When to Inspect Roof Sealants 2007 Aspect 26A

[S.Rodimus]

Do you do your roof seam inspection and re-sealing in the Spring before camping season, or in the Autumn as part of winterizing? Is it better to do them at one time or another?

 

[Eagle5]

I inspect every time I get up there, or if I accidentally scrape a tree branch along the roof (which might gouge the self-leveling sealant.)
I believe twice a year (Spring & Fall) will be good curing temperatures for the sealant.
Eagle5

 

[Ted Fyden]

I am doing mine now while the weather is nice and before I am going to cover in a few months. I am in New England, so I never know. Most caulks have best use above a certain temp so while I can I better.

 

[Morich]

I am doing mine now while the weather is nice and before I am going to cover in a few months. I am in New England, so I never know. Most caulks have best use above a certain temp so while I can I better.

This is what I feel is good info!
We will never inspect too often and most of us will slip up and not inspect when it is needed! That often means we are a bit tired of doing what we know needs to be done and we think we can get by a few more months!
That can mean we wait too long and the next slap in the face is when we see the leaking inside and that makes it at least twice as hard to recover!

I like to avoid two things with RV repair. One is doing it too late that costs me far more time, effort and money.
The second thing I try to avoid is doing it when I absolutely HAVE to do it at that time.
Either I find water running down the wall or doing damage and I'm on a trip, or I've waited too long and the weather is driving me to do it now, even if the weather is not good because next week will be worse!

I miss doing it when I should! I think many will admit to that?
But if done the right way, it will be done often and done when you have a nice day and the time!

 

[cruizered]

2 times a year minumum.

I clean my roof 2 times a year and thoroughly inspect the sealants while cleaning and waxing the roof and sealants. I was just watch the roof today and I noted that the sealants held the wax better than the rest of the roof. Wax sealants look like they will last a long time.

 

[bigb56]

Hopefully you know all about the roof radius and how it is held into the channel with Proflex or Manus Bond, you can't inspect that too often. A failure there can be catastrophic, not as in a leak, but in the roof ripping off on the highway which is how some folks learn about it.

I didn't fully understand it at first, you need to examine it closely and push on it with your thumb to make sure it is adhered to both the filon and the aluminum channel.

It's not actually a water seal, it's a retaining seal that retains the edge of the Filon roof.

 

[Ted Fyden]

Am I looking for it to be solid?

 

[bigb56]

Am I looking for it to be solid?

Not sure if you're asking me. here is what mine looked like when I caught it in time, it was dried out and separated in one place for about 3 feet and another for a foot or so. I ended up removing all of it completely with thinner and 3M Roloc discs then I sanded and painted the entire radius and followed with a generous bead of Proflex clear.

Notice how pushing on the radius with your thumb will reveal if it has lost it's adhesion. The last pic shows how it is designed, the sealant is all that keeps the roof from detaching. If the sealant detaches a strong wind or gust from a passing semi can lift it out of the channel and tear sections of it completely off.

 

[bigb56]

AZ Expert is probably the leading expert on Winnebago Roofs. Here he shows the failure and how to fix it.

 

[RV_Lee]

Hopefully you know all about the roof radius and how it is held into the channel with Proflex or Manus Bond, you can't inspect that too often. A failure there can be catastrophic, not as in a leak, but in the roof ripping off on the highway which is how some folks learn about it.

I didn't fully understand it at first, you need to examine it closely and push on it with your thumb to make sure it is adhered to both the filon and the aluminum channel.

It's not actually a water seal, it's a retaining seal that retains the edge of the Filon roof.

I keep a close eye on mine and its solid but no idea why they used pro flex as it breaks down after 5-6 years. There are far better sealant/adhesives to be used along that very important area. If it ever needs replaced under my ownership, proflex wont be going back on.


(I spent hours this summer replacing all the dried out proflex along the body seams)


a before area

After

 

[bigb56]

They used clear Proflex on motorhomes with full body paint so it wouldn't show. On others I believe they used Manus Bond. My clear actually lasted 10 years and that was all outdoors, since I've owned it it now sits indoors when not in use so I have high hopes of never having to do the job again. I did use Proflex as that's what James recommended in his video. I know others have experimented with different ones but not sure if there has been any conclusive test results posted.

I did a total strip of the radius' and sanded off all the paint then re-painted with base coat/clear coat, then re applied the sealant and let it dry for a month before driving the MH.

 

[Ted Fyden]

I tried. Top left is sealant I used, top right was my first try and bottom photo left side is new stuff (second try), and right side of pic is old stuff. The call out sheet calls for solvent based caulk on my rig. I am pretty sure it's the same as proflex. as long as it's not silicone based.

 

[RV_Lee]

After applying run your finger along it to smooth it out. You're also supposed to remove the old stuff first. Rub down with mineral spirits then use a plastic caulking remover to scrape it away, its easy.

 

[creativepart]

The call out sheet calls for solvent based caulk on my rig. I am pretty sure it's the same as proflex. as long as it's not silicone based.

Ted... I'm not sure where you got your info. But it should be "as long as it IS silicone based" There must be 3-dozen posts to NOT use Dicor and to ONLY use Silicone based sealant.

 

[creativepart]

Ted here is the Sealent Call Out for your 2017 Vista LX:

As you can see, the sealant for the gutter is part number: 094401-04-000

Which is a discontinued Stone Mason Gutter sealant available in Canada. Currently, Winnebago recommends either ProFlex, Manus Bond 75AM or Nuflex 311. I think NuFlex is the most commonly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Hengs-95502-White-NuFlex-Sealant/dp/B003YJNO98

 

[Ted Fyden]

Ted... I'm not sure where you got your info. But it should be "as long as it IS silicone based" There must be 3-dozen posts to NOT use Dicor and to ONLY use Silicone based sealant.

I got info from a page that was with call out sheet in owners bag. I could be reading it wrong but it says sealant is is a seam sealer and is solvent based. I didn’t think you could have a silicone based caulk that was a solvent based caulk at same time. It also says seam sealer for E.

 

[creativepart]

When I read the E sealant it says it's a milkly silicone urethane sealant. Is that not what you see?

 

[Ted Fyden]

When I read the E sealant it says it's a milkly silicone urethane sealant. Is that not what you see?

We will agree to disagree. I don’t read the same way as you. I don’t know where the (b) is in the paragraph. I know I don’t know it all but I will not use silicone. Thank you for your help