Is it a fiberglass roof or something else

[meddac]

Hi all,
I recently took delivery on a 2006 Itasca Ellipse 40" KD DP. When I was at the dealer I climbed up on the roof and briefly looked around and all appeared well. I got it home yesterday and went back up to look closely to see if I need to do any sealing on it. Now I know Winnes/Itasca come standard with a fiberglass roof and I am the 4th owner (clean carfax) but this doesn't look like the fiberglass I had on an older adventurer. It looks and feels more like a rubber/epdm roof. It's white and I can press my fingernail in it. However if it was replaced the full body paint goes on it and all the sealants look like factory stuff to me but I'm not sure. Any ideas? Pics don't really help much but I did attach a couple. Thanks in advance.

[BobC]

That is definitely strange and since you're not a first-time owner it's unlikely you would mistake fiberglass for rubber. Despite your paint and sealant observations, certainly sounds like a well done replacement. It's interesting that it even has the warning sticker on it.

If you have a bathroom skylight with an inner skylight similar to my 35U, you can easily remove it for clear view of the edge of the hole so you can see the layers making up the roof. My guess is you're going to see three top layers, luan, fiberglass, rubber.

How problematical this might be is the question. Here's a link to an earlier discussion of a similar issue:

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...5j-360019.html

I think the dealer should have disclosed this prior to sale but they're likely to plead ignorance or caveat emptor should you decide to approach them for some compensation.

Keep us posted.

[neub]

It is possible one of the previous owners put some type of coating over the fiberglass and masked around the warning stickers and the painted sections along the sides.

[meddac]

I appreciate the replies and took the unit to our permanent camp site yesterday. I will get up on the roof here eventually and see what I can tell by looking at the layers. At least it's covered 95% of the time so doesn't matter too much though I am hoping it still has the fiberglass underneath.

[Jim_HiTek]

Perhaps hail damage? The repair shop probably didn't want to install the fiberglass roof, and the owner didn't want to drive back to Iowa so went with the rubber roof instead? If the owner was a full timer, time could have played a roll in choosing the roll roofing too. Just checked what a roll of rubber roofing on Amazon would cost and it's surprisingly economical at $550...not to mention how much easier it would be for a shop to handle it.

I remember reading on the iRV2 forum a couple years ago about people having their fiberglass roofs damaged by huge hailstones and letting their insurance take care of it. I'd wager your RV is one of those.

I've seen videos of replacing a rubber roof and if it's done in a shop with headroom, plus having a small fork lift, it's not a big job.

[meddac]

Thanks, Jim. That very well could be the answer as I checked very thoroughly for any indication of water damage both inside and out before purchasing and none was to be found. I wouldn't even consider any RV with any delamination or a ceiling stain etc...I run from those. When my friend checked the carfax (I can't remember what his dealership used but it wasn't carfax) he said no accidents were cited but I don't know if a comp claim would come up. It was originally in FL, then Delaware, then lastly here in PA.