Rubber Roof Coating and AC support Opinions

[John "T" Nordhoff]

So, being a "frugal" penny pinchin conservative (tightwad) kinda guy, on my Class C RV's with the rubber membrane roofs, instead of purchasing the expensive dealer recommended and sold rubber membrane roof coatings, I GO TO LOWES AND BUY THE WHITE "ELASTROMETRIC" RUBBERY ROOF COATINGS AND PAINT ON ON MAYBE ONCE EVERY COUPLE YEARS. I wash them down first n let them dry and have done this before and it stays on good and seems to work fine, sooooooooooooo any real RV techs out there gonan tell me the world as we know it is gonna end and my roof is gonna rot off and fall in cuz I used it instead of the "politically correct" RV rubber roof coating????????

PS, having owned flat roof Class C's for yearssssssssssss they alllllllllllllll seem to eventually sag n droop down a bit where that heavy rooftop AC unit is. No wonder with road vibration n it shaking up n down after 50K miles huh. Sooooooooo on my latest Class C the roof is flat n perfect soooooooooooooo as preventive maintenace I placed 1 1/2 blocks right out on the sides where all the vertical strength is (so no load on the roof itself),,,,,,,,,,ran a piece of 2 x 1/4 angle iron side to side (One in front of AC another in rear) which sets on the elevated and sidewall supported blocks,,,,,built a frame of 2 x 6 and angle iron inside on interior rooftop which fits around the AC unit,,,,,,,,,,,used well sealed bolts and raised the roof in that area maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch or so. ITS MY OPINION THAT WILL HELP PREVENT THE ROOF CENTER FROM SAGGING N DROOPING AT THE AC UNIT AS TIME GOES BY.

Your thoughts???

Ol John T in Indiana, kind of a NUT when it comes to Preventive maintenance

[Rick Stafford]

Hi John,  I just read your post and think the same way you do. I just have a little old 64 Lo Liner camper that I have had for about 15 years. When i first got it I coated the roof with the stuff your talking about and it is still on there and I have not had a problem. I think Im gonna redo it a little and clean it and then give it a new coat.  My little camper does not have ac. i once had a little window unit in a side window. Worked fine but always hated the thing sticking out the side . So I have been waiting to find a deal on a small roof top. I have been thinking about the support for a long time and had always been thinking about using some angle iron running across the top to hold that weight too.  Now, I am more convinced it would work.   Do you have any photos you could post of it?  Thanks for the info!               Rick

[John "T" Nordhoff]

  Thanks Rick, no pics now but I plan to later. The 2 inch x 1/4 iron Angle across the top vertically supported by the sidewall strength bowed down maybe 1/4 across the 8 ft and best I could tell the roof got elevated maybe 1/16 to 1/8 at most buttttttttttt just the fact its better supported and elevated even a tad makes me think she wont sag in the middle (and possibly leak) like alllllllllllllllllllll eventually do from all that weight bouncin up n down as you travel miles n miles. As I was inside tightening the nuts I could hear the top rafters creakin n poppin just a bit and thats when I quit. I think youre right, none of my other rubber roof RV ever showed a problem after that white rubbery elestrometric roof coatign was used. Its like a rubbery silicone gel kinda stuff I dont see it eating the rubber membrane roof UNLIKE the heavy petroleum based tar like mobile home roof coatings yukkkkkkkk I wouldnt put them on an RV rubber roof.....

 

 John T

[Nick Thegreek]

I also used the white elastomeric coating but got mine from tractor supply this stuff holds up well on my class C. One more thing too -if the body of your camper has minor leaks you can take the white roof coating and mix it with any color latex paint to tint the coating. You can roll or brush it on-Looks like rhino-hide when dry-won't peel off either!

[Nancy McLaughlin]

I appreciate the support for giving the inexpensive elastomeric coating stuff a try.....I desperately need to seal the roof on my '92 Nomad as it is tarped right now and that is a really bad thing....we have patched with Eternabond for the last 2 years, but now the whole roof is just too far gone. My problem is financial..I can't afford $300 or $500 dollars on this project. Therefore I am going to try the inexpensive route, if only to get me through one season, and see what happens. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you have....in my case its a matter of dollars!

[John "T" Nordhoff]

 Is it okay IF I BACKPEDAL???????

 I liked the Elastrometric fine when I made that post and its still not bad HOWEVER I think I may have found something I like better,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Something I would recommend instead of the Elastrometric at Lowes or Menards etc like I used last time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Something JUST 5 MINS AGO I PUT ON A COAT OF A DIFFERENT PRODUCT

 

 This time I used Hengs Rubber Roof Coating I bought from Adventure RV for $39 a gallon.

 

http://www.adventurerv.net/plastcote-rubber-roof-coating-p-157.html...

 

 

It was almost twice that at some places. I see it as designed more specifically for rubber RV roofs then perhaps?????? The Elastrometric I bought at Lowes or Menards, but I have NOTHING to back that up so do your own research. I just want to go on record THAT I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND LOL

 

 John T

[Nancy McLaughlin]

Very cool...I will look into that stuff!  Haven't purchased anything yet! Persistence pays off, I know I will find something. Will try to find this Heng's stuff at a good price and I will update my progress..thanks again.