How to repair a roof crack?

So, it looks like my 05 Eagle has developed a roof crack, about 6" long and very narrow, but I'd like advice on how to 1) repair it, 2) stop it from spreading, and 3) seal it from the elements. Pictures coming...

As back-history, I added Yakima tracks and roof rack last year, and had a factory rep do the work. They admitted they weren't sure how well it would work out, but I believe they did good work, and it was not due to poor workmanship.

So, it looks like the crack is emanating from a former hole that attached the roof to the cross-beams. Over the weekend we had our two paddleboards on the roof rack and nothing else. I remember a log truck go by and the truck being shaken by a big gust of wind, so I'm kind of guessing it was related to that stress. The crack is about 1 foot in front of the Yakima landing pads.

All repair suggestions are appreciated. I have heard other people talk about JBWeld, so I was wondering if this is appropriate for repair work? I've also heard about using self-leveling sealant, although I can't seem to find which is recommended. Thanks.

Waiting for image....

You can drill a hole at the end of the crack line to stop it.

By any chance do you have internal gas lifting struts? If so, there is a chance they might be a contributing factor. As Patrick said, stop drill to keep it from traveling.

For a repair, I’d put a thin plate of aluminum over it, using 3M 4200 as an adhesive to keep it in place.

I am trying this...seemed formulated to be flexible and works as a thin or thick 2part epoxy...
https://www.westsystem.com/aluminum-boat-repair-kit/

As mentioned: a small hole drilled at each end of the crack (to keep the crack from growing).
Then cover with EternaBond tape or similar.

I've been there, big time.

We twice shipped our 2005 Eagle on the Tacoma by transport truck from Portland OR to Albany NY and back. It let us travel the far north of Labrador and Quebec as well as the Maritimes, Newfoundland and the Gaspe without spending ten days of hard driving across country that we have many times traveled in the past.

On the second trip, the trucker clipped the back of the FWC roof rack on a bridge, mostly tore it off and made a 2.5' by 1" gash in the roof. Fortunately, the only damage to the frame was at the back and it was minor.

Delivery was at 1 AM in a Walmart parking lot and in the morning I drove on to SW Vermont to my friends house. He took a look at it and said we were going to a commercial roofing company that does membrane roofs. Chris was the in-house architect for a collage and had worked with the company on a number of projects.

The roofer guy looked at the gash, went back into the shop, and came back with adhesive, cleaning solution, a 6" by 3' piece of membrane used to seal the seam between the main roof membrane pieces, and caulk. When I asked the cost, he said these were leftovers (except for the caulk) and to do someone else a favor.

You clean the roof with the cleaning solution, lay down the adhesive, then the membrane and then caulk around the edges. This gives a seal that is watertight and pliable, so roof flexing is not an issue.

One day later, we were on our way.

When we replaced the roof a year and a half later the seal was just as good as ever.

If you have a local commercial roofing company that does membrane roofing, I would give them a try. I think I was very lucky although the roofing guy did not know who my friend was. That stuff will last forever.

I looked at RV roof patching tape on Amazon, and found https://www.amazon.com/Patch-Shield-Power-Tape-Black/dp/B078ZLRF94/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=membrane+roof+patch&qid=1599068409&sr=8-4

It's thin (the membrane stuff I had was 1/4" thick), but I think if you follow the same procedure of cleaning, contact adhesive on the roof, lay down the tape and then silastic or similar caulk around the edge, you should get a long lasting seal.

Good luck.

Thanks for everyone's response. Fortunately... crisis averted! When I first caught a glimpse of the crack, we were out camping for my wife's birthday and didn't want to ruin the weekend with an roof issue, so I just slapped some tape up real quick in case it rained. Then, when we got home a thunder and rainstorm kicked in, so I got nervous to repair it as quickly as possible, and started this thread.

Thankfully, (and embarrassingly) once the sun came out and I got a change to really inspect it, the "crack" turned out to be just a long strand of roof caulking that I had somehow never noticed before, that looked and felt *exactly* like a roof crack. That being said, I learned a lot from this lesson on 1) how to better prepare for this possible situation and 2) what to do when it happens (which it probably will eventually). Thank you all for your guidance, and for your forgiveness for my initial stressed out posting

Self healing roof repair was the birthday present. No worries...