How to Repair a C Class RV Roof
You might not consider the condition of the roof of your RV until something goes wrong. This could ruin your vacation. A leaky roof and a rainstorm can ruin not only your trip but everything you have taken with you, as well. You especially need to know the basics of how to repair a C class RV roof, because the C class, with its over-the-cab bed design, has a roof style that is subject to more wear and tear than the flat RV roof styles.
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Things You'll Need
- Broom
- Garden Hose and Water Supply
- Marine Plywood (if necessary)
- Pry Bar
- Hammer
- Stainless Steel Nails
- Waterproof Marine Sealing Caulk
- Caulk Gun
- Elastomeric Roof Coating (for rubber or metal, depending on your roof)
- Paint Roller
- Rubber Patch Kit (if necessary)
Instructions
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Sweep off the entire roof. Do this slowly and with short motions of the broom. The object is not only to clean any debris off the roof but to allow you to walk the entire surface of the roof so you can feel or hear any points of the roof that might have rotted. Sections that have rotted will be very springy under foot and make a crunching sound.
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Spray down the entire roof so it is washed clean of any tree tar or bird droppings. Use plain water, a garden hose and your broom to do this; the broom will allow you to scrub the surface.
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3
If you locate a rotted section of roof, from the inside of the RV, remove the ceiling panels. Use a pry bar to remove the entire piece of plywood that contains the rotten wood. Cut and fit a new piece of marine plywood to the area. Attach the new plywood to the same supports with stainless steel nails. Reinstall the ceiling panels.
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Load the marine sealing caulk into the caulk gun and seal the following places on the roof: along the edge trim, over any hardware (nails, screws), around any vents or hatches and at the front trim of the roof over the cab bed. The area of the roof where it meets the body of the cab is subject to a lot of stress from driving. RV roofs leak mostly from the points where they have been punctured, not from a failure of the roof material itself.
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Re-coat the roof with an elastomeric coating that matches the primary roof material. Use a coating designed for rubber roofs only if you have a rubber roof on your RV. Spread the coating with a paint roller, let dry and repeat until you have three coats on your C class RV roof. If you find any significant rips, tears or abrasions in a rubber roof, fix them with a patch from your patch kit.
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Tips & Warnings
Always keep a spare tube of caulk for emergency repairs stored in your RV.
While there are many products designed for caulking and sealing RVs, buy products made for marine use, they will be cheaper and more likely to be truly waterproof because of their original intended use. Many products labeled for RV use are just that, only labeled but not made any differently than required for a normal household product and will not be up to handling the unique stress an RV suffers.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Bob Hanover
