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Sealing A Roof On A Class A Motorhome
by Abe
ANSWER Greetings Abe, let me first thank you for submitting your question on our Free Ask An RV Question Page. With the limited information you have provided me, the answer to your question "is sealing an RV Roof a do-it-yourself job?", has to be Yes and No. The Fleetwood Flair was manufactured from the late 80s until 2007. Depending on the year of the RV it could have a metal, fiberglass, vinyl or rubber roof. If your RV has a metal, vinyl or fiberglass roof, you might want to take it to an RV dealer for repair. Most newer RVs have rubber roofs and yes some repairs and resealing can be done by a do-it-yourselfer depending on their skill level. If the reason you are asking this question, is because you have seen some indications of a leak in the RV, then sealing the roof of the RV is only resolving half the problem. Depending on how long the roof has been leaking, you could actually have some significant hidden damage to the RVs structure. A leak in the wall or ceiling of an RV that is of wooden construction could have caused a mold or wood rot problem, which would actually require pulling the ceiling or wall apart to repair the damage. Depending on your skills you could fix it yourself, but again I would suggest having an RV dealer look at it to assess the damage. If you decide that you would like to recoat your rubber roof, here are the steps I would recommend. First clean the roof thoroughly using a medium bristle brush and a mild detergent. I personally use Dawn Liquid Detergent on our RV's roof and it works well. WARNING: Do not use any cleaners that contain abrasives, citrus or petroleum products as they will damage your roof. If in doubt check the RV's owner's manual or contact the RV Manufacturer for their recommendations on products to use. You may have to clean the roof more than once. The whole point of cleaning the roof is so the rubber sealer/coating will adhere to the existing rubber roof. In some cases you may have to apply a primer before recoating the roof. A good place to get the sealer and primer is CampingWorld.com When using a product to coat your roof, make sure that it provides additional UV Protection and that the product is approved for use on RVs, again that is why I recommend CampingWorld.com Make sure you understand and follow the instructions of the product you're using. You may find that some products may require a second coat. You may also find that some coatings cannot be applied at certain outside temperatures or while the RV is in direct sunlight. So please read the instructions carefully. Failure to do so could cause further damage to the RV's roof. Again, this is the best I could do with the limited information you provided me. If any of our visitors have recoated their RV roofs and would like to add their own tips or tricks, they can do so by clicking on the add a comment link at the bottom of this page. Good Luck on your roof repair project and Happy RVing. RVing Al
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