I totally forgot about Camping World! Their website lists the caulk but not the Eternabond. I will give them a call bright and early to see what they have. They 're about 30 miles from my house but if they have it, it will certainly be worth the ride.
Do not use Silicon!! I cannot believe an RV store sold you that.
It is a good enough water sealant, but NOTHING sticks to it...including more Silicon. What this means is the next time you need to do a repair you will need to remove EVERY BIT of silicon along the ENTIRE seam to do even the most minor repair (including residue).
You need to get ProflexRV for the sides and Dicor for the roof. Then, as a bonus/insurance policy, cover the seams with Eternabond.
This is what I did.
Check out the links on LarryJM's signature. This is what inspired me to use Eternabond. Very glad I did.
2010 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Diesel 2012 Jayco Eagle Super-Light 314BDS
xycarp wrote: The roof itself is in great shape. I think I am going to use a thin layer of lap sealant on the roof seam, then add a layer of Eternabond in a few weeks.
Can I use acetone to clean the seam before re-lap sealing it? Will that damage the rubber roof?
On the side seam (plastic to fiberglass) I will use the silicone RV caulk.
Yes . . . double seal it (Dicor and Eternabond). Note that Eternabond sells a cleaner in a spray can. They posted the MSDS (material safety data sheet) online. I looked at the ingredients (which are by weight) and made my own. I cleaned up the Dicor where my front cap meets the roof and put the tape over it.
Works great, but for some reason, everthing my wife bakes lately tastes horrible.
As for the mobile home silicone . . . Mobile homes hit the road basically one time in their life . . . when they are brand new. Your RV keeps going back out on the road, long after the caulk was applied. You need a caulk that was designed for that. Enter Proflex RV by Geocel.
I recently removed the corner pieces from the back of my fiver. They used butyl putty tape on both legs (it is essentially white aluminum angle with holes on one leg and provisions for a vinyl insert trim to cover the screws). They expected the putty tape to seal the screw holes. Well after about 7 to 8 years the putty tape gives out. I had it leaking on the side and around half a dozen screws. Driving in the rain just made that trim catch water and channel it inside the walls. Caused delamination on both sides, and the back on the one side. I pulled the trim and cleaned it up. New putty tape on the leg with the screw holes and Proflex on the other leg. Proflex in all the screw holes, and then I caulked both sides of the trim with Proflex. I also caulked every one of the remaining screws on the outside of the trailer with Proflex (over 800 screws) and caulked both sides of every piece of trim (Proflex where it met fiberglass or metal, Dicor where it met rubber roof). I put in all new vinyl trim pieces. I also Proflexed the 8 lag bolts that holds the awning on. I caulked around every light and window. I developed a leak around one of the screws that held the outside range hood vent on. The screw didn't go through anything but the putty tape. I pulled that off, fixed the delam, put new putty tape on it and re-installed it with one less screw. I Proflexed every screw hole (including the one with no screw) and caulked around all edges with Proflex.
I pulled the covers off of the tail lights and Proflexed the hole that the wires come through. I should have bought stock in Geocel. I have gone through 3 tubes of Proflex this spring and two tubes of Dicor (I had to fix some of the roof vents and plumbing vents -- and I Eternabonded one roof vent, the bathroom skylight, and the TV antenna).
I'm tired of dealing with this thing instead of camping in it.
I ended up finding Eternabond locally at a roofing distributor and finding the ProFlex at CampingWorld. I think I am good to go. I will be doing the "required" work to get on the road for the weekend tonight and tomorrow. I will also look at some larger waterproofing following the same model later.
I'll provide an update once I do the work, but likely not until after my long and restful weekend!
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