Seal roof seamsAnother maintenance item, were supposed to get some rain finally here, so decided I needed to address existing & potential leaks.I have had some water penetration, drips out the bottom of front corner trim. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from till I looked real close at roof leading edge seal. The leading edge of the roof where it laps the camper nose was getting pretty bad. I'm pretty sure that's where the water was getting in, fortunately it was only at the outer edge. But I'm surprised it wasn't leaking more. As the trim piece that covers the seam between rubber roof and camper nose is lathered in Dicor caulk, really didn't want to remove, did that last year on the rear seam, tedious. So I figured I try the Eternabond tape seal folks have mentioned on the forums at RV.net. Which is why I added this page, an option for those needing to repair a rubber (generic term)roof. Basically its a self stick EPDM Rubber Surface tape for seams, vent flange etc. Comes in rolls 1 to 6" widths and various lengths. Makes this chore A LOT easier. However the product I used was 'Quick Roof for Rubber Roofs' by Cofair. The 3 shops near me didn't carry the Eternabond brand, I needed to do this now, so Ill find out if its as good as the Eternabond tape. Virtually identical as far as installation. I bought 6" X 16' roll, enough to do the front and redo the rear seals. Much easier than cleaning off old caulk and re caulking if it works. Brushed off loose dirt , clean with damp towel, then wiped with acetone , then alcohol. Snapped a chalk line to maintain some sort of squareness, starting at one edge of roof, pull the release paper as I unrolled, pressed and rubbed to insure uniform contact then used a small seam roller to seal the edges. That was easy, 30 minuets
Didn't take a before pic, not really much to see...but now a leak proof seam.
 Last year I had tackled the rear seal at the rear clearance light valance, Was getting water inside the wall, mostly because I backed into a tree and cracked one corner of the valance, but again the Dicor was separating and the trim piece in the rear was actually pulling up. I needed to remove the valance to repair, so kill two birds with one stone. Fix valance and reseal roof seam. That was a lot of work (why I'm trying the tape this time) I had removed all the caulk, Painfully slow, pulled metal trim bar, repaired the valance reinstalled. Put down some putty tape under the trim bar reinstalled the bar and re caulked. Stopped the leak, however the caulking was already cracking along the trim piece (used regular caulk) Due to the trim piece the whole rear edge is bout 1/4 higher than the roof so water always stands.
 I have enough tape so redoing it, with the rubber tape at least standing water will be on the rubber tape and not along the edge of the trim piece. It isn't leaking so I'm just recovering. I cleaned as in the front . This wasn't as easy to lay down as in the front. I had to cut to fit around the rail mounts. As the valance slopes off to the rear I cut 'L' slots from rear edge in the tape so tape would lay around the mounts. This way the side on the roof is continuous. Wasn't any fun, Having to pull the releases paper on the tape, trying to fit around the rail mounts...just tricky. I had the tape stick to itself once-wow, I was able to separate. Came out fairly well, I was surprised, cause once I started I realized it wasn't going to be easy, But I got it. Used dicor caulk around the rail mounts to the new tape, and the slits I made. I also ran a bead along the leading edge. Only because of how much water stands. Were on the coast-its always wet.
 I wanted to tape around the vents but didn't have enough so I just re caulked the screws, seams. Also re caulked the remaining rail mounts.. that dicor caulk is weird stuff, but it works. Ill get some 4" tape later and run around the vents. So I think I'm ready for some rain! Side note; Bought a new cover but haven't put it on yet, I want to cover all the sharp edges on roof that destroy the covers. One of the areas are the corners of the solar panel. I had picked up some slide out corner protectors but they don't fit our curved slide frame. But they will work great on the panel corners. On the TV antennae and the top of air condition, I'm thinking of using closed cell foam, at any rate if you've got some roof work-you should check out the sealing tapes, especially on repairs, seam maintenance. Dicor lap sealant caulk is your friend. 'Quick Roof for Rubber Roofs' by Cofair Back to Ourelkhorn Camper Modifications page |
