outside top of roof on trailer

[motdaugrnds]

I have noticed the top of our trailer has cracks and areas low enough to hold water. When we bought this trailer, we were told to paint the roof every other year with a silver paint. We have been doing that with a silver roofing paint.

Can anyone tell me what would keep the roof from cracking and what to fill the low areas with so they don't hold water?

[Harry Chickpea]

Some possibilities are:
Elastomeric paint like "Kool Seal" available at home stores. That'll bridge small gaps. Pooling often means the support structure of the roof is damaged by water or termites or snow weight. If the pools are very small, I wouldn't be terribly concerned. They'll keep the roof cooler in the summer until they dry up. Larger ones mean examining the roof structure.

Install a new rubber membrane roof. It can be more expensive, and tricky to do on your own, but will renew the whole roof surface and prevent rot from leaks from continuing.

Add a real roof above the existing roof. This will be even more expensive, but add shading from the sun, insulation, and last for a long time. In the long run, the added benefits could make this a best option. Most heat gain and loss happens between the roof and ceiling.

[Sawmill Jim]

Harry is right onLong tine ago we set post down the side of one then put rafters on it .If you do something like this it is a good way to add a carport or more rooms .

[motdaugrnds]

Thank you both very much. We are going into town tomorrow, which will give me a chance to find that "Kool Seal".

I really like the idea of that rubber membrane; just not sure this old l962 trailer roof would support the weight.

(Setting up an entirely new roof over the trailer would certainly be something we could do; however, we do not need more room and I suspect such would be a real attraction for hornets and wasps.)

[Beeman]

Has anyone walked on the roof? Low spots are most likely denting from walking on it. Kool seal will seal the roof and protect it from rusting. A roof over might be the answer but you would definitely need to set posts and support the weight.

[ronbre]

grace ice and water shield..comes on a roll..really sticky..sticks to anything and itself and totally water proof..fairly costly but it works.

[motdaugrnds]

Ronbre, I cannot find "grace ice & water shield". Is that it's name? I have a Lowe's Home Improvement, Wal-Mart & a hardware store that caters to the trailer owners in my area. Any idea where I might be able to get that?

My son brought in some "Black Jack Roof Techo Silver-Seal 300 Fibered Aluminum Coating" to paint on the top of our trailer. I did find some "elastomeric paint" in small cans (not large sizes that we would need to coat the entire top of our trailer). I did not get any; but am thinking I might get some and mix it with the aluminum coating mentioned above. Any ideas about this mix would be appreciated as we have not mixed anything for coating our roof before.

I just googled the "grace ice & water shield". If I understand it correctly, it is something that is put "under" roofing material. This means I would need to remove the roof of our trailer, install it; then add the roof again. (This is a 1962 trailer and I suspect, if we were to start tearing out part of its structure, we would literally wreck our trailer; thus, using this material may simply be inappropriate for this old trailer.)

[Sawmill Jim]

That Black jack is good stuff . Don't know where you are at but some things the north has due to snow an ice here i looked over a snow blower first i ever seen up close Someone brought it down here from Mi

[tamsam]

The cool seal and other things will not mix. Lowes should have the elastomeric coating in 5 gal buckets. It is water base so it will not mix with any oil base material. This coating was made for rvs and does work very well. If you have a large crack tear a piece of cloth a little bigger than the crack and put a heavy coat of the sealer down, then spread the cloth over the crack and work more sealer into the cloth until it is really wet all the way thru. Do these repairs before late in the day and be sure no rain is on the way. Good luck with your repairs. Sam

[motdaugrnds]

Tamsam, you stated, "The cool seal and other things will not mix. Lowes should have the elastomeric coating in 5 gal buckets. It is water base so it will not mix with any oil base material. This coating was made for rvs and does work very well. If you have a large crack tear a piece of cloth a little bigger than the crack and put a heavy coat of the sealer down, then spread the cloth over the crack and work more sealer into the cloth until it is really wet all the way thru."

I am not clear about what you are saying. I do understand I should not do what I was considering, i.e. mix the Elastomeric Kool Seal (water based) with the Black Jack (oil based). You made that clear; so I will not do this. (Lowe's only had 1 gal. cans of the elastomeric.)

When you say, "This coating was made for rvs and does work very well." Are you referring to the Elastomeric Kool Seal (water based)? (This is not an rvs. It is a 65 x 12 trailer permanently located on our acreage that we live in. Does that make a difference?)

When you say, "If you have a large crack tear a piece of cloth a little bigger than the crack and put a heavy coat of the sealer down, then spread the cloth over the crack and work more sealer into the cloth until it is really wet all the way thru." What type of cloth are you talking about? After this dries, can I then paint over it with the Black Jack (oil based) I have?

[KY Doug]

I have found a plastic mesh at travel trailer supply houses that is made to patch rips in roofs. When you use the silver paint, paint the crack, lay a layer of mesh, another layer of paint. Repeat as needed. Worked well for me.

[tamsam]

The elest was made for rvs as they move and flex. It will work very well on any surface you want to seal. Any type of cloth will work that the sealer will soak into. The silver coating will crack if the roof flexes any at all. Any coating that dries stiff and will not flex will crack at some time. After the elest coating dries completely I would think you could paint over it if you wanted to. I have used this coating on rvs since 1990 and had no problems with it. Try some of the rv places or even mobile home places for the 5 gal buckets. Hope this helps. Sam

[fordy]

Originally Posted by motdaugrnds

I have noticed the top of our trailer has cracks and areas low enough to hold water. When we bought this trailer, we were told to paint the roof every other year with a silver paint. We have been doing that with a silver roofing paint.

Can anyone tell me what would keep the roof from cracking and what to fill the low areas with so they don't hold water?

................Rubber roofs are very expensive ! You can take regular metal used on the exterior of metal buildings and fabricate a roof alot cheaper . Use 2x6's and 1x4 lathe too support the metal and screw it down very quickly and cheaply . , fordy

[motdaugrnds]

You are all wonderful to help me like you have. This is what I have gleaned from this conversation and what I plan on doing now.

Search shops where trailer needs are prominent. (I found a Dominion's Hardware here that caters to trailer needs.) Buy a "plastic mesh" and enough 5 gal. buckets of elastomeric paint to coat the entire top. Lay down a coating of this elast, then a layer of mesh, then another coating of elast. Let dry thoroughly. (Not sure but am thinking this elasto is a dark color.) Then coat entire roof with this Black Jack (oil based) I have on hand. (It is silver in color; thus would help reflect some of the heat. It gets pretty hot in this area.)

I will check this thread again later this week to see if anyone has added information I might need about doing what I am planning. Since it is raining here, it will be awhile before I can get to this task anyway.

I do have another problem related, which I will start on another thread for simplicity. Thanks again ... *hugs*

[Harry Chickpea]

Yeah, that will more or less work. If you have pipes that stick up out of the roof, the coating has to go about 4" up the pipes to form a flashing seal. Remember that all this does add weight to a roof, and does nothing to fix any rotted rafters or framing members.

[Michael W. Smith]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Harry is right onLong tine ago we set post down the side of one then put rafters on it .If you do something like this it is a good way to add a carport or more rooms .

We have a local person who originally started out in a trailer. They then actually built a house around the trailer when it got old/outdated, etc. They then actually tore the trailer apart and finished it like the rest of the house.

Supposedly, they only pay taxes on the "trailer" since it was originally a trailer. From my understanding, the county was never told the trailer was torn out from within, so even though it it now actually a house, they only pay taxes on the "trailer".

If your traiiler is going to be a long term stay, it will probably be worth it to actually put a roof over it (think big car port with the trailer instead of vehicles.) Not only will you not have to worry about leaks (since it will be a slanted roof which sheds water much better), it will also keep the trailer much cooler in the summer.

[tamsam]

The elest coating is white and it dries like a sheet of rubber and will stick to almost any surface. Sam

[motdaugrnds]

We have considered placing a brand new structural roof over the entire trailer, extending it out to accomodate whatever new rooms we might want. However, this is a country where the Building Inspector frowns over doing that sort of thing. Also, the wood we would need to use has to be the type that would inspect inspection by the county and we simply cannot afford it .. not to mention the amount it would cost just to get the ok to build.

Since there are only the 2 of us and this is a 3 bdrm 1 1/2 bath trailer, we feel quite fortunate to have it. Just need to keep it in as good a shape as we can.

[We built farm buildings (barn, buck house, duck house, 32 x 32 all-purpose shed) with "damaged" treated wood; thus, all went up without costing us an arm and leg. However, any type of housing would be quite different.]