2011 Edge M18 Roof Maintenance

dq72

Member
Hi all,
I just purchased a new M18 and had a dealer walk through yesterday
The technician told us that we were fortunate to have a zero maintenance vinyl roof, instead of a rubber roof that has to have protectanct manually applied a couple of times per year.
I did some research today and it looks like the Edge M18 has a rubber roof.

Now I'm confused. Do we need to do anything to our roof?

Thanks,
Darrell
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello Darrel and welcome to the forum. I cannot say with certainty what type of roof you have, but most likely it is Dicor EPDM Rubber Roofing.
HERE is a link to some maintenance tips from Dicor.

Peace
Dave
 

Zeman

Active Member
Hi all,
I just purchased a new M18 and had a dealer walk through yesterday
The technician told us that we were fortunate to have a zero maintenance vinyl roof, instead of a rubber roof that has to have protectanct manually applied a couple of times per year.
I did some research today and it looks like the Edge M18 has a rubber roof.

Now I'm confused. Do we need to do anything to our roof?

Thanks,
Darrell
I clean mine with roof cleaner from Walmart camping section. Check your caulk which forms a seal at the front and rear fiberglass caps where they meet the roof membrane. It will leak, it's just a matter of when. I just posted my issue of "Lousy caulk = Roof leak" in the Edge section but it moved here somehow.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Zeman and Darrell, Dicor recommends using Dawn dish soap to wash the roofs. Thats all I use and it works great.

Zeman, how old is your coach?? The roof on your coach is not the roof on your house. Your house does not bounce down the road or twist going up driveways. If you dont have the time to or want to do maintance on it...then hire someone to do it. I inspect mine at least 2 times a year. I doubt if anyone told you that an RV is trouble free or requires little or no maintance.
 

dq72

Member
Thanks for the input. Sounds like the idea is to be aware of the caulking, keep it clean and hopefully it will last a long time.
 

Zeman

Active Member
dq72---yes keep an eye on the caulk. Bob---I'll use Dawn from now on---a lot cheaper. TT was bought Feb.2010. Have no more than a dozen trips on this unit. All trips within an hr of home with the exception of one which was 3 hr. Obviously we can not compare a home and TT roof but when the manufacturer hypes up such quality in materials and build...........then in turn uses such an inferior method/material in this construction??? My point is "they" glob the sealant around the vents, antenna, and skylights like a blind man was their mentor but the places that will obviously flex,bend,move by design the caulk is barely adequate to cover the gap. Heartland uses aluminum frame and fiberglass skin(Latest and greatest--laminated construction--see their Edge website) for its construction but for a most critical part in its overall constuction they still use in my opinion an inadequate method of sealing the roof. Use Eternabond or a like product and be done with it from the factory. I'm not going to believe it is not used because of cost or labor. I paid almost twice what I should have for the Eternabond because I wanted it now. One minute on Ebay and I found it for $30 less than what I paid for it. As evidenced above the way sealant is applied, if the factory switched over to an Eternabond like product this wouldn't slow them a bit. I bought a "New" trailer to camp with not work on. I find $92 an hr a bit hard to swallow to apply caulk virtually every year. I bought an 18K new TT, not a 10K 5yr old TT. I'm familiar with sealing and maintenance as I retired from the AF/Air National Guard working Aircraft Fuel Sytems on F-16's for 23+ yrs. Sealing integral fuel tanks,pulling/installing wings........... I wish the manufacturer would live up to its advertising---"peace of mind that you will spend more time enjoying your family and travels than worrying about repairing your rv." Hey, this probably all for naught as the Edge is history...........My 2 cents.
 

davehuiz

Member
Zeman,

I am looking at applying Eternabond instead of worrying when the caulk will fail. Is Eternabond tape as good as I have seen? Apply it once and then no worries about leaks of inspection. A $70.00 investment seems like a small price to fix the problem more or less permanently.
 

Zeman

Active Member
Zeman,

I am looking at applying Eternabond instead of worrying when the caulk will fail. Is Eternabond tape as good as I have seen? Apply it once and then no worries about leaks of inspection. A $70.00 investment seems like a small price to fix the problem more or less permanently.
Dave, If you get on the roof to inspect the caulk seam at the front/rear cap where it meets the roof you should see the issue. The caulk, in my opinion , is barely adequate to make the trip from the factory. These two seams are the most critical leak points on the roof. Since I had water penetrate the roof, I removed all the loose caulk and pulled the trim/screws. On the front cap I applied the Eternabond over BOTH the screw holes and the cap/roof seam. Again, I did this because water penetrated the roof. On the rear cap I did the same even though there was no leakage. I guess it is just my military maintenance background ---the screws are another possible leak source. As the rear cap Eternabond front edge faces the wind they recommend running a thin bead of sealant along the edge. I did not pull the entire trim off the screw retainer strip-----I pulled it off one side,off the roof and let it hang off the opposite side. If you pull this trim you should caulk on both sides,especially the leading edge side. I, personally think the Eternabond will last as long as I own the unit. Unless I was the only "lucky" one to have barely adequate sealant on these seams, I would recommend any Edge owner to seal them in whatever way they see fit with Eternabond. If your caulk is fine and no water penetration you could clean the area and apply right over it. This is my first time using Eternabond--------it seems like a great product.Good reviews far outweigh the bad. As with everything, cleaning and preparation is key. It just seems like the ideal product for this application.(Why the factory does not use it is beyond me) Ebay your Eternabond and if your seams look good apply in the spring. You can apply it in temps from +40 down to -20, but you have to use a primer and it is not as" fun" in the cold weather.
 
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