Welcome back to another RV preventive maintenance series video. When it comes to RV roof care and maintenance, you have preventive maintenance, routine maintenance, and emergency maintenance. Preventive and routine roof maintenance involves inspecting roof seams and sealants, and making any required repairs. Emergency RV roof maintenance involves repairing things like punctures and tears in your RV roof when you least expect it. 

Today, we’re going to discuss and properly repair a punctured, torn, or damaged RV roof. When you head out on an RV trip, you never know when your RV roof might be damaged by a puncture or tear. This DiSEAL patch by Dicor can handle most emergency roof repairs you might encounter. This particular patch can be used on EPDM rubber, TPO, fiberglass, plastic, wood, steel, and aluminum products. Today, I’ll demonstrate making the roof repair on our mockup RV roof, but always remember to exercise caution whenever you work on the RV roof. A fall can cause serious injury or worse. The first thing you do after you discover a puncture or tear in the roofing material is clean the surrounding area thoroughly. I start by using a rubber roof cleaner. Next, rinse the area with clean water and let it dry completely. As a final preparation, use a cloth dampened with denatured alcohol. 

Start by peeling off a couple inches of the release liner. It’s important you apply the patch exactly where you want it the first time. If you attempt to remove the patch after it makes contact with the roof, it can damage the tape or the roofing material. Do not stretch the patch. Press down firmly. Start in the center and work towards the outside edges, removing any bubbles. You want to prevent any openings or tunnels in the edges of the patch for the patch to work effectively. The final step of the repair is to run a bead of sealant around the perimeter of the patch. Make sure the sealant you use is compatible with the roofing material. That’s how easy it is to repair a puncture or tear in your RV roof. I mentioned earlier the DiSEAL patch is an excellent product to keep in your RV toolbox for emergency repairs when you’re on the road. Just so you know, you can also purchase wider and longer rolls of repair tape to repair more extensive damage. 

To learn more about using and caring for your RV, take a minute to visit rvonlinetraining.com. Happy camping

Happy camping from Mark Polk of RV Education 101