Forum Discussion

bobbolotune's avatar
bobbolotune
Explorer
May 26, 2018

patching seals

I looked at the seals on my 2 year old RV. The seals look good except I noticed some separation maybe 1/2 inch long in a seal on the roof. It could be it has always been this way.

I know you are supposed to remove the old caulk, etc., but to my untrained eyes it look like "check it again in 6 months" rather than jump into a big job.

Google searches pop up how to do a full re-caulk. My question is if I can do some quick minor patching, just to fill in a few small blemishes. Since I am sure the alternative will be to do nothing right now. I really don't think a re-caulk is justified at this point (and it is probably more than I would want to do myself), but I wouldn't mind if I could do some touch up.

But I am unclear if touch up is completely useless, or if it might give some safety until a re-calk is justified.

Also what product to use. I have to get the camper into storage (I am risking a ticket every day it is parked in my driveway), so something I could buy at home depot would be good, or if not I might be able to get an amazon order before going into storage.
  • Sure you can touch it up, and I would definitely do so. Use Dicor self leveling lap sealant, available from Amazon or any RV dealer, remove any loose pieces of caulk, clean the area with a little mineral spirits, and patch away.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Get the right stuff, which is DICOR and yes you can get it on Amazon.

    NOT SILICONE! Doesn't hold all that well and leaves a residue that nothing else will stick to.

    If your coach is under warranty, it will NOT be honored for leak damage if "required maintenance" hasn't been performed. Hopefully somebody'll jump in and tweak that statement, but I suspect "required" won't be seen as "performed" without a receipt from dealer or RV service business.
  • drsteve wrote:
    Sure you can touch it up, and I would definitely do so. Use Dicor self leveling lap sealant, available from Amazon or any RV dealer


    Many thanks! I have a tube of the Dicor on order from Amazon, it will arrive Monday.