care and maintenance for your rubber roof

[stevengb]

I'm a first year tt owner and have been getting my 2012 Surveyor Sport SP295 ready for winter storage. I have been reading posts on roof maintenance and care and have gotten several opposing opinions on using UV protectors or not. I got in touch with a FR rep thru the Facebook Forest River group and asked my question about cleaning and maintaining my roof since my owners manual was not model specific or told which kind of rubber roof I have. In my specific model he told me that they were Alpha Systems Inc. membranes and gave me their web address along with the answer of checking and cleaning my roof 4 times a year looking for cracks, loose edge sealant, etc. Clean with a mild detergent like Top Job or Spic and Span being sure to rinse thoroughly after cleaning. Do NOT apply any UV treatments as the Alpha roof membrane does not need it and could possibly damage the material and void the warranties of it.
I hope this is helpful and Alphas address is Alpha Systems, LLC - Products for the RV, Cargo Trailer, Marine and Modular & Manufactured Housing Industries If you have questions about if your specific model or year and what roof yours has or any other questions...you can call Forest River at 574-642-3119. Hope this has help answer any roof questions like I had.

[Hoo Dad]

Good info. I use murphy oil soap to clean my membrane roof and I too do not use any roof treatments.

[stevengb]

Murphys oil soap doesn't contain any petrolium products does it?...because the website states to stay away from anything that contains that...I have also heard to stay away from citrus based products.

[Triguy]

Alpha specifically recommends Murphy's Oil Soap for their TPO roofs. Its safe.

[Hoo Dad]

No petroleum. Plus, my maintenance manual for the roof recommends Murphy's oil soap.

[Labzy]

I love the smell of M.O.S. also!!!

[Snowman53]

Great advice! I just swabbed the roof with the same Dawn Detergent mix I was using on the exterior (after applying a UV protector). Seemed to work pretty well. I will pick up some brushes with long handles for the Spring version of this exercise. MOS is pretty cool stuff. Finally have a use for that big bottle I bought a few years back.

[Pilotdaddy1]

Thanks for the info!

[shineysideup]

Originally Posted by Snowman53

Great advice! I just swabbed the roof with the same Dawn Detergent mix I was using on the exterior (after applying a UV protector). Seemed to work pretty well. I will pick up some brushes with long handles for the Spring version of this exercise. MOS is pretty cool stuff. Finally have a use for that big bottle I bought a few years back.

Are you talking about using "Dawn" dish detergent to clean the exterior of your trailer? While dish detergent does a great job, it also strips all that wax off that took hours to apply... If you wax every time you wash I envy the time you have (and commitment)!

[shineysideup]

Originally Posted by stevengb

Murphys oil soap doesn't contain any petrolium products does it?...because the website states to stay away from anything that contains that...I have also heard to stay away from citrus based products.

I'm sure most are aware that there are a couple different kinds of roofs that look the same, TPO and rubber! Make sure you know what kind you have as cleaning and protecting methods can be different!

[stevengb]

Originally Posted by shineysideup

I'm sure most are aware that there are a couple different kinds of roofs that look the same, TPO and rubber! Make sure you know what kind you have as cleaning and protecting methods can be different!

I started this thread for those that don't know as I had no idea myself from the paperwork that came with my Surveyor as to what kind of rubber roof it had and how to maintain it. From what I now undetstand you could screw not only your roof up...but also your chance of getting it warranty replaced if you did something improper....knowing or not. This thread was to inform BEFORE possible damage occurred!