Motorhome roof Glue down

[Honorman]

I now have found a new problem, the roof top layer has come unglued, all that is holding it on is the ac's, vents and side molding.

 

I am to posting a question about it as I have looked everywhere for a way to glue it back in place without removing the top layer, some glue as thin as water that I can open the center tape seam and shoot down the roof under the top layer,

 

I do not want to remove the 1/8" fiberglass , epdm or what ever the top is made of, it is a 1997 Holiday Rambler class A

Motorhome.

 

It has a layer of Fiberglass or epdm ? glued to 1/4" plywood glued to 3" of foam glued to plywood and the ceiling glued to that, I found that by looking at the AC with filter out. all glue is holding except the top layer of the roof. it flops up and down when you hit it

 

I am afraid it may peel off going down the highway.

 

Has anyone ever had this problem and if so how did you repair it short of spending several thousand dollars.

[nana25k]

The type of roof is important. If you aren't eure get your vin# and call Monaco. They can tell you exactly what you have qwnd what to use. They are very helpful tech people

[Kirk W]

While Ron/Linda is correct that the solution does depend to some degree upon what sort of material it is made of, if it is as loose as what you describe you will probably need to remove whatever that material is in order to glue it back. It shouldn't be that hard to tell what the material is since EDPM looks a lot different than fiberglass. If it is a stretchy material that you can pinch up between your fingers and has a rubber like surface, it is EDPM. If it is fiberglass it will be stiff and several times as thick as a membrane. It it is actually 1/8" think then it is a less expensive variant of fiberglass as EDPM is only 1.1 mm to 2.3 mm (45 - 90 mil) thick and far less than 1/8".

 

No matter what it is, the material is normally glued to a substrate, usually a thin plywood or similar material as you seem to have. If it has a seam down the length of the RV at the center line of the roof that seems to be a thin fiberglass as EDPM is always (or nearly so) glued down in one continuous sheet from side to side and end to end, with the openings for roof vents, a/c units, and other penetrations made after the material is installed and adhered to the substrate. I doubt that there is an easy way to do this, particularly not one that will last for any significant length of time.

 

How old is the RV? Since the materials are glued to the roof it seems likely to me that moisture has gotten into your roof and that the problem is more than just having glue failure.

[Honorman]

While Ron/Linda is correct that the solution does depend to some degree upon what sort of material it is made of, if it is as loose as what you describe you will probably need to remove whatever that material is in order to glue it back. It shouldn't be that hard to tell what the material is since EDPM looks a lot different than fiberglass. If it is a stretchy material that you can pinch up between your fingers and has a rubber like surface, it is EDPM. If it is fiberglass it will be stiff and several times as thick as a membrane. It it is actually 1/8" think then it is a less expensive variant of fiberglass as EDPM is only 1.1 mm to 2.3 mm (45 - 90 mil) thick and far less than 1/8".

 

No matter what it is, the material is normally glued to a substrate, usually a thin plywood or similar material as you seem to have. If it has a seam down the length of the RV at the center line of the roof that seems to be a thin fiberglass as EDPM is always (or nearly so) glued down in one continuous sheet from side to side and end to end, with the openings for roof vents, a/c units, and other penetrations made after the material is installed and adhered to the substrate. I doubt that there is an easy way to do this, particularly not one that will last for any significant length of time.

 

How old is the RV? Since the materials are glued to the roof it seems likely to me that moisture has gotten into your roof and that the problem is more than just having glue failure.

Kirk, The motorhome is a 1997 Holiday Rambler, The roof has always been solid til I walked on it this year now it is loose all over, it does have a center line and I always thought it was fiberglass til I started looking on line and found all the other types of roofs, it must be fiberglass as to 1/8" that is only a guess.

I thought about a leak, but nothing is showing inside as a leak and it is loose all over, I would think a leak would only let the leaking part of roof loose not all of it, I guess moisture could spread from one location to all.

I have read about glue letting go after several years, it has set out in the heat and cold since new, I am thinking that is the problem. I was hoping for a easy fix as it would be very hard to remove all the roof and 2 Ac units, vents, side molding, etc. Thanks for the input

[Kirk W]

I have read about glue letting go after several years, it has set out in the heat and cold since new, I am thinking that is the problem. I was hoping for a easy fix as it would be very hard to remove all the roof and 2 Ac units, vents, side molding, etc.

It is possible that you have experienced a glue failure, but either cause, it is difficult to understand why the entire roof would get loose at the same time. I sure wish that I had more expertise in this sort of problem, but I really can't recall ever having heard of the problem as bad as what you describe. I'm going to try emailing a couple of sources that I have to see if I can find an opinion as to what might be the cause and a permanent solution for this. I'm afraid that this goes far beyond the limits of my experience and knowledge. Should I learn anything useful, I'll get right back to you.

 

If you know an RV tech that you trust, it might be well to get an opinion from him.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

No easy fix. Anything you can apply would be to the roof cover that is loose. It is time for a new roof.

[Kirk W]

I just heard from Chris Bryant, of Bryant RV in Florida and he said that he wasn't sure about 1997 but that most HR motorhomes from that era had a roof of aluminum that was riveted down the center line an each edge. Is it possible that this could be what you have? If so, aluminum does seem to be loose on the roof and it will get more so when weather is hot and quite tight if it gets cold because it has a pretty high expansion rate. If that is what you have, you probably don't have anything to be concerned about.

[Honorman]

I just heard from Chris Bryant, of Bryant RV in Florida and he said that he wasn't sure about 1997 but that most HR motorhomes from that era had a roof of aluminum that was riveted down the center line an each edge. Is it possible that this could be what you have? If so, aluminum does seem to be loose on the roof and it will get more so when weather is hot and quite tight if it gets cold because it has a pretty high expansion rate. If that is what you have, you probably don't have anything to be concerned about.

Thanks a lot Kirk, it does not feel like aluminum more like fiberglass type material, but it may be aluminum, I will scrape a little of it and see, like you said it does not make since to all come loose at same time if glued down. Again I thank you for your help. Ed

[Honorman]

Thanks a lot Kirk, it does not feel like aluminum more like fiberglass type material, but it may be aluminum, I will scrape a little of it and see, like you said it does not make since to all come loose at same time if glued down. Again I thank you for your help. Ed

Well Kirk, To my relief the roof is aluminum with a coating of paint or something thin on top, I am not going to worry about it anymore, it is so thin that if air got under the front of it, it would not come completely off and hurt anyone behind me, but I don't think it can come off as it is sealed good in front and sides plus AC units.

Thanks Much for your help in finding what it is made of. Ed