Jump to content

Roof Questions for a 1987 Escaper


Freshman Matt

Recommended Posts

Hey Guys-

Long time lurker, first time poster.
I bought a 1987 Escaper last June and put about 13,000 miles on it taking the circuitous route from Boston to Seattle. This summer has been good too, but we haven't put quite as much mileage on it. It's been largely pain free so far, though I have replaced some fuel and brake lines, and an alternator belt, in addition to the usual wear-and-tear items. With the 22RE it's really easy to take care of the truck portion.

Before fall is upon us I'm thinking that I should be doing some preventative maintenance on the coach portion. I've perused the forums for info on roof maintenance, but haven't found a soup-to-nuts guide as to what a newbie to RV-ing should be doing to maintain the roof. Should I be stripping the rubber off of it every few years? Just applying a new coat of some kind of sealant? Something else? I'm finding a lot of conflicting information in different corners of the internet, so I thought I'd come to the experts for a beginners guide to the best way to keep the roof of my Toyota waterproof through a Seattle winter.

Thanks a bunch. And enjoy the picture from Grand Teton last summer.

-Matt

Grand Teton.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A good grade of Elastomeric coating will last 10+ years.

The PROBLEM is the quality of the work the PO did. Is your coating cracking or peeling? If its intact just inspect yearly and proceed accordingly.

To redo a poorly done roof coating is a major PIA. You have to strip things down to the bare metal, prime and recoat with 2-3 coats

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks WME, that's some of the answer I was hoping for.
I went up on the ladder today and took a closer look- it appears that the roof is just metal with no coating on it. That appears to be in good shape, but I don't know how to judge the seams.

I've attached more pictures in case anyone wants to offer some more guidance.
Thanks everyone.

Roof_1.jpg

Roof_2.jpg

Roof_3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never easy to take pictures of a roof to show folks the level of detail for informed feedback. In general, any 30 year old bare roof is begging for a good coating.

Here, the question is - what are those dimples and spots that decorate the surface? Shallow pits or through holes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the dimples and spots seem to be just shallow pits. No cracks or through holes as far as I can tell. The previous owner gave me the impression that it spent a fair bit of time garaged during his and the first ownership (I'm the third owner).

With that information, what should I be buying and slopping on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If a pit has white glueish thing applied to it then its an attempt to fill a hole or crack.

Clean well with a good roof cleaner, pretty much to get a shiny surface, you do this once in an eternity, dont skimp on cleaning. Add a couple layers of a good elastomeric roof coating, as instructed by package, on a warm afternoon. 

Members swear by different brands of elastomeric roof coating, everyone from rustoleum to koolseal,snowseal and what not makes a version. Pick the one you like most recommended here by doing a roof coating search and checking on what and why they say about it and whether it applies to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Matt on my Granville I had the original bare metal roof and the seams looked like yours. I decided last year to reseal and paint. It was by far the hardest project I’ve done on Grannie! I removed the rear metal piece that covers the rear seem and completely cleaned the area. I put eternabond tape over the seam are reattach the metal strip with much larger SS screws. Put dicor lap sealer over the new screws and replaced the rubber inset with new. Then covered all the edges with lap sealant. Did this all around the roof line. Also cleaned and reapplied lap sealent around all vents. Completely prepped the bare roof and applied a product called Snow Seal. 3 coats. I then applied more eternabond tape to the front seam. Proper prepping is the key!! The big differences I noticed was how much cooler the inside is now how much quieter it is when it rains! Highly Recommended and Good Luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used Gluvit on the seams as it worked on my aluminum boat. My 87 Slumber queen roof looked good but i noticed  couple leaks. Hopefully this cured it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...