Who else has lost a roof

[Riverbug]

I checked out RV Roof Install and everything looks great until you look at the fine print on their warranty:

"Once your roof has been installed by RVRI, we want you to come back in 30 -45 days for an initial inspection. Then you come in once a year. Inspections are no cost to you. The point is, we want to see the coach and inspect it to make sure things are doing well. If any adjustments need to be done we will take care of them on the roofs we have installed at no cost to you. Coaches should be inspected if you notice any leaks at anytime at all. If you notice any leaks you need to tarp or caulk the coach immediately to prevent damage. Since we offer free inspections you can come in as much as you'd like. If you are headed out for a trip and it is before the 6 month mark, come on by and we'll inspect it so there won't be any vacation surprises. Failure to return for inspection may void your warranty. RVRI reserves the right to extend the warranty or cancel the warranty if inspections are not met.**"

If you live local in Georgia, great, but anywhere else and you don't travel through Georgia for the annual inspection and that warranty's moot. Granted the product doesn't look like you'd have any issues but I wouldn't factor the warranty into my purchase decision. YMMV.

Just FYI. I asked them what happens if you miss a year or two because you don't travel to their area annually. They told me that if there weren't any issues since the last inspection, they would just reinspect and pick up on the warranty again. If they find an issue, it would have to be corrected first, then the warranty would pick up again. Anyway, it won't work for everyone just wanted to share what I was told.

[Dave27]

There is no requirement for inspections with the Flex Armor Warrantee. It is a lifetime, transferable warrantee.
Dave

[MoonShadow_1911]

There is no requirement for inspections with the Flex Armor Warrantee. It is a lifetime, transferable warrantee.
Dave

^^^^^ This!

We are having bubbling of our membrane and got a quote from Flex Armor in Florida. It was surprisingly lower than I expected. We are probably going to have them do our roof when we are in Florida this January-March.

[Dave27]

^^^^^ This!

We are having bubbling of our membrane and got a quote from Flex Armor in Florida. It was surprisingly lower than I expected. We are probably going to have them do our roof when we are in Florida this January-March.

Flex Armor was about half the cost of repairing the plywood that was rotted and replacing the entire membrane with another membrane.

Dave

[JHH4198]

Totally agree Dave - and it's not only GD. Since my earlier posts on this thread, I continued to have roof issues. No leaks that I know of, but the plywood decking was separating in one area and the membrane had once again come unglued where sheets of decking meet.

I took the camper down to RV Roof Install and they have it now for a total roof rebuild. Go to their YouTube channel - there are some recent GD roof replacement video's along with some recent motor homes. Their process is amazing and their website has a good discussion on warranties.

One sad thing is that on the way down and back, we saw three campers with the front of the roof billowing in the wind. [/B]There must be an industry wide weakness where the front cap meets the membrane. Dunno.

YIKES! Sorry to see all the issues with roofs. We have a 2021 Transcend. Is there anything I can do as a preventive measure (besides routine maintenance) that might help reduce the chances of this happening? Thanks in advance.

[MoonShadow_1911]

YIKES! Sorry to see all the issues with roofs. We have a 2021 Transcend. Is there anything I can do as a preventive measure (besides routine maintenance) that might help reduce the chances of this happening? Thanks in advance.

If you search for posts started by me, I have one where I put a 6" wide strip of Eternabond over the front edge, including the caulk, to prevent air getting underneath and bubbling the roof. That is going to be your best preventative thing.

Unfortunately, most of the bubbling is caused by negative air pressure creating suction and pulling the membrane away from the roofing structure. The reason the negative pressure can do so is the adhesive underneath was not put down in sufficient quantities, or was allowed to dry to much before the membrane was laid in place.

[JHH4198]

If you search for posts started by me, I have one where I put a 6" wide strip of Eternabond over the front edge, including the caulk, to prevent air getting underneath and bubbling the roof. That is going to be your best preventative thing.

Unfortunately, most of the bubbling is caused by negative air pressure creating suction and pulling the membrane away from the roofing structure. The reason the negative pressure can do so is the adhesive underneath was not put down in sufficient quantities, or was allowed to dry to much before the membrane was laid in place.

Thanks for the info.

[Harvestmoon]

Sorry that happened to you and it does seem like the mfgs would have roofs figured out by now. As far as your resale goes, I would consider a new roof professionally and properly installed as a legit selling point vs. the original roof 3 years old.

[Dave A]

Sorry that happened to you and it does seem like the mfgs would have roofs figured out by now. As far as your resale goes, I would consider a new roof professionally and properly installed as a legit selling point vs. the original roof 3 years old.

If practice makes perfect, what in the world are these manufacturers doing? You would think they could make a roof that would be trouble free. I wonder if they could make Gorilla tape in rolls about 9 feet wide? Probably be too hard to unroll it though. Just saying

[bshgto]

Have seen this happen to often . A buddy had this happen to . The membrane was obviously not glued down at the intersection of the roof and the cap. When I checked it for him you could clearly see there was no glue on the plywood for at least 1 1/2 ft. back from the cap. The membrane was under the cap only by 1 inch as you could clearly see the compression from the seal strip on the membrane. His dealer and GD said lack of maintenance and would not fix it.
The clowns on the line ran out of glue and just moved on (wouldn`t even take the time to get more I guess) If you watch a video of the roof installation at GD they run down the roof with a bucket of glue pouring it out as they go then start to roll it around. Well if the bucket runs out before the end I`m sure they just don`t care or roll it so thin it`s pretty much useless. Went to the GD tour in Elkhart this past summer and they touted how they do a better job throughout the tour on all the different systems of a unit.
So he not wanting to argue with the dealer and GD anymore and letting the unit sit at his dealer for months on end while negotiations were in the works I fixed it in a couple of hours. Bought the same glue they use on line and 2 rolls of 6 inch Eterna Bond sealer tape. Stretched the roof back into shape applied more glue than was necessary wedged the roof under the cap and side seal strips and applied the Eterna bond tape in a over lapping fashion on the cap then on to the roof. (That stuff really sticks well) . Most people don`t realize there is negative pressure across the top of your roof like a airplane wing so it`s try to pull lose the whole time your going down the road. And area around your pin box is not sealed and air is being forced up through your cap adding positive pressure to the top seam at the cap and if it`s not glued and clamped down properly this is what you get. It will tear lose at some point.