How long does a white rubber roof last?

[slackercruster]

Is there a square footage cost for replacement?

[DuneElliot]

My 5W is 10 years old, as is the rubber EPDM roof. It does not leak yet but the recommendation is to reseal them every 10 years. I am doing mine in May as soon as I have a few days of clear weather.

According to those I have talked to here it is very simple to do and can be done in a day (cleaning and painting).

For a 27ft 5W I bought 4 gallons of the Liquid Rubber from Dicor which is meant for EPDM roofs. I may need 5 gallons but didn't want to buy more than I needed due to the cost of returning it. It cost me $300 for 4 gallons. Prep work is only the cost of my time and cleaning agents.

[richfaa]

Had one on a TT for 10 years and did nothing but clean it maybe a couple times a year. It held up well.

[Ray,IN]

Most EDPM roof material is warranted for 10 years, a few 12 years; with the caveat of receiving "proper care" annually, as prescribed by the mfgr.

As to how long it lasts, that depends entirely upon "proper care" and storage conditions, ie; an enclosed, climate-controlled space results in the ultimate longevity; outside under a tree is not the way to make the material last.

As DuneElliot said, proper surface preparation(following directions) is the key to insuring re-coating your roof material lasts as long as possible.

[slackercruster]

Wow, didn't know about any of that. I never have cleaned it. I don't store it under a tree, but it is outside year round. A few seams started to crack at the caulking so I put some caulk on it.

I better check out how to clean it or do you think it is too late for mine? My roof is going to be 7 years old in August.

 

[markandkim]

Not every manufacture suggest cleaning. Some say don't do anything.

[Biker56]

I wash mine 2 times a year with a power washer and it will be 19 years old in 4 months. It still looks like it has a few more years of life yet.

If yours hasn't lost most of the white and not hardly any black. It is still good yet.

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, slackercruster said:

A few seams started to crack at the caulking so I put some caulk on it.

I better check out how to clean it or do you think it is too late for mine? My roof is going to be 7 years old in August.d

 

 

 

I suggest that you clean the roof and then remove as much of the old caulking as possible and replace it with new. Don't worry about getting 100% of it off, just as much as possible and use plastic tools to do this so you won't damage the membrane. Be sure to use a self-leveling caulking that is approved for EDPM, and I always use Dicor since it is made by the manufacturer of our roofing.

Since not all manufacturers suggest cleaning, your lack of doing so has probably not harmed anything, but it would usually look better and last somewhat longer if kept clean. 

 

[RBH]

Originally Dicor simply recommended only cleaning with Dawn liquid soap if you wanted to keep it as white as possible. Then when they realized that other companies were making a profit selling cleaners and sealers and preservatives they got into the business. Do your rubber roofs need cleaning/sealing/"preserving"? The same rubber roofs are used on commercial buildings with flat roofs which are never treated during their lifetime. In my opinion, for what its worth, the rubber membrane itself is a no maintenance item. Keep the caulking around penetrations in good shape and enjoy the time saved doing something you like. If you actually like scrubbing 400 sq ft of roof by all means have at it.  

[Pat & Pete]

1 hour ago, heberleinrb1 said:

Originally Dicor simply recommended only cleaning with Dawn liquid soap if you wanted to keep it as white as possible. Then when they realized that other companies were making a profit selling cleaners and sealers and preservatives they got into the business. Do your rubber roofs need cleaning/sealing/"preserving"? The same rubber roofs are used on commercial buildings with flat roofs which are never treated during their lifetime. In my opinion, for what its worth, the rubber membrane itself is a no maintenance item. Keep the caulking around penetrations in good shape and enjoy the time saved doing something you like. If you actually like scrubbing 400 sq ft of roof by all means have at it.  

Agreed . BUT , there's a problem with not keeping the roof clean . The roof is where black streaks and other dirt on the sides comes from . 

[slackercruster]

Thanks for the help.

A local dealer said to redo the rubber roof on a truck camper cost about $3000, but he can recoat it for about 20% to 25% of that. My roof is all white, but the caulking started to crack last year, so I figured the roof may need replacing soon. But the main rubber roof still looks OK, just a little dirty.

I had a few cracks in the caulk and was going to use white silicone but was told not to use silicone, so will have to get the self leveling caulk. Has anyone used non silicone caulk on the rubber roofs? Anything marked RV seems to be overpriced, so I was wondering if there were any less expensive caulks that worked OK.

He said Spic and Span works good for roof cleaning. I may clean around the caulks that need redoing. Last year I just caulked over it as-is. It was enough of a job doing the caulking without more work.

I don't like working on vehicles or RV...I just like using them. But I can't afford to replace the camper, so am trying to take better care of it. The only marathon job I did when I got it was to replace most of the exterior and interior screws and nuts with stainless steel. On my old Aliner camper they rusted up in no time.

[Kirk W]

I have used both Spic & Span and Dove dish soap with good results for cleaning. I eventually also became convinced that use of one of the conditioning liquids was also a good idea.

On the caulking, silicone products will not seal to an EDPM roof, which is what you have. Worse than that, silicone, when cured, will not stick to anything, not, even more, silicone. 

39 minutes ago, slackercruster said:

Has anyone used non silicone caulk on the rubber roofs?

I have helped two different people repair the damage from silicone and that was enough for me. No matter how much is added, the roof continued to leak and before we could get the proper product to stick we had to get 100% of the silicone off, which took a great deal of work. In addition, the person who put the most on also had some pretty severe bubbling of the EDPM which was attributed to the caulking used. 

42 minutes ago, slackercruster said:

Anything marked RV seems to be overpriced, so I was wondering if there were any less expensive caulks that worked OK.

 

Less costly, yes but not smart to use. There are several brands of butyl caulking that are self-leveling and which are approved for use on EDPM. The catch is that most RV roof manufacturers will warrant the material for 10 or more years as long as only approved caulking materials and cleaning supplies are used. Never use any kind of petroleum based product on an EDPM roof. I always used Dicor caulking, one of the most expensive but it is made by the main provider of these roofing materials. 

[Ray,IN]

Adding to previous posts. You really do get what you pay for_ buy cheap, get cheap results. Dicor sealant/caulking, Geocel, and a few other brands are excellent products. If a brand contains silicone I'll never buy it or use it on an RV. Allow silicone caulking to cure and it may be removed by loosening one end and pulling the entire continuous run off most times.

[slackercruster]

I found this, great resource for rubber roof info.

http://www.bestmaterials.com/RV_roof_repair_info.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjw2qzHBRChloWxgoXDpyASJAB01Io0ftc-lExChAX5UICFxHvk9J8IHzcLYyA2HuIgI4_YFxoCUlrw_wcB

...off to get the self leveling stuff!

[Kirk W]

4 minutes ago, slackercruster said:

I found this, great resource for rubber roof info.

While I have no disagreement with most of what that page says, I would point out that as a dealer he also recommends only using products which he sells. 

[RBH]

On 4/8/2017 at 10:06 AM, Pat & Pete said:

Agreed . BUT , there's a problem with not keeping the roof clean . The roof is where black streaks and other dirt on the sides comes from . 

Actually I personally have never noticed a difference in black streak production with a clean or not cleaned rubber roof.  On my rig, which I have never cleaned the roof in 8 years of ownership, I have minimal black streaks. Pretty much the same even when it was new. I think most of the black streaks are from normal runoff of atmospheric fallout rather than the roof material itself. Cleaning it once or twice a year would do little to minimize that normal runoff. 

[Ron]

32 minutes ago, heberleinrb1 said:

.... I think most of the black streaks are from normal runoff of atmospheric fallout rather than the roof material itself. Cleaning it once or twice a year would do little to minimize that normal runoff. 

I agree.  Before we started full timing we stored our trailer in a storage lot in the Los Angeles basin.  I had terrible black streak problems.  After we left CA and started full timing we had very minimal black streak problems.  I used to wash the roof once or twice a year but now I haven't done it in probably the last 8 years or so.  Our trailer is about 14 years old and the rubber roof is still doing its job.  The trailer has never been stored indoors.

ron

[Pat & Pete]

1 hour ago, heberleinrb1 said:

Actually I personally have never noticed a difference in black streak production with a clean or not cleaned rubber roof.  On my rig, which I have never cleaned the roof in 8 years of ownership, I have minimal black streaks. Pretty much the same even when it was new. I think most of the black streaks are from normal runoff of atmospheric fallout rather than the roof material itself. Cleaning it once or twice a year would do little to minimize that normal runoff. 

Read more carefully . I never said anything about the roof material causing black streaks .

What falls on the roof ? Leaves , tree droppings , blown on dirt and your common everyday atmospheric fallout , all steeped in acid rain is what causes black streaks . 

Nice that you can get away with not washing your roof for 8 years . I'm jealous . I have to do ours about twice a year . I suppose it should be mentioned that we prefer trees and shade to a parking lot type setting . I'm sure that has something to do with my payments of roof washing .