Rubber overlay to cover fiberglass roof damage temporary fix?

sundy58 · May 09, 2020, 08:56 AM

The one piece fiberglass roof blew off in one corner and tore last night. I am trying to do my repairs on a small budget. Has anyone had success laying some sort of "rubber roof" material over the fiberglass as a bandage? The affected are is about 6 feet long on the passenger side rear. The tear travels about 2 feet toward the center of the coach.

ClydesdaleKevin · May 09, 2020, 12:10 PM

I would suggest tarping it off for now...securely...and then as soon as you can afford to and the weather is nice, buy fiberglass cloth, resin and hardener, sandpaper, and paint...and repair it properly the first time. It might not end up being pretty, but it will be strong and waterproof. If you're not sure how to work with fiberglass, there are a LOT of videos on YouTube showing you what to do. Repairing a 2'x6' section shouldn't cost you all that much in materials. In fact, if you still have the roof section that blew off, you can patch it back on using fiberglass and resin/hardener, and it should be really inexpensive to do.

Kev

sundy58 · May 09, 2020, 01:06 PM

All the parts are still there, I was looking at videos today and I have West System in my RV wish list on Amazon. I have done a little bit of fiberglass work and it came out pretty good.

Rickf1985 · May 09, 2020, 09:08 PM

If it tore that up the wind had to have gotten under it which means there was a gap somewhere. You really need to check for rotted wood in the corners since that is where the water seem to always get around the moldings. There is no way it should have been able to pull the top out from under the side moldings if the wood underneath was solid. If that wood is bad then fixing the roof will do not good if you can't secure it to the framework. Get a good tarp that is big enough to cover most of the RV or otherwise you are going to have more issues.

ClydesdaleKevin · May 09, 2020, 09:23 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on May 09, 2020, 09:08 PM
If it tore that up the wind had to have gotten under it which means there was a gap somewhere. You really need to check for rotted wood in the corners since that is where the water seem to always get around the moldings. There is no way it should have been able to pull the top out from under the side moldings if the wood underneath was solid. If that wood is bad then fixing the roof will do not good if you can't secure it to the framework. Get a good tarp that is big enough to cover most of the RV or otherwise you are going to have more issues.

I'm just wondering how it blew off at all. It is almost the same RV we have (except engine and engine placement), the roofs on these things are one solid piece of fiberglass, capped off at both the front and the back with fiberglass caps (and in the case of ours, the seam between the roof and end caps sealed with Eternabond tape). I can't imagine anything short of a tornado being able to rip a part of these roofs off.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · May 09, 2020, 09:24 PM

Quote from: sundy58 on May 09, 2020, 01:06 PM
All the parts are still there, I was looking at videos today and I have West System in my RV wish list on Amazon. I have done a little bit of fiberglass work and it came out pretty good.

Can you post some clear pics of the damage? The more detail you give us on the damage and the structure underneath, the better we will be able to help you fix it.

Kev

sundy58 · May 10, 2020, 09:49 AM

I bought the RV a few months ago and I should have gone over the roof with a fine tooth comb redoing the caulking. It is my first RV and I did not follow my own cardinal rule, roof first fun stuff later. I will get out today and take some pictures. Thanks guys.

ClydesdaleKevin · May 10, 2020, 11:10 AM

Quote from: sundy58 on May 10, 2020, 09:49 AM
I bought the RV a few months ago and I should have gone over the roof with a fine tooth comb redoing the caulking. It is my first RV and I did not follow my own cardinal rule, roof first fun stuff later. I will get out today and take some pictures. Thanks guys.

Excellent!

Kev

sundy58 · May 12, 2020, 08:02 AM

This is the track installed on my RV. I guess the fiberglass roof goes in the only 'groove' available? What caulk/adhesive should I use to keep the fiberglass in the track?

sundy58 · May 12, 2020, 08:04 AM

This is the new damage. I have most of it taped with Eternabond now.

Rickf1985 · May 12, 2020, 10:28 AM

The extreme closeups are impossible to translate into what you really have. Need some overall pics from 5-6 feet back so we can see the entire picture. The fiberglass will not go into anything, it would have been bonded to the body itself. I can see the eternabond under that track is not adhered to the body. whenever it is bubbled up like that it is not adhered and will not do anything in the way of sealing or holding. One thing I have found with Eternabond is that the surface you are applying it to has to be spotlessly clean, if not you will have problems.

sundy58 · May 12, 2020, 11:35 AM

The roof system on my rig must be different than yours. I am attempting to provide a link to Winnebago. The drawing is on page 22 of the PDF.
I have decided to use Loctite construction adhesive and then cover that with roof coating to help with UV.

http://www.rialtainfo.com/winnebago/winnebago_images/caulking_%26_sealants_roof_sealants.pdf

ClydesdaleKevin · May 13, 2020, 08:48 AM

It looks like something heavy, like a tree limb, must have fallen HARD on your roof sometime in the past, and cracked it like an eggshell. The only correct way to repair that is to overlay it with new fiberglass, sand it, and then paint it. Might as well inspect the whole roof while you are at it, repair any other cracks (no matter how small), and then paint the whole roof with a very bright white enamel paint designed for boat decks, like Petit Marine.

Kev