Bubbles in EDPM 5th Wheel Roof

Hogladyrider · Dec 16, 2018

A neighbor had his Big Horn washed and waxed recently and upon inspection of the roof they found bubbles as seen in the attached picture.

Looking for suggestions, RV is out of warranty. It appears to be cosmetic, as there are no roof leaks. What would cause a roof to bubble like this?

Thanks
Susan

david-steph2018 · Dec 16, 2018

What did they use to wash the roof?
Wow looks like something blistered it

danemayer · Dec 16, 2018

Read through this thread.

Btw, I notice the picture has a filename of 'Volt'. Are you sure this picture is of a Bighorn?

Hogladyrider · Dec 16, 2018

Thanks Dan, I did in fact read thru that thread you provided before I posted here because I thought the "blisters" looked different.

The file name Volt, is the name of the owner of the RV, it is in fact a 2014 Big Horn front bath, they are our neighbors here in Florida.

I do know that the RV has not been moved in 2 years so it has "sat" in the Florida sun all that time. They have been living in the RV up until recently when they purchased a home nearby and now they want to sell the RV and the lot it is on in our park.

The gal who details the RV is thorough and when she got up on the roof she noticed the "blisters". I can't verify but someone said that someone might have used Murphy's Oil Soap on the roof but that is not for sure.

We are going to go up on the roof ourselves on Monday and will try and get better pics.

Susan

travlingman · Dec 16, 2018

Happened to my 2014 Landmark. Bad run of EPDM from Dicor. Tell them to take pictures and contact Dicor. In the beginning Dicor was paying for roof replacement, but now I think they supply material and have a limit on the amount they will pay for labor.

Hogladyrider · Dec 17, 2018

Very interesting.......again this Forum comes thru for its members.

Will be getting up on the roof today for more photos and will let everyone know the results.

Thank you.
Susan

Silverado23 · Dec 17, 2018

The bubbles pictured by OP may or may not be normal however, some bubbles are normal:

From https://dicorproducts.com/faq/

My roof has air bubbles. Is this normal?
Typically, if air bubbles occur they occur during or very soon after the roof has been applied. A couple of reasons for the air bubbles would be that they were not broomed out during application, and we ask the installer not to stretch the material during installation to allow for expansion and contraction of the membrane. Air bubbles will occur with weather conditions and humidity. Air bubbles can also occur at the seams of the roof decking due to flexing and twisting that occurs during transit. Sometimes they occur if there is a significant difference in the temperature between the inside and outside of the unit.

Will the air bubble effect the performance of my roof?
No. The air bubbles will not blow up and pop. They will come and go with the weather conditions, humidity, etc. Please do not puncture the air bubbles. Air bubbles mean there is room for expansion and contraction, lessening the chance of stress cracks later.

RoadJunkie · Dec 17, 2018

Silverado23 said:
The bubbles pictured by OP may or may not be normal however, some bubbles are normal:

From https://dicorproducts.com/faq/

My roof has air bubbles. Is this normal?
Typically, if air bubbles occur they occur during or very soon after the roof has been applied. A couple of reasons for the air bubbles would be that they were not broomed out during application, and we ask the installer not to stretch the material during installation to allow for expansion and contraction of the membrane. Air bubbles will occur with weather conditions and humidity. Air bubbles can also occur at the seams of the roof decking due to flexing and twisting that occurs during transit. Sometimes they occur if there is a significant difference in the temperature between the inside and outside of the unit.

Will the air bubble effect the performance of my roof?
No. The air bubbles will not blow up and pop. They will come and go with the weather conditions, humidity, etc. Please do not puncture the air bubbles. Air bubbles mean there is room for expansion and contraction, lessening the chance of stress cracks later.

I interrupt this statement a little bit differently. I believe the intent of the statement is to provide an explanation for air bubbles that lie beneath the surface of the roof, not bubbles that seem to be caused by blistering or chemical reaction.

LBR · Dec 17, 2018

RoadJunkie said:
I interrupt this statement a little bit differently. I believe the intent of the statement is to provide an explanation for air bubbles that lie beneath the surface of the roof, not bubbles that seem to be caused by blistering or chemical reaction.

I second this. This looks to be a "blistering" concern, rather than a few air pockets at factory installation that Dicor's response sounds to be targeted at.

Silverado23 · Dec 17, 2018

RoadJunkie said:
I interrupt this statement a little bit differently. I believe the intent of the statement is to provide an explanation for air bubbles that lie beneath the surface of the roof, not bubbles that seem to be caused by blistering or chemical reaction.

the point was to state a fact and reference that some bubbles are normal. The OP's are probably not and should be further investigated.. The link and reference was specifically added to indicate that some bubbles are normal to others reading this thread so that they know that not all bubbles are an issue.

Hogladyrider · Dec 29, 2018

Update...the roof was inspected the other day and the RV owner was advised "nothing to worry about" it's cosmetic from sitting and baking in the sun.

Owner still plans to advise anyone interested in purchasing the 5th wheel to have their own independent inspection completed.

Thanks again to all who responded!

Susan

travlingman · Dec 29, 2018

Hogladyrider said:
Update...the roof was inspected the other day and the RV owner was advised "nothing to worry about" it's cosmetic from sitting and baking in the sun.

Owner still plans to advise anyone interested in purchasing the 5th wheel to have their own independent inspection completed.

Thanks again to all who responded!

Susan

Who inspected the roof? Was this done for Dicor?

2 different dealers didn't see anything wrong with my roof either, and this was after Dicor had agreed to replace mine. If this inspection wasn't done for Dicor, your buddy needs to call them and send pictures. Dicor didn't have anyone look at mine. 2 hours after sending pictures, I was approved for replacement. His roof looks worse than mine did.

Hogladyrider · Dec 30, 2018

travlingman said:
Who inspected the roof? Was this done for Dicor?

2 different dealers didn't see anything wrong with my roof either, and this was after Dicor had agreed to replace mine. If this inspection wasn't done for Dicor, your buddy needs to call them and send pictures. Dicor didn't have anyone look at mine. 2 hours after sending pictures, I was approved for replacement. His roof looks worse than mine did.

I don't disagree with you at all, however, its not my RV, I would have handled it as you said via Dicor.

It was a "certified" RV repair person who inspected the roof, said it was the surface outter layer. We can only lead the horse to water, we can't make him drink it!

Thanks again.

RoadJunkie · Dec 30, 2018

They are going to need a really, really, really good used RV sales person to pass this one on to the next owner.

travlingman · Dec 30, 2018

Hogladyrider said:
I don't disagree with you at all, however, its not my RV, I would have handled it as you said via Dicor.

It was a "certified" RV repair person who inspected the roof, said it was the surface outter layer. We can only lead the horse to water, we can't make him drink it!

Thanks again.

You tried to help him, all you can do. Read on another forum that Dicor is starting to back off how much they are paying and also putting a time limit from purchase on covering it.

Bubbles in EDPM 5th Wheel Roof

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