Rubber roof maintenance on a FW that is never covered???

patrick1945 · Jan 30, 2011

I have a 2009 Bighorn and I wash the roof twice each year with a mild solution of Dawn and water. Then I rinse it off well.

I am wondering if I should be using one of the many products to clean/coat the roof.

2 of my neighbors have rubber roofs on their FW's and do nothing but clean them annually. One of the neighbors has an 87 trailer and the other a 94 and both have spent their entire life outside in south Florida. Both of these guys tell me they have not had problems with the original roof YET.

What are the experiences out there? I would like to treat my FW properly without wasting my money.

One of my neighbors asked me a question which I cannot answer: "Do you think commercial rubber roofs are cleaned and coated every year?"

SouthernNights · Jan 30, 2011

http://www.dicor.com/resources/PDF/Roofing/The_Truth_About_Rubber_Roofs.pdf

Here is the best information I have found on EPDM membranes.

As far as using Dawn, that is what many people use.

Here is another site from Dicor about cleaning
http://www.dicor.com/resources/PDF/Roofing/Cleaning_Rubber_Roof.pdf

Niles · Jan 30, 2011

When we were at the rally in Goshen 2009, dicor gave a presentation and they said washing with dawn and water was as good as anything. It is also a lot cheaper than a lot of stuff out there that will "protect and save your roof forever". I believe that if you're up on your roof twice a year cleaning it and inspecting it, you're doing a great job and will notice anything that's going wrong. Just my 2 cents.

branson4020 · Jan 30, 2011

patrick1945 said:
I have a 2009 Bighorn and I wash the roof twice each year with a mild solution of Dawn and water. Then I rinse it off well.

I am wondering if I should be using one of the many products to clean/coat the roof.

2 of my neighbors have rubber roofs on their FW's and do nothing but clean them annually. One of the neighbors has an 87 trailer and the other a 94 and both have spent their entire life outside in south Florida. Both of these guys tell me they have not had problems with the original roof YET.

What are the experiences out there? I would like to treat my FW properly without wasting my money.

One of my neighbors asked me a question which I cannot answer: "Do you think commercial rubber roofs are cleaned and coated every year?"[/QUOTE]

We do no routine maintenance of the membrane roofs on any of our commercial buildings.

wyleyrabbit · Jan 30, 2011

Is there a difference between the rubber roof we have in our Bighorns and the ones used on top of commercial buildings?

I've been told I should be using a UV protector as well, although so far, all I've done is use Dawn and water 2x per year.

branson4020 · Jan 31, 2011

wyleyrabbit said:
Is there a difference between the rubber roof we have in our Bighorns and the ones used on top of commercial buildings?

I've been told I should be using a UV protector as well, although so far, all I've done is use Dawn and water 2x per year.

The EPDM commercial roof membrane we have is, I think, about 60 mils, thicker than the roofs on our coaches, but otherwise the same material. Its warranted for 30 yrs with no routine maintenance. Don't think it would be very practical to try to clean 45,000 sq ft of roof every year.

Wharton · Feb 1, 2011

I was wondering. Why Dawn and not Ivory? We have been using Dawn and Polident in our tanks but I am careful to buy "basic" dawn. I am thinking of switching over to Ivory as that has traditionally been the "basic" detergent. No antibacterial chemicals added to stop the natural action going on in the tanks.

Rubber roof maintenance on a FW that is never covered???

patrick1945

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SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader

Niles

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branson4020

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wyleyrabbit

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branson4020

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Wharton

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