Roof maintenance

[Pickc]

Just joined this week. Finding this forum to be populated with sensible sounding folks. Possibly I'm overlooking an existing discussion regarding roof maintenance. Any insight is appreciated!
Recently purchased a very clean 2004 Fleetwood t18. In an effort to maintain the roof, do I need to remove the old caulk, or do the newer sealing products allow for overlaying on top of the existing caulk? Just not sure ow to approach doing this.

[TDI-Minnie]

I would remove. It's more work, but roof leaking can be disastrous.

[CarlGeo]

Recommend removing all that your can and make sure the caulk you use is top quality and not silicone. Polyurethane is a outstanding caulk, not cheap, but good.
If you have problem seams, use Eternabond tape. It comes in 2" wide; 4" wide; 6" wide and even 12" wide tape. Outstanding product, easy to install, but again not real inexpensive. I buy mine from Best Products via the web, and their prices are much better than local suppliers.

[rbleau6885]

Don't use anything but Dicor self leveling roof sealant for everything on the roof if the TT is really clean and lap sealant doesn't look bad or ever been redone I wouldnt waste your time scraping it off just clean and go over it. Might want to grab yourself a new fridge vent cover as there tight to get under there pretty cheap around 20,or so be sure to dap some sealant on the screws after you install it.. I find GE silicon great for corner moldings, windows and so on. I do this on the weekends for people good luck ( a good leak is the one that never happened) when your done resealing the roof clean with Dicor roof cleaner and then spay and rub in the Dicor rubber roof protectant will look new when you finish


Rich,24
2014 wildwood 27rlss
2005 Chevy 2500HD crew cab

[Pickc]

Thanks for the great info. While the roof is clean, the caulk appears as though it is ripe for giving up some adhesion along its edges. Would the self leveling do a good job getting beneath any edges that may be loosing adhesion?

[jfran304]

Originally Posted by CarlGeo

Recommend removing all that your can and make sure the caulk you use is top quality and not silicone. Polyurethane is a outstanding caulk, not cheap, but good.
If you have problem seams, use Eternabond tape. It comes in 2" wide; 4" wide; 6" wide and even 12" wide tape. Outstanding product, easy to install, but again not real inexpensive. I buy mine from Best Products via the web, and their prices are much better than local suppliers.

+1 on the Eternabound tape. I bought mine on Amazon for $55.99 a roll of 4"x50'. I'm going to do every seam I can on the roof of our coach.


Jon

[tim myers]

OK here is my issue. Purchased a used MH last November. Dealer did a blower test (according to them) and blew air into the motorhome and soaped all the seams and penetrations to find and seal any leaks. Sounded good to me and they claimed to have found two or three that they resealed.

I was on the roof yesterday cleaning out a clogged condensate drain and noticed that the new white sealant was not sticking to the what looks to me like butyl caulk. First is this existing material butyl caulk?

Picture 1 and 2 are at the shower skylight after I had easily removed all the white material. You can see some remnants where this stuff sticks great to the roof system and the skylight but not at all to the caulk material.

The third picture is at the left front corner over the cab and you can see how I can pull the white stuff up off of the caulk. I have the same thing at the right front cornet over the cab.

The skylight started leaking today as we had pretty heavy rain. What do I need to repair these spots with? I have no idea what the RV dealer used but it doesn't appear to be the correct material.

Thanks,

[rbleau6885]

That's look rough they probably did a rush job and didn't clean the area so the new sealant was just sitting on there. I would use a plastic putty knife and get all that old stuff off clean with alcohol and reapply the lap sealant.. Use Dicor self leveling lap sealant


Rich,24
2014 wildwood 27rlss
2005 Chevy 2500HD crew cab

[tim myers]

That would be a good overall plan, but we may be trading this in at the end of the year. There have been no leaks till yesterday and that was after I was on the roof working on the AC.

I just want to seal up the problem areas. If we keep it I will redo everything over the winter.

It looks like the dealer brushed on something that just isn't sticking to the butyl caulk.

I may e-mail them and try to find out what they used.

[Big-Foot]

My roof and joints looked similar to yours... I've spent many hours peeling, picking and scrubbing old silicone RTV and what looks like white latex paint from the roof and the various vents / skylights...
I also use Dicor Lap Sealant but I also use a cheap 1" Chip Brush to "paint" the wider areas over the existing (but still pliable) butyl caulk with the Dicor.. 10 minutes later the brush streaks and any unevenness of the Dicor has settled out.



Regards - Randy & Dar
2015 F350 CC-DRW-409 Diesel / 2008 Rage'n Stryker 4005 Toy Hauler / 2014 Arctic Cat Wildcat Trail-XT
Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Treat caulking on a roof like this: If you have a bad cut that you are trying to protect, and the old bandaid is beginning to come off, do you put a new, larger bandaid over the old? No, you remove the bandaid, clean up the cut, and install a new bandaid over the problem. Treat a roof or any other seam the same. New over old is not going to magically cause the old stuff to begin working again. Take it off.

Also, if you don't properly clean/prep the area for good adherence, or use cheap materials, you are just wasting time and money, kind of like the dealer did. He got it out of his shop, and through the 30 second warranty period. Instead of trying to decide whether you are going to keep or sell, bite the bullet, do it right, and then brag about it to either the perspective buyer, or to the people next to you in the campground knowing that you'll be dry come the next rainstorm!

[tim myers]

Originally Posted by Big-Foot

My roof and joints looked similar to yours... I've spent many hours peeling, picking and scrubbing old silicone RTV and what looks like white latex paint from the roof and the various vents / skylights...
I also use Dicor Lap Sealant but I also use a cheap 1" Chip Brush to "paint" the wider areas over the existing (but still pliable) butyl caulk with the Dicor.. 10 minutes later the brush streaks and any unevenness of the Dicor has settled out.



Regards - Randy & Dar
2015 F350 CC-DRW-409 Diesel / 2008 Rage'n Stryker 4005 Toy Hauler / 2014 Arctic Cat Wildcat Trail-XT
Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

Does the Dicor adhere to the butyl caulk?

[Big-Foot]

Originally Posted by tim myers

Does the Dicor adhere to the butyl caulk?

Yes! Dicor will stick to anything but water... It is pricey, but well worth it in my opinion...
I just went out and checked my camper for water intrusion after having gone through a storm series last night that dumped 4+" of rain here.. Dry as a bone inside (thanks God!).. I had just resealed two of my three slides yesterday...


Regards - Randy & Dar
2015 F350 CC-DRW-409 Diesel / 2008 Rage'n Stryker 4005 Toy Hauler / 2014 Arctic Cat Wildcat Trail-XT
Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Ramets]

I HATE removing old caulk, especially caulk that covers the screw heads that go the entire length of the roof radius. But it's the best way to reseal