Roof Separation on Gutter Side???

[stadnek18]

Hi! First post here, so bear with me if I am being redundant or if this question has already been answered, but I couldn't find a similar problem.

We picked up a FR Wildwood X-Lite 261BXL a couple weeks ago. Just got home from the last trip of the year on Sunday and noticed that there is a small piece of the roof that has separated from the outside wall just below the gutter. See pictures. This is our first TT, so the repairs are all new to me. I plan on cleaning and doing some more seals before wither storage, but don't know how to attack this problem.

From what I've read here, is my best bet to go with Eternabond and Dicor?
It did not come with the manual, as we got it from the first owner and he had misplaced it, so I'm not sure what material would be best to clean/use on the roof.

Am I going to be able to stretch the roof material far enough down the outside wall to get the seal back?

Any help is appreciated!!!!!

[Decon Blue]

Wow, looks like some of the roof material is torn off. Definitely need to get address ASAP. ETERNABOND Tape I would recommend. Water intrusion is the DEATH to an RV.

[Jannyt]

Wow dealing with same issues. Mine isn't that bad yet. But have had mysterious water leak and found brown streaks under gutter. Hope you find solutions that isn't a warm and leg to repair. I'll be reading and keeping tabs due to I'll follow behind u on repairs I'm afraid.

[clr]

You have a problem in a very bad place I would say. Looks to me like you scraped the roof line there on a tree branch or something. Not an expert in this area so maybe others will chime in, but I would say Dicor is not an option. Eternabond may work but I would want to get the edge of the eternabond under the metal trip. In most RV's that metal trim is very long. You would have to first remove the plastic trim and then loosen the screws holding the trim enough to get an edge of the Eternabond under the trim. But it is worth a shot I would say or you may be looking at a total roof replacement.

[Witch Doctor]

Sorry to say but you are going to need a new roof not a patch just my opinion.

[Tiggerdad]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

Sorry to say but you are going to need a new roof not a patch just my opinion.

Agree. Looks like the roof material has aged enough to require replacing. If you go the Eternabond route I would add Dicor to the head of the screws before putting the flexible trim cover back

[stadnek18]

Thanks for the reply. I have covered it with Tuck tape until I can get some Etera tape this weekend. The TT is a 2014 so I can't see it needing a new roof so soon? It does need a cleaning, which I will do. I'm guessing it's best to spot clean the area to make the repair with Eternabond and then clean the entire thing once the tape and Dicor have set? Has anyone played around with taking the gutter and flashing/trim off? Is the roof tucked in/ held by the trim in sections? Am I going to be able to get it off without the rest of the TPO coming off? Thanks again.

[Witch Doctor]

If your going to use tape, make it lap into the gutter, don't start pulling gutter off, you might end up worst. Make sure you have it sealed well, or the next thing will be delam of the sidewall.

[Decon Blue]

Exactly what Witch Doctor said. Extend the Eternabond into the gutter. Don’t remove anything. Clean with mineral spirits and then alcohol before applying Eternabond. Duct tape ain’t going to cut it !

[Robin and Jan with Ziva]

Just discovered we have the same issue , dealer said because I bought it used from them last year it’s not covered by warranty �� and that we need a new roof for our 2017 Wolf Pup ! So for about $5000. We can get another crap POS roof that will still need sealing every year or for $3500. we can get RV Armor that never needs to be sealed or washed 4 times a year . My mom only raised one dummy and she lives in another state�� so R V Armor it’s going to be and a true forever roof that has a life time warranty against failure . A 12 year warrantee on the fabric from FR is useless if the factory cuts the material too short and it pulls away and leaks. Sorry to hear about your problem take a look at RV Armor.

[Scrapper]

stadnek18, you have the TPO roof. You can use Dawn dish soap, Totally Awesome, Spic & Span or Top Job to clean it. The gutter is actually below the plastic strip covering the screws. You don't want to place the Eternabond under the trim, if anything you want to place the Eternabond over the metal trim and screws then down into the gutter.

The biggest problem is how your going to clean it without getting any more water under the gap. If it were me, I would scrub the roof with mineral spirits on a rag and a small brush (fingernail brush works good for this), then wipe it down again with the mineral spirits. Follow with denatured alcohol on a rag. Be sure you clean all the way down into the gutter, using a denture brush here.

Being that it is a used 2014 TT the warranty is not in the cards for you. You may contact the Wildwood division of FR and ask them what they recommend. Send the pictures to them so they can see what the problem is. Ask them nicely and they may be generous in what they will do for you as far as replacing the roof and fixing any damage associated with it. If they won't do anything then you might be better off contacting an independent RV repair service. There are a lot of good mobile RV repair facilities out there.

Here is a picture of how I put Eternabond on my TT. I didn't have any damage, I just wanted to apply it to prevent any problems. Please excuse the dirty roof, it has since been cleaned.

[stadnek18]

Thanks Scrapper! This looks like the exact solution that I need. It looks like you used the 4 inch ? Can the tape be overlapped on itself, if I just want to fix this 1 foot section then do the rest of both sides in the Spring? Can I clean with soap & water, use turpentine in place of mineral spirits, then acetone as a final prep to clean the surface completely? I will email Wildwood and see what they say. Thanks again!

[Togger]

I would use at least 6” wide eternabond over that section to get as much grab on the roofing material as possible and go at least two feet lengthwise past the damage in either direction along the gutter. Yes, you can overlap that with more eternabond tape to do the rest of the roof seam at a later time as long as you clean the surfaces.

There is no way I would spend 5K (it would probably be more) on a new roof without trying and monitoring the repair first on a 5 year old roof. You should be able to get another 8-10 years out of that roof. Also consider a professional repair by a mobile RV service as a previous poster mentioned.

[cardwellmarty]

Everyone has different methods of cleaning and repair, you are getting good info. I have a TPO roof on my trailer, l use Acetone to clean mine with, it evaporates quickly and leave no residue. I don't think you need a new roof this can be repaired with Eternabond, clean it really good, and like another posted l wouldn't remove the gutter, just lap it into the gutter. Can you clean it and take a few more pictures to get a good view of the repair, maybe make a few marks where the problem starts and ends.

[stadnek18]

I took Togger's advice and ordered a roll of 6 inch Eterna off Amazon. $188.00 for 50ft roll so should have enough to do the entire length and maybe the front as Scrapper has done. I will clean it up a bit more, mark out the length of the damage, and post a few more pics tomorrow. Thanks again everyone for the help!

[cardwellmarty]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eternabond-...-/131790889134

[Jannyt]

I'm going to try the same method on my 2014 Rockwood. Was told due to being used no warranty either. Besides the leaks from roof...loose pipes,loose drains,rotten slide molding, broken vent fans,bad carpet, slide out repairs I'm living the dream. but will make it happen. With everyone's advice and YouTube.

[stadnek18]

No warranty from FR/Wildwood. Waiting to hear back from Alpha, the roof manufacturer.

How well do you all clean your roof? I did close to half today after work with an old horse hair curling broom (calling all Canadians), warm water and Dawn dish soap.

Do you have to get all the black bug spots/mold (?) spots out? What's best to get the black grime off the old seals before using acetone to dry it out completely? Some seals do need a touch ups.

Tackling the piece that came out tomorrow or Sunday afternoon. Will post more pictures later

[cardwellmarty]

You are doing a good job, you will only need to get the dirt off, clean area for Eternabond with acetone, go real slow with the Eternabond, only peel a foot at the time of the backing off while applying the Eternabond, it sticks to what it touches, rub it down then repeat. After you get a few feet in place roll it down with your roller, and continue. If you mess up you want pull it off, you will have use a blow dryer to heat it to get it off, when I messed up l just cut my Eternabond and lapped back to straighten up my line and continued, it want look bad, l only did this a time or two. If you put Dicor on any places clean it real good with acetone before you put your Dicor on, if you cover any of the areas you placed Dicor let it set a day or two before you place Eternabond, some would say no need to put Dicor on if you use Eternabond but l do, for a piece of mind that l done my best. You saidcin a previous post about stretching the rubber roof , you want be able to stretch it, you could put your 6 inch Eternabond down on your roof edge into the gutter all the way down the side that is pulling out then go back where the rubber had pulled out and lap the Eternabond with a second layer to make a wider bond to maybe reenforce the roof.

[cardwellmarty]