Gap between roof and front cap
When I first bought my motorhome (12 years ago) I noticed a lot of caulking on the left side of the seal between the one piece fiberglass roof and the front cap. It was obviously that there was a gap...
Forum Discussion
Okay, here's what I've done so far. Got all the sealant out and cleaned up everything as best I could. I got the RV putty tape and put it as best I could in the joint between the roof and the front cap. I went down to the hardware store and bought a 96" long by 1" by 1/4" piece of aluminum. I'm going to use this instead of the original trim as this is pretty sturdy and will help to push the front cap down between screws. I got some white oak and mounted it up against the roof in the area I could get to behind the TV.
I used my drill press to drill screw holes into the aluminum trim at 6" centers and put them between the old existing screw holes. So I'll use all new holes. I put a dab of self leveling caulk as best I could in the old holes. I got a few sizes of stainless steel screws but I used 2 1/4" ones on the first three holes in the center of the aluminum trim piece. I then climbed off the roof to check on the inside and found that 2 1/4" was about 3/4" too long! But no big deal as they just come down through the white oak piece, but they are definitely holding strong.
So that's where I left off for the day. My old knees can only take so much in one day. My plan is to finish all the screws tomorrow. Then what I'm going to do is put a little self leveling caulk along the seam. I had bought two rolls of Eternabond Tape, one for the front seam and one for the back seam. But this front seam has some tricky areas in between the sat dish and on the sides. So I'm going to use some small pieces of the tape on the sides and behind the dish and make sure I get it all down and sealed. Then I'll put a full roll over the top of everything so it will be doubled up in some spots. I'll have to get a new roll of tape for the rear seam which is fine, because I'll use what's left of the first roll to put around the roof vents.
I'm taking some photos so I'll post them when I'm done.
I used my drill press to drill screw holes into the aluminum trim at 6" centers and put them between the old existing screw holes. So I'll use all new holes. I put a dab of self leveling caulk as best I could in the old holes. I got a few sizes of stainless steel screws but I used 2 1/4" ones on the first three holes in the center of the aluminum trim piece. I then climbed off the roof to check on the inside and found that 2 1/4" was about 3/4" too long! But no big deal as they just come down through the white oak piece, but they are definitely holding strong.
So that's where I left off for the day. My old knees can only take so much in one day. My plan is to finish all the screws tomorrow. Then what I'm going to do is put a little self leveling caulk along the seam. I had bought two rolls of Eternabond Tape, one for the front seam and one for the back seam. But this front seam has some tricky areas in between the sat dish and on the sides. So I'm going to use some small pieces of the tape on the sides and behind the dish and make sure I get it all down and sealed. Then I'll put a full roll over the top of everything so it will be doubled up in some spots. I'll have to get a new roll of tape for the rear seam which is fine, because I'll use what's left of the first roll to put around the roof vents.
I'm taking some photos so I'll post them when I'm done.
