Roof Repair, 2023 Montana legacy 3901

[jamesandmelinda]

My husband and I purchased our Montana Legacy 3901, last March 2023.
Upon our annual inspection. We were informed that the roof needs to be reseal due to multiple peeling, and cracks. The current seal is "Brown" in color which does not hold up to weather changes or heat.

The repairs needed includes "Peel and resealing with new roof sealant with Dicor.

 

[biznsa-MOC]

I would think that would be covered under warranty. It’s only a year old

 

[jkxtreme]

Agree with biznsa. That should be warranty. Talk to me about sealing the roof. I didn't think these roofs needed any type of sealing

 

[c2itcliff]

Dicor self-leveling lap sealant is a very good product, the only one I would use. We have had two Montana's in the past decade. In that time we have only had to reapply the sealant once. I would get a second opinion or climb up on the roof and take a look. It's very unlikely that the sealant would have dried out and cracked in just a years time.

 

[Mikendebbie]

They said “re-seal the roof”? It would have been better if they said “you need to re-caulk the roof”.

The roof membrane is a TPO membrane glued to plywood roof deck. The roof has “holes” in it for vent pipes, skylights, and air conditioners. The air conditioners are installed over a compressible foam gasket (not caulking). The skylights and vent pipes get caulked to the membrane. Also the membrane is caulked across the front and rear cap joints. A self-leveling caulk should be used at those locations. Next week I need to caulk the joint just above my gutters at the membrane as I noticed a tiny trickle of water coming out of the gutter where NO water should run. I will dig out the old caulk, clean the membrane and re-caulk the joint. For my gutters I will use non-sagging Pro-flex clear. All of this stuff does dry out and crack. I check mine and touch it up every year. I would be surprised that a 2023 model needed anything more than cleaned and touched up. Have you noticed any leaks coming in to the interior? Water stains? Maybe if there is a leak (say) at a skylight - you might argue for warranty coverage. If there is no leak or water damage - yearly maintenance and re-caulking/sealing is your responsibility after the first year.

I also see the words “seal the roof” used to describe use of a roof coating (like a real thick rubber or silicone paint). Lots of folks coat older roof membranes. I suppose you could put a sealer over a brand new roof, but nobody does that.

 

[Reset19]

Climb up and look for yourself. Our “dealer” hit us with a list of items on a warranty visit and marked our paperwork as “declined” when I passed on a $300 roof check.

 

[jkxtreme]

Which Dicor sealant do you recommend: Is it the Dicor 501LSW-1

 

[jamesandmelinda]

I have a quote, along with pictures too

 

[Mikendebbie]

Someone check me on this…but Keystone uses a TPO membrane by Alpha, who is owned by Lippert I believe. I have read on this forum that our owners manuals encourage (or maybe require???) the use of Alpha products on the roof for maintaining the warranty. Unfortunately I have not read this myself (it’s on my list of things to do now that I am retired)…so don’t take my word for it.
Alpha Self-leveling sealant and Dicor Self-leveling are basically the same and accomplish the goal of keeping the water out. I think it may be like Peter Pan peanut butter vs. Jif peanut butter…they are both peanut butter.

These self leveling sealants come in colors. I have never used anything but white (for no reason). Follow the directions for cleaning. On my 20 year old motorhome I scraped the old caulk off. I have not done that on the Monte. Use the material liberally when you use them. I am not a caulking guy but I have watched a few videos on it. I favor laying down a back-and-forth bead - like old fashion ribbon hard candy. It will settle out and level real purdy. Come back and look for bubbles that need to be touched up. See screen shots below for Alpha and Dicor self leveling sealant.

 

[MandK]

About a hundred guys damn near had a stroke at the rally this year (myself included) when in one of the Keystone seminars, we were told to use Alpha products only on our roofs. Anything else would ruin our roofs.
Most of us calmed down after some private consultation after the seminar ended with us being told that our dicor repairs would be fine, it’s just that Alpha is “better”.
You are correct that alpha TPO is a LCI company.
I am guessing that this is kind of like “you will void your frame warranty if you use anybody else’s pinbox.”
FWIW, here’s one of the visual aids presented at the seminar, and the self leveling and non-sag sealants they want us to use.