Roof caulking and sealant

[Zeus1972]

As many of you know this is our first camper so we are learning something new every day. Winter is coming upon us very quickly and we are trying to get her ready for winter. Do you caulk now before winter or is that something we do in the spring. We will be putting a cover on for the winter for two reasons we will be keeping it at a campground outdoors and the one bed end leaks when closed not bad but we will be making this replacement in the spring. Looking for advice here. Thanks everyone

[Bama Rambler]

I'm sure there are other opinions, but since you're covering it, I would wait till it warms up next spring. Self-Leveling Lap Sealant likes it to be warm so it can spread out and adhere to the surrounding surfaces. The instructions say 50ºF min, but I like to wait until it's a good bit warmer than that.

[bikendan]

I always caulk BEFORE winter. Waiting til spring defeats the purpose since winter is the most likely time for water intrusion. You should have caulked while it was still warm.
And a RV cover isn't waterproof. So if the purpose is to prevent water from entering the front bunk end, you need to come up with a different plan.

[rsdata]

If you think that the bed end leaks past the upper rubber seal, have you tried tightening the Roto-Vise handles slightly? You do not want to crush the rubber seal, just enough so that a dollar bill between the door and the seal will not easily release when pulled. There are several posts on here that explain how to tighten those handles.

Also make sure that the bunk end top rubber seal extends a bit past the vertical seal on each end so that water sheds off the end and not onto the vertical seal where it can enter the tent area. Also make sure you zip your windows closed, as any leakage is usually trapped on the vinyl tent and not leak into the inside bunk end.

Another thing that I do is to purchase some of that BLUE painters tape 2 to 3 inches wide. I put a piece of that tape over the gap from the bunk door edge to the camper shell covering the gap. The tape is water proof so rain will shed off the tape. Because it is painter tape it should release easily in the spring. Purchase a name-brand tape if you do this.

Finally I also use some tape and cover the rear clearance light seals above the bunk door just in case the seal around the lens allows water to enter the bunk end closer to the roof. I eventually used Eternabond white tape to do this is lasts year after year.

You might want to store the trailer on a left to right side slant to promote water and snow running off instead of sitting on the top. I would NOT use a cover if it was me. Many reasons for this. I would make sure the roof is sealed with Eternabond tape... only need a 60-70 degree day with enough sunlite to see and maybe 4 hours to get this done.

I have made a posting of using Eternabond tape to permanently cover the Dicor and close gaps on the roof and have it last for years. This was done in 2015 and having just inspected my roof last week, it still looks new, like it was installed last month. The post is here...

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nce-90060.html

[lucky55616]

I do both, I always check for problems and apply Dicor where necessary before winter and again in the spring after winter and I also check a couple of times during the summer camping season.

[clintbonnie73]

Use the following:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Underthedog]

Definitely inspect and reseal if needed before storage and in the spring. I found a leak around one of the fans mid winter and I can assure you it is no fun playing on the roof in the snow.


I'm a fan of the eternabond tape treatment rsdata has documented, but have not yet done so.