Resealing skylight help needed

[camperforlife]

My 6 year old trailer has the putty like sealant around the skylight and plumbing vent stacks. It is all starting to crack and needs resealed.

My roof material is a vinyl like material (KZ Spree). I'm sure the best solution would be removing all putty and using Eternabond but work is extremely busy and I don't see having time to do that in the near future. Any quicker suggestions?

[Arn]

According to Dicors website, the quick fix is the right fix. Click on the "Applying Dicor Lap Sealants" video.

[campigloo]

The job may not take as much time as it looks. I just replaced mine. You could probably do it in less than 2 hours. Dry time is what takes a while.

[camperforlife]

SoundGuy wrote:

Anmacc2 wrote:
Okay, you asked for the quick fix not the right fix so I would say self leveling silicone for now. You can get it at any RV or really good supply store.

Absolutely DO NOT ever use silicone on any trailer ... no self respecting RV dealer that knows what they're doing would sell silicone for caulking the exterior of an RV. :E For horizontal surfaces such as a trailer roof one would normally want to use a self leveling lap sealant such as Dicor, HOWEVER ... the OP's KZ Spree has a TPO roof not an EPDM rubber roof so he needs to identify just what type of TPO his trailer has ... details can be found here. The OP mentioned "putty like sealant" which in fact is self leveling lap sealant, not putty which would in fact have been used under any flanges, his skylight flange being one, which in turn would then have been covered over with lap sealant. To the OP - if you're going to do this work, learn to do it properly the first time, with the right materials. If you feel you don't have the time to do it correctly then take the trailer to someone who does.

Thanks for the Dicor link. Looks like good info and will not be that time consuming. I would have taken it to the local dealer since I'm strapped for time but Camping World just bought them out and they seem very disorganized right now.

[SoundGuy]

Anmacc2 wrote:
Okay, you asked for the quick fix not the right fix so I would say self leveling silicone for now. You can get it at any RV or really good supply store.

Absolutely DO NOT ever use silicone on any trailer ... no self respecting RV dealer that knows what they're doing would sell silicone for caulking the exterior of an RV. :E For horizontal surfaces such as a trailer roof one would normally want to use a self leveling lap sealant such as Dicor, HOWEVER ... the OP's KZ Spree has a TPO roof not an EPDM rubber roof so he needs to identify just what type of TPO his trailer has ... details can be found here. The OP mentioned "putty like sealant" which in fact is self leveling lap sealant, not putty which would in fact have been used under any flanges, his skylight flange being one, which in turn would then have been covered over with lap sealant. To the OP - if you're going to do this work, learn to do it properly the first time, with the right materials. If you feel you don't have the time to do it correctly then take the trailer to someone who does.

[Anmacc2]

Okay, you asked for the quick fix not the right fix so I would say self leveling silicone for now. You can get it at any RV or really good supply store. It's much better than doing nothing for the immediate future. We've entered rainy season down here is South Florida so you learn the tricks for quick fixes to get you through.

[deltamaster]

Oh, and while you are at it... if your unit has fiberglass siding and is 6 years old you might consider doing ALL of the trim as well. Every place there is trim, there is a seam in the fiberglass panels.

I did mine last year and found that the sealant used (butyl tape) was either worn out or inadequate from the factory which allowed water in that damaged the wood laminate under the fiberglass. Mine was really bad in some spots and I had to repair with mesh and marine epoxy. If you do not have any delamination at this time it would be a good idea to pull all of the trim and replace all of the sealant before you do develop delamination from water seeping around the failing or inadequate sealant from the factory. I sure wish I had caught it sooner as the damage is permanent now and even though I repaired a lot of it and have made it water tight I still have some areas of delamination for which I was unable to repair without removing all of the fiberglass sheeting.

[deltamaster]

Quick work is generally not the best work. It is best to take your time and do the job right the first time by using the correct materials.

I just finished resealing my roof openings. I removed the front vent because it had a small leak develop. I removed the vent, applied new butyl tape and then Dicor. Of course I removed all the old material and replaced some of the rusty screws.

Same for the DWV pipes and other stuff. It took me a couple of days to do it all.

You could do one at a time if you do not have the time to do it all at once. Start at one end and do each opening, one at a time until you get to the other end of the rig.

Thing is that if you do not do it properly the first time you will regret it and end up doing the job all over again.