Fixing a Hole Where the Rain Gets in

Sometimes, the gopher approach is the best way to sneak up on old caulking.

We were FINALLY ready to address the real problem plaguing the Shasta – the holes in the roof that were one of the main sources of damage to the frame. We’d already repaired and replaced the luon interior roof of the trailer, and now we were ready to take care of the actual perforations in the aluminum skin.  We knew we had to get a solid fix on these, because if we didn’t, water was going to continue to seep into the frame from the top and all of our other repairs would be for nothing.

While we’d been working on the trailer from the inside, the aluminum roof was on the ground in the barn, with the center propped up by cardboard boxes to keep it from bowing and to allow us enough room to creep underneath the roof and seal it from underneath.

Here’s a shot of the puncture divet from the inside. This little spot was responsible for the water damage in the middle of the roof.

It turns out that the tree hadn’t only put a couple of tiny holes in the roof but it had also caused a break in one of the roof seams.  This seemed like it would be pretty easy to deal with – we just had to reinforce the seal between two panels.  There were some dents in the roof too – we went at these with a rubber mallet, and actually did a reasonable job of repairing some of the cosmetic damage done to the aluminum.

Rolling on Eterna Bond on the underside of the roof– it ain’t glamorous, but it’s effective!

We researched different products to use for the repairs and ended up with two solutions. To reinforce the roof from the inside, we used Eternabond Mobile Home RV Rubber Roof Repair. It came on a long 4″x10′ roll and was applied by unrolling it and pressing it on. This would take care of the split in the side of the roof and seal the seams in the metal.One of us slid underneath the trailer and pressed the epoxy along the seam while the other one slowly fed the tape underneath.  This really seemed like it did the trick, and provided a great seal.

The Marine Tex dried quickly and filled the puncture divet nicely.

To fill the holes in the roof, we used the Marine Tex Mighty Repair Kit, a two part epoxy designed to fill holes in boats. We used the logic that if it could keep water out of a boat, it could keep water out of a trailer!  This went on smoothly once it was mixed, and also seemed like it would provide a great and lasting seal.