Roof out of rail and bubbled up

rklyon · 02-02-2020, 04:02 PM

Looked up and saw that my RV roof was out of the rail. I tucked it back in but it is bubbled up the whole length that was loose. Because of the bubble it is barely tucked into the rail. Any suggestions on what my next step should be would really be appreciated.

JoeSR · 02-03-2020, 06:56 PM

Obviously you have not been doing your semi-annual “roof cove maintenance”. Below is a YouTube video link and a link to a pdf that you should find useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJz7doxPQXg

http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource...%20Sealing.pdf

Wherever the roof to rail joint has failed, you need to clean the joint and reseal with Magnusbond caulk. I used a sharpen paint scrapper to cut the old caulk out, acetone to clean it and a silicone caulk trowel like the ones in the link below to smooth the Magnusbond out.

Two tubes of caulk should be enough to do the entire roof.

https://www.amazon.com/Hestya-Caulki...0777495&sr=8-1

powercat_ras · 02-03-2020, 08:27 PM

An alternative to the original adhesive method is to bond the roof to rail with a strip of Eternabond Tape down the whole side. Advantage of needing no maintenance for 10 years. Winnebago did this on my 2015 Vista.

You might be able to use spray craft glue to re-attach the bottom of the Filon fiberglass top sheet to the top of the roof's plywood skin above where it curves, where it has detached from the roof plywood. You can put a row of patio pavers down the side of the roof next to where it curves for a day to push it down solid and get good contact while the glue sets.

rklyon · 02-04-2020, 06:19 AM

Thanks to JoeSR and powercat_ras for your help!

Topsail · 02-04-2020, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

An alternative to the original adhesive method is to bond the roof to rail with a strip of Eternabond Tape down the whole side. Advantage of needing no maintenance for 10 years. Winnebago did this on my 2015 Vista.

You might be able to use spray craft glue to re-attach the bottom of the Filon fiberglass top sheet to the top of the roof's plywood skin above where it curves, where it has detached from the roof plywood. You can put a row of patio pavers down the side of the roof next to where it curves for a day to push it down solid and get good contact while the glue sets.

Randy, why did Winnebago use the Eternabond instead of their normal caulk requirement? Was the roof too short to make a good joint? I understand they had some issues with this years ago and this was the fix.

rklyon · 02-04-2020, 12:14 PM

Topsail, thank you for your reply. I am not sure why they used eternabond. I wanted to ask powercat if they covered rail and all with the eternabond.

Topsail · 02-04-2020, 05:45 PM

rklyon, I'll try to add a link showing a Winnebago roof replacement. I'm just adding part one. You can find part two once you open the first video. It will at least give you a better mental picture of the construction.

Something else that you may want to consider is removing the caulk all the way down and cut the forward and rear roof where it is "tucked under the front and rear caps". Then you can gain access under the roof and add a bonding agent. Then get the roof back in place and perform the caulk roof to gutter job. Eternabond seems to be a love hate thing. Should you cover the roof and the channel? This one is new territory for me too.

There are more conversations on how to make the cuts and repair work in his forum so dig a little deeper. It'll come to you. let us know how things go. If you feel it's too big a job try to get some help. Don't drive the RV or you will lose the roof. I'm sure you know that. Good luck.

Topsail · 02-04-2020, 05:47 PM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xzhMAws5EpQ

Replacing a damaged Winnebago roof

rklyon · 02-04-2020, 06:32 PM

I know that I am showing my ignorance but what is spray craft glue?

powercat_ras · 02-04-2020, 06:40 PM

Winnebago had a recall on Vistas manufactured in 2014 and 2015 where the fix was to run a strip of color matched 4" Eternabond Tape down both sides with the bottom of the strip totally covering the top of the moulding and the slot. On my Vista made in December, 2014 the strips were applied in Forest City before the RV was delivered to the dealer. I still got the recall notice after I bought my Vista, but the strips were already on, and the dealer did not do it. I just know that the side slots are totally covered by the Eternabond tape, It is impossible for me to do the inspection and recaulking.

I assume that there it is also the Winnebago spec adhesive caulk in the slot, too, but I don't know.

The reason given in the recall notice was that it was to resolve minor cracking in the Filon gelcoat layer where it made it's 90 degree curve. I have taken the WIT rally assembly building tour and watched them lay Filon on a roof and drive it into the slot on the sidewall using a special tool that they quickly slide down the Filon, it looks like it puts a lot of stress on the panel to make that tight of a bend, apparently there was a period where there was enough cracking that Winnebago choose to do the recall. Whatever it was was a short term thing, only covered less than 2 years of the Vista production.

I think they drop the Filon into the slot securing with adhesive caulk because it's cheaper and faster to manufacture Winnebagos this way. I would guess that it would cost Winnebago at least $ 40 more per RV to use Eternabond Tape down both sides.

powercat_ras · 02-04-2020, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rklyon

I know that I am showing my ignorance but what is spray craft glue?

Here's an example:

3M Spray Adhesive

Elmers and Krylon makes versions, too. Spray can is just a way to get the adhesive into the gap between the Filon and the roof substrate as far in as possible.

rklyon · 02-04-2020, 08:29 PM

Thanks Powercat

Topsail · 02-04-2020, 09:12 PM

Rklyon, I just spent some time over on irv2 and went down to the Winnebago page to see what they have on this subject. Tons of stuff there. Do a search on the Eternabond roof joint and you will see pictures and some detailed descriptions of this job. There are a lot of folks who do use the tape and go from the roof down onto the rail. Check out the pictures.

I haven't had time to repair my roof joint yet, but already ordered the Manus caulk. I need to do mine when weather permits and I can get the time.

rklyon · 02-04-2020, 10:09 PM

Thanks Topsail. I will check them out. I am also going to wait on the weather. I think that I need some nice warm days for the fiberglass to become more flexible. Not to mention that I don't do real well working out in the cold. lol

Topsail · 02-05-2020, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rklyon

Thanks Topsail. I will check them out. I am also going to wait on the weather. I think that I need some nice warm days for the fiberglass to become more flexible. Not to mention that I don't do real well working out in the cold. lol

Something else to be aware of is that the Eternabond will only provide a barrier for wind and rain and will NOT provide any strength to the joint. When you make your roof repair don't count on the Eternabond to hold the roof back in place.

I get it on working in the cold and I'll add heat too.

Jim_HiTek · 02-09-2020, 07:14 PM

I'm one of those that approve of 2" Eternabond tape down both sides of the roof. In my case, I had the workers put the tape in the bottom of the channel, so it's not covering the entire gutter. I am aware of the point Topsail makes in that the tape has no shear strength and that becomes fairly important if you tend to drive your RV down a long unimproved road or up and over steep drive entrances as any racking will cause the tape to stretch and loosen and eventually 'give'. I don't do any of those things except rarely so I'm still very pleased with the tape. After 4 years it's still looking very good. Not having to do maintenance on the roof edges for 4 years is well worth the risks, IMO.

And if it was good enough for Winnebago for all those years where they used it around the age of my RV, and apparently recently too on some newer models, it's good enough for me.

Here's a pic of the channel, aka gutter, just below the 'Sealant' where I had the workers put the tape in the bottom of that W shaped channel, then up and over the top part of the gutter and onto the roof. That's where it sticks the best if everything is clean. About 1" of the tape is holding to the roof, the other 1" is holding to the gutter. So basically, I'm having the sticky tape hold onto the just cleaned roof, and the just cleaned gutter. So far after 4 years, it's still holding fast:

And here's my blog article about putting the Ebond tape up on mine...Roof Edge Ebond installation...

Topsail · 02-09-2020, 08:21 PM

By the way Jim, your documentation on this is really superb. I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking into this job. I think Eternabond offers a good option for a lot of folks. I can't really use it since my WB is full body.

rklyon · 02-10-2020, 08:40 AM

Jim,
Thanks for the details on this. I will be doing this once I get everything repaired.

My-Journey · 02-10-2020, 12:08 PM

I had a 2003 Journey 39DL that did the same thing. The solution for me was to thoroughly clean out the "J-channel" rail (scrape it, clean it, dry it...making sure to get ALL of the old sealant out.) I looked at Winnebago's Sealants Call-Out Sheet but couldn't find the exact adhesive replacement available for retail purchase...contacted the dealership and they recommended using "Manus Bond 75AM". I applied it in the part of the channel where the fiberglass roof edge fits, and pressed the roof edge back into place. (Some light weights to help hold it down while the sealant dries can be handy here.)

I did the whole side (passenger side) where the roof "bubble" occurred; then went ahead and did the same thing on the driver's side. THEN I added 4" wide "EternaBond RSW-4-50 RoofSeal" sealant tape along the entire seam, wrapping the edge over the J-channel slot for the roof and down into, but NOT over the drip rail portion of the channel. It was a little tricky, but worth the peace of mind to know that I would never have to worry about a "roof bubble" again. I went ahead and used my leftover tape across the front and rear roof seams to ensure that I didn't have any future problems at those seams either.

The Eternabond is a little tricky to work with (whatever it touches, it sticks to pretty much permanently) which is why I would recommend you find a buddy to help you with the application of the tape. That being said, I did it by myself and was able to get it laid down smooth. One other thing I HIGHLY recommend...use the EternaBond EC-1 EternaClean spray cleaner to prep the surface before applying the tape. It really does a great job of cleaning and prepping the surface for the tape and will make a big difference in how well and how long your tape will stick (10-15 years if done properly.)

Bonus Info: I originally thought it might look kind of crappy to have a strip of tape running down the seam of the roof, but by using the 4" wide strip, it wraps up far enough onto the top of the roof that the top edge is not visible from the ground which makes it look like you have a really nice white roof. I recently upgraded and traded in my Journey so I can't swear that it will last for 15 years, but I can honestly say that I never had ANY problems once I completed the process.

(All of the products I mentioned above are available on Amazon and elsewhere.)

Good Luck!

Jim_HiTek · 02-10-2020, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rklyon

Jim,
Thanks for the details on this. I will be doing this once I get everything repaired.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Topsail

By the way Jim, your documentation on this is really superb. I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking into this job. I think Eternabond offers a good option for a lot of folks. I can't really use it since my WB is full body.

You are welcome, rklyon, and Thank you very much Topsail.