Gjac wrote:
Cloud Dancer I was afraid to remove that strip also so I only peeled it back several feet. It was wet and moldy inside. I decided to seal the upper and lower portion of the vinyl trim rather than remove 30 ft of it and that worked. The 5200 should work a lot better than caulk because it is an adhesive. Before I found this leak 30 ft away I was convinced that my AC gasket was leaking water was running under the rubber roof to the rail, that was not the case but I tightened the AC gasket anyways. Just a few turns with a small torque wrench for an even torque down. Good Luck to you.
I don't have a problem removing the vinyl insert. I have to do that anyway in order to remove/replace all the screws.
The metal rail/extrusion is a different story. First of all, I have a long and heavy awning that is hung on it. Second of all I'm not convinced that there's anything that I can fix by removing it. I figure that since the metal itself is not cracked, once I seal all the screw holes, plus seal all the screws, the only way water can get behind it is from the top edge which rests against the fiberglass curved portion of the roof. But, I'm going to clean out the old caulk along that line(old caulk is all dry and full of holes), and after I prep it I'm going to lay a small bead of continous 3M-5200 sealant all along that point line. The bottom edge has a healthy looking bead of sealant that the factory/Newmar uses AFTER the rig has been painted. BTW they won't tell me exactly what they use, but it's clear, and it stays on "forever". I suspect that it's not "paintable"...probably silicon. They use it in other places/joints, but only on painted surfaces.
Anyway, what I'm saying is that my plan is to leave that gutter-awning rail strip completely sealed such that water can't get behind it. I'll replace the screws one by one(remove one and install a new one) so as to not disturb the bottom bead of sealant.
BTW I can buy the vinyl insert locally.
Right now the only hesitation is because of the forecast rain. I don't want to remove all my red tape and expose the whole thing to the rain.
It's the price of working outdoors. Thanks again.
