Sealing the RV?

[Morich]

It's an old subject but never one to ignore for too long. One of the easy ways to totally ruin an RV is to let a leak go on for too long and keeping them from over starting is even better, so I'm always looking for faults in the sealing on my unit. At the same time that I'm looking at my "new-to-me" 2015 and finding lots of places that needed attention, I saw this pop-up at the corner of my screen and felt it worth mention.
How To Prevent Leaks In RVs, Travel Trailers, And Campers
The ad really had some good info and needs to be reviewed now and then, just to keep us on our toes?
What got me started on the hunt was a couple burned out tail/backup bulbs. When I took the light apart, I found the bulbs did not simply "burn out" but were victims of water leaking in around a faulty seal and running down to the light connection. Let's just say it would have been much easier to seal the light BEFORE the pins on the bulb holders rusted?
So I do recommend we all take a minute to do a walk around and check any of those things we don't want leaking. If you find an item that screws directly onto the fiberglass, do some real looking at how well it is attached and if it is like mine, you may find the screws have gradually loosened and you are getting damage, even if it is not showing yet.
Point being? Which is harder, sealing a leak now or sealing it after the structure of wood or metal has degraded too far to hold a fastener?

[Wetstuff]

Morch, Good call. With a 2002 the subject is foremost, given the PO never seemed to have given it a thought.

"..If you find an item that screws directly onto the fiberglass, do some real looking at how well it is attached"

...came up last week. The furnace inlet/exhaust cover looks weird all bleached out with some rusty screws, etc. I thought I would 'take a look' behind it - to discover the screws holding it in place were entangled in a splodge of 3M caulk, or similar. My assumption: there's no longer material for the screws to take a bite. (I did not remove the cover - 'a job for another day' ..where I might epoxy some inserts to take a SS machine screw.)

Jim

[BobC]

Good suggestion on SS screws. I do this every time I need to work on something.

It's also a good idea to remove the inner part of the skylight to check for any signs of leakage around the inside edges of the outer part and, while you're at it, replace all the screws with SS ones (use a size or so larger in diameter). The old screw covers probably won't fit but nice SS screw heads will look fine.