Patched a hole in my RV roof with duct tape before a storm last week

I had a golf ball sized hole in my RV roof after a branch fell on it during a windstorm, so I slapped a few layers of duct tape over it and hoped for the best. The storm hit hard and the tape actually held, but now there's a little water dripping inside near the vent and I can't figure out if it's coming from the patch or somewhere else. Anyone else had a duct tape fix on an RV that seemed solid but found a sneaky secondary leak later?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan56128d ago

Did you try dumping a bucket of water over the taped area while someone's inside watching the drip spot, that's how I found a second leak on mine? Man that sucks, duct tape is a lifesaver in a pinch but it can be a real pain when water finds another way in like that. I had a similar thing happen where the tape held the big hole but water was running along the roof seam and dripping down somewhere totally different. Sometimes it's not even the patch itself but the water finding a path around it through old caulk or a tiny crack you didn't notice. Hope you track it down before it gets worse.

jakewhite28d ago

Yeah water can travel a long way along a roof seam before it finally drips. I had a leak once where the entry point was three feet away from where the water showed up inside. Ended up having to trace the whole rafter path with a flashlight to find where it was actually getting in. Duct tape works for a quick fix but it's never a permanent solution on a roof, especially if the sun bakes it for a few days.

evahenderson28d ago

Three feet sounds about right @jakewhite, I once had a leak that traveled almost four feet along a roof joist before it decided to drip on my pillow lol. I spent a whole weekend convinced the leak was at the chimney flashing but nope, it was a tiny nail hole way up near the ridge. My duct tape fix held for like two days then the water just laughed and found the path of least resistance around it. I finally gave up and just put a bucket under the drip and called it "interior water feature" until I could get someone up there with actual roof cement. Definitely agree that tracing with a flashlight is the only way sometimes, even if you feel like a total idiot crawling around your attic at midnight.