Question for any Host Camper owners

[1handyhubby]

Hey gang, Looking for advice from Host Camper owners. We just bought a 2013 Host Mammoth from a private party. It needs some maintenance work (mostly caulking) and I'm wanting to know what y'all use. I emailed Host and they said they use Flex- Seal. Seems odd to me. I asked if it was the same stuff from tv but they never responded back. The caulk on there now has a pale yellowish color that has a feel more like Great Stuff. It doesn't feel like silicone, it's hard. Also, do you guys lube your slides and treat your rubber seals? I purchased one of each while at Camping World but in talking with a friend we camped with this weekend he says he was told his slide did not need any maintenance. We want to take good care of this rig so any info y'all have for us would be greatly appeciated. Thanks.

[Grit_dog]

Lol, just a tip!
Still need to smooth areas a little but a thin bead and a quick wipe with a wet finger, spit works best haha makes it look much better than what looks like it was applied with the back of a spoon.
Have fun.
Haha literally just finished mine, thunderstorm starting. Glad it's not water soluble!

Told my wife yesterday, some people shouldn't be allowed to own a caulking gun!

[1handyhubby]

Thanks. I found the Sika 221. Pretty much every seam on this rig used the finger wipe and most were 1/2" wide. ?? I'll do my best to keep it finger free.

[Grit_dog]

No apologies needed. If your camper is white, I can all but guarantee the caulk was white when it was applied.
3 things that will make re sealing the camper, or anything you caulk, house trim, bathroom, etc.
Good prep. Like mentioned above.
Quality caulk.
Learn how to caulk without using your finger to "smooth it out" everywhere. Start w the smallest angled cut on the tube you can get away with and do all the smallest seams first. Then if you need a wider bead in areas, cut it wider and do those areas.

Maybe I'm sensitive since I just spent hours scraping off old beads of caulk today both factory and previous owners that should have been 1/8 to 1/4" but were smeared 1/2" on to the surface.
Hope this helps.
Oh and a cover will do wonders to keep the sun from prematurely crisping the sealant if you can't store it inside when you're not using it.

[jimh406]

I'm a Host owner, but I don't think the info changed since last week. It's not brand specific.

[1handyhubby]

Sorry, I know I asked once before, I was just hoping for a couple of Host owners to chime in. It's not dirty, every single caulk line is the yellowish color. There are some cracks and some seperations which need to be addressed. I was hoping to keep the look uniform. I'm headed back to Camping World tomorrow so I'll check and see what they have available.

[Grit_dog]

Same question as last week? Feels like deja vu.....
Caulking isn't camper specific, but for all bit the roof, it's highly reccomended to use a good urethane caulk. Sika 221 (only know the #cause I just re caulked the camper, lol), or dicor. Basically go to any camper shop and if it costs $12-15 a tune it's probably the good stuff.
Silicone caulks don't bond as well or last near as long.
If the caulk is just yellowing or dirty, doesn't mean it needs re done, but if it's shrunk/cracked/separated, then it needs done. Just make sure to prep it first and don't is it caulk over the old stuff everywhere. Straight edge razor and a utility knife are your best friends for cleaning up the old caulk before re doing it. Get what you can off before re sealing the seams. Note sometimes this is easy, sometimes you just need to go over the old stuff if you can't reasonably prep it.