Roof edges coming un-glued

toolman.dustin · 10-01-2022, 03:24 PM

Attached is a short video. My 2018, Sunset Trail roof is coming unglued along the edges on both sides of the trailer. This is a TPO material and over the past few months it's coming unglued. No leaks so far, but if I were to brush up against a tree branch I imagine it would slice right through this material. I believe this TPO is clued to 1/8" (or 1/16") plywood and that plywood is glued and screwed to 2" styrofoam.

Anyone know offhand if the roof is warrantied against something like this? Otherwise, I'm going to have to do this myself of worse, trust someone else to do it for me (icy chill up my spine).

So I used a screen capture tool and took these two images about a 1/4 second apart. I'm pressing down on the edge and the ripple appears where I was able to press down about 1/2". This has formed along both edges of the roof. So, at this time the only thing holding the TPO on is the rain gutter.

thanks,

Dustin

**mark5w** · 10-01-2022, 03:57 PM

Here is the warranty for the TPO roof. I don't think it includes the installation defect on the original installed roof.

https://alphallc.us/wp-content/uploa...d-Warranty.pdf

But it is worth a call to them and also to Crossroads.

toolman.dustin · 10-01-2022, 06:44 PM

Thanks, unfortunately the warranty doesn't cover installation:

5. Exclusions from Warranty Coverage. This warranty does not cover (a) adhesives, solvents, or butyl tapes used to
install the Alpha Roof Membrane; (b) materials that are not components of the Alpha Roof Membrane such as caulking or other
materials used for the installation of the Alpha Roof Membrane; and (c) care, cleaning, or general maintenance to the Alpha Roof
Membrane.

I'll contact Crossroads, fingers crossed.

Dustin

**Lloyd** · 10-02-2022, 06:53 AM

I you can't get any satisfaction from anybody, I think I would consider injecting an adhesive under the membrane using a syringe.

toolman.dustin · 10-02-2022, 08:53 AM

That's a good idea. I'll have to do some research on that to make sure I don't cause some other weird problem in the event I end up having to take it to a shop. I'm guilty of taking on projects that I often regret having started. Replacing the roof of my travel trailer would most likely fall in that category.

**mark5w** · 10-02-2022, 03:22 PM

Can you take off the edge molding and insert glue from there and reinstall the molding back?

toolman.dustin · 10-02-2022, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

Can you take off the edge molding and insert glue from there and reinstall the molding back?

That's a really good idea. There's no reason I can't remove the rain gutter, I'll have to go down to the storage facility and find out how it's attached.

I did send an email to YouTuber, James, with AZRVEXPERT to see what suggestions he might have. He's got a lot of experience working on RV roofs.

One of my concerns is most adhesives need to outgas some vapor during the curing/drying process and I don't want those vapors getting trapped under the TPO and forming a bubble. But, if I pull the gutter I can open and using contact cement let the vapors evaporate and then clamp it back together.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Dustin

**mark5w** · 10-02-2022, 04:49 PM

You should use a recommended TPO roof adhesive. Not sure any contact cement will work well with the TPO product.

eg: https://www.bestmaterials.com/detail...xoC_-gQAvD_BwE

toolman.dustin · 10-02-2022, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

You should use a recommended TPO roof adhesive. Not sure any contact cement will work well with the TPO product.

eg: https://www.bestmaterials.com/detail...xoC_-gQAvD_BwE

Good point, but it looks like the TPO is adhered to the plywood, it's the plywood that's separated from the styrofoam. I'll do some research. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dustin

toolman.dustin · 10-03-2022, 08:18 AM

I think I found a way to view the video. The forum doesn't allow uploads of photos over 2Mbyte nor videos. However, I can post a link to the video that's located on my google Drive.

Let me know if you're allowed to view the video. If so, I'll start a new thread with a procedure to view videos.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YI5...ew?usp=sharing

Dustin

**Lloyd** · 10-03-2022, 09:28 AM

I was able to view your video. The way it looks to me, you will have to open the edge of the roof. Lift the membrane, and then staple/ screw the plywood down. Then the membrane would have to be re glued.

I suggest checking with your dealership service dept. or CR first.

toolman.dustin · 10-03-2022, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd

I was able to view your video. The way it looks to me, you will have to open the edge of the roof. Lift the membrane, and then staple/ screw the plywood down. Then the membrane would have to be re glued.

I suggest checking with your dealership service dept. or CR first.

//////////////////

Thanks for the feedback about the video.*

Curiosity*got the best of me so I drove to the RV storage place and removed the first 3 feet of rain gutter to find out what's going on.* All my assumptions were wrong.* There is no 2" thick layer of Styrofoam.* The insulation under the roof is pink fiberglass batting.* When I walk on my roof, the only thing keeping me from falling through*is a layer of TPO glued to 1/8" inch of styrofoam that's glued to 1/8" plywood. That's scary.

The root cause is: the parolee that came to work that day was either lazy or didn't understand his job was to run a 6" strip of gorilla tape along the edge of the roof of and have it overlap the siding by about 1".*

The overlap is what*holds the roof on and what holds the top edge of the siding to a metal strip that runs along under the edge of the roof plywood.
Basically, the roof is held on by this strip of gorilla tape.* My employee managed to get about 3/8" inch overlap in a few places.* Those places are still ok.* Most places he didn't get the tape to overlap at all, it just rests along the top of the siding.* Those are the places where the tape is doing absolutely nothing and the TPO has begun to stretch and so this problem appears. In these bad places the* butyl tape under the rain gutter is what's holding the TPO in place.

Take a look at the attached photo for a better understanding.

The solution is to:
1. Remove the rain gutter, backed by butyl tape and held in place every 6" with a screw.
2. Peel back about 6" of the TPO to expose the old gorilla tape.
3. Install new tape and make sure it overlaps the side of the trailer
.4. Re-glue the TPO onto the new tape. (I'll figure it out)
5. Clean the rain gutter backing and install new butyl tape
6. Re-install the rain gutter screws.
7. Run a bead of caulk along the top edge of the rain gutter.

I estimate each side of the trailer will probably take a full day.* It was relatively easy to remove the gutter since the TPO is under the butyl tape and not much adheres to TPO.* The hardest part of this task is going to be removing the butyl tape from the gain gutter.

That's it.* Thanks everyone for your ideas.* I was hoping someone had already had to do this but it makes more sense since now that I actually looked at the problem.* Most of the anxiety of these RV projects is trying to figure out what's going on.**

Happy camping.
Dustin

**Lloyd** · 10-03-2022, 12:28 PM

All that kind of gives you that warm and cozy feeling, huh? (not)

**dagst1** · 10-03-2022, 12:51 PM

I understand to make a camper that size to be able to be pulled by a half ton truck there are light weight materials involved - roof board thickness - but why it is not fastened down along the edges? The "tape " is probably to protect the roof membrane from the edge.

**mark5w** · 10-03-2022, 01:23 PM

I wonder if substituting Eternabond tape would be better then the Gorilla type tape? The Eternabond tape has real superior sticking power and waterproofness., And you can get it in various widths.

toolman.dustin · 10-03-2022, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

I wonder if substituting Eternabond tape would be better then the Gorilla type tape? The Eternabond tape has real superior sticking power and waterproofness., And you can get it in various widths.

I thought about it. I think it's too thick. The tape that's on there is very thin but has a webbing so it won't stretch.

For this job I ordered:
8011 Acrylic Water Based Bonding Adhesive
Alpha 1010 non sag caulk
Gorilla ADHGGT330 Black Duct Tape, 3"

This is a TPO roof. I called alpha to find out what adhesive to use. Turns out there are different blends of TPO fabric and many different water based adhesives. Since my TPO fabric texture is "orange peel" and was manufactured in 2017, then I must use the 8011 adhesive. There are many different adhesives for TPO. who knew?

So, for anyone messing with a TPO fabric, I suggest calling Alpha before you get to far along. Breanne was very helpful in the warranty dept.

So, come Saturday, guess what I'll be doing?

Dustin

**mark5w** · 10-03-2022, 03:25 PM

Good luck, hope everything goes well and you get it all buttoned up for the winter.

toolman.dustin · 10-03-2022, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

Good luck, hope everything goes well and you get it all buttoned up for the winter.

Thanks, We leave for Tucson on 10/22. Going to leave the trailer there until January when we snowbird south. So, the pressure is on to get it done in the next week.

I'll leave an update when it's done. I'm sure someone else is already scratching their head wondering why they have a bulge on along the edge of their roofline. I'd wait to hear back from Crossroads, but even if they agree it's a problem it would take months to get any action out of them. One of these days I'll publish a list of all the stuff I've had to change / modify / repair to keep it operational. It's pretty amazing.

Dustin

**dagst1** · 10-03-2022, 06:51 PM

Good job on the research! Hope you get it fixed before you leave.

I was thinking about this tape --https://www.gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-waterproof-patch-seal-tape/. Works good with a little heat but it is not very long. 10 ft I believe.

toolman.dustin · 10-04-2022, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagst1

Good job on the research! Hope you get it fixed before you leave.

I was thinking about this tape --https://www.gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-waterproof-patch-seal-tape/. Works good with a little heat but it is not very long. 10 ft I believe.

Finding the the tape took the longest time. I looked at that tape and had it in my shopping cart twice. I finally realized it's for patching holes but it's not really reinforced with fabric (strength). So I got the BLACK GORILLA TAPE, 3", it's 3 times stronger. Made with double-thick adhesive, strong reinforced backing, and a tough all-weather shell.

When applied the tape will be covered by the TPO, so it doesn't really need to be waterproof and after all, the tape is what really holds the roof on and presses the siding up against that metal rail.

I wish I could have found it in 4" roll but 3" is the widest I could find.

thanks for the suggestion,
Dustin

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