Do I need more Dicor sealant on the joint of my roof and rear wall?

[ParkFamily]

Got my Apex Nano 185BH delivered last Dec and since brought it home, it's been hibernating with cover on.

I was looking at the roof the other day and thinking if I should put more Dicor lal sealant on the joint of the rear roof and rear wall?

Couls you guys give me some thoughts on this?

[ChrisParise]

Right now it looks really good to me. I maintain my roof and my cousins 2018 Grand Design TT.

Keep an eye on the front where the roof line meets the front and the gutter rail. When those seems look like they start to crack open be ready to address it with the right caulk. DICOR Self leveling for flat surfaces and Geocel for vertical.

My cousins TT had the same rear cap seam but a couple years older than yours. It was starting to look weak and thin with pits so I filled in the whole thing with self leveling dicor. I'll try to attach a picture if I can find it.

Watch your vent seams too. My cousins TT had a metal flange break right through 2 year old Dicor.

They don't build em like they used to

[ParkFamily]

Originally Posted by ChrisParise

Right now it looks really good to me. I maintain my roof and my cousins 2018 Grand Design TT.

Keep an eye on the front where the roof line meets the front and the gutter rail. When those seems look like they start to crack open be ready to address it with the right caulk. DICOR Self leveling for flat surfaces and Geocel for vertical.

My cousins TT had the same rear cap seam but a couple years older than yours. It was starting to look weak and thin with pits so I filled in the whole thing with self leveling dicor. I'll try to attach a picture if I can find it.

Watch your vent seams too. My cousins TT had a metal flange break right through 2 year old Dicor.

They don't build em like they used toAttachment 248920Attachment 248921Attachment 248922

Your words made me relaxed about the roof/rear wall. As this my first travel trailer I wasn't sure whether the factory did adequate job on sealing roofs and seams. It seems like applying more Dicor would be a good insurance.

Yeah the front cap and gutter area will definitely be my next close inspection once the weather gets better.

I have heard also from my buddies saying the same thing, they don't build them the way used to. I definitely found a few spots where I wish the factory did better job.

[Ken-m]

So you maintain your relatives roof , Trailer is a 18 , Dicor has failed , so you slathered more of the Dicor on . What's it going to look like when it's 6 years old . There is a reason the industry pushes Dicor . Keeps them coming back again for new roofs and water damage repair .

[LittleBill]

Before you add the Dicor add Eternabond tape to the seams then use the Dicor along the edges of the Eternabond - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=eternabond&ref=nb_sb_noss.

[Treybecky]

X2 !!

I Eterabond-ed every seam and roof opening. Cleaned well, applied lots of pressure with a steel roller; just went well overlaped ~2" past the old dicor, on roof; and did every seam, right into raingutters, covered 1st 8" of awning, too, to protect from sun. Also, all sides, bottoms, ends, and front where there's any vinyl 1" insert,. Used 4", 3" and 2"; white and black. Its been on for a year and looks like the day I put it on. Total peace of mind. I should hopefully never have to fix a crack or worry about dry rot. The sooner and newer the trailer, the better to get it on, IMO.

Dicor just seems like a waste, not reliable over time, a PITA, and needs constant vigilance. Just make sure you never use silicone on the exterior of your trailer, and if you think there may be some, get it off, get it very clean and totally gone before applying eternabond. Just search the blogs, you will be amazed of the good comments.

I got mine from Best Supplies in Arizona online.

[1l243]

your application does not look that bad. They seemed to be generous with the amount used.

I would suggest using Eterabond over the Dicor instead of adding Dicor over Dicor.

I plan on going over all the OEM Dicor applications on my Rig. So far I have done the front and rear.

This is the front cap



This is the rear. There was only about 3/8" of flat space on the rear flange I would have liked a little more but it's got a good seal. I used a little black Eternabond go go with the black trip on the ends.



My only suggestion don't use Eternabond anywhere you will be servicing or accessing in the future. It's called ETERNABOND

[SailorSam20500]

I've also swapped over to using Eternabond. In my case, the Dicor was really lumpy in a number of spots. So I carefully used one of those razor blade paint scrapers to trim the top off. Along the back seam, it turned out the Dicor overlapped the roof membrane by under 1/4" and there was just Dicor on wood for 1 1/2". I have 6" wide tape along the front seam, 4" most everywhere else on top and 3" black tape along the sides extending down into the rain gutter. The side strip reaches 2" onto the top. Black on the sides looks really professional. Here's a pic of the back after trimming the Dicor. You can see where bubbles in the Dicor never attached to the wood, or it just peeled off, I did NOT cut holes in the membrane.

[ChrisParise]

Ken-m

I will refer you to my post #2. There is a picture of my 2006 Sunseeker 2860DS roof right next to my cousins Grand Design roof which I had just touched up with Dicor. You should be able to zoom in on that picture for the roofs condition and appearance.

Been touching up my Sunseekers roof with Dicor all its life, now its going on 16 years old. Never had a roof leak and i expect another few years out of the roof before I recoat the entire roof with either a Dicor or a Henry's coating product.

So, I do have some years of experience maintaining multiple rv roofs and I do like and use Dicor self leveling sealant

My recommendation for anyone using Dicor self leveling sealant on the roof is to follow the manufacturers directions and to watch the YouTube video by Mark Polk who offers some great tips and advice on how to apply it

No "slathering" required.

Nothing against Eternabond. I have a roll for field repairs, but used it only to reattach peeling edges of my Artic Pak tank heating pads and it works great under the tanks even exposed to severe road grime.

My opinion on Dicor roof for roof application is that I will stick with the OEM solution. When they switch to Eternabond so will I.

[ParkFamily]

Thank you guys for great suggestions. More I read about the roof Eternabond would be way to go!

I already bought a few tubs of Dicor to touch up so likely I will do that in a week or so. My next purchase will be Eternabond and will probably tackle the job before the summer ends this year!

Only the part I am not too comfortable is to get on the roof as Apex Nano doesn't mention whether the roof is "Walkable" or not LOL

[1l243]

Originally Posted by ParkFamily

Thank you guys for great suggestions. More I read about the roof Eternabond would be way to go!

I already bought a few tubs of Dicor to touch up so likely I will do that in a week or so. My next purchase will be Eternabond and will probably tackle the job before the summer ends this year!

Only the part I am not too comfortable is to get on the roof as Apex Nano doesn't mention whether the roof is "Walkable" or not LOL

Unless you have some real need to add the Dicor now I wouldn't. Just wait till your ready for the Eternabond. Order the Eternabond in the color of your roof membrane 4" and if you want to get fancy some 4" black for the corners. When I did the rear of the roof their was not alot of surface area on the plastic flange that is screwed to the very rear of the roof. After applying the 4" Eternabond to the very edge. I came up from the other side by using 2" black that I cut from a 4" roll. I went along the black trim and then folded over the top for a good finished seal. Taking my time do no wrinkles. It looks great you cant even tell from the ground looking up at the trim.

When starting with the Eternabond do a small job first like a roof vent. The more you do the better you will get at it. Clean with Acetone but don't over use it wipes on and then flashes dry instantly just enough to get rid of any contaminants.

To check your roof sheeting for walk on. Remove the inner valance from the inside roof vent (4 screws) you will be able to see the thickness of the plywood used. 3/8" or above good enough to walk on or crawl on. Using knee pads saves your knees.

Good luck

[LittleBill]

Originally Posted by 1l243

Unless you have some real need to add the Dicor now I wouldn't. Just wait till your ready for the Eternabond. Order the Eternabond in the color of your roof membrane 4" and if you want to get fancy some 4" black for the corners. When I did the rear of the roof their was not alot of surface area on the plastic flange that is screwed to the very rear of the roof. After applying the 4" Eternabond to the very edge. I came up from the other side by using 2" black that I cut from a 4" roll. I went along the black trim and then folded over the top for a good finished seal. Taking my time do no wrinkles. It looks great you cant even tell from the ground looking up at the trim.

When starting with the Eternabond do a small job first like a roof vent. The more you do the better you will get at it. Clean with Acetone but don't over use it wipes on and then flashes dry instantly just enough to get rid of any contaminants.

To check your roof sheeting for walk on. Remove the inner valance from the inside roof vent (4 screws) you will be able to see the thickness of the plywood used. 3/8" or above good enough to walk on or crawl on. Using knee pads saves your knees.

Good luck

Like 1!234 says - unless you have a dire need, hold off on putting the Dicor down. Wait till you get the Eternabond first.

Good luck -