Eternabond vs tar tape

[NOLAfolks]

I started to reply to an older post on this subject but it was too old and I could not. We have a 2005 Safari with an aluminum roof seamed with aluminum tar tape. The tape seals are tight except previously it appears the front cap moved s bit free of the tape and a previous owner filled the gap with no sag sealant. That sealant now works as a water dam in heavy rain. Recently a leak started and I temporarily patched it with Dicor SL. I now want a more permanent solution. At first I was thinking to remove all the sealant and go back with Dicor SL but having read about eternabond I am now thinking of removing the old sealant and applying a 4” strip of it over laping the original tar tape and front cap. I think I can get about 1 to 1-1/2” of tape onto the cap without it showing from the ground. What is your advice? Eternabond, lap sealing or replace tar tap?

[steve52]

Eternabond.

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by steve52

Eternabond.

Eternabond.overlap at least 2 inches. So what if someone sees it. Better to have no leak. Who's going to say anything to you that you would actually care about.[emoji33] [emoji12]

[Jim_HiTek]

IF you can get the surfaces where the tape will be clean, than I'd say Eternabond tape. So easy to apply, lasts for years, looks fairly good the whole time and of course it's on the roof so can't really see it from the ground much anyway. Here's a picture showing how it looks...

Ebond on edge and end cap...

I have used it on both my rubber and fiberglass roofs and although I'm not all that familiar with an all aluminum roof I'm a big fan of Ebond tape. Here's a link to my blog article about the places on my roof where it was used FYI. So far after 2 years still holding fine. Did have to replace a 4 foot section on the rear end cap seam that lifted but that was an easy job as the front facing seam got dirt on it and the wind from driving slowly peeled it up off the roof. So I didn't have much cleanup.

Using Ebond tape on the roof...

[PanJH]

Eternabond-- cleanup the area really good with acetone then apply the eternabond and rollit down to break the internal bubbles to get it to seal .

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I think that EternaBond would do the job! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Gary RVRoamer]

There is nothing wrong with the foil-type roof repair tape is you have a metal roof, but Eternabond is a good choice as well.


HOWEVER, your problem is that the front cap is shifting (as you drive or when leveling the RV) and that is likely to tear any seal you put across the fixed roof and the now-moving cap. Both the Dicor 501 and Eternabond have some stretch built in, but it sounds like yours is moving more that can be readily accommodated. A buddy of mine had that same problem on a 2004 Endeavor (from the same factory as yours!) and he had to re-seal a couple times a year because the seam kept opening up. Neither tape nor Dicor held up very long under the stress. He was a fulltimer, so traveled frequently. If you are a less frequent RVer, you might get a year or more each time.

[153stars]

If the cap moves too much for normal RV repair to work. Might have do more like a roof expansion gap on a building.
Rubber not tight over seam but floating with extra.material glued away from seem. it would have to be glued down not adhesive tape. The ends of repair.. finished away from the expansion down tight.

[153stars]

After thinking more on it I am surprised everbond or other brands haven't created .tape with a no bounding strip or vinyl maybe foam speedbump shape in the middle to create an expansion joint. It need extra inspection or extre presealing as water could travel under. It could be DIY with strip in the middle and reattach th peel off in two strips . To create a bit of a pucker but not in the ends.