# Rubber Roof Repair for Eastvale, California > EPDM and TPO membrane patching, section replacement and full recover, including deck prep and rebedded penetrations. Source: https://ocrv.info/services/roof-slide-and-awning/rubber-roof-repair Rubber roof repair and replacement addresses EPDM and TPO membrane roofs. Work includes patching and welding damaged areas, replacing sections where the membrane has shrunk or torn, and installing a complete new membrane bonded to prepared decking with all penetrations rebedded and terminations rebuilt. ## Pricing Range $3,500 to $18,000+. Labor band 20 to 80 hours. Performed in shop at 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. Rubber roofing on recreational vehicles is a thin sheet doing a hard job. EPDM runs around forty five thousandths of an inch thick, bonded with contact adhesive to a plywood or lauan deck, with the edges captured under gutter rail and cap terminations. It handles ultraviolet exposure by sacrificing its top layer, which is why it chalks. Over enough years that sacrificial layer runs out and the sheet begins to check and craze. TPO is the newer answer and it behaves differently. It is a thermoplastic, so it can be heat welded to itself, which makes seams and patches genuinely permanent rather than adhesive dependent. It does not chalk, holds white reflectivity longer, and generally handles ponding better. The tradeoff is that repair requires the right welding equipment and a technician who knows how much heat the sheet will take before it degrades. Whether a rubber roof gets patched or replaced comes down to sheet condition and deck condition, and those are separate questions. A membrane in good shape over rotten decking still needs the deck fixed. A sound deck under a checked, shrunken membrane needs new material. Owners bringing coaches from Eastvale get both answers separately so the decision is not bundled into one intimidating number. ## What brings this in - Grey chalk streaks running down the sidewalls - Membrane pulled back from the front or rear cap - Visible checking or crazing across the sheet - Bubbles or loose areas where adhesive released - Multiple patches from previous repairs - Tears radiating from a rooftop fitting - Standing water that does not drain after rain ## What is the difference between EPDM and TPO in practice? For an owner, the practical differences show up in repair options and longevity. EPDM patches are bonded with primer and adhesive, which works well when surface prep is thorough but depends entirely on that prep. TPO patches are welded, fusing the patch and the sheet into one piece of material, so a properly welded repair does not have a bond line that can fail. That difference alone pushes many replacement decisions toward TPO. Surface behavior differs too. EPDM chalking runs down the sides of the coach in a grey streak after rain and stains graphics, which is why the streaks show up on so many older units. TPO stays cleaner. On the other hand EPDM is more forgiving of foot traffic and less prone to scuff marking. Both need the same sealant discipline at penetrations, which is where roofs actually fail regardless of material. - EPDM repairs rely on primer and adhesive bond quality - TPO repairs are heat welded into a single piece of material - EPDM chalking streaks sidewalls and stains graphics - TPO holds reflectivity longer in high ultraviolet exposure - Both require the same maintenance at penetrations ## When does a membrane need replacing rather than patching? Shrinkage is the clearest signal. EPDM contracts as it ages, and when it does, it pulls away from the terminations at the front and rear caps and lifts at the gutter rail. Once the sheet has moved enough that it no longer reaches its original edge, no patch fixes it because the whole field is under tension. Add checking or crazing across the surface and the material has reached the end of its service. Multiple failed repairs are the other signal. A roof with five or six patches, several generations of sealant and a coating layer over the top has become an archaeology site. Every layer complicates the next repair, and the cost of chasing individual leaks starts exceeding the cost of stripping to the deck and starting clean. We show owners the arithmetic rather than just asserting that replacement is better. Owners tend to reach the same conclusion once the numbers sit side by side. ## What happens to the decking during a membrane replacement? Pulling the old membrane is the first honest look at the deck anybody has had in years. The old sheet comes off, residual adhesive is scraped, and the entire deck is probed and inspected. Soft, delaminated or previously repaired areas get cut out and replaced with matching thickness material fastened into the rafters. Rafters themselves are checked, and any that have taken water get sistered or replaced. Working over a soft rafter simply moves the failure a season out. Deck condition is also where roof replacement estimates move. We quote the membrane work with a stated allowance and inspect the deck as soon as the sheet is off, then photograph what we find and revise before proceeding. That approach is more honest than quoting a low number and delivering a large supplement, and it means owners see the actual plywood rather than a description of it. Photographs of the bare deck stay with the job file. - Old membrane and adhesive residue removed to bare deck - Full deck probed and inspected, not spot checked - Soft decking cut out and replaced to matching thickness - Water damaged rafters sistered or replaced - Findings photographed and estimate revised before continuing ## How are penetrations and edges finished on a new roof? Every rooftop fitting comes off during a membrane replacement. Air conditioners, vents, skylights, antennas, solar mounts and the refrigerator stack all get lifted, cleaned, and set back onto fresh butyl once the new sheet is down. Reusing old gaskets on an air conditioner is a common shortcut and a bad one, since a hardened fourteen inch gasket is a reliable source of the next leak. New gaskets on every rooftop appliance are part of the standard scope. Edge terminations are what separate a lasting job from a two year job. The membrane is carried up under the front and rear cap terminations and captured with a termination bar or the original trim, mechanically fastened and sealed. The gutter rail on each side is reinstalled with new butyl and its fasteners sealed. Self-leveling sealant then finishes the horizontal joints, applied to a clean surface, not over the old bead. ## Frequently asked questions ### Should I replace my EPDM with TPO? Many owners do and it is usually a reasonable upgrade. TPO welds rather than relying on adhesive bonds for future repairs, keeps its reflectivity better under heavy sun, and does not chalk down your sidewalls. It generally costs somewhat more installed. If your coach lives outdoors year round in the Inland Empire heat, the reflectivity and the weldable repair path both argue for it. ### Can a rubber roof be repaired if it has already shrunk? Not durably. Shrinkage means the whole sheet is under tension and has pulled away from its terminations, so patching one area does nothing about the load on the rest. You can buy time with termination work and heavy sealant, and sometimes that is the right call before a sale or a trip. But the honest recommendation on a shrunken membrane is replacement. ### Why do you have to remove my air conditioner to redo the roof? Because the membrane runs underneath it. The unit sits on a fourteen inch gasket compressed between the roof and the shroud, and that gasket seals the largest single hole in your roof. Working around it would leave the old sheet and the old hardened gasket in place at the most leak-prone opening on the coach. It comes off, gets a new gasket, and goes back on the new membrane. ### How long does a membrane replacement take? Typically two to four weeks for a full coach, longer if significant decking has to come out. Strip and prep is a few days, decking repair varies enormously with what we find, membrane installation and bonding needs the coach indoors and undisturbed, and then every penetration gets rebedded and sealed. We give a target at authorization and update it once the deck is exposed. ### Will a new membrane fix my existing water damage inside? It stops the source. It does not repair the ceiling panels, insulation, wallboard or flooring that already got wet. Those are separate work, and we scope them separately so you can see the cost of each. Some owners do the roof first and address the interior later once everything has dried and stabilized, which is often a sensible way to sequence it. --- OCRV Center. 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Eastvale, California in Riverside County, about 20 miles from the shop. All work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility. No mobile, roadside or on-site service is offered. Scope is body, paint, structural, fiberglass, interior and vehicle systems work. Engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, drivetrain work, DOT inspections and emission testing are not performed.