By Cheri Sicard
RV rubber roofs are awesome in that they don’t need as much care and maintenance as regular roofs that need to be resealed every year or two, but that does not mean that a rubber RV roof does not need any care.
Your RV’s rubber roof is still exposed to damaging elements like sun, wind, and rain. With time it can get dirty and grimy and lose its supple condition.
In the video below, The RV Guys, who repair RVs for a living, show how they clean and condition an RV rubber roof, using a motorhome that belongs to a client as an example.
This motorhome’s roof kind of resembles the current state of my travel trailer’s roof. I thought to myself, “That will never come clean!” Surprise, I was wrong. The RV Guys use a 2-step process that leaves the roof looking clean, bright, and nearly new!
Camco makes the products they used in the video. The first product is a cleaner and a conditioner. The second product is a protectant. *Please note: These products cannot be used on all RV roofs, especially not on TPO roofs. Please check with your RV manufacturer, service center or maintenance tech for what products are best for your RV’s roof.
The first step is to give the roof a good rinse and get all the loose dirt off.
This is followed by scrubbing with the cleaner, rinsing, and repeating. The roof in the video started MAJORLY dirty and it came out amazingly clean, not that it didn’t take some elbow grease. There are still some little dots, probably left from tree sap, but they’re far fainter than they were, and the rest of the roof sparkles.
They then allowed the roof to dry overnight before applying the protectant. This step is easier than scrubbing and cleaning. You just need to spread the protectant evenly over the roof.
The video is meant to sell the RV Guys’ cleaning services. However, after watching it, this is a job easily in the skill set of almost anyone.
Note: Not all RV roofs can be walked on. Additionally, do not get up on your RV’s roof in the rain or if the roof is wet. This can be extremely dangerous!
*Disclaimer: This video does not necessarily indicate the views of Cheri Sicard or RVtravel.com. Please take all information with a grain of salt and do your own research.
##RVDT2012