As Retento asked, did the hail actually puncture the roofing? Is this coating being considered as a waterproofing or cosmetic appearance? The elastomeric coating will not fill in the dents made by the hail damage. It is not applied in a thick enough surface to use as a filler. There are putties supplied by the companies, that could be troweled into the divots before the final application of the coating. If you are looking for a smoother surface this would help.

The elastomeric will bond well to the aluminum if the surface is properly prepared, and it is a long lasting product. The membrane acts as an insulator and will reflect a great deal of sunlight, effectively cooling the surface temperature. The membrane has a great deal of surface strength, and can tolerate expansion and contraction well without rupturing.

Gard

No, I don't believe the hail went through the roof. Gosh, that would be a hard hail Huh? The roof just has little dings that you can see from inside, bot not on the outside since the coating is covering them.

I was just wondering if the hail damage would cause structural issues later on.

My LQ trailer went through a small hail storm this spring, but no dings to the roof.

The trailer I am looking to purchase will be used as a day trailer - which means even though no LQ will be installed in it, it will have more frequent use 2-4 times a week versus the LQ that goes longer distances, but less frequently.

Is this polycoating used frequently on aluminum trailer roofs? The dealer says it will provide an insulating value and thus the trailer will be cooler.

So I am at a crossroads in determining if the reduced price is a sound investment with the polycoating covering the hail damage. What do other folks do when the trailer has hail damage?

 I don't quite understand why they would smear something over the hail damage. In a while, the roof with the "coating" is/will look alot worse than the bare dinged up, hail damaged  roof.... I guess that coating will keep it cooler as well as quieter. Who's going to get up there an look anyway?!! That coating was probably something that the dealer and Insurance company settled on anyway...... I don't think the Insurance company really wanted to replace the roofs on all the trailers on the lot. If they did, none of us could afford to insure anything. As for me, I would rather take one without the coating. So far as buying one at a reduced discount price??? If you're satisfied, then go for it!!

What make trailer is it??

You guys must have had a bad storm?!

Had two different storms roll through last night. One late in the evening, and then one in the middle of the night. Not a lot of hail, but dang sure was a lot of rain and a lot of lightning.

There was some areas that had golf ball size hail out towards the panhandle in the northwest part of the state.

Gard,

I bought a 1996 steel Featherlite about a month ago. I live in the desert of New Mexico and rarely get any rain but, since I brought this trailer home and found out the DR leaks we have had rain every day for three weeks.

I have done lots of reading through the threads and have found that a marine grade caulk is the best to use on the seams. Now, living in the desert I have had some problems finding this type of caulk. Would Elastiomeric work on this trailer and will it hold up at 75 mph? 

An Elastomeric coating will work well, but the cost and labour to install it are significant. If only your roofing seams and mechanical connections are the source of leaks, it's not really necessary to coat the entire roof.

Lowes, Home Depot and probably any well inventoried hardware store, usually has many types of caulking including the polyurethanes. If you still can't find a source, http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/  1 800 423 0030 has what you need. Look under adhesives/sealants, then caulking. The products I use include the 3M 5200 or the  Sika 295uv.

Make sure you remove all the old caulking and clean the area, before you add any new material.

Best of luck   Gard

I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on. (Rentento.)

ME NEITHER!

Since several people want to know what the trailer make is, here is the listing: http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=166106

I went and looked at it. The hail damage is not too bad from viewing inside the trailer, but I am too short so I couldn't see on top of the roof. Other items about the trailer did not suit my needs or likes, so I didn't press to look at the roof top.

Probably about the same number who argue that Bee does not make aluminum trailers.  They're right... Bee doesn't normally... but they did make about a dozen of them a few years ago and those dozen are still around.  I have one.

May I ask what you didn't like about it?  Looks like a very nice trailer to me, and an excellent price.

It is a good trailer for the price. Nothing wrong with it- except the hail dings. I'm just used to more refined welds and thicker aluminum frame with better quality windows. I also did not care for the back doors. The back tack door could not be opened without opening the horse compartment door first.

What I did like was the rumber floor and the easy to open roof vents.

I had never seen a Diamond Dream Coach, only the higher end ones so drove 3.5 hours to take a look. Glad I did, because Whinny Coach answered all my questions about all Dream Coach trailers and the difference between models. Very knowledgeable and no-pressure dealer. If I was looking for a higher end Dream Coach with LQ, I would definately go to them for a purchase.

Dream Coach is no longer manufacturing the Diamond, so this trailer is one of the last models.

It does look very nice. We just purchased an 06 Dream Coach Emerald series for my son to take to college and are very pleased with it.

We especially thought that the quality of the windows, welds, rumbar flooring, etc... was very good!

We also have a C&C trailer and were used to the heavy duty welds, drop windows etc... so when we were looking to find something for him this was important.

We looked at various trailers and brands and thought that the Dream Coach was much better made than many of the others.

We paid a good bit more for ours and still thought that we got a fair price.

I am not sure how the Diamonds and the Emeralds compare, tho. And no hail damage to ours.

I will agree with you about the tack room issue. It is a pain that you have to open both doors, but we figured we could live with that.

Just my 2 cents!!