For the folks that have a travel trailer (versus cabin with metal/shingles), do you do anything specific to treat your travel trailer's roof to keep it from cracking in the hot Texas sun? Is there anything that you may put on the roof on an annual basis? Just curious.

Yes, there is a white rubber roof sealant you can apply to preserve it. Nothing beats putting a cover over it. You can pick it up at and RV service place. I coat mine and still put a old cotton module tarp over it to keep the sun off of it.

Also, they sell covers that you can drape over them but the wind wears holes in them anywhere they rub, no matter how good you secure it. I found a cotton module tarp to work great, they are tough!

So glad ours has a once piece metal roof.

Yes definitely do before you have problems. Go by an RV place and ask. I believe eternabond is a popular brand.

This is also a handy site...

http://www.rv.net/forum/

I would also think about just putting up a shed roof over the top of it to shade the trailer. You could build it a bit larger to have a nice place to sit in the shade also. The shed roof will allow the trailer to stay cooler in the hotter months.

Very true, we currently park ours inside a metal building and it has aged more in 1 year outside than it has the last 5 kept inside. Tires last a lot longer. And in the heat of summer the a/c keeps it a cool 75 and only cycles a handful of times a day.

matt

I just recently resealed the roof on my older trailer. It truly is a deer lease trailer. I bought this stuff from Lowes and it said it would lower the temps too. Well I wasn't totally believing that but what the heck. I put two thick coats on and when I got in my trailer last Saturday it was 97 outside and my trailer was at the most 80 with no fans, ac or open windows. I am going to paint my entire trailer in this stuff now.

BLACK JACK 4.75-Gallon Elastomeric Roof Coating

I painted the bottom of an old john boat with that stuff, worked really well for stopping the leaks, but got hot as heck in the summer.

I painted the top of a shipping container with it. It might a slight difference with only one coat. Might have to do another coat to see what happens.

I agree with having a cover. It sure keeps the weather from beating up your trailer.
For the roof use EternaBond seam tape on any seams that are bad enough that caulking is questionable.
Use Dicor self leveling lap sealant on all other joints, around plumbing, refrigerator and exhaust vents, antennas, etc.
Do not use the black tar stuff, you might want to sell that trailer and it needs to look good.
If it is under a tree make sure to keep the leaves from piling up.
Follow the instructions, and get all of the old crap off that you can.

They have a few different kinds I noticed...which one did you use?

I used epdm for my roof. Awesome stuff.

Etenrabond tape is a must if you own a traveltrailer. Best quick fix out there. Hail storm took out all my skylight, fixed them right up in 5 min. That was last year and its still holding great

That's what I did, and included a covered porch area to keep the rain off my ATV and provide a place to put on and take off my boots. During this time of the year, I use the covered porch to keep an ice chest, tools, and other stuff needed to do various projects.

Cool Seal works great. Can roll it on thick with extended paint rollers. Will last 2 years.

That stuff is pretty good BoBo, In the process of building a cover on mine out west but when my Skylights got hit by the hail I had a break metal guy build a metal box that I covered them up completely and put the foil shield in all the windows so its totally blacked out. That helps w/ the heat but again can't wait to get the cover done. The only problem w the total black out is Man you can sleep late in the off season if your not careful since you never know when the suns up!

Oh I know, my wife seldom makes a morning hunt. She has the entire trailer blacked out... she foiled the skylights the day I bought the trailer. .lol

Have an aluminum roof and have coated the roof and seams every 2 years with an elastomeric sealant. Concentrate on seams, penetrations and all corners. As others have posted, put a shed roof over if you know you will be out there a few years.. Keep your tires off the dirt, roll them onto plastic pads. Good to go, oh and keep your tires conditioned.

What's the average cost for an average metal roof purchase/install for 30' trailer?

Lots of good suggestions on Entranbond and Dicor and the thick paint stuff...need to look into it now.

you wouldn't even need to build a full shed just a roof to keep rain and sun off of it

The one I bought has a blue lid and cost $84.00

Does your trailer have one of those plastic membrane roofs?

Brownwood...Seems like most have the plastic/rubber roofs on them now.

ccrock...thanks for the tip!

Brownwood my trailer is all metal it is from the 70's.

[quote=ccrock]Brownwood my trailer is all metal it is from the 70's. [/quote

Ah OK. That Black Jack stuff said it was for wood and metal and such so that's why I wondered if it would stick to those membrane roofs.