Roof to sidewall joint

[Pete B]

I have a small section of the roof to sidewall joint where the sealant is coming loose. I have read a lot of discussions about sealing this joint. But can water get behind the joint and down through to the sidewall panels?

[Pete B]

I have a small section of the roof to sidewall joint where the sealant is coming loose. I have read a lot of discussions about sealing this joint. But can water get behind the joint and down through to the sidewall panels?

[CHIPPYSGT]

You bet it can. It will cause a tremendous amount of damage to the panels and will cause delamination to the exterior amounting to thousands of dollars of damage in pretty shot order.

Get it sealed ASAP.

[Pete B]

Yes that is the area I am talking about although it is not apparent to me that the water would shed down the outside wall. But you are in a position to see..

[CHIPPYSGT]

I guess I'm wrong. I thought they put sealant up there on those seams/joints for a reason and recommended checking them thoroughly on a regular basis.

I guess I'll continue to waste my time checking and resealing as needed.

[FrontRangeRVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by CHIPPYSGT:
I guess I'm wrong. I thought they put sealant up there on those seams/joints for a reason and recommended checking them thoroughly on a regular basis.

I guess I'll continue to waste my time checking and resealing as needed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Its a good ideat to check the caulking and reseal as needed.

The 1" edge of the roof fiberglas does go over the outside of the edge of the sidewall...and thats covered up by the drip rail....Its really good how they do it!!

[Pete B]

It does make you wonder why bother to chaulk the area above the drip rail if the roof overlaps the sidewall!

I have sent a note to Winnebago asking about this. FrontRangeRver I hope you are right!

[John_Canfield]

If you look at the Winnebago product marketing roof/sidwall construction example that Winnie has placed at many dealerships, it is clear that any water that escapes the supposed-to-be sealed edge of the turned-down roof will run along the aluminum extrusion that is the longitudinal part of the roof-wall joint. It cannot run *directly* down into the wall.

This is not to say that the water will not find its way into an undesireable place - it probably will somewhere. It could be at one end or another of the roof/wall joint.

[NeilV]

If the weep holes get plugged it would fill up and water which could then wick up into the roof joint. Not the best thing in the world. I was contemplating mine today and was considering making a slitter for cutting one inch wide strips of Eternabond Tape for this seam.

[Jim Bob]

I agee with John that the construction of the roof/sidwall joint will not let water just run down the inside of the wall if the calking fails, and it just isn't a good idea to not maintain this joint seam. I have seen a few cases where the water found its way to the rear cap and caused delamination of the wall. I looked at a 2000 Journey that was traded in at a local dealer a few weeks ago and it was clear that water had done the damage. I have a 2000 Horizon and after reading about eternabond tape on this site I sealed my roof/sidwall seams and put a fresh application of dicor over the tape where the end caps met the roof seam. Ther are some pictures on this site under "eternabond" Good luck. Jim

[Pete B]

Here is my reply from Winnebago:

"Cracked or failed sealants can allow water to infiltrate the wall structure.
Sealant along this joint also assists in holding the roof fiberglass in
place. Resealing this area should be a priority.