacing OSB.

[Kyle and Lisa]

Our roof has no damage in 3 years of being full time, although we have a few bubbles, we are scheduled to have our roof redone by RV Armor in January for a piece of mind as we have decided to extend our 5 year plan of living in our rig, and it has a transferable lifetime warranty.

[bleedmichigan]

Our 2011 has screws holding the osb down. I know this because I replaced the roof this summer with Crazy Seal and had to take out a bunch of super sharp square drive screws to replace a piece of osb.

[psomers]

Originally Posted by Sdexte

Thanks for that info, do you by chance know what type of fasteners they use to hold the OSB to the trusses?

I see bleedmichigan answered your question. OSB screwed down.
Also see from reading this thread I mis-spelled truss. Guess at my age getting senile.

[Sdexte]

Update on my roof repair... I am going to just file an insurance claim and get a whole new roof. Problem solved. Also FYI I was told that there is a layer of luan on top of the OSB so that is probably what is soft and the OSB is still solid.

Thanks for the input.

[psomers]

No luan on mine.

[JBS]

Originally Posted by Sdexte

Hi all, I have a 2019 HC 373RD and a few months back I was cleaning the roof and noticed a small (about 1/2") tear in the roofing membrane right at the edge of the roof above the bedroom. I'm thinking I caught a tree branch at one of the state parks we had been at. I applied some flex seal tape on it and it appears that it sealed really well. Prior to finding it I know we had some periods rain and not knowing when exactly the tear happened I do not know how much moisture might have gotten under the roof membrane. Well today I was up on the roof again and noticed that the area near the tear did not look right and when I checked, pressing on the roof in that area, I noticed that it felt somewhat soft especially along the outer edge so I am assuming water had gotten in and caused some decay to the roofing material which I am guessing is plywood. It does not appear to be anything that is structurally detrimental at this point and I am considering my options for repairing it. My first thought is to cut the membrane and flip it back to expose the affected area of the roofing and replace that, then flip the membrane back and apply dicor ( I think that is what it is) tape to seal it back up. I am wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience in this type of repair. We are full timers so I do not have the option of taking it in somewhere and leaving it to get repaired. I would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks

To me you are better off to turn into insurance, if the roof is not fixed 100 percent correctly you will regret it down the line with all kinds of possibilities of damaging walls, flooring all from an improper or not completely dried out roof before repair.

[Gonefishin]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

Just a suggestion, use EternaBond rather than Flexseal to cover the edges of the repair. Then Dicor the edge of the Eternabond to ensure a good, leak proof seal.

I had a similar problem, The roof was starting to peel back where the membrane meets the nose cap. Caught it before moisture got in. Cut away the loose membrane and applied Eternabond tape. then Dicor lap sealant on the edges. Beats the $10K Camping World wants to stick me for a new roof membrane. Question: I plan to seal the roof this spring with Dicor roof sealant. Can this be applied over Eternabond tape?