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Old 06-25-2017, 11:41 PM   #1
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Caulking and Sealer Maintenance

Hi all. We are proud owners of a '15 WindRiver. Fantastic unit! We've come a long way since our start with a little in bed camper lol. Anyways, I'm a very fussy guy when it comes to maintenance, especially the exterior caulking and sealers. Being in the home construction industry I have seen many a different caulkings, sealers, epoxys, glues etc. Now a lot of the materials we use get covered or painted over, not all but a lot, so looks are not always important. Rv's because of design are a little different. It is a large part, if not only, the last defense in water penetration. We rely on it 100%! And it is very exposed for everyone to see. So how do we maintain? Do we remove it every year, or two, or three? Wait till it leaks? Do we just recaulk and recaulk till it looks so ugly that we have to remove all and redo completely? You know it's a matter of time before one has to touchup something somewhere. We've all seen horrible jobs. I know I have! Everybody thinks they are good a resealing or caulking something when really some should leave it to professionals. I think it is a very important part of rv maintenance. What materials do we use? I don't see alot about this subject and was wondering about your opinions. Thanks for reading!
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Old 06-25-2017, 11:52 PM   #2
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Roof maintance is of paramount importance. I can't do the roof climb anymore, so have a trusted shop do roof inspection and reseal as needed. This done annually. There does come a time that the existing sealant should be removed and reapplied. This varying in time interval depending on where the RV is used and stored. Our current coach has not yet needed a remove/reseal. A previous coach was needed at about 6-7 years old iirc. Dicore product is typically used.
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Old 06-26-2017, 12:20 AM   #3
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Just came back from the ORV campout and they had a maintenance seminar. Dicor on the roof and geocell for the sides.
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:26 AM   #4
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Dicor does seem to be the favourite choice for the roof. What is the characteristics of the geocell? I haven't used it yet. I notice some type of caulking used on our WindRiver above windows for example appears to be or was clear or opaque at one time. It is now a yellowish or faded clear caulking. It looks terrible to me. It's too bad some of the colours used during assembly weren't of more similar colours to the opening being caulked. 'Clear' or 'opaque' seems to be the colour of choice for many lol. I notice that these colours attract the dust, dirt, and the mildew that can grow around or even under it. I realize it is a generic commonly used colour. You can practically see through them. It's difficult to use these colours and maintain the quality of it over time. I guess that's one thing that bugs me. You should remove completely rather than go over to cover up. A good quality opaque, translucent, or even black caulking could be a better choice. I know they're out there. Am I being to fussy?! My trailer maintenance means a lot to me. So does the looks.
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:31 AM   #5
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Rickeoni was there much detail about maintenance emphasized at the campout seminar? We tried to make it this year but was booked up pretty quick. Hopefully next year!
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:46 AM   #6
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The seminar was about an hour long and talked about roof maintenance with dicor, window maintenance with geocell, slide maintenance and emergency closing techniques and how to winterize. The crew then went around the campsite and looked at any issues anyone had with their units.

The ORV crew was very specific on what to use, dicor self leveling sealant on the EPDM roof and the geocell which is clear. Both can be applied o dr themselves so maintenance should not be an issue.
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Old 06-26-2017, 02:43 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickeoni View Post
The seminar was about an hour long and talked about roof maintenance with dicor, window maintenance with geocell, slide maintenance and emergency closing techniques and how to winterize. The crew then went around the campsite and looked at any issues anyone had with their units.

The ORV crew was very specific on what to use, dicor self leveling sealant on the EPDM roof and the geocell which is clear. Both can be applied o dr themselves so maintenance should not be an issue.
Rickeoni; regarding the slide part of the seminar.....on the GP I assume the gear box is above the cutout on the bottom cover on the right side? Remove the screws and sealant to open it? Then turn the gear with a 3/4 wrench? Worries me if I ever have a "stuck slide" issue.
What maintenance items did they cover on the slide?
Thanks for sharing what they discussed. I do most of my own maintenance these days.
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:07 PM   #8
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Roof maintainance

On my previous TT, I stripped all caulking from all vents and skylights and sealed everything with Eternabond. If you stick (no pun intended) with Dicor, you should completely strip and reseal at least every two years. Don't ask me how I know! Once you've sealed things with Eternabond, that's it.
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:26 PM   #9
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Rickeoni; regarding the slide part of the seminar.....on the GP I assume the gear box is above the cutout on the bottom cover on the right side? Remove the screws and sealant to open it? Then turn the gear with a 3/4 wrench? Worries me if I ever have a "stuck slide" issue.
What maintenance items did they cover on the slide?
Thanks for sharing what they discussed. I do most of my own maintenance these days.
Very little maint. on the slides. Mainly to keep the side seal lubricated with PTFE to minimize the resistance. You are correct about the manual slide release depending on the year as 2 different ram slides have been used during construction.
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:27 PM   #10
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On my previous TT, I stripped all caulking from all vents and skylights and sealed everything with Eternabond. If you stick (no pun intended) with Dicor, you should completely strip and reseal at least every two years. Don't ask me how I know! Once you've sealed things with Eternabond, that's it.
ORV was very adamant not to use eternabond, if not installed correctly it can lead to further issues.
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Old 06-26-2017, 09:24 PM   #11
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Very little maint. on the slides. Mainly to keep the side seal lubricated with PTFE to minimize the resistance. You are correct about the manual slide release depending on the year as 2 different ram slides have been used during construction.


PTFE?
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Old 06-26-2017, 10:08 PM   #12
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PTFE?
Teflon.
https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Industria.../dp/B000P1E7ZS

This is the exact stuff recommended.
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Old 06-26-2017, 11:28 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickeoni View Post
The seminar was about an hour long and talked about roof maintenance with dicor, window maintenance with geocell, slide maintenance and emergency closing techniques and how to winterize. The crew then went around the campsite and looked at any issues anyone had with their units.

The ORV crew was very specific on what to use, dicor self leveling sealant on the EPDM roof and the geocell which is clear. Both can be applied o dr themselves so maintenance should not be an issue.
Thanks Rickeoni. Any other seminars or info you figure is worth mentioning since you were there?...Geez I really have to be there next time!
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:16 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Rickeoni View Post
Teflon.
https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Industria.../dp/B000P1E7ZS

This is the exact stuff recommended.
Thanks! I waxed the side of the main slide, and now it squeeks when retracting. Guess it's ok, but I'll spray some on the seals.
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