RV Service Centers... and Caulking

[Jcs1382]

I'm fairly new to RVing and had thought I'd found a good local (San Antonio, TX) service center to help me keep my fifth wheel in good repair. I just had it in for repairs. They were supposed to check all seals and clean out old caulk and re-seal everywhere necessary. I was in a rush on pick-up, only checked the areas I knew were problems. Those were dealt with, though their invoice indicated they addressed far more areas than I found had fresh caulk. Later, I pulled out my ladder and really went over all the seams (I was doing slide seal maintenance). On my detail check... I found multiple areas where the old caulk was cracked & they did nothing.

I took photos and challenged them on the issue since I'd specifically told them I wanted to be proactive and I thought much of the 5-yr old caulk was going bad. Their response:
1) since I'd driven the RV (10 miles), new cracks had appeared due to road stress & flex
2) there is no reason to replace aged caulk, just wait for the cracks to appear and only fix the part with cracks

I say BS to both. But... I am new and may have an unrealistic expectation. I'm currently planning on dealing with the caulking myself. It can't be all that different from caulking traditional kitchen & bathroom borders and I have done that.

Advice / Recommendations welcome!

[mr__ed]

I've never removed old caulk, either. I found Eternabond tape to be an excellent alternative. Just apply over the old caulk, making sure to use the proper tape width so that there is enough area for it to seal to next to the caulk( if I recall, I used 4" width tape). It's usually a permanent fix when done correctly.

[afidel]

Hondavalk wrote:
Agree with DutchmenSport on not removing the old caulk. Have always just cleaned and touched up. Also to afidel it is fairly common to just replace a single bad coil pack although I don't understand why the engines head was pulled for replacing the pack???

Transverse mounted V6, can't get to the rear bank without pulling the intake manifold (sorry, disremembered what had to be pulled, just remembered it was freaking expensive on the labor side)

[D_E_Bishop]

I am going along with the DIY crowd. I was not aware of the Winnebago caulking requirements for the roof to body seams and evidently neither were the previous two owners. Last raining season 2016/17, the roof leaked and I didn't see it until we pulled it out of storage and opened the slide. The white ceiling material was badly stained and the caulking an absolute bugger to replace. Plastic scrappers were useless and I used a utility knife, window paint scraper and hooked tool I made myself to remove the caulking from the fiberglass roof and aluminum body trim.

Heat was of no use at all due to the location and after the caulk was removed the cleaning and drying and scrubbing and all those other adjectives were a pain. I'm not too spry, my 78th birthday will be Father's Day next week and I developed tendinitis due to the shape of the rungs of the ladder.

Had I taken it to the local dealer or had the guys at the storage yard do it it would have been 8 tubes of caulk($12 to $15 a tube and all would have been self leveling and that is not what is called out in the Winnie manual. I know this because they caulked our last rig and didn't remove any old or damaged caulk.

I can live with the pain in the heel but not with more leaks, it's done and it was done correctly. And it only took three and a quarter tubes of caulk.

[Hondavalk]

Agree with DutchmenSport on not removing the old caulk. Have always just cleaned and touched up. Also to afidel it is fairly common to just replace a single bad coil pack although I don't understand why the engines head was pulled for replacing the pack???

[Chris_Bryant]

Keep in. Ind on the body 99% of the caulk you see is secondary and somewhat cosmetic. The real seal is butyl tape at the seam.
Fwiw.

[afidel]

Jcs1382 wrote:
Yes, the cracks went all the way through the old caulk. In some places, the caulk was completely broken away and gone. BTW - the worst example of what they missed is the vertical seam on the side at the very back of the trailer. It is all cracked and at least 25% is completely gone.

I didn't tell them to replace all of the caulk, but I did tell them that wherever it was cracked, they should clean and reseal the entire seam. I'd expected it to be pricy and had been surprised when the cost was so low. The price was fair for the limited areas they actually took care of.

It definitely a disconnect between my expectations and their 'professional judgement'.

I have a mechanic like that, he's honest to a fault and would never overcharge me. Unfortunately he's either a bit too much of a tightwad or his typical client is a bit penny wise. As an example he pulled the head on one engine and replaced a failed coil pack. I asked him to replace all 3 on that side, he said that only the one was bad. I thought they're only $60 each, I'm over $400 in labor into this, spending $120 to avoid $800 in future expenses is cheap insurance. Same deal when the rear differential on another car went, I asked him to search nationally for the lowest mileage wreck to have one pulled from, spending an extra $2-300 to not have to re-do a $1,200 repair was common sense to me instead of taking one off a vehicle with nearly as many miles as mine that might go at any time.

I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes you have to be very upfront with good maintenance people that you're willing to spend more than their typical customer to have the job fully done to avoid future problems/expenses. Once they learn you're serious and that you honestly do want to spend the extra money they're generally happy to do the job right and charge you a fair labor rate for honest hours worked.

[Ron3rd]

If you paid by credit card, do a charge back. You were ripped off.

[GeorgiaJim]

Has anyone tried polyurethane caulk? seems tough as nails and sticks well.
Just wonder why it not being used, only down side I see is it cost a little more and almost impossible to remove. The few places I have used around the house it is still flexible and intact even using it to fill large gaps.

[DutchmenSport]

Removing old caulk is not always necessary, and sometime can actually be a damaging endeavor. I have never removed old caulk. But I have cleaned up the old and put new on top of the old a few times now.

[JimK-NY]

Think twice before you pay for someone to do the recaulking. It is slow work to remove the old caulk and recaulk. You are going to pay a lot of money for a simple task you could do yourself. As long as you are agile enough to get on the roof, it just takes some time. It is also best to do it yourself because any mistake can lead to a leak and serious damage.

[bob213]

I would think that if the price was less than you expected you got less than you expected. Take it somewhere else or call a mobile tech and explain EXACTLY what you expect. Good luck.

[Jcs1382]

Yes, the cracks went all the way through the old caulk. In some places, the caulk was completely broken away and gone. BTW - the worst example of what they missed is the vertical seam on the side at the very back of the trailer. It is all cracked and at least 25% is completely gone.

I didn't tell them to replace all of the caulk, but I did tell them that wherever it was cracked, they should clean and reseal the entire seam. I'd expected it to be pricy and had been surprised when the cost was so low. The price was fair for the limited areas they actually took care of.

It definitely a disconnect between my expectations and their 'professional judgement'.

[fpresto]

It sounds like they didn't do what you wanted however, a lot depends on what you specially asked them to do. Did you ask them to remove and replace all of the caulk? It sounds like you didn't. In that case you left it to their judgement as to what needed replaced. While replacing all of the caulk is probably good it is also very expensive in manhours as all of the old caulk has to be scraped out, the area cleaned and then new caulk added. Due to the high cost most owners only replace the areas that are cracked. Doing it yourself is not difficult just time consuming to do it right. In regard to cracks that you see are they surface cracks or do they go all the way through the old caulk?

[gbopp]

You are correct, doing it yourself is a very good option. However, just because the caulk is cracked does not mean it's leaking.

When removing old caulk, use a hair dryer or a heat gun on low and a plastic scraper. Just take your time.
There are chemical caulk removers available.
If the old caulk is solid, I leave it in place and apply new over top the old. Clean well before applying the caulk.

Use Dicor Self Leveling caulk on horizontal surfaces
Consider using Eternabond tape on the seams and wherever practical.

If you chose to not to DIY, call a Mobile RV Tech.