Busy day with the Axis

[Beacher]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

.... I sealed up the area with some "Flex Seal"!
...

Now you MUST place the motorhome underwater to test the seal, (and post the video on YouTube)!

[FW28z]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

I had purchased a can to use to cover the DIY black tank sensors. Before doing any of that I sprayed a few things to experiment with it and figure out its properties. Turns out Flex Seal is very similar to the underbody spray that auto manufacturers use to seal up cars (way back I used to work in robotics and had many plant visits supporting the underbody spraying robots).

One of the projects I have this season is to re-do the house battery compartment. I was going to use some Epoxy spray paint, but I now wonder if the Flex-Seal stuff might work better.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Beacher

Now you MUST place the motorhome underwater to test the seal, (and post the video on YouTube)!

But only if I also use it to seal up all of the window screens, and seal up any holes in the bottom of the unit that we create with a cannon.

[JamieGeek]

Got a chance to put some extra velcro on the side window screens:

Now they fit up nice & snug to the window.

[Nursx2]

Nice job Jamie! Looks real tight!

[blw2]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

But only if I also use it to seal up all of the window screens, and seal up any holes in the bottom of the unit that we create with a cannon.

yes, very interesting solution to the problem. Looks great!
Seeing your pics has my gears turning..... what are your thoughts on this....
what if you held the masking back a bit, so that the flexseal overlapped onto the wall surface, forming a gasket under the light fixture, to replace the foam gasket that is obviously no good.
Do you thank that flexseal would form a good permanent gasket?

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by blw2

Do you thank that flexseal would form a good permanent gasket?

I had thought about that: spraying out as far as the screw holes. You'd have to be very precise with the masking since you wouldn't want it to be too much oversized.

As far as a good seal: You could lay down a few coats, however removing the masking with a few coats on would be a bit of a pain (its easy to remove the masking when it's still "wet" but after it cures you'd have to cut through it with a utility knife). It does cure pretty solid, like a urethane not like a rubber so it may be difficult to get a good seal.

You could get a can and do some tests: spray a 2x4, let it cure and then try to screw some plastic over it to get a feel for the compressibility.

[blw2]

I did buy a can once, and used it to coat the steel and aluminum framework supporting the batteries in my golf cart. Bought it on a whim at my local Ace hardware, instead of automotive undercoating.
Mine was clear, so it wouldn't matter if it extended even 1/8in to 1/4 in beyond...

It's just the the surfaces I covered with it were small little angle irons so i didn't get a feel for how well it covers on a larger surface like you did.

I actually think that it's better if it doesn't have much compressibility, but with a high resiliency. The high compression and low resiliency of the foam gasket is what is causing the failures in the first place.....

I'm guessing that this stuff would give a fairly hard surface with resilience that we need if it cures to a flat smooth surface. Oh it needs to adhere very well so it doesn't leak from behind/under...

[JamieGeek]

Now that we are finally camping I can update with the results of some of these mods:

• Sound: the two pieces of fatmat covering the A pillar really made a difference. engine noise and wind noise are greatly reduced (sorry no dB readings, but since we can actually have a conversation without yelling at 70 MPH the difference is noticeable)
• The windshield covers: yes you can see into the RV at night when it's dark out and the inside lights are on--but then you just lower the shade

[JamieGeek]

Update #2 now that we're back:

• The windshield covers do a great job of reducing solar heat from the big glass window in front. Enough so that we didn't have to run the A/C. In addition, during the day, it was really nice to be able to see out knowing people couldn't see in (at night its a different story--but then you just lower the shade).
• The Axis certainly collects bugs on the front! (I'm sure this is true with all motorhomes) I'm sure they are just more noticeable given that I have to look through them--the top of the 5th wheel over the truck bed used to accumulate a ton as well.
• One of the mods someone mentioned on here was to velcro the shower curtain on the toilet side: That works really well (I just put a small strip in the middle to hold the curtain against the wall).
• We also installed a soapdish--one of those 3M stick on ones. Put it high in a corner so we wouldn't bump into it.

[rvfigs]

J,

Your rig looks good!

Definitely considering that FlexSeal.

Thanks for the pics.

[JamieGeek]

Going to repost my pictures here, at least of the Flex Seal since the hosting spot I was using for pics took them all offline

[mcr1010]

Looks like you nailed it water-tite. You should not have any problem even if moisture gets in there. How about the screw holes. Did you use any sealant in them?

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by mcr1010

Looks like you nailed it water-tite. You should not have any problem even if moisture gets in there. How about the screw holes. Did you use any sealant in them?

No I just put the rusty screws back in; haven't check back to see what it looks like 2 years later LOL.

[Bob Denman]

If nothing has gone wrong with them in two years: you're still good to go!

[mcr1010]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

No I just put the rusty screws back in; haven't check back to see what it looks like 2 years later LOL.

Same here, I used the old screws and shot a little silicone into the holes. Some of the holes were stripped, so I broke off some toothpicks in the holes to take up the slack.