Roof Caulk Cracking/Splitting After 2 Years

[WhyPaulo]

I have a Reflection 27RL that we bought new in August 2014. I just washed/waxed the rig and then Turtle Waxed the nose today, when I noticed some wrinkles in the roof material. A closer look shows the caulk is coming loose across the front of the roof and around the roof vents. Do I need to remove the caulking recaulk all roof top seams every 2 years, or is that not normal? Any experience & feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Paul

[minnow101]

Remove the loose Dicor. Don't need to go crazy trying to get all the old caulk off, just any loose caulk.
Wipe down the remaining Dicor with denatured alcohol or paint thinner (pour on a rag and not directly on the roof/sealant).
Once cleaned up, allow to dry and then recaulk over the old caulk with the Dicor.

[TucsonJim]

In the Arizona sun, it's normal for us to recaulk some areas every year. Follow Minnow's recommendations. I'm very aggressive at removing the old caulk when I do it.

[WhyPaulo]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds like something I can handle myself. One other question, the roof material has a few ripples in the front where the caulk is coming loose. Do you think I should try to pull the roof material tight and then recaulk, or just remove the caulk, clean, and recaulk? I was just wondering if those ripples would continue to get worse or cause more complications as they get blown by the wind as I'm driving down the highway.

[TucsonJim]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds like something I can handle myself. One other question, the roof material has a few ripples in the front where the caulk is coming loose. Do you think I should try to pull the roof material tight and then recaulk, or just remove the caulk, clean, and recaulk? I was just wondering if those ripples would continue to get worse or cause more complications as they get blown by the wind as I'm driving down the highway.

The ripples could be nothing, or very serious. I'd photograph them and contact GD customer service for their thoughts.

Jim

[WhyPaulo]

I was just reading some other posts about roof wrinkles and it sounds like I may have bigger problems than I first thought. It sounds like my rubber roof my be coming loose from roof structure beneath it. We were going to leave for a trip up to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine in about a week. Now I'm wondering if my roof could come all the way loose from the wind as we travel. Does anyone know how quickly a delaminating roof gets worse??? I've attached a picture so you can see what I'm talking about Paul

[minnow101]

Yeah that's not good. You need to have the roof repaired. It appears either the glue failed or was not properly applied.

[WhyPaulo]

In the Arizona sun, it's normal for us to recaulk some areas every year. Follow Minnow's recommendations. I'm very aggressive at removing the old caulk when I do it.

Jim, is there a tool/technique you use to remove the caulk? It seems like it would be easy to gamage the rubber roof when doing this. Thanks! Paul

[offtohavasu]

If the Dicor has been cracked from a while, water could have gotten under there and caused the glue to fail. Get it fixed ASAP. I've been down this road with a Jayco and turned in to be a mess!

[WhyPaulo]

I took the rig into the dealer last week. When I got there, it had ripples going back even further, almost half way back on the roof. I am hoping that Grand Design will agree to replace the entire roof, rather than re-glue just the front portion, as that seems like it would be the best long term fix. Stay tuned, I should know more next week.