Found a Gap--Inspect your Roof's Seams!

[howson]

My 315RLTS is a whopping 8 months old. I know everything was sealed upon delivery back in July. Yesterday and today I caught up with some much-needed roof cleaning, application of 303, and checking all of the seams. Yep, I found one bad. Surprised me. I didn't think I'd find anything after such a short time.



A little self-leveling dicor and it's good to go!

[TucsonJim]

Good catch Howard. That gap could have allowed for a substantial amount of water penetration if you hadn't caught it.

Jim

[huntr70]

There is a reason that all manufacturers recommend inspecting sealants every 90 days.

[Cate&Rob]

There is a reason that all manufacturers recommend inspecting sealants every 90 days.

It is definitely not just the roof!

I recently replaced my tail lights and found this when I removed the original ones.
I had no idea that water was getting past the the original silicone bead around the perimeter of the light fixture!
A much better way to prevent this is to seal every screw hole individually by dipping the screw into silicone before inserting it.
Obviously, this takes more time . . . which is why it is not done in production.

Rob

[RVRunners]

I inspect the roof sealants and all of the sidewall caulking on each outing. I added eternabond tape at the front & rear cap/roof junctions and at all of the roof vents for a little extra insurance. A lot can happen when you tow your vacation home around the country at 60-65 miles per hour!

[Drolaw]

...I added eternabond tape at the front & rear cap/roof junctions and at all of the roof vents for a little extra insurance...

I'm seriously thinking about adding Eternabond on my roof. I just need to do it to ensure I'm protected and be able to sleep at night instead of worrying that I put enough sealant down.

[Chiefblueman]

I'm seriously thinking about adding Eternabond on my roof. I just need to do it to ensure I'm protected and be able to sleep at night instead of worrying that I put enough sealant down.

Eternabond works well for the front and rear caps. It's a little harder to apply around vents and such. A vulnerable place on our trailers is the roof edge seal. On the 315RLTS there is about 70 feet of roof edge and GD doesn't apply a lot here. I use the Alpha product in a caulking tube. I inspect the seals several times during the season and make sure it's all tight before storing for the winter. I'm a bit suspicious of the roof edge trim. It's a metal strip secured with screws and a flexible plastic trim to fit over the screws. I wonder if GD applies any sealant to the screws. The plastic cover isn't water tight. Both side walls are being replaced on my 315, maybe I'm a bit paranoid.

[FT4NOW]

I also went with Eternabond on the front and rear seam of the roof. Got 6" tape and it covered everything nicely.

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[jim1521]

Ditto on the Eternabond tape on front and back roof. Also did it around the roof vents. Doesn’t look sexy but nobody sees the roof but me and I’m all about function over form.

[howson]

Ditto on the Eternabond tape on front and back roof. Also did it around the roof vents. Doesn’t look sexy but nobody sees the roof but me and I’m all about function over form.

Did you apply right over the existing sealant or did you remove the old stuff first?