What is the roof made of on a 2012 v-lite

[pbrackney]

Can anyone tell me what the roof of a v-lite is made of? It foes not seem to be the rubber roof that so many trailers are. Also does this new kind of roof not create the black marks that the rubber roofs do? Any info, knowledge, or experience with the roof would be great. We are looking at buying a v-lite and just wanted some info on it.

[mrtodds]

Check the Forest River site for yourself, but the membrane is a rubber/vinyl composite. From what I'm told the newer version of this is a little "harder" material and a little thicker than before. This helps it to be more durable to UV and since its harder and smoother does not allow for the staining and small "pits" that help hold the dirt. Also it allegedly makes for reduced noise from rain etc.
We just bought a WindJammer 3008 and from what I could find Forest River uses this on all the rigs they make. To tell you the truth I don't know why they don't just run the roof in a solid sheet of rubberized aluminum and be done with leaks all together! lol

[SaskCampers]

TPO: Thermoplastic PolyOlefin

Thermoplastic olefin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[punkaccountant]

So what's better, TPO or EPDM or are they about the same?

[mrtodds]

This is where I trust the manufactures, especially Forest river. Even if the cost of what they know is the best roofing is a little higher than another, it would be advantageous of them to use it. Making this many rigs and being a leader in the industry, all to fall to a bad reputation of having a bad roof to save money? Don't think so. lol

[SaskCampers]

They are similar and both have their strong and weak points. As to rain noise that is probably our one and only gripe with our V-Lite. Because the roof is mostly styrofoam, it is insanely loud during a heavy rain and no roofing material will stop that. Our old unit was maybe 1/4 as loud but the roof was made much differently.

[mrtodds]

I was wondering about the noise while staring at the ceiling and reading about the roofs construction.....I though maybe the styro would be louder! Lucky for me though that noise makes me sleep better! lol It's just good to know that instead of just being a great insulator, the hardened styro is also a structural plus! And in the event of a leak, it can't hold moisture as well.

[wldcat]

The roof build-up is shown in the 2012 Flagstaff brochure and I've seen mine partially peeled apart. The outer layer of thin tpo is gluded to thin plywood that covers the styrofoam. We experience extremely loud noises (over 100decibels.... download an audio meter app on your smart phone) for example, from even small acorns and noise from rain that prevents normal conversation and requires max tv or stero sound system volume just to hear part of the entertainment.
Our previous trailer (another manufacturer) with thicker rubber roof was at least three - four times quieter.
As likely as not the increased noise is attributed to the roof design and roof materials.
Like the body of a wood stringed instrument the convex (slightly bowed upward) plywood reverberates and amplifies the sound of strikes on it. The thin tpo covering does little if anything to dampen strikes on it.
It would seem a solution to bring the noise level down to within safe noise guidelines would be to cover the roof with a thicker rubber membrane.