Most older trailers have metal roofs. These are not as durable as shingle roofs but they can hold up quite well if they are properly taken care of. The best thing to do is preventative maintenance, because that means that there will be less chance of a leak getting started. However, for those people who are already seeing leaks in their trailer roof or those people who see that their roof needs some repairs, the best thing to do is to sealcoat the roof. There is a coating made that can be brushed, rolled, or painted on, and it works very well to close up small cracks, pinholes, and little problems.
More than one coat can be applied if necessary, and this should be done on a day that is clear and warm. The roof also has to be dry, so if it has just rained you should wait a while before starting to coat the roof. When you do coat the roof it will take care of small leaks. However, if you find larger areas you shouldn’t just coat them and hope that they will be alright, because they most likely will not. For these larger areas, you’ll want to cut some sheet metal and use it as a patch.
When you patch an area of a trailer roof with sheet metal, be sure to cut a piece that is several inches larger than the area that is damaged. You want to cover the entire spot and then caulk the edges so that the patch stays securely in place. Once that’s done you can coat over the entire area with the sealcoat that you are using on all of the roof.
It is a good protectant where rain and snow are concerned so you shouldn’t have much trouble making your roof safe from leaks if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the sealcoat and if you patch any large areas before you just coat over them. You should also make sure that you coat the areas along the edges and around any pipes or vents, because these are places that often leak. If you don’t feel that the sealcoat is enough for the pipes and vents on your roof you can get some roofing tar or liquid asphalt or caulking to put around them just to make sure that you won’t have any problems with leaks in those areas of your roof in the future.