By Chris Dougherty
Chris Dougherty is a certified RV technician. Here is a letter he received from a reader while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor.
Dear Chris,
I need to reseal the seam where the plastic trim of the roof top outer edge of the bedroom slide meets the EPDM roof. The roof material is not stuck down here and bubbled up. Is there a way to stick the EPDM down before I place the Eternabond tape on top of it? —Tim
Dear Tim,
I believe the area you are describing is up against the outer trim.
Determining if you have to reglue the EPDM depends on how badly it has come loose and the reason for it. With a slide roof, as long as it’s sealed and most of the roof is glued down, it may be okay the way it is, and you can stick the Eternabond to it. The reason is because, unlike the main roof of the coach, the slide roof isn’t exposed to the high winds when going down the road that the main roof is.
On the other hand, if there is water damage to the decking that has caused the roof to loosen up, then that really needs to be fixed before sealing it up.
In either case, to answer your question, the membrane has to be lifted to be reglued. So, all the trim has to be taken off and the membrane unstapled and lifted up. You must use only the glue designed for your particular roof. Once the glue is down, restretch and staple the edge of the membrane and reinstall the trim with new sealants and screws as needed. Then you can put the Eternabond on.
If the bubble is small and just along the edge of the trim, then I wouldn’t worry about it much. If a big section of the membrane is coming loose, then a more involved repair may be in order.
##RVT781
