sealed, vacuum bonded roof repair

[kat4]

Hi, I live in Nova Scotia, Canada and I am new to this but I am desperately seeking answers please!

I own a 2006, Triple E, Embassy, 37 ft., class A motorhome.

I had a tree fall on the roof of my RV. Apparently, since I have a sealed, vacuum bonded roof that is no longer manufactured, I am having a lot of problems with a repair. One repair facility took up the rubber membrane and put a new rubber membrane on - without replacing OR repairing any broken plywood ( or luann ). I refused to accept this job. The second repair facility did the EXACT same thing but even worse. They didn't seem to clean anything properly before putting down the new rubber. On top of this, air pockets (NOT bubbles) can be seen from 20 ft away. I am being told this is an awesome job! Is there ANY kind of industry standard? Please don't say talk to insurance because they have hung me out to dry!

Thanks!

[kat4]

T18skyguy wrote:
I searched Triple E on both RVT.com and Rvtrader and find very few. There was a 2006 Triple E of a different model that was listed for $80,000. Would you say that's about the value of that rig? If it has that much value, insurance should cover it unless you only have liability. You might consult an attorney. It's effectively totaled. I recently saw a fairly new Phaeton in a salvage yard(Coparts) with the exact same issue. Big hole punched through by a big limb. Insurance must have covered it. Have an Attorney write them a letter to begin with.That might be all it takes.

Mine is closer to the $60,000. mark and I won't get into the hassles with my insurance company!
I think I just may take your advice on the Attorney!
Thank you

[time2roll]

Take a trip south....

https://rvroof.com/

[T18skyguy]

I searched Triple E on both RVT.com and Rvtrader and find very few. There was a 2006 Triple E of a different model that was listed for $80,000. Would you say that's about the value of that rig? If it has that much value, insurance should cover it unless you only have liability. You might consult an attorney. It's effectively totaled. I recently saw a fairly new Phaeton in a salvage yard(Coparts) with the exact same issue. Big hole punched through by a big limb. Insurance must have covered it. Have an Attorney write them a letter to begin with.That might be all it takes.

[kat4]

Does it leak where the repair is? Can you see where the water is coming in? I would be more concerned about the leak than the bubbles in the rubber.

Yes, it does leak where the repair is, the caulking wasn't done properly, and my hands are tied until I have a determination on the repair that was done (if it is a good quality repair or not). In actuality, the repair was never done. Just a new rubber membrane put down. The repair was supposed to include new plywood (or luan) BEFORE the new rubber membrane was put down. Trust me when I say there is more damage to the unit now than there was from the actual tree strike.

[Gjac]

kat4 wrote:

Bert Ackerman wrote:
You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

Hi Bert, I did edit my original post to say it's a 2006,Triple E, Embassy, 37' class 'A' mortorhome, which as a whole was in mint condition. I did post a couple of after repair pics too.
Unfortunately, yes, it does leak as well.
Thanks!

Does it leak where the repair is? Can you see where the water is coming in? I would be more concerned about the leak than the bubbles in the rubber.

[kat4]

Bert Ackerman wrote:

kat4 wrote:

Bert Ackerman wrote:
You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

Hi Bert, I did edit my original post to say it's a 2006,Triple E, Embassy, 37' class 'A' mortorhome, which as a whole was in mint condition. I did post a couple of after repair pics too.
Unfortunately, yes, it does leak as well.
Thanks!

Have you reached out to the manufacturer? Send them your pictures. They made the roof, and one would think they know about repair methods or options.

I did, however, the problem now is, since the repair has been completed, the only way to tell (apparently) if the job was done properly is to take the rubber membrane off again.

[Bert_Ackerman]

kat4 wrote:

Bert Ackerman wrote:
You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

Hi Bert, I did edit my original post to say it's a 2006,Triple E, Embassy, 37' class 'A' mortorhome, which as a whole was in mint condition. I did post a couple of after repair pics too.
Unfortunately, yes, it does leak as well.
Thanks!

Have you reached out to the manufacturer? Send them your pictures. They made the roof, and one would think they know about repair methods or options.

[kat4]

Bert Ackerman wrote:
You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

Hi Bert, I did edit my original post to say it's a 2006,Triple E, Embassy, 37' class 'A' mortorhome, which as a whole was in mint condition. I did post a couple of after repair pics too.
Unfortunately, yes, it does leak as well.
Thanks!

[Bert_Ackerman]

You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

[kat4]

Unfortunately, the insurance company never gave me that option. I can't get another RV place to even quote this repair/replacement now. Nobody will even state if they feel the job was adequate at this point either. It's very frustrating thinking your insurance company has your back and/or , your repair facility has the ba**s to tell the ins. co. that it's a costly repair and will stand behind you and then deliver a "like new" product!

[Gdetrailer]

kat4 wrote:
Hi, I live in Nova Scotia, Canada and I am new to this but I am desperately seeking answers please!

I own a 2006, Triple E, Embassy, 37 ft., class A motorhome.

I had a tree fall on the roof of my RV. Apparently, since I have a sealed, vacuum bonded roof that is no longer manufactured, I am having a lot of problems with a repair. One repair facility took up the rubber membrane and put a new rubber membrane on - without replacing OR repairing any broken plywood ( or luann ). I refused to accept this job. The second repair facility did the EXACT same thing but even worse. They didn't seem to clean anything properly before putting down the new rubber. On top of this, air pockets (NOT bubbles) can be seen from 20 ft away. I am being told this is an awesome job! Is there ANY kind of industry standard? Please don't say talk to insurance because they have hung me out to dry!

Thanks!

Vacuum bonded structures are nearly impossible to fix structurally, study the photos Bert posted, there literately is NOTHING to "sister" to inside the panel because it is pretty much all made up of just foam.

Factory fix would have been to fully remove the roof sections until they got to the section which is damaged then put all of the sections back on (provided it was mad is several sections). IF it is a ONE single roof piece then the only fix is to remove the entire roof and replace with a new roof panel.

Aftermarket fixes would have to be improvised, one would have to create some new structural wood trusses to go from side to side then figure out how to attach to the existing foam filled panels.

Then to even out the roof most likely have to glue down a new layer of Luan over top the existing wood roof (most likely would not be able to staple or nail it off since there most likely is no wood structural reinforcements.

I think if I was the one doing the repair work, I would have suggested removing the entire roof structure, then build a new roof structure using tried and true standard wood roof truss method..

Not an easy or cheap or quick fix..

Would most likely have been far better off to have allowed the Insurance Company scrap the entire rig and taken your lumps on the monetary loss.

[kat4]

Bert Ackerman wrote:
You have yet to post the brand, model, and year. At some point the value is less than the cost of repairs and with RVs that point arrives fast, which probably explains your insurance companies position. It may be a case of just living with it. I assume it doesn't leak?

These are just 2 pics of the roof AFTER repair. It did look better before the repair, was beautiful and smooth.

I am trying this again, thank you for all of your help!

Would you consider this very good workmanship?

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

To post a picture click here

Just follow the link above to post a picture. If I can do it, you can too.

[Bert_Ackerman]

kat4 wrote:
I am not even sure I am replying correctly, but thank you to everyone who has answered so far. I do not know how to post pictures, am not very computer literate for the most part!

At least post the brand and model. In the pictures I posted of a Rockwood / Flagstaff roof, the metal supports are on 4' centers which makes it almost impossible to patch in a damaged area. The foam and plywood on both sides adhered together is the structure.

Lots of other manufacturers had laminated roofs. They were typically flat on both sides. Jayco had them on certain lines, Dutchmen / Aerolite as well. Seemed to be more of them in the lates 90's early 00's. The earlier Rockwood roofs were also flat.