Rv attic vents

[ajohnston78]

I have a 2016 carbon. 297. And I just had a leak in my roof . I repaired it with eternabond and Dicor self level around the tape . Just curious to see if this is considered permanent or not? Also the hole was about 1/4” long the wood was wet under neither as I noticed the leak when the inside ceiling had drips of water. Is there events between ceiling and roof like in a house that will let that dry ?thanks. Also would this roof be tpo or Edpm thanks

[JRTJH]

In 2016, almost all Keystone products had switched to TPO roofing material. You can verify yours by removing the molding from the bathroom vent. You'll find the membrane stapled to the framework. Pull a couple of staples and inspect the membrane. If it's black on bottom and white/beige on top, it's EPDM. If it's the same color top and bottom (white or beige) it's TPO.

As for venting, some trailers have attic vents (typically two 2" vents, one forward and one aft) which will, in an extremely dry environment (think southwest desert) will allow any trapped moisture to escape. If you had enough water leak through the TPO membrane that it saturated the luan ceiling panels and dripped into the trailer interior, you've got a substantial amount of water trapped between the membrane and the ceiling luan panels. A couple of 2" vents in a 35' trailer roof won't allow any substantially wet areas to dry, especially in a humid location.

Essentially, the purpose of those "little vents" was to allow the attic space to remain at or close to the outside temperature so any trapped moisture wouldn't condense on cold surfaces and lead to damage. They aren't going to vent enough air to "dry a wet interior in the attic".

Eternabond tape, when the edges are sealed with DICOR sealant, is considered by most people to be a "permanent repair"... If you've ever tried to remove Eternabond, you'll know why......

[ajohnston78]

So you think this will never dry and be a problem ? Or you think it will be ok since it’s fixed. It’s not spongy and was only 1/4”tear

[JRTJH]

I think (opinion without any inspection or first hand knowledge) that if there was "minimal water with limited exposure and a simple track where that minimal water readily flowed to the area of the drip AND there was no other saturation of surrounding luan paneling, fiberglass insulation and OSB decking" then you MAY be OK.

That said, if there was "significant water that saturated the luan panel and finally destroyed enough of it to break through the vinyl covering and start leaking into the trailer, then you PROBABLY WILL NOT be OK....

It all depends on how much water, how long, how extensive the wet area is/was and whether there's any remaining water.

When you think about it, as the sun shines on your roof, it heats that water, makes steam (very pervasive) that can saturate the entire attic, causing untold damage. Is that happening? Can that happen? The answer depends on much more than a simple 1/4" tear, and involves a thorough inspection of your roof.

IMHO (for what it might be worth): If you had enough water in the attic from a 1/4" tear to eventually start dripping into the interior through the luan ceiling panels, then you've got (or had) a significant amount of water "up there"...

[ajohnston78]

If that matters it leaks though the seam in ceiling

[JRTJH]

The point I am trying to make is this:

I can't tell you whether the water "flowed directly from the tear to the drip with no other involvement or if the water saturated part or even most of the fiberglass insulation, OSB decking and luan paneling. At this point, without a through inspection, I'd guess that you don't know the amount of water damage either, so whether a couple of small 2" vents can handle the remaining wetness, well that's anybody's guess.....