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Old 04-27-2015, 05:03 PM   #1
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Itasca caulk real early

I am on my 6th RV over the past 30+ years- a 2014 Itasca Sunstar 31KE. Absolutely love it.

Had it about 6 months now and I figure from the stickers it rolled out of the plant about a year ago.

Maintenance on the rig is my hobby- so on my "to do" list has been to check the caulk and reseal where needed. During my inspection I didn't think I'd find much. On my previous rigs I'd often go several years before observing any significant deterioration or any major need for re-caulking.

I was quite surprised during my going over the rig joints on how fast and how badly the factory installed caulk had deteriorated on the new Itasca MH. About half of it had already lost its prescribed color and had turned very white and powdery. The roof joint caulking on the passenger side (fiberglass to sidewall) near the rear had already separated and revealed a loosening of the roof cap for 6 inches along with an easy path for water to enter.

So I pull the call sheet from Winnebago on caulk and go about seeking the to purchase some replacement caulk. It took a bit of bird- dogging as I wanted to get the right code and color for the rig. Winnebago gave me the correct spec and told me where I could order it.

The product is Manus Bond 75-AM and is coded to the unit's color scheme. Its matches color very well which is important to me.

I called the caulk manufacturer for some info on clean up as water was not any help and mentioned how fast it had deteriorated. The fellow I talked to said it should have lasted several years. At the most I got a year out of it. He thought the heat of the south and the sunlight might be factors contributing to a more rapid deterioration.

The caulk arrived in about 2 days and I went about cleaning out all the deteriorated joints and applying the new sealant material. The manufacturer advised that mineral spirits was the best way to clean up excess and drips and my fingers. Needless to say this was important info as applying caulk is NOT one of my strong points (I also flunked crayons in kindergarten about 60 years ago so therein lies part of the problem- got an "F" for not coloring inside the lines). My fingers (and a few spots on the rig)needed a LOT of mineral spirits.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone else was seeing what appears to me to be early degradation in the caulk on their late model Winnies or Itasca rigs-- or is mine an anomaly?

I checking on other threads also for some feedback. Thanks
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Old 04-27-2015, 05:12 PM   #2
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Well, I have a 2014 Minnie Winnie and just had it into a shop for replacement of vent covers (hail damage) and put on some MaxxAir covers. The dealer showed me a few places in which the roof caulk had already left room for water to enter. He put on some silicon and hope that will take care of it but at only one year old I too was surprised.

Anyone replace the roof caulk with Eternabond?

Gary
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Old 04-27-2015, 05:14 PM   #3
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And please share with us any other problems you have found. Sure wish I had a friend nearby that enjoyed a hobby of maintaining a MH LOL.
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Old 04-27-2015, 06:08 PM   #4
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Sealant or Caulk

Quote:
Originally Posted by n5pht View Post
And please share with us any other problems you have found. Sure wish I had a friend nearby that enjoyed a hobby of maintaining a MH LOL.
The maintaining hobby (a/k/a obsessiveness) keeps me off the streets and momma really likes that! LOL

Well this rig is holding up quite well other than that. I do have a dash board cover over the instrument panel that will be replaced next week under warranty. Nothing major other than they apparently over torqued the screws that hold it down and all the flanges cracked. But they are replacing it.

But the caulk (or maybe I should be saying sealant) has me bumfuzzled.
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Old 04-27-2015, 11:19 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by n5pht View Post
Well, I have a 2014 Minnie Winnie and just had it into a shop for replacement of vent covers (hail damage) and put on some MaxxAir covers. The dealer showed me a few places in which the roof caulk had already left room for water to enter. He put on some silicon and hope that will take care of it but at only one year old I too was surprised.

Anyone replace the roof caulk with Eternabond?

Gary
What is it with these dealers?

They don't know basic RV ?

You NEVER use silicone on the roof! NEVER!

You use a self leveling lap sealant, such as Dicor Self Leveling Lap Sealant.

And you also use Eternabond.

NEVER Silicone!

Jim
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Old 04-27-2015, 11:37 PM   #6
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Same problem on a 2013 Vista 26HE. Seal on the caps is still good but the roof to gutter seal separated almost the full length of the roof line. Ended up using a razor blade to clean up the caulk on the roof, after cleaning up I re caulked with ProFlex RV sealant. A further look at the caulk around around the storage bay openings and other similar areas, indicates attention is needed.
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Old 04-28-2015, 04:02 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldtrooper View Post
Same problem on a 2013 Vista 26HE. Seal on the caps is still good but the roof to gutter seal separated almost the full length of the roof line. Ended up using a razor blade to clean up the caulk on the roof, after cleaning up I re caulked with ProFlex RV sealant. A further look at the caulk around around the storage bay openings and other similar areas, indicates attention is needed.
Wow- mine was only a few inches at the roof seam but that sounds pretty bad!

Mine was all cracked out around the storage compartments and vertical seams on the end of the coach also.

Were you able to get a color matched supply of Proflex or is it only offered in neutral colors?
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Old 04-28-2015, 06:41 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Papa_Jim View Post
What is it with these dealers?

They don't know basic RV ?

You NEVER use silicone on the roof! NEVER!

You use a self leveling lap sealant, such as Dicor Self Leveling Lap Sealant.

And you also use Eternabond.

NEVER Silicone!

Jim
That jumped out at me too. I have to get some Dicor this weekend and head up on the roof for a look.
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Old 04-28-2015, 08:22 AM   #9
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You can't use the self leveling on the Winnegago side wall seams. Even if the caulk is bad, I don't think water will get into the seam due to the way it is constructed.
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Old 04-28-2015, 09:15 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hilley View Post
You can't use the self leveling on the Winnegago side wall seams. Even if the caulk is bad, I don't think water will get into the seam due to the way it is constructed.
Definitely true John. The call sheet for sealants outlines the specific caulk/ sealant for each defined area. WBGO specifies 3 types of sealants for three types of uses/areas. Its was critical for me to use the correct caulk for the areas I noticed failure. WBGO made sure i was on the right spec and told me what to buy.

I'm really going to watch this Manus Bond to see how it holds up after my application. If it fails early, I definitely want to seek out a superior product and hope can find something the will do the job and match paint.

Sealants all deteriorate with weathering time, use etc. I'm just blown away by how fast what came out of the factory deteriorated
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Old 04-28-2015, 10:17 PM   #11
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Vista Roof caulk

Yes Ive noticed the end caps need attention as well as the frame around the storage doors.

The caulk on the roof was still intact, supple and still adhering to the fibreglass roof. The problem was the adherence to the aluminum gutter failed. Didn't use silicone to do the repair. This Pro Flex RV is specifically for RV's and is a self levelling sealant. Thermoplastic rubber, I think its called. It starts to set up fairly quickly and adheres to just about anything. In any event I think I will be checking
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Old 05-11-2015, 05:52 AM   #12
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Same unit, same problem - caulk failed prematurely at roof to sidewall joint and is no longer adhered to aluminum channel.

Mine was just fixed under warranty (which just expired) after approval by Winnebago.

See this thread for additional discussion of this specific joint: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/need...of-241257.html
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Old 05-11-2015, 10:17 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hilley View Post
You can't use the self leveling on the Winnegago side wall seams. Even if the caulk is bad, I don't think water will get into the seam due to the way it is constructed.
lol, that is what I thought till I sprung a leak over the drivers window, Right in the corner where sidewall, roof and cap all come together. There are square drain holes about every 8 feet, if they pug then you have the start of a problem. Not much water can get in there but 1/2 cup can seem like a water fall when its happening in an area you don't expect it. I ended up re-caulking about 90% of this seam, both sides. Spoke to the dealer and they recommended checking every 6 months, regardless.

If water gets in it should drain out, but like i experienced if it doesn't drain through the holes it will find a way in the corner where the rail ends. I found a lot of fine silt off the roof had gotten in there as well and restricted these drain holes. I cleaned as much as I could before caulking.
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Old 05-11-2015, 10:36 PM   #14
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Bad batch of sealant? It happens to even the best manufacturers.
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Old 05-12-2015, 02:13 AM   #15
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I had that thought also. Am monitoring it closely from here on out.
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Old 05-12-2015, 09:24 PM   #16
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I had so oxidation on my roof and the caulk on the end cap was bad. So I had the RV Roof Armor put on last week. Don't plan on any problems from now on
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