Caulk on bunk doors

[ParrishCamper]

When we picked up our new Roo the caulk around the metal bed door frame was cracked. The dealership recaulked the door but today we notice after our first camping trip the caulk is broke again.
Any suggestions?? Of course the dealership didn't strip the caulk they caulked right over the caulk and then may 2 hours later we took the camper home.
Why is the caulk cracking just from transportation from the factory to dealership and then 1 camping trip???
I would like to not have to caulk the doors after every trip. Any suggestions??? Currently the camper is under ADCO cover and we plan on caulking next weekend.
Also what it the weight limit on these beds? I didn't see anything on it. I'm not use to the cable in the wall for total support. So I felt like I couldn't move without the thought of the cable coming out of the wall. Between my husband and myself we weigh around 330 and then a 3 inch memory foam mattress we'll say 350lbs total.
Our Pop Up I never worried about support w/ the 2 bars under the camper. At times we had both our girls sleeping in the King bed w/ us. Of course they weigh 40 & 50 lbs.

[ParrishCamper]

Just for better understanding here a picture where the caulk keeps cracking. This isn't my camper but should help to figure out where I'm talking about.

[DaGrinch]

I can't address your caulking issue - I had an '08 23SS and didn't have any problems with caulking. But, I wouldn't deal with caulking over cracked caulking. I would want the old taken off and new applied. Just my opinion.

But, the bed ends, that's a different story. Between the DW and myself, we probably went close, if not slightly over, 400# and never had a problem.

Larry

[imflyn2]

We were told during PDI that the beds would support 750#. Didn't see it in writing though.

[Triguy]

Originally Posted by ParrishCamper

I would like to not have to caulk the doors after every trip. Any suggestions???

You shouldn't have to caulk after every trip. I never have. I only caulk when doing maintenance on the roof or sides.

The "caulk" should be LAP sealant. Dicor makes it as does Alpha. You can generally buy it through your dealer, Amazon, CampingWorld etc.

Lap Sealant comes in both non-leveling and self-leveling. This area would require non-leveling due to it is mostly vertical.

I would ask the dealer to make sure they used LAP and not silicone (big no no). They probably used Dicor but good for you to check anyway. The reason silicone is not recommended is that not much sticks well to silicone - not even more silicone so its not a good sealant for maintaining the seals on the outside and the roof.

Originally Posted by ParrishCamper

Also what it the weight limit on these beds?

I believe the bunks support in access of 1,000lbs.

[ParrishCamper]

I don't think I would get a straight answer from the dealership. Took 5 people looking at it to figure out what they should do. But I will call to see.
I have 4 tubes of both Dicor Lap Sealant Non-Leveling Non-Sag and Lap Sealant Self-Leveling.
We are going to re-caulk it ourselves this Saturday. I assume I'll need to remove old caulk and prep the area. Any suggestions on getting the old caulk off?? What can I use the prep the surface w/out harming the body of the camper?
Thanks for your help!!

[Tiggerdad]

Since it now has 2 layers of caulk I would think that it should be removed. I have removed Dicor with a hot air dryer or heat gun and plastic putty knife. If it should crack again, I would be looking at excessive movement in the caulk area. Perhaps broken welds on the frame.

[Roocrew1]

We just had new bunk doors installed and our dealer used ProFlex RV Sealant. I guess I'll have to wait through the summer to see how it holds. However, they said it is the best to use.

[Tiggerdad]

Proflex is an excellent sealant if applied correctly.

[Triguy]

I know the OP is not asking about the roof, but just a note to all that certain Proflex cannot be used as a sealant on your roof while at least one of their products can be used.

Geocel Advanced RV EPDM Roof Sealant can be used with TPO and EPDM. Here's a copy of their tech sheet. AdvancedRVEPDMTechFINAL0413.pdf

I wonder if our camper's TPO roof would need to be primed, though?

Pro Flex RV Flexible Sealant cannot be used on an EPDM roof. Neither can their Proflex RV Instant Roof Repair. These have solvents in them. The tech sheet doesn't say anything about TPO roofs, but the Geocell tech department says these should not be used with TPO either.

[ParrishCamper]

We spend all day Saturday recaulking the Roo. Something I feel we shouldn't have to do w/ such a new camper. So I'm a little unhappy about it and uneasy. We found cracks on all 3 bed doors. And the darn dealership applied a silicone caulk directly over the factory caulk.
And after further inspection the caulk on the slide were the rubber strip is was also breaking away and down in front of the propane tanks.
Here are some pics of the cracks:


This is a blurry shot but all the black is broken caulk so you get the point how much was cracked just on 1 strip.


Close up:


Another question?? Under all the beds the caulk goes around the sides and top and stops 1 inch on each side on the bottom. To me this seems like a great way for water to work its way into the camper when driving in the rain.