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Old 10-01-2018, 03:44 AM   #41
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Roof Coating Options & Insurance Claims

I own a 40' Itasca Horizon (40AD) and know what I am talking about when it comes to dealing with roof maintenance and roof coatings and roof replacement. I know this because I have some wind damage to my roof in March-2018 when 60MPH winds ripped through a pass in El Paso, TX.

To say the least this is a sore subject for me, so please excuse my attitude if you pick-up my frustrations on this subject. In the end, everything worked out for me, but I have to both thank and complain about the insurance process with The Hartford. However, they came through for me in the end, but not without a fight.

Let me summarize:

1) Make sure you document your roof repairs and/or maintenance. Preferably this will include keeping a maintenance log, which I recommend you always do for your resale value and anytime an insurance company asks you to "prove" you maintained your roof properly and regularly. Note: Some insurance companies ask roof repair service every 6 months while others ask for every year. This has to do with Winnebago putting in their sales materials that they recommend roof inspection every 6-month so they don't have any roof liability. However, if you ask me, Winnebago's roof design is missing some important side restraints and/or reinforcement. And by that I mean "glueing" down a one-piece fiberglass roof is a "weak" design at best.

2) Keep your receipts if you can to reinforce your log book entries.

3) I highly recommend you use eternabond 2" tape and apply it correctly on the driver's side of your coach. The passenger side is not as critical because you have the awning to bolted to the roof trim; and that prevents wind damage from pulling up your roof from that side. However, there is a 2' strip above your entry door to the the awning which you may want to tape.

4) One day I hope eternabond offers 1" tape, but for now only 2" tape is available in white and black. My recommendation is to do this before you have major wind damage.

5a) If you have major wind damage because you did not apply eternabond tape in time, then you can always do a repair it and apply Eternabond afterward, but it will take twice as much effort and you may have minor roof damage and body shop work I would think you would want to avoid. So all you Winnebago owners are driving a roof time-bomb if you ask me. Therefore, I would take preemptive action if I were you!

5b) If you have cuts and/or stress cracks in your fiberglass and/or if your fiberglass roof sheet is separating from your 1/8" luun roof, then I recommend you reglue witha special "red glue" that is super expensive, and then put the the fiberglass sheet back into the side rails. Then you can apply eternabond tape. And then you can use your favorite choice of 100% silicon roof coating material you can get at Lowes or Home Depot or if you prefer a more commercial brand buy Gaco Roof.

I think all are good if you at $200+ per 5 gal. drum. Just be sure to use a latex primer on the fiberglass first and then apply your silicon sealant. Total cost $800 in materials and ??? in labor.

6) If you have a lot of roof "checking" and stress cracks, then I would recommend Rhino Roof or some other polyurea material and have it professionally applied after you remove all the dicor and sealant in your roof side channels. For a 40' roof you will pay ~$6, 000, but don't be surprise if they quote you $7,000 because they think you can afford it.

8) If you have good documentation and have more severe roof damage, you can work with your insurance company to have a brand new roof put on your RV by Winnebago at a tune of $34,000. (Yes that's what I said.) Just make sure you have these items ready to verify:

a) You have to prove you properly maintained your roof.

b) You have to help your insurance company know that a Winnebago roof is NOT manufactured like other RV roofs; and that the only right way to fix your wind damaged roof right is for Winnebago Industries to replace the roof with a new roof, because Winnebago uses a proprietary 1-piece fiberglass sheet that is "red glued" down to the styrofoam and that the glue is a critical part to fixing the roof properly. Or you run the risk of redoing the roof in 3-5 years if you let a typical RV roof repair facility fix your roof in smaller sections.

In general, I would say, if you go the insurance route you need to help your adjuster get approval from his management to cut you a $34,000 check.

This also means you better have a "DOCUMENTED WIND EVENT" and you better be able to point them to a local airport that keeps track of wind speeds on your alleged day of your claim.

You also need to defend your assertions that wind caused your roof damage. By that I mean you better have video footage (which is easy if you have a smart phone and you are there when the event happens). I took a video of the evening's new forcast on TV to bolster my claim.

And most importantly, your case is stronger if you have a witnesses!!! In my case, my wind damage occurred in a Lowe's parking lot and I asked the store manager to come out and witness the 50-60 miles winds blowing at the time; and he was very willing to give me his name and phone number; and approval to spend the night on the leeward side of his store so the wind did not create more roof damage until I can duct tape it down the next morning.

Yes I did that! And yes I think these actions made the difference of my insurance company paying out on the claim. However, at the time I had no idea of how much new roof costs. But boy I'm glad I did that ...without shame. You should do that too!)

Lastly, don't let any more than 1 person on your roof at a time, or you run the risk of 2 people standing in one spot and crushing your roof! Yes this can happen. In fact, I think it's more likely the weakest spots in your roof are on the sides as weight positioned in the center will be displaced evenly across the arch in the roof.

I hope this information helps. It's horrible when wind rips your roof off and it usually starts just behind the front cap. So pay particular attention to sealing this area off so wind cannot get under the front most leading edge of your fiberglass roof that is anchored in the side rail by nothing more than a special glue not easily available from RV dealers. In fact, I'm not even sure that type of sealant you need to use. ...Screw that. If you have a 5 year old plus roof I recommend you clean the roof gutter out, apply new sealant (of the right kind) and then overlap 1-2" Eternabond Tape over that.

https://www.amazon.com/Eternabond-Ro...WM6AS9X3M55CJA

Good luck and good RVing!
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Old 10-01-2018, 06:19 AM   #42
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Unless there is damage or pathways for leaking: isn't the whole point of Winnebagos' fiberglass roof is that it doesn't need coating? Just asking.
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Old 10-01-2018, 07:24 AM   #43
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Unless there is damage or pathways for leaking: isn't the whole point of Winnebagos' fiberglass roof is that it doesn't need coating? Just asking.
I agree, fiberglass boats survive for many decades without coating other than re-gel-coating or painting, and then primarily for cosmetic issues. Unless your fiberglass roof is cracking, I don't see the need for applying a roof coating.

Another wide-held, but erroneous, idea is that Dicor is the "correct" sealant for Winnebago fiberglass roofs as pointed out in a previous reply. Dicor is formulated and intended for rubber roofs which is even indicated in Dicor's own literature. Winnebago publishes year and model specific sealant callout sheets that specifies what sealant to use for each purpose. Dicor isn't specified for any Winnebago with a fiberglass roof, only for those with rubber roofs, which I understand is limited to some towables.
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Old 10-01-2018, 08:00 AM   #44
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Originally Posted by imnprsd View Post
3) I highly recommend you use eternabond 2" tape and apply it correctly on the driver's side of your coach. The passenger side is not as critical because you have the awning to bolted to the roof trim; and that prevents wind damage from pulling up your roof from that side. However, there is a 2' strip above your entry door to the the awning which you may want to tape.
There re are no no awning bolts first off, it is a one piece awning rail integral with the roof/wall connection, and there is nothing unique about the passenger side compared to the drivers side because of the awning. They are both the same.

The key is, keep the edge seal inspected and maintained, then you don't need a top coat or eternabond tape.
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