B+ motorhomes
I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am...
Forum Discussion
Yesterday I sealed the service door openings with the Flex-Mend tape. It does seem to be good stuff. It definitely sticks well. I had enough left over to go ahead and tape over the seams at the inside bottom of the walls, below the frame. Last year I sealed gaps on those with caulk. But some of that job was iffy, so now it is sealed better.
My test piece of Gorilla Tape was stuck pretty well too. Not as well as the Flex-Mend tape though. But probably good enough.
I'm also sealing all the exposed screw heads. Along the back cap, the ladder mounts, and the various things on the street side: Range vent, water fittings, gas door, etc. What I've found is that the screws wick moisture in along their threads. Eventually there is a little rot in the luan at the hole, and the screw can't be tightened. So it's no longer doing its job. Also the screw head starts to rust. That's a sign right there. I always thought it meant the paint was just failing. But every one I've seen, it's the last part of the screw to rust. The rust is working its way from inside the body to out. On the range vent, more than half of the screws just turned in their holes. Fortunately it is very well sealed to the body. TL used the real good butyl tape on it, at least on mine.
I have a bag of new screws, so I'm replacing the rusted ones. My caulking method is to simply back the screw half way out, then apply a dab of ProFlex RV caulk the size of a pencil eraser, to the threads. When I turn the screw back down into place, the caulk swirls around the underside of the screw head and ends up squeezing out as a donut-looking thing surrounding the screw head. This should be done even on screws that are shielded by a door or cover, if it is not water tight. Example would be the water heater.
Unsealed exterior screws are used on most RVs, and you have to wonder why they don't have some sort of sealing washer under them. It's almost criminal. Every RV we've owned has had this issue. Next one, I'm sealing them from the git-go. I've caught this one in plenty of time, albeit with some screws that are no longer providing any holding power.
My test piece of Gorilla Tape was stuck pretty well too. Not as well as the Flex-Mend tape though. But probably good enough.
I'm also sealing all the exposed screw heads. Along the back cap, the ladder mounts, and the various things on the street side: Range vent, water fittings, gas door, etc. What I've found is that the screws wick moisture in along their threads. Eventually there is a little rot in the luan at the hole, and the screw can't be tightened. So it's no longer doing its job. Also the screw head starts to rust. That's a sign right there. I always thought it meant the paint was just failing. But every one I've seen, it's the last part of the screw to rust. The rust is working its way from inside the body to out. On the range vent, more than half of the screws just turned in their holes. Fortunately it is very well sealed to the body. TL used the real good butyl tape on it, at least on mine.
I have a bag of new screws, so I'm replacing the rusted ones. My caulking method is to simply back the screw half way out, then apply a dab of ProFlex RV caulk the size of a pencil eraser, to the threads. When I turn the screw back down into place, the caulk swirls around the underside of the screw head and ends up squeezing out as a donut-looking thing surrounding the screw head. This should be done even on screws that are shielded by a door or cover, if it is not water tight. Example would be the water heater.
Unsealed exterior screws are used on most RVs, and you have to wonder why they don't have some sort of sealing washer under them. It's almost criminal. Every RV we've owned has had this issue. Next one, I'm sealing them from the git-go. I've caught this one in plenty of time, albeit with some screws that are no longer providing any holding power.
