EPDM vs TPO RV roofs - How To Choose, Identify And Maintain Them

[Music] thank you hello everyone and welcome to the RV inspection and Care podcast and video I'm Dwayne and I'm a certified RV inspector and today we're going to be talking about EPDM versus TPO RV rubber roofs and which one is best your RV roof is critical for you to enjoy your rving adventures it does so many things that you really need to have done but perhaps the most important is sealing out water intrusion that can ruin your RV now there's four main types of RV roofs and that is rubber roofs PVC fiberglass and aluminum but this video we're only going to talk about rubber roofs and that's because rubber roof material is by far the most common material used in RVs now what we're going to do is compare the two main kinds of rubber roofs too that's EPDM versus TPO and yes all those letters stand for something they stand for words that are really long and hard to pronounce so we're just going to use the acronyms today EPDM and TPO and we're going to compare them against one another and discuss the pros and the cons of each kind of material afterward I'm going to explain a way that you can find out what's on your RV on your RV roof if you have a rubber roof and that'll be very important for you to know all right let's go ahead and start with EPDM and the pros of it well it's very lightweight and that's a real probe it doesn't Dent scuff or scratch very easily and that's good there's fewer seams in the material so it's very likely that you can get a full one piece roof of EPDM but the best thing about it is EPDM can last up to 25 years if it's maintained correctly that's great now there's not all Pros here though there are cons so let's talk about the EPDM cons number one it can puncture fairly easily yes it does resist scratching and and denting and all of that but it can puncture easily also over time EPDM darkens with age so it becomes gray to dark gray sometimes and that means it starts to absorb heat into the RV make sure whole air conditioning system work a lot harder it also can leave black or white streaks going down the side of the RB because EPDM is designed to shed some of its material as it ages so it goes off the side and down the sides of your RV now let's talk about the TPO pros and cons though the pros of TPO is number one it resists mold and dirt very well and that's great for cleaning your roof secondly it also is not easily punctured like EPDM is it's very tough material there's less streaking that goes down the RV sides but probably the best thing about TPO is that it very often comes in very white material and the material itself also reflects heat well so that makes you more comfortable in your RV in the summertime but what are the cons of TPO well first of all it doesn't last quite as long about 15 to 20 years on the average there's also less consistency in the quality of the materials that come out of the factory from different factories and makers there's also more seams in a TPO roll of material than there is EPDM and that can be something to deal with as well now we've covered the pros and the cons of EPDM versus TPO so let's get to that question what's on your RV roof how do you know and you know it's interesting that there's not a lot of information especially reliable information about how you can find out what kind of rubber roof you have on your RV but I found something from die core that I think I can trust dicor is a leader in roofing products and sealant products for the roof and they're very trustworthy company so I trust what they had to say on this matter and here's what dicor says you should do they say go into your RV and go to one of the roof vents that's in the ceiling of your RV take down the outer trim ring usually there's just a few screws that hold it up when you take that trim ring down you can look inside that cavity where the vent was put in and on the side walls very often you're going to see some extra roofing material that was cut and folded in when the vent was put in on the roof and that allows you to see both sides of the material so you take a look at both sides if one side is white or Dove gray and the other side is black dicor says it's most likely EPDM on the other hand if both sides are pretty much the same color or maybe one side even has a felt backing but it's all the same color through well then it's most likely TPO so that's their guidance on the matter and I trust what dicor has to say on the subject okay so now let's move on to the subject of maintaining your rubber roof whether it's EPDM or TPO we're going to cover Five Points about maintaining it number one you should wash or condition your roof at least annually in other words once a year is the the least amount of time that you should be up there washing and conditioning it but it's better to do it every six months the number two point is when you wash your roof dicor makes a great wash for RV rubber roofs whether it's EPDM or TPO so that's a great product to use on your roof number three after you wash it you should condition it by applying an UltraViolet protectant and once again dicor makes a very good one to use on rubber roofs the whole idea is that once you've cleaned it well now you put this protectant on it that Shields against ultraviolet rays and as a result the sun's Rays don't do near as much damage and that's really what breaks down a rubber roof quicker than almost anything else number four is when you're up there on that roof look for any punctures or tears in fact it's a good idea just to make a run up on your roof you know every couple months or so if you can't do it get someone you can trust to do it and take a look and see if there are any punctures or tears if there is I recommend carrying a roll of eternabond tape with you it'll do wonders for any puncture or tear on your rubber roof it's so simple to use anybody can do it and you just put it right on that problem area and your whole problem is solved for many many years the final point that we want to talk about with maintaining rubber roofs is you might even consider coating your rubber roof because Coatings can help extend the life of a rubber roof and if you use the right coating it might even extend it almost indefinitely but the subject of RV roof coatings is a hole subject to itself and we're not going to cover it here in this video but it's something for you to consider in your maintenance schedule all right now let's get back to the original question for this video that is EPDM versus TPO which is better well here's my take on it they both do a good job but if your main priority is how long that roof will last you want it to last as long as possible well then EPDM certainly comes out ahead there on the other hand if you are in a really high heat area and it could be an issue to have a darker roof like EPDM often becomes then maybe TPO could be better for you there but the honest truth is either one works very well and they are both proven over many years to do the job that they are designed to do and that is to protect you and your RV well that's it for now have safe and happy travels my friends until next time [Music]

Channel: RV Inspection And Care

Views: 51,446

Keywords: rv roof, epdm rv roof, tpo rvroof, rubber rv roof, rv roof maintenance, rv roof care, rv diy, rv care, rv living

Id: cZtKLMK-Rv0

Length: 10min 34sec (634 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 08 2023