Confused over the use of silicone

I guess I'll chime in here as well. Several years ago I got an '87 model TT to use at a permanent hunting camp. I did a total interior upgrade and remodel and carefully resealed the windows with a high dollar silicone. It was great for about a year but then quickly degraded, and this was on a unit that was never towed. What I learned.... 'silicone is not my friend' - took a lot of effort to fix my terrible mistake.

plasticmaster wrote:
I have had 2 local RV dealers/repair shops recommend using silicone to seal the seams on my aluminum sided travel trailer such as around windows and vertical corner seams. About 8 months ago, I followed this advice and used silicone to reseal a window and it appears to be holding up just fine. Now I'm reading all over this forum about how you should never use silicone on a camper. I don't understand based on my personal experience and the advice given by my local RV dealers.

Silicone doesn't work well on certain surfaces. Experience will teach you what they are.
Or listen to those with experience on what works better.

Both of my rv servicing dealers have a sign hanging in their customer service waiting area giving do's and don'ts advise on sealants.
Both give the same please do not use pure silicone on your RV's exterior and give reasons why which have been stated here.

If you had good luck with the silicon, I wouldn't worry about it, since it is already there.
A few years ago, I decided to reseal the exterior vertical joints on the ends of my travel trailer. Everyone said to use Dicor. I tried it, and it was terrible. It was so sticky, it was impossible to work with.
I decided to try regular bath tub caulk, and it worked out perfect, was easy to work with, and it is still sealed today.

jack L

I am going through the whole silicone/ sealant thing for the last few months. I bought a truck camper that the last guy who owned it went crazy with the silicone. I found that mineral spirits, (california edition) will take the old silicone off fairly good (with lots of work) I have been removing the old silicone and replacing it with self leveling dicor or proflex (geocel). Most of the sealing for everything except for seams, I have been removing vent covers, water and electrical connection points etc. and using the grey sealingpuddy then going around with the proflex or self leveling dicor
BTW the RV dealer I go to also tells me to use silicone.

I removed a wheel opening trim in the course of some repairs. I replaced the trim piece and caulked it to the fiberglass sidewall with a the most perfessional bead of white silicone you've ever seen. About 5 days travel it was fluttering in the wind as it began to fall off... I checked with an "idiot" at a RV dealership who sold me some proper Sikaflex product designed for this purpose. 3 years on it looks like factory...

Silicone on an RV is the devil! It degrades relatively quickly when exposed to UV and weather. It's especially devilish characteristic is that it will loose the adhesive bond and still stay intact, looking like it is still sealing.
The good news is that it is easy to remove with modern caulk removers. I've had good luck with 3M Caulk Remover. Apply the caulk remover, cover with Saran wrap and come back 12 hrs later. You can then remove it with a rag. Wipe down the area with solvent, mineral spirits or acetone. Then, apply a polymer based sealant. Geocel 2300 is the type I now use. It is a sibling of Proflex RV.

You don't have to believe the silicone cautions. Prove it to yourself. Apply some beads to some metal and lay the metal out in your back yard. Watch it for deterioration.

This is simple issue, Silicone was used to replace the old fashioned putty like Sealants used prevoiusly. 40 years ago it was the best sealent ever invented. Its two main attributed it was hard to dislodge and nothing would stick to it.

Now science has developed better sealants and Silicone is no longer popular. Its two main benifits are now it main problems, it is hard to remove and nothing sticks well to it.

Though the word silicone is sometimes used to describe any type of sealant. I believe for RV work I would use one of the more modern sealants. That said the previous owner of my TT used silicone to seal everything and I have not any issues with it.

One thing you can be sure of, 15 years from now people will be telling you how bad todays sealants are. Hind sight is renmarkable.

The tube said 100 percent pure silicone and was clear.

I use Only Proflex.

I have noticed some folks use the word "silicone" when in reality this is not what they mean at all. To the original poster what exactly did you use?