There seems to be many questions about caulking and covering trailer roofs. Caulking involves removing the old material, and installing new.

On flat surfaces, once the seams are ready, I put down three or four layers of masking tape at a parallel distance apart, of about twice the width of the seam to be caulked. The heighth of the tape ensures an adequate thickness of the new polyurethane caulking. After placing a new length of caulking onto the seam, I spread it with a putty knife, leaving the center slightly proud of the edges.

After it tacks but before it dries, the tape can be easily removed, leaving a clean, good looking seam. On non flat caulking areas, I wet my finger tip with WD 40 and profile the cauking seam, by pusing the product into the areas to be sealed. This results in a rounded, weather proof, secure seam applicable at body junctures, window frames etc..

Some owners describe being keen to cover the whole roof with new products.

Bare aluminum in warmer climates, can have surface temperatures double that of the ambient temperature, IE 180 -190 degrees. This result can be resolved with a coating of a white product; paint or elastomeric coatings. The resulting inside temps, with a decrease of 25% or more are common, after a coating has been applied.

Steel trailers' roofs often have rust problems. Fixing those issues, and again coating the roofs with a white paint or elastomeric product, will prolong the metal surface and again, reduce the inside temperatures.

Fiberglass roofs are often grouped into one type of surface, when often they are quite dissimilar in construction. Some are simple singular skins affixed to a framework. Others involve core materials that contain structural elements, and are self supporting. There are many types of fiberglass laminates, as well as the materials of which they are built.

Fiberglass has one problem, the sun. UV rays will eventually damage the resins in the laminate. This weakens the layup, and can eventually result in a failure. When it happens is determined by the materials the builder used to build the roof, and where and how the trailer is used. A simple test is to wet a finger and draw it along the fiberglass surface. If a white chalky substance is found on your finger, the resin is damaged.

Like the steel and aluminum roofs, the fiberglass can be over coated and saved. If there has been an amount of damage, most repairs can be made in place, much easier and less expensively than most metal constructions.

Aside from these examples, most roofs don't need to be completely coated. In good repair, none of these materials leak. The seams, the holes, anything that penetrates these surfaces, are the cause of leaks. Find the openings, properly caulk them and you should have a maintenance free roof for many years.

We're having ours recaulked now,Gard.We discussed the roof coatings,including the do it yourself KoolSeal,and,a product that the repair shop carries,pretty pricey,that sells for about $60/gallon and covers about 200 sq ft.

The man said,"When I finish,it will be caulked and sealed right.If you want to recoat your roof later with a product,that's fine,but,I don't believe in fixing things that aren't broken and encouraging you to put in a lot of time,labor and money if it's not necessary at this point." I agreed,given our time and other constraints.

Now,the trailer floor--that's different! (I lugged a partially torn mat out of my 2H alone the other day,somehow,after getting it stuck between the  trailer wall and tack wall.Quiet a picture.)