Rotten wood on roof

Doc323

Member
Hello Everyone,
This is my first post, new owner of a 2012 BC 3650RL I have rotten wood on the roof about 1 1/2ft under the rubber at the front & rear caps.
There hardly any sealant from the factory plus a little silicon that someone put on.
I am just wondering what is under there after I peel the rubber back, is the wood screwed to trusses or just glued to the foam, can't find much
info but doesn't look like there very many trusses in the roof from all the info i can find.
I wondering if any one had good ideas on how to repair this problem?

Thanks
Tim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi Tim,

I suggest you contact Heartland at 877-262-8032 to get some factory direct feedback on the roof construction.

Regarding sealant, note that it is NOT permanent. Sealant shrinks and degrades overtime. Owners are required to inspect sealant several times a year and touch-up/replace as needed. My sense is that you're not the first owner of this coach, so it's difficult for you to know what sort of sealant maintenance intervals the previous owner did.

If you have rotten roof trusses, you may be in for an pretty involved repair project and potentially a re-roof project. You're starting out right by inspecting and asking questions. Make that call, keep researching and determine the extent of your damage and what your repair options might be.
 

Doc323

Member
So no one on here has had to repair rotten wood on a laminated roof. I am surprised no one has had a problem with the lack of sealant that was there from the factory, only three years old and has this much damage!
Help please if any one has had to deal with this.
Thanks
Tim
 

danemayer

Well-known member
So no one on here has had to repair rotten wood on a laminated roof. I am surprised no one has had a problem with the lack of sealant that was there from the factory, only three years old and has this much damage!
Help please if any one has had to deal with this.
Thanks
Tim
Tim,

If you have roof wood damage 1-1/2 feet from both front and rear cap, I'm wondering if there was previous work done on the roof.

The Dicor rubber roof material is installed at the factory before the caps are installed. The rubber is draped several feet down the front and back, and on the sides. If the sealant at where the cap meets the roof were completely missing, I don't think that water running between roof and cap would affect the roof, although it would cause problems elsewhere.

That may be why you're not hearing from people with similar problems.

But if the roof was damaged, perhaps by contact with a tree branch, and was replaced by a previous owner, the new roof is put on differently. To avoid removing the caps, the old material would be cut at the caps, creating a new seam. As the sealant came loose, shrunk, or wore out, water could easily get to the area you're describing.

Depending on how extensive the damage is, perhaps it would be possible to repair a limited area. Replacing the entire roof is quite labor intensive and therefore extremely expensive.
 

Doc323

Member
Thanks Dan
This unit was bought new and parked in a rv park and not moved, No previous repair.
You have to remember all the screws on top of the caps.
My concern is since the wood is glued to foam on the laminated roof how hard will it be to get off, and how to reinstall since I dont think there are any
beams to screw to.

Any ideas would be great
Thanks
Tim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Thanks Dan
This unit was bought new and parked in a rv park and not moved, No previous repair. You have to remember all the screws on top of the caps. My concern is since the wood is glued to foam on the laminated roof how hard will it be to get off, and how to reinstall since I dont think there are any beams to screw to. Any ideas would be great
Thanks, Tim

Tim,

I'm not completely certain on this, but I think when a roof is replaced, if the wood has bad spots, some how they are repaired, then a lot of times, a new layer of wood is overlaid, then the rubber roof is put over that.

Normally, I'd expect it would be real hard to peel the wood off the foam. In your case where you say it is rotten, it may peel up easily, at least until the interface point where the wood is good. After first peeling back the rubber membrane, maybe you can set a circular saw blade deep enough to just cut through the wood at the interface. Or use a straight edge and heavy score with a utility knife.

Regardless of your cutting method, just be real careful with your cut depth. The foam is milled out for AC ducting and wiring raceways. There are also aluminum trusses that go across (from wall to wall).

I suggest you contact Heartland Customer Service to see if you can get a roof layout drawing to aid you in this repair. Then you will know what might lie beneath the repair locations and be able to avoid damaging other stuff.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
The way it's been described to me when the roof is replaced, is that pulling up the rubber roof tears up the wood luan layer unevenly. The surface has to be sanded down smooth and a new layer of luan glued down. Then the new rubber roofing is glued to the luan. Of course, when replacing the entire roof, everything has to be removed: air conditioners, fans, vent covers, antenna, and ladder.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Have you given any thought to calling your insurance co. to see if they will help you? Might be worth a try. I would not personally try the repair myself.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
So you're not the original owner, sounds like the caulking was never checked out, the factory says to inspect it every 3 months
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Thats a bummer to discover this, I don't even want to think about something like that! I did a search on YouTube for "repairing rv roof" and found this video, along with a bunch of others. It didn't look too bad, but he didn't say how long it took. It was on a Wilderness TT and looked to be pre-Heartland. Don't think I'd want to tackle something like that, not saying I couldn't do it, just don't think I'd want to! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
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