New Owner/Old 16ft Aerolite - Repair Project

Okay, finished taping and started trimming the edges. 1/8" Plastex.
Plenty of room for solar panels later :) (all the red ink washes off, leaving the aluminum-butyl tape) Yes I put extra tape on the front leading edge, trading a tight seal for looks. (maybe cover or paint it later.)

This is one of those forums to follow! You are very talented and I appreciate the updates!

SplinterFl, That's sounds like some good ideas I'm going to keep them in mind in case I get another leak or should I say when.

Jayco254: The black water tank vent on mine was completely rotted, though didn't look it from the outside. (it was worse than the kitchen area where the roof membrane was cut back many months ago). My guess is that the vent has rotted for many years, nicely hidden by it's cover plates. You'll notice I didn't put mine back through the roof, I only have 4 roof penetrations, 2x 14" Vents, AC and fridge, all are large holes which are easy to gasket and then tape over.

For the grey and black tank vents I plan to drill through the outer wall near the roof, like a home dryer vent but put a flat vent plate on. Less chance of water to sit on it's seals. I hate that the black pipe is currently exposed in the shower going to the roof (tees off toilet?), not hidden in the wall like the grey pipe. (for now I just have it cut, still have to reroute after the roof is all done.)

I completely removed the TV antennea, it was broke anyways. I plan to put a telescopic pole antennea on the back wall later. No more roof holes!

I appreciate you posting this since my trailer has such a bad history with rot, I just got done repairing a couple of spots in the roof where the gray and black water tank vents leaked. ( the roof wasn't repaired by Jayco themselves they had a Jayco dealer do it, all other repairs were done at Jayco's factory and those people bent over backwards for me) Jayco just about totally rebuilt the trailer when it was new. for which I am very thankful for since a lot of it was off warranty at the time. Now all repairs are on me, so I'll be paying close attention to how you do yours, since both trailers are built similar. Just in case I have more trouble. Remember the magic word here is caulk.

westend: Yes it's caulk, no it's not on the OUTSIDE or exposed. used it to glue down the replacement plywood sheeting and plastex.

oughtsix: Yes I'm using Butyl tape, 4" by 25' rolls. After I had the entire roof resheeted, using the caulking to glue it down on a 12x12 grid to the aluminum rails and 1.5" sytrofoam insulation, I sheeted it with 3 plastex sheets, with 6" overlap, and two lines of caulk in that overlap. Next I cut out all vent and AC holes in the roof. Put 3/4" foam gasket under the MaxAir covers and AC gasket. And then put the Butyl tape around the air vents, started with the back, then side and then front, so I have overlaps from front to back, direction of travel. (for wind driven rain when moving.)

Plastex: I know some have tried it on tear-drops and had issues. One side is essentially non-stick. For me it's the most rugged material I could find that can take rocks, dings and other debris without being damaged. The Butyl tape actually sticks to it so using that for exterior seals, then the caulking as backup, if it were to wick in. (caulk had a week to harden before being sealed up). (it's an experiment, I know it has risks...worst case, have to redo covering later.)


Had an issue of the TV harness not providing enough power to light the DOZEN exterior marker lights. So plan to make this little mod, which protects all the outputs from the trailer harness using relays. (very small load on the light/signal switches in the TV).

SplinterFL wrote:
Q. Onboard Charger/Converter quality?
What is the quality of these units. I need to redo some of the electrical system and need to know if the existing charger is decent compared to a dedicated 3 stage. If the existing converter can overcook or undercharge the battery (i.e. it only puts out one voltage), then I'd prob set a relay so that when plugged in to shore, all the loads switch from the batt to the converter, and then shore power would run a dedicated charger for the battery (which is now isolated via the relay).

Post up make and model. Most times, what you have planned for a work-around is more work and about the same expense as replacing the old converter.

BTW, is that a tube of siliconized latex caulk I see in your gun? RV Commandment #3:Thou shalt use NO silicone on thy RV, lest ye be leaking throughout eternity.

Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your new (to you) TT. I look forward to watching your progress. Keep the updates coming!

Do you know about Butyl tape? It is a good sealer for many situations.

Unfortunately you'll probably have to get a make and model off the existing converter/charger before someone can answer how well it will perform.