RV roofs can be prone to get damaged, which can cause water to get inside the RV and cause all sorts of havoc. And although a good spray-on roof coating will prevent most damage to your RV roof, there are other causes that create damage to the roof and your roof to leak. Let’s look at the common causes of RV roof leaks and damage.
Aging of the roof
Spray-on RV roof coatings from Spray America Coatings are meant to last a lifetime. However, for those who don’t have this type of coating, you might have to worry about the age of your RV roof. Exposure to the elements will eventually weaken the roof of your RV. Sunlight, freezing temperatures, and precipitation, combined with the amount of time you have it on the road instead of parked and covered will all take a toll on the roof.
Physical damage to the roof
One of the more obvious ways an RV roof gets damaged is by physical impacts, scrapes and the like. The most likely cause of physical damage is from things like tree limbs either dropping on the roof or scraping the roof. Either which way, this damage can cause water to get inside your RV, causing damage to the inside of your RV. Unless you hear the damage as it occurs, or you take a look at your roof regularly, you might not even realize that your roof has been punctured. That is why it is extremely important to regularly inspect your RV’s roof.
Improperly Sealed Roof objects.
The biggest and most common reasons RV roofs leak is a faulty sealant and leaking caulk. And this one can be sneaky cause it can be a slow leak with NO obvious leaks into the interior of the RV. How is this possible? There are a number of elements that actually pierce the roof of your RV including racks, skylights, ladder mounts, and more. Each one of these holes in your roof needs to be watertight against the bolts. If caulking was used, the caulk can dry out and crack, leaving tiny spots for water to get in. It’s highly recommended that you reapply caulking once per year or so on the roof of your RV.
Roof Racks
Even though just mentioned above, we thought they were worth a special mention. Roof racks are attached directly to the roof of the RV, there’s the potential for leaking over time. The reason we wanted to mention roof rack specifically is because the weight added to the roof can add more stress to the puncture points where racks screw down to the roof. RV roof leaks from roof racks tend to be located around the screws that hold the rack to the roof, and usually coincide with caulking degradation or seal failure, along with that stress from the weight added to them over time.
Conclusion
RV leaks from RV roof damage are not always obvious. That is why it is important to inspect your RV’s roof at least once a year if not more. If the leak is not caught the leak has can cause significant damage to your RV. No matter what, the elements are not your friend when it comes to damage to your RV roof. Flat RV roofs that allow water to sit are most prone to extreme water damage, and serious damage can occur in a relatively short span of time. If you have had damage to your RV’s roof, Spray America Coatings’ RV roof repair service can fix the leak before it causes any more damage to your RV.
