Intro and roof question - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

Glenn Cole · 03-24-2013, 03:59 PM

Hi,

Thank you! to all of you who have contributed so mouch information to this forum!!

We are new owners, having ours for about 24 hours. We just inherited a 1990 25' Voyager and have already spent 10 hours on this forum learning new ideas.

We cleaned 10 years of "storage grime" off of it, and it appears to be in pretty good condition, with one exception.

On the back right side - the edge of the roof, nearest the awning, is leaking. The previous owner attempted to seal the seam with roofing tar. I have attached an image. There is slight panel damage inside, nearest the bed. Looks like it has affected one panel.

I read about Lexel caulk and Eterna-bond tape. Any recommendations which I should try first given what you can tell from the image attached?

JIM L · 03-24-2013, 06:29 PM

Welcome to the forum and as an owner. From your picture it looks like you may have a rubber roof. If it is, do not use Lexel. As it states on the Lexel tube it is not to be used on a rubber roof system. If it is a rubber roof use the Eterna-bond tape. If it is an Aluminum roof and it has a rip in it I would also use the Eterna tape. The Lexel is great for sealing around the outside of the window and door trim, trim around the roof vents and AC if on an aluminum roof. Also use Lexel on any other trim where water might get under it to the wood paneling. If removing the windows or other trim then use buytl rubber tape under the trim. On the awning look at the lag bolts that attach the brackets to the side of the RV. This is an area that water has entered the walls. Back out lag bolts one at a time and apply Lexel to the hole and reinstall the bolts. Hope this helps.

jcurtis95 · 03-25-2013, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Cole

Hi,

Thank you! to all of you who have contributed so mouch information to this forum!!

We are new owners, having ours for about 24 hours. We just inherited a 1990 25' Voyager and have already spent 10 hours on this forum learning new ideas.

We cleaned 10 years of "storage grime" off of it, and it appears to be in pretty good condition, with one exception.

On the back right side - the edge of the roof, nearest the awning, is leaking. The previous owner attempted to seal the seam with roofing tar. I have attached an image. There is slight panel damage inside, nearest the bed. Looks like it has affected one panel.

I read about Lexel caulk and Eterna-bond tape. Any recommendations which I should try first given what you can tell from the image attached?

Glenn,

How about taking some pics of the interior damage and post on the forum. Also, is the damage on the ceiling or wall panel? and it looks as if the HiLo has a rubber roof; is this correct?

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Glenn Cole · 03-25-2013, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcurtis95

Glenn,

How about taking some pics of the interior damage and post on the forum. Also, is the damage on the ceiling or wall panel? and it looks as if the HiLo has a rubber roof; is this correct?

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Hi Jerry,

I'm sure there is more damage than what I am seeing. There always is, but this is all I can see on my initial examination. It is a rubber roof. The edge of the roof line has been repaired by black tar. There is a spot visible on the roof in the previous image that looks bad, but is simply where the previous owner glued portions of a tarp to the roof.

I am mainly and immediately concerned with the edge. I am looking for a place to buy the Externa bond, and hop eto have the edge repairs by weeks end.

thanks

PopRichie77 · 03-25-2013, 01:35 PM

Tar of any kind is very bad for a rubber roof, it will deteriate the rubber. Eterna bond tape can be bought on Ebay or just do a search on the internet, it is available at many places also so is patching for rubber roofs,

campthewestcoast · 03-25-2013, 01:38 PM

We found the best prices on Externabond Tape on Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

Glenn Cole · 03-25-2013, 01:46 PM

Thanks for the tip Rich. I was unaware of that. I may be best served removing that tar and replacing it with the ExternaBond.

Les, I appreciate the link. I will order right now.. I noticed there are several types of ExternaBond. Is there one you're partial to?

sam · 03-26-2013, 12:46 AM

Glen, Welcome to the forum. I have the exact RV that you do. I am sorry the former owner didn't do the roof repairs correctly. We had to repair our roof where the rubber roof turns over the side. It had a huge slit in it. I would try to do a less expensive repair. You will want to clean the roof off good With rubbing alcohol or roof primmer wash. We used alcohol as ours didn't have tar on it. 1 Roll is 6' 16ft. The website is www.cofair.com You just peel the backing off and press into place. Works great with two ladders and a helper. I think DH used a floor roller to smooth it down. Can't remember what we paid for this. Probably cheaper than Externabond tape. Get on the net for externabond. Lots of good info. We were just at our RV dealer and I see they now carry liquid roof. Our roof repairs have held up. We only had to do one side. Slight wrinkling on the interior ceiling. Been in a few good rainstorms and we are high and dry. If we ever need to replace the roof we have a friend with a large barn and a roofer who can put a riubber roof on if need be. After you fix your roof you will need to coat it with primmer and two coats of rubber roof sealer. We used Dicor,do an internet search for info. We didn't have to fix the interior ceiling. We did do a complete restoration of our upper walls for water damage. I'll will try to call my daughter from the hosp.and have her post the photo bucket link.Post more pictures of the interior ceiling and wall damage.

Glenn Cole · 03-26-2013, 08:39 AM

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the great tips! I don't have any more images of the interior damage other than the one shot I posted. The wall board is buckled by the bed, and there is some warping on the wall board in the cabinet above the bed. So far, thats all I see.

I know I need to remove the wall board to get in there and examine the extent of damage. I am hopeful that is all that needs to be replaced.

I'll take pictures as I proceed and post them fo rmore input!

Glenn Cole · 03-26-2013, 10:12 AM

How do I determine a value (for insurance purposes) on your camper trailer?

Not impressed with KBB.

campthewestcoast · 03-26-2013, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Cole

How do I determine a value (for insurance purposes) on your camper trailer?

Not impressed with KBB.

Nada: N.A.D.A. Home Page

You can also look at comparable rigs offered for sale at Oodle. http://rvs.oodle.com/hi_lo/for-sale/

sam · 03-26-2013, 06:46 PM

Here is a link to pictures I took during my trailer renovation project.
3SamTLPX's Library | Photobucket
The pictures are not in the order we did the work. I showed DH your roof picture. He pointed out to me that the layers of the roof have delaminated. This could mean that after you do some temporary repairs other sections of the roof could delaminate and balloon out. Eventually you will have to replace the roof. You might choose to put a metal roof on. He also said you will have to take your awning off to do roof repairs. We didn't have to do this. It is a good idea to reinforce where the awning bracket goes into the side of the trailer. We did this. Then after the next step would be to rip your wall apart and fix the damage. After you fix the roof then the next part would be to fix interior roof damage. Then proceed to wall repair. I hope you are handy!! Everything that is damaged on your HiLo is fixable. Here is the post for attaching the awning bracket. 7-31-2010 by Sam Shields. He is a retired HiLo service advisor. We really like our classic as the cupboards are real wood and many of the appliances were not extra,but came as standard equipment. We bought ours used from our HiLo dealer.

ethyr2000 · 04-25-2013, 08:59 AM

I have a 24TL towlite. I've noticed the edges are starting to open up. Some sort of caulk or putty was used before. The trailer was previously in the Chicago area.. and is now in the Southwest Mojave Desert. One year after having it here the seems are starting to crack where they were filled. One friend suggested I use car fiberglass filler. I just wanted to find out if anyone else had tried this.

JIM L · 04-25-2013, 11:32 AM

Are you talking about the seams where the end caps join at the roof and the roof seams. I would not use fiberglass or body filler as they will cure hard and crack out sooner from vibration. If it is the above seams I would use a lap self-leveling sealant such as Dicor found at camping world or RV service companys. This product is made for these seams is somewhat flexable after curing but will crack after a number of years. Clean off the old and reseal with the new. I see that your HiLo is a 1995. If the windows, vents, AC, door and trim have not been resealed you should consider doing this. Also if your roof is aluminum you need to check it for small pinholes caused by electrolysis. The roof, aluminum or rubber needs to be cleaned and resealed every year or so. If these are not the seams you are talking about get back with us. There is lots of info on the forum about resealing the windows, vent and trim etc.