Transition trim appears to be loose

[KC8RXQ]

We are on our way west and stopped at a campground in Montanna. We drove across North Dakota through a lot of crosswinds and headwinds so I went on top of the motorhome to check things out. There are no rips or distortions in the membrane roof but the transition piece (I'll call it a band) between the front - painted - fiberglass cap and the white membrane does not seem to be secured to.most of the roof structure. The entire length of sealant across the
band is still in tact but there is just a slight "give' when I step on that transition piece. The" give" is about 4 ft. along the band (driver side toward the middle of the roof) but the rest seems secure. Could the screws have worked loose or pulled away from the roof structure? This is the first time this has happened on the front transition but it did occur on the rear band shortly after I bought it.

Could this wait till I get back home or do I get busy and remove the sealant and find out what's going on.

Regards,

Ed L
2016 Thor Synergy TT24 3.0L
+32k miles

[javelin]

Hi, I see no responses to you so far. Possibly because no one wants to give bad advise.....including me. I think the key to this one is when you stated you had a similar issue on the rear cap transition......and I would ask then, what did you do then and what was going on with the rear cap?
The same factory folks installed both probably so if the rear was a serious separation starting then potentially the front is too. I would think though, if the front cap was seriously separating you would see some major paint or sealer cracking and possibly some unpainted cap exposure even, if it was really bad. Being away from home base makes things harder to deal with if you have made camp reservations; trust your Dealer for service, etc......but if your rear cap problems started similarly to what is happening to the front I would suggest if that was a serious issue, then respond accordingly for the front situation. If you found it was just a minor repair required, you “might” be able to get away with waiting to examine the front in more invasive detail, until after your trip.

[KC8RXQ]

Javelin,

Thank you for the follow up!

Thinking the same might be occurring on the front seal I decided to go ahead and try to repair the problem. The Dicor was still in tact but with the headwinds and crosswinds we experienced it was just a matter of time.

We stopped at a Walmart in Havre, MT for some restocking and I bought a couple of packages of #8 self-tapping screws for the repair. I scraped off the old Dicor and exposed the screws. All of them in the "loose" area had pulled loose from the roof. I relocated those screws and added several others and was able to secure the band back onto the roof. I then applied a good coat of Dicor and so far it's holding up. I will probably look into the problem a bit further when we get back home and see if there is a structural member that should have been screwed into at the factory. It could be that there is a roof truss out of position or the band itself was misplaced and the screws just went through the roof sheathing.

Thanks again and happy travels!

[javelin]

If you are like me you probably could not enjoy the trip as much knowing there may be another potential major issue developing on your roof. Doing at least an inspection and partial repair should help you get back to safe traveling and restful camping. Enjoy your journey.

[Long & Winding road]

It sound like to me you did the right thing. Keep an eye on it and Keep some dicor handy for your trips. Maybe purchase some Eternal bond tape to keep on hand for emergencies?

[KC8RXQ]

Javelin and Long & Winding Road,

I hear you loud and clear. I have one full tube of Dicor and one 3" wide roll of Eternabond at the ready.