Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Truck Campers: Hallmark Roof Leak Rubber Roof TPO


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towpro

Compass PA

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Posted: 01/26/17 06:09pm

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Here is your pictures

[image]

2022 Ford F150
Sold: 2016 Arctic Fox 990, 2018 Ram 3500, 2011 Open Range
Sold Forest River Forester 2401R Mercedes Benz. when campsites went from $90 to $190 per night.

whazoo

Idahome

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Posted: 01/27/17 11:16am

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ricamiller wrote:

Hi Whazoo,

Thanks for the recommendation on the seam sealer for the stitching holes.

re: the roof brackets opening the crack, do you think I should overtighten, caulk, let it dry, then back them off to make sure the caulk gets into the crack?

Thanks,
Ric

That's how I did it, Geewizards method work work as well. Good luck!

Dvoigt17

Thornton, CO

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Posted: 10/29/17 10:27pm

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I added brackets that tie back to the rack to help releave the stress of pulling down on aluminum edge. Also added another clamp hold down to the front to tie I front rack.
[image]

This has helped greatly on stress causing caulk to crack.

Dvoigt17

Thornton, CO

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Posted: 10/29/17 10:38pm

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We bought our 2004 camper for cheap since part of the roof was bad. Ended up rebuilding a lot of it. Front corners were bad. Used table saw and router to remake frame perimeter because it was rotten.
[image]

We ended up replacing all the inside ceiling panels.

[image]

A lot of work, but worth it.

ISBRAM

Denver, Colorado

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Posted: 10/30/17 08:17am

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When we had our 1994 Hallmark it had the same problem at the roof edges seam but it had an aluminum roof skin. After calking it a few times, but over time only to have the problem reappear and provide a place for a potential leak.
I scraped and cleaned all of the old caulk/ sealer off and used 3M 5200 marine polyurethane adhesive/sealant to reseal the entire roof edge. Several years later when I sold the camper it still looked great, with no evidence of cracking or separating at all.

Our 2011 Hallmark has the one-piece molded fiberglass composite roof, what an improvement! I know it’s a costly conversion/ upgrade but it might be worth it if you own an otherwise perfect condition camper.

1999 Dodge Ram 2500 QC LB Cummins
2018 Airstream Flying Cloud 28RB

If you see me camped someplace stop and say hi, I've always got an extra ice cold beer.

towpro

Compass PA

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Posted: 10/30/17 09:35am

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I see your pictures. I would try to remove as much of the old caulk as you can, but be careful not to damage the rubber roof, than calk over it joint with Dicore.
Dicore makes self leveling and not self leveling. you don't want self leveling for the sides as it will try to run on you.
while your at it, check the rest of the roof. Look at anything already sealed for cracks in the caulk. you want the self leveling on the roof.

for best repair, clean the roof so stuff sticks better. Maybe blow any water out of that open joint if you have an air hose before sealing it.

silversand

Montreal

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Posted: 11/03/17 05:39am

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....I looked closely at your photos, and to me, your roofing material looks like TPO (not EPDM rubber).

I buckle the roof down with just enough force to "compress" about 1.4 inch. I also have a TPO roof (on the Outfitter, manufactured in 2005), and re-caulk about every 3 years using only Dicor non-sag lap sealant for vertical surfaces (I have the older TPO formulation, before the TPO patent expired and all hell broke loose with myriad new formulations entering the market).

Dicor makes a new sealant system that is chemically compatible with all the TPO variant chemistries; it is called: Ultra Sealant, and is 2 part mixable material. Dicor writes that this new Ultra Sealant is compatible with all the known RV TPO chemistry variants. Read about it here-->

If anyone uses this 2-part material, do your due diligence when applying to vertical roof areas (watch for sealant sag).

Silver
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 6.0L Ext/LB Tow Package 4L80E Michelin AT2s| Outfitter Caribou

silversand

Montreal

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Posted: 11/03/17 05:57am

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D Voigt 17 wrote:

Used table saw and router to remake frame perimeter because it was rotten.

I read that your original roof frame "perimeter" was wood, and partially rotted out?

Our 2005 Outfitter roof perimeter (and entire roof framing structure) is aluminum, and won't rot out. On edit: the "decking" under the TPO is marine ply over a crowned structure, with a layer of 1/8th inch felt, then the TPO overlay.

On the Outfitters: ...if the seam sealant should separate from the TPO along the vertical aluminum roof channel fascia, I can't see how any water could travel "up hill" 3 inches to the top of the perimeter radius. However, I am not a structural engineer, so perhaps this is possible.

Also, these are the old style roofs; I think that all the pop-up roofs at Hallmark (and Outfitter) are now glass or fiber composites now...

* This post was edited 11/03/17 06:31am by silversand *

Testudo

Germantown, MD

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Posted: 11/04/17 02:52pm

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Silversand wrote:

....I looked closely at your photos, and to me, your roofing material looks like TPO (not EPDM rubber).

'Silversand' tipped me off to this topic and I started writing him before I actually _read_ the topic. I concur with his observation for several reasons...

TPO is typically the _same_ color all the way through. So, white on BOTH sides. EDPM is typically black or a darker color on the hidden side.

TPO is less resilient. In fact, earlier formulations could be so 'brittle' that installations would 'shrink' under mere sun exposure and thus tear at the edges.

What I think happened in most of the photos I'm seeing, here, is that water has infiltrated the roof ( ...either through 'insults' to the material or through deficits in caulk at equipment installation points) and caused underlying wooden structure to de-laminate (...in a word - - 'expand'). This expansion results in the tearing of the TPO at the edges. Even older OUTFITTER campers have quite a bit of wood up in their roofs. Once the TPO tearing has started, it is a sign that the 'jig is already up'. I know you don't want to hear it but I think HALLMARK gave excellent advice by proposing that the roof be rebuilt. Earlier HALLMARK campers have much more wood in them than OUTFITTERs do so cutting to the chase and rebuilding the roof might very well save the rest of the camper.

If one can manage to get their roof recovered before the water can do its worst, then one is ahead of the game. But I guess it is not human nature to do that. Just putting caulk over bad caulk is not likely to solve much. I'm lucky in that I store my OUTFITTER Caribou inside a nominally heated garage space so I've gotten away with murder in terms of maintenance. I _do_ frequently inspect my roof and caulk for 'issues' but I hope I have good enough sense to have my roof recovered by OUTFITTER _before_ they need to build a new roof for me from scratch (...to be determined - - grin !).

OUTFITTER and HALLMARK, both, have progressed in roof design so it would make sense to consider a whole new roof to take advantage of those advances in materials - - especially if the existing roof foundation is going to need extensive replacement before recovering.

NOTE WELL that merely 'covering up' the edge tears does NOT result in an effective repair ! FIRST, the water _source_ must be found and eliminated ! I described the mere caulking of edge tears to 'Silversand' as "...re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic".

NOTE ALSO that these issues are not "defects" of HALLMARK or OUTFITTER 'designs' but rather a 'feature' of what was a _standard_ roof design for RVs at least up until recent years. It is incumbent upon the owner to maintain the roof integrity, on an annual basis, whether it is covered in TPO, EDPM, aluminum, or fiberglass.

Carpe diem !

Testudo & Princesse Caribou
2012 FORD F-250 6.2L 4x4 EC SB SRW
2006 FORD F-250 5.4L manual trans (Sniff! Gone but not forgotten!)
2006 OUTFITTER SUPER-Caribou 6.5