Newbie Waterproofing question

[trincinf]

All,
Just bought my first popup, which happens to be a brand new Viking 2308ST. I love it! While researching before my purchase, I found a lot of information about water permeating camper walls and floors by various entry points. So far, I have sealed the roof seams with 3m 5200, which is a below water line marine sealant. In time, I will re-seal the roof fan with the same caulk. I swear by this stuff, as I have a sailboat and have used it for thru-haul fittings.

Two areas that concern me are the gasket/finish trim at the bottom of the trailer (pic1/2), and the attachment molly's/pins for the wheel well guards (pic3). Was looking for some advice on whether I should seal these areas with more 5200. Seems kind of obvious to me, but sometimes when you seal things you trap moisture so I am on the fence. Also looking for other areas of focus that I might be missing. I want my PUP to last, so I will be keeping it in my garage when not in use, but I still don't want water to permeate in places where it shouldn't while in use.

Any advice from experienced folks on what I should seal would be great!

[exploreco]

I personally didn't seal any areas like that, but I went over the whole camper with a fine tooth comb after we pick it up and found a couple of spots that where places that where silicone that had gaps in them and made sure i filled those. Also got underneath the trailer and filled the holes where all the lines went into the trailer.

Haven't had any water leaking in those spots. Only leaks we have had have been canvas leaks at the seams on a couple of places, which were noticed the first season, and where taken care of under warranty. And have had a couple of water line leaks that have leaked inside the camper.

Enjoy your new pop up!

[f5moab]

Only leak I have ever had was the result of a tree limb diving through the roof. No leaks in the plastic or the canvas.

[61cubby]

Only leak in our new 2514G was that water would fill up the canvas under the kitchen bay window. It wouldn't get into the camper, just fill the bottom of the bay. After being in a few hard rains, it seems to have taken care of itself and no trouble since.

[Trevor43]

Pray you never need to take up the 3M 5200

[trincinf]

Guess I should have used 4200 instead, and 5200 was overkill. That said, I applied an even layer and used masking tape on both sides of both the metal joint cover and the roof surface. I got good straight lines with the tape and used an off-color which will make it easier to detect future failures very easily. I don't see it failing any time and worst-case is I have to apply another bead of sealant. They put so much silicone around the corner joint covers (plastic) on the roof and that stuff never holds when or where you want it to. It's something I plan on keeping a close eye on, but it is clear and hard to see potential failures. I wish they used a better sealant. Silicone in my opinion is just as hard to remove and does not have the adhesive properties as 5200, but much cheaper!

[Trevor43]

Originally Posted by trincinf

Guess I should have used 4200 instead, and 5200 was overkill. That said, I applied an even layer and used masking tape on both sides of both the metal joint cover and the roof surface. I got good straight lines with the tape and used an off-color which will make it easier to detect future failures very easily. I don't see it failing any time and worst-case is I have to apply another bead of sealant. They put so much silicone around the corner joint covers (plastic) on the roof and that stuff never holds when or where you want it to. It's something I plan on keeping a close eye on, but it is clear and hard to see potential failures. I wish they used a better sealant. Silicone in my opinion is just as hard to remove and does not have the adhesive properties as 5200, but much cheaper!

OEM uses Geocel 2300.........it can be found at any roofing supply house. 5200 and 4200 will eventually yellow out due to UV exposure. I used enough of both on my sailboat. Avoid using silicone.......once you use silicone, nothing else will want to stick to that area. Eterna-bond tape or Dicor is another great choice.