Need help looking for the right sealant for a 2007 winnebago roof.

[pdq_bc]

as Indy Itasca notes, check the winnebago site for information specific to YOUR model. we have a 2009 suncruiser 35p and for our model, we need “Sealant D; 072889-10-000”. you can order from lichtsinn in forest city iowa.
cheers,
pdq

[jeep2001]

Thanks I will check that out. When I went to Lowes they had something but it had silicon in it so I didn"t buy it.
Mike

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by jeep2001

Thanks I will check that out. When I went to Lowes they had something but it had silicon in it so I didn"t buy it.
Mike

Good move. Sorry you couldn't find what I have.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by pdq_bc

as Indy Itasca notes, check the winnebago site for information specific to YOUR model. we have a 2009 suncruiser 35p and for our model, we need “Sealant D; 072889-10-000”. you can order from lichtsinn in forest city iowa.
cheers,
pdq

Many (I think all) of the sealants have a name brand substitute. Pro-Flex makes a very good product. Even the Winnebago parts store at the factory sells some clear masonry caulk that is not listed in the call out sheet but substituted for the manufacturers part #.

The great thing here in this thread is that folks are seeing the importance of maintaining the integrity of the sealants. Wise folks here.

Rick Y

[jerichorick]

This is what is at Lowe's.

[jeep2001]

Thanks Jerichorike for the informations, Lowes had another brand called Leak Stopper a rubberized clear sealant that is a latex caulk. I did not buy it because of the latex. I was placing an order with Camping World and I order some Dicor Non-Sag sealant #32128 white for the roof corners and some ProFlex RV Flexible Sealant in clear #20440 for the roof. Will this sealant be ok for the motorhome? They said it would take about 5 day to get here. I also picked up some acetone will this be ok for cleaning up the area to be resealed?
Thanks Mike

[Patrol 65]

I recommend this product:
ProFlex Brushable Sealant - Geocel 23200 - Roof Maintenance & Repair - Camping World

[AFChap]

Originally Posted by jeep2001

ProFlex RV Flexible Sealant in clear #20440 for the roof. Will this sealant be ok for the motorhome?

Yes, as stated earlier Pro flex is an elastomeric urethane based sealant/adhesive ...exactly what you need on the roof side seams. I use Mineral Spirits for cleanup. Acetone should work also. I use the Pro flex on the roof corners also. I haven't found the Dicor non-sag. The Dicor I have used on top of the roof is a bit too fluid to use on the more vertical corners.

I haven't seen the brushable Proflex. It sounds like just what I need on a troublesome seam on my stick house patio roof! Think I will order a couple of cans.

[emcee]

On my 2014 Vista large sections of the roof radius joint sealant failed on both sides of the roof. It's at the dealer now and I'm trying to get it fixed under warranty. It's is a good idea to identify what sealant was used by Winnebago so that sealant is NOT used again in the future. I'll probably use the Proflex in the future.

BTW - I never saw evidence of water leaking from this joint although the sealant clearly wasn't doing anything. Maybe the way the joint is designed?

[Indy Itasca]

Originally Posted by emcee

On my 2014 Vista large sections of the roof radius joint sealant failed on both sides of the roof. It's at the dealer now and I'm trying to get it fixed under warranty. It's is a good idea to identify what sealant was used by Winnebago so that sealant is NOT used again in the future. I'll probably use the Proflex in the future.

BTW - I never saw evidence of water leaking from this joint although the sealant clearly wasn't doing anything. Maybe the way the joint is designed?

My owners manual says to inspect the roof seams and re-calk where needed TWICE a year. The edge of the fiberglass roof actually just sets in the j channel and the calk holds the roof edge down. The channel drains any water away and there is seldom any problems with water leaking because of the roof edge seal. It is more of a problem in that bad calk can cause the edge of the roof to pop out and if the wind catches it peel sections of the roof back. There are several threads on here about the roof and calk.

[DBL Z]

Dicor

[jeep2001]

Thanks Guys, I wonder if that brushable would be easier to use on the side roof?
Mike

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Indy Itasca

My owners manual says to inspect the roof seams and re-caulk where needed TWICE a year. The edge of the fiberglass roof actually just sets in the j channel and the caulk holds the roof edge down. The channel drains any water away and there is seldom any problems with water leaking because of the roof edge seal. It is more of a problem in that bad caulk can cause the edge of the roof to pop out and if the wind catches it peel sections of the roof back. There are several threads on here about the roof and caulk.

That's what our two Dutch Stars have said too. So far I haven't seen anything in my CC manuals about the roof sealant needing to be checked but I'll do it the same. The roof itself is fiberglass but the vents and other openings still need checking.

[Starsekr]

I’ve been following this thread, and looking at a lot of others from several sites, all related to the edge bond of Winnie fiberglass roofs, and restoring/resealing the tops of Winnie coaches. So here are some observations:
If someone says Winnie didn’t use silicon sealant on their roofs, most of the rest of their post is BS. Most silicon on the roofs will crack after a few years. I'd go to the Dicor line for silicon replacement.

Winnebago used several different manufacturers’ sealants under the same Winnie part number. ( I will observe that they may have used the cheapest at the time, not the best). They don’t seem to have accepted that they have a problem, and newer sealants aren’t necessarily any better than the old stuff.

The roof to front cap and the roof to sidewall seam sealant callout sheets all seem to have a part number that is a urethane family sealant. The urethane of choice seems to be a polyether type. If a silicon based sealant was used here, it shouldn’t have been done by the factory, and any silicon repair will require its removal because old to new silicon bonds are usually not very strong. Under most cases I would ignore anyone who suggests these seams be repaired with silicon because of strength and/or UV resistance issues.

The roof seems to be wedged into the aluminum rails at the top of the sidewalls. The failure most mentioned is the adhesive pulling away from the aluminum. Not the adhesive tearing, or pulling away from the fiberglass. There are several internet references about how to prepare aluminum to make a high strength adhesive bond. I don’t think that Winnebago does any of these things because none of the repair instructions mentions them. High heat and humidity increases the rate of failure, so where you camp/live has an effect on the life of your sidewall bond. This link has more information then you ever want to know:
http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/aircraft-design-aerodynamics-new-technology/5293-conclusions-aluminum-adhesive-bonding-tests.html.

Looking at the side wall/ roof joint drawing, it looks like there are two problems; bond the aluminum and fiberglass together, and protect the bond from moisture/UV degradation/oxidation. If anyone at Winnie reads this, well you got some splainin to do about why you didn’t do this right for the last 10 years or so.

Things we can do:
If you are having the whole edge resealed, maybe removing the aluminum rail, cleaning everything off, degreasing with acetone and using Jasco Phosphate prep on the aluminum rail and, washing with DI water, then reinstalling and resealing.
If you are only doing a partial, then cutting back to good seal, mechanically cleaning everything off, lightly sanding first the fiberglass with 100-120 grit and using new sandpaper, sand the aluminum, clean with acetone and reseal.
My opinion, FWIW, is use 3M 4000UV or Nuflex 640, the first is a hybrid bonding sealant and the latter is a thermoplastic sealant. With the 3M I'd investigate the 3M metal primer.
If you use the same sealant that Winnie uses, in the same way they use it, you will have the same problems.

[jeep2001]

Some very interesting information on Winnebago. There seems to be so many different kinds of sealant that can be used on the roof. I would have been
lost out there if it wasn't for you guys and all this great information.

Thanks Mike

[emcee]

This is what the Winnebago service advisor wrote me in response to my email:

"The sealant along the seam of your roof radius and the sidewall trim should be a Urethane Sealant.* We use a product called Manus 75, it likely won’t require replacing the sealant but you should be sure to clean both surfaces."

[jerichorick]

Starsekr, some of what you say is good advise. Silicon is just not going to cut it. But, "maybe removing the aluminum rail" is not an option. That rail is a structural part of the coach and more damage will be done with removal than any caulk, good or bad, would ever fix.

I used a "L" shaped tool from a kit of scribes I got from Lowe's and dug all the old junk out of the channel that the roof slides into. I dug and cleaned this stuff out as best as I could and cleaned the channel with a rag and mineral spirits. Then I forced a good amount of the Henry 212 into the channel and wiped it with my finger. The Henry 212 can be cleaned with mineral spirits and caulked over when problem areas are found in the future.

Out of this we should be all coming to one conclusion: INSPECT, REPAIR, INSPECT, REPAIR, INSPECT, REPAIR and forget about manufactures schedules.

The longer the coach the more flex it will have as we travel and level. No caulk will sustain this torture forever along with the sun and weather effects that cause expansion and contraction of dissimilar materials.

Kicking Winnebago in the teeth each time we find a problem with the caulking does not seem right to me. Should we blame the builders of our stick homes when something fails because of age and usage?

One last thing, and partially unrelated. Please all, get your signature posted. This is a benefit to you and gives you bragging rights without reveling anything you consider private. A quick glance by the potential helper gives us the information we need to go right to the sources we wish to use for your problem fix. Thanks in advance.

Rick Y

[davismills]

I'm just too lazy to do this twice a year. I used a matching color (gray) Eternabond and did both sides and the caps. Putting caulk down is easy...getting the old stuff off prior is a PITA. Just my two cents.

[jeep2001]

If I just clean up the few bad spots can I just reseal them spots on the seam of the roof? The rest of the roof looks good or would I be better off doing the whole seam?
Thanks Mike

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by jeep2001

If I just clean up the few bad spots can I just reseal them spots on the seam of the roof? The rest of the roof looks good or would I be better off doing the whole seam?
Thanks Mike

All I ever did was do the bad spots. But I've only been RV'ing for 58 years now so I don't have all the answers YET!