Choosing the Right RV Sealants for Your Vehicle
Dave SolbergDescription
RV sealants are essential for keeping out moisture and maintaining a firm bond between the components of your RV. It’s very important for the lifespan of your RV that you complete regular inspections to ensure your RV sealants don’t have any cracks or gaps that might lead to leaks in your unit.
Depending on the type of roof material such as rubber membrane or fiberglass, and the component it is sealed to such as a roof cap or antenna base, it’s extremely important to select the right sealant for each part of your unit. Certain types of RV sealants are best suited for specific jobs, and you should take care to choose the right type. So in this lesson, we introduce a variety of RV sealants, and teach you what products are ideal for which jobs.
Picking the proper sealant for your RV
Some RV manuals come with a chart that lays out which RV sealants satisfy the needs of each part of your unit. However, if you’re still unsure which sealant you should use on a certain component, we recommend avoiding a generic silicone sealant that can cause cracking and leaks in your unit. Instead, Dave Solberg introduces a range of RV sealants that you can utilize on your vehicle to properly adhere to that material for a long time to best keep moisture away.
Dave walks you through each of the most common sealants that are readily available at hardware stores, and explains what they’re best used for. He talks about a handful of RV sealants, including butyl tape for windows and roof and side vents, and discusses the proper way to use this handy, pliable sealant.
Typically, RV owners opt for silicone RV sealants for their ease of application. There are several options from which you can choose, including self-leveling joint sealant for vents, exterior siding and trim sealant that expands and shrinks to accommodate temperature changes, as well as thermoplastic sealant. Remember, it’s important that you don’t just settle for any generic sealant, but rather find the right sealant for the job required. Do your homework and, as always, consult the manual if you get stuck!
Although I'm a big fan of Eternabond and silicone to seal a lot of things. There are specific sealants that are called out for areas on your RV. Now, most manufacturers will put a sealant chart together or have a call-out of recommended products that they use on their vehicles. Now, we obtained this chart from Winnebago Industries. It's one of their sealant charts. It's right online. You can get it on the website, go into your model year and find out the specific style. And you'll see here where we've got, first thing that's called out is what we call a butyl tape. Now, this is used around the windows, frames, also up in underneath the vents on the top. And it's just kind of a putty-type sticky on both sides. You can see here it's just kind of pulls off almost like a gum, basically. And that just is put between the frame and the wall. And once that's tightened down then that's going to squish and create a watertight seal. And we simply will go around it, trim off the excess piece. You really don't need anything else with that. Now, some manufacturers will do what we call a cap seal on some of the windows on the side. Really, all the cap seal is going to do is collect dust and it's going to get dirty and you're going to have to clean it. Few years of good butyl tape like this, you won't have to do any more to that. Next, we have this. This is a thermal plastic sealant and it's just designed to be able to take some heat ratings. Now, there are different colors available. You may need to get this in white or match a paint color in here and you see that they're called out on the Winnebago guide. The next one I have is a Manus plus and this is a high performance Elast American. And what that means is it's going to be able to expand and contract and move quite a bit. You'll see the call-out for this on that chart. Now this, even though it says a silicone this is a specific type of a silicone. It is a sealant silicone. What have we got it here? Self-leveling. And what that means is once you put it on a typical silicone is just going to go on and stay in a bead and you have to push it down and get it into the crevice with your fingers or some type of a tool. What this will do is as I put this down it will actually level out. So, I'm going to see this used a lot on the outside tops, specifically around vents, around any covers in the top. So, it'll just kind of lay itself flat and seal that whole area out. And again, I can get this in a variety of of different colors to match. If I've got a beige top, if I got a white top, so forth. And then the last one we have here, this silicone is an exterior siding and trim silicone. And it's also designed to expand and contract. When you get cold mornings and hot afternoons, now those materials have a tendency to move a little bit. So, you want something that isn't going to harden and crack. I can also, again, this one's clear and I can get it in a variety of different colors to match those trim pieces where I may have a painted basement or bottom quarter. I may have the floor level, it's got some type of a trim. If I put a white on there and I've got a dark brown or beige or whatever. So, each model year is going to have something specifically called out for those. So, instead of just using a generic silicone or Eternabond, which is a good product as well, but make sure you look at the sealant charts, get the right product for the right place on your RV, and you'll keep moisture penetration out.
iii have a 1968 Winnebago - I’ve been trying try I refurbish . My roof leaks so I used a silicone base roof paint ( don’t remember which manufacturer) but it still leaks . So I’ve decided to do a rubber roof this year. Do I have to strip all the silicone roof paint off so the rubber adhesive sticks , if so , what can I use to make this easier? And, what type of roof would u recommend?
Need to replace water damaged interior walls in 2001 Shasta Camper. What wood do I need?
How do you determine what products are required using the Winnebago call out sheet that only provides Winnebago part numbers, without going to a dealership?
Keeping the faith by sealing out water
Great vid.. thank U✌🏽🇺🇸.
suggesting silicone to be used on a rubber or TPO roof is just wrong . silicone is one of the worst things you could use , dicor or super flex . is what should be used along with eternabond tape
The screws have fallen out of the latch that holds the door open. There was no sealant installed with the screws from the previous owner. What can I use to ensure a tight fit for the screws to go back in? I am assuming some kind of a sealant. Right?
Hi I had a leak in my truck camper and I have staining on my carpet , and the wood has damage what can I use to clean the carpet and fix the wood ?
It would be nice to have footnotes listing the type of sealant. The tubes were facing the speaker and not the camera.An audio presentation would have been the same.
My unit leaks and I don't know where.