Northwood factory sealant/Sikaflex useable shelf life

[joeshmoe]

It looks like lap sealant, but scraps off like a butyl caulk. Haven't messed with this stuff enough times to know what it is.



This is that gap that allowed the sealant to break. There's a smaller one up near the top also.



Check out this super-straight, CNC-like precision cut. Northwood really knows how to do it, don't they?



Lastly, does anyone know how far past the "use by" date Sikaflex can be used?
I got a 6 pack of '1a' for free, but the date on all of them is 12-18-2016. I've been reading everything from 6-8 mos. past the date to throw it away. Surely it's good for some time after. Probably depends on how it's been stored and shipped, I guess

[joeshmoe]

Freep wrote:
Someone else mentioned MEK. I bought some and that stuff really cleans up an area nicely. You have to be careful where you use it though, it will melt plastic.

I think that will remove the paint from the moulding. I'm using WD40 and a lot of elbow grease. It's working pretty good on both the camper side and the moulding. It's still slow going but faster than using nothing. Thanks. I'll keep MEK in mind for other stuff.

[Freep]

Someone else mentioned MEK. I bought some and that stuff really cleans up an area nicely. You have to be careful where you use it though, it will melt plastic.

[GeoBoy]

Joe, clean it all off. Remember, Northwood did a half...ed and look at where you are now. Do it right!

[joeshmoe]

Does this surface need to be spic n span clean? Because it is a pain to completely get off. It just wants to stick. I tried warming it up, but it gets harder to work with. Comes off a little easier when it's cold. I've been using a plastic upholstery tool. What a monotonous job.

[SidecarFlip]

I 'fondly' (not) remember that. Cars rusted on the lot before they were sold.

I think (could be wrong, been wrong before) that a big issue is they builders are flush with new orders, in fact, some cannot keep up (Forest River comes to mind) and I believe the overall build quality suffers when things get rushed and builders look at the P&L statements more than the end user satisfaction.

If you remember back a few years ago when fuel prices skyrocketed, the RV industry was on it's butt. Lots of builders folded or were consumed by bigger companies (Forest River / Warren Buffett / Berkshire Hathaway) comes to mind again and according to RV Industry News, Forrest River Companies are the largest per unit builders in the entire industry.

....and their overall quality sucks.

Having said that, I'm pretty amazed that I have had no issues with my Palomino,m which is a wholly owned subsidiary if Forest River. I actually have a very nice (and tight because I tested it this spring) unit, with good fit and finish. problem is, I think I'm in the minority. Obviously, mine wasn't built on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon.

Got my fingers crossed.

[JimK-NY]

Now that we have all agreed that pressure testing an RV can be helpful and might prevent serious damage, I need to add some caution. I had one leak around a window that was very noticeable. It started suddenly while I was traveling so I doubt that a pressure test would have found anything before I started my trip. My second leak was way more serious. Water entered through a Happijak electrical connection. The entry point was literally a pin hole. Over the course of winter storage the entire bottom right side of the camper rotted. Again, I suspect the leak started suddenly sometime that winter. A pressure test would not have helped since the leak occurred in an exterior (generator storage) compartment.

A leak test might be valuable but can be far from sufficient. I think there is one thing we can do that might be even more valuable than a leak test. We need to give strong feedback to the manufacturers. We need to spread the word and provide that information to RV owners and to potential owners. To me this is just plain disgusting. This is as bad as the junk cars that we had to choose from back in the 50s and 60s. We should not accept poor design and poor construction as the norm or as acceptable!

[SidecarFlip]

joeshmoe wrote:
Nolan, I'm not holding my breath for Northwood to get back to me. I called, left message. Nothing. Don't really care at this point. I have the internet. This is likely my last and only NW product. The wife REALLY wants a Northern Lite. Yeah, I know. They're not perfect either. lol. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any info.

JimK-NY wrote:
I am having a hard time trying to understand how you have such a large gap. Do you have to cut material to fill that gap or can you just fill it with sealant? It looks like it needs more than sealant but I cannot tell how deep the gap is or what is behind it.

I suppose I could use some kind of filler/rod. It's just that section and further above that have a gap. The rest of the panel sits flush and is solid. I packed it with sealant and it's now firmed up nicely. Not gonna worry about it. I'll just keep an eye on that area.

Thanks for all the replies. I just wanna get this thing sealed and screwed back together and be done with it.

A big thanks to SidecarFlip for his pressure test suggestion. Although, it turned out not water damaged, who knows how bad it could have been years later. At least now it'll be sealed up good with a quality polyurethane. I'll work my way around the rest of the camper with another pressure test and add sealant as needed. That leaf blower is my new best friend.:)

Just passing on some knowledge, what a forum is all about. Leaf blowers... not just for blowing leaves....

Not bad for burning out stumps either. I've done a few of those on my property in the past. A 55 gallon metal drum with the ends cut out and a port for the blower in the bottom, a bag of cheap charcoal and some time gets rid of a stump like magic.

We make a big investment in a TC and then without any way to check the seal soundness, it slowly rots away on us.

You are good to go now...:D

[joeshmoe]

Nolan, I'm not holding my breath for Northwood to get back to me. I called, left message. Nothing. Don't really care at this point. I have the internet. This is likely my last and only NW product. The wife REALLY wants a Northern Lite. Yeah, I know. They're not perfect either. lol. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any info.

JimK-NY wrote:
I am having a hard time trying to understand how you have such a large gap. Do you have to cut material to fill that gap or can you just fill it with sealant? It looks like it needs more than sealant but I cannot tell how deep the gap is or what is behind it.

I suppose I could use some kind of filler/rod. It's just that section and further above that have a gap. The rest of the panel sits flush and is solid. I packed it with sealant and it's now firmed up nicely. Not gonna worry about it. I'll just keep an eye on that area.

Thanks for all the replies. I just wanna get this thing sealed and screwed back together and be done with it.

A big thanks to SidecarFlip for his pressure test suggestion. Although, it turned out not water damaged, who knows how bad it could have been years later. At least now it'll be sealed up good with a quality polyurethane. I'll work my way around the rest of the camper with another pressure test and add sealant as needed. That leaf blower is my new best friend.:)

[JimK-NY]

I am having a hard time trying to understand how you have such a large gap. Do you have to cut material to fill that gap or can you just fill it with sealant? It looks like it needs more than sealant but I cannot tell how deep the gap is or what is behind it.

Anyway it does seem that you came out lucky on this and only have some repair work without any major damage aside from the initial poor construction.

[SidecarFlip]

Looks like the side panel was cut by a drunk with a jig saw... Amazingly poor.

[SidecarFlip]

I keep all my sealants, Dicor, Eternabond and Butyl in the freezer until I need them, then I take a tube out and let it get to room temperature and use it. Never used Sikaflex. I imagine the same regimen would work however.

[noteven]

Sikaflex 521 UV was used by Snowbird / Snowriver at the factory. It is a UV resistant polyurethane sealant material.

[GeoBoy]

Joe, just remember once you Sikaflex that joint it will become permanent. I remember when Snowriver TC's used Sikaflex on everything and Bob, the owner of Snowriver, would demonstrate the strength of Sikaflex by removing the screws that held the camper jacks and the camper just stood there.

[anutami]

thanks so much for posting this, It looks like I will be doing the same thing as my seams are coming apart as well. please keep us updated on the fix and what northwood says. I am sure northwood is going to point the finger at you somehow and not take any blame for anything...they seem to be good at that.