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Old 12-04-2018, 08:04 PM   #1
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Brand: DRV
State: Saskatchewan
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THOR #13911
Caulking

Just wondering if anyone else has had any issue with the caulking on all the seams, I have a 2014 38RSSB3 full body paint, I have it in getting some work done and they have informed me all the cocking has dried up and cracked and allowing moisture to get in. I new it was bad. The cost is 1400.00 for labor. Not very impressed with this happening to a newer unit, but needs to be done I have owned several units and never had this problem.

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Old 12-04-2018, 09:43 PM   #2
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Model: 38 RSB3
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THOR #1658
Quote:
Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
Just wondering if anyone else has had any issue with the cocking on all the seams, I have a 2014 38RSSB3 full body paint, I have it in getting some work done and they have informed me all the cocking has dried up and cracked and allowing moisture to get in. I new it was bad. The cost is 1400.00 for labor. Not very impressed with this happening to a newer unit, but needs to be done I have owned several units and never had this problem.
WOW, but the job is labor intensive if done right. It is a known problem as the Geocell caulk that they use does not hold up. Since you are just aware of this you might want to check the floors of your slides. As it is also a common problem that the floors in the slides rot out because of the caulk cracking. The bed and vanity slide are the common ones. We are slowly resealing our rig with Lexel. It is super clear and seems to holding up. But it is hard to work with.
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Old 12-04-2018, 10:46 PM   #3
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Welcome to the Forum!
The sad truth, is that the caulking does try out and deteriorate.
But the price you were quoted does seem rather high...
Good luck; please let us know how this works out.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:38 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by rynosback View Post
WOW, but the job is labor intensive if done right. It is a known problem as the Geocell caulk that they use does not hold up. Since you are just aware of this you might want to check the floors of your slides. As it is also a common problem that the floors in the slides rot out because of the caulk cracking. The bed and vanity slide are the common ones. We are slowly resealing our rig with Lexel. It is super clear and seems to holding up. But it is hard to work with.
Safer to recaulk ALL the seams. All the slides have a lack of seleant under the trim and T-moldings. All the beltline molding is covering a seam that wasn't caulked or sealed before the molding was put on.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:41 AM   #5
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To clean all the existing caulking off correctly on these rigs is labor intensive. At $110 an hour labor rate, 10 hours isn't bad to do the rig. Guessing on the labor rate, but most shops are at $100 or better an hour these days. Just be glad the rigs don't have a computer they have to diagnose first....
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Old 12-05-2018, 02:32 PM   #6
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We had to have our 2016 done this year. Our caulking was very thin from the factory. It was $1100 to have the entire coach done top to bottom. And, as stated above, make sure all moldings on slide are done.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:00 PM   #7
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Seems that $1400.00 is a bit high, but I guess by the time you figure in the labor to remove all the old caulking, do the prep and re-caulk, it adds up.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:44 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by rynosback View Post
WOW, but the job is labor intensive if done right. It is a known problem as the Geocell caulk that they use does not hold up. Since you are just aware of this you might want to check the floors of your slides. As it is also a common problem that the floors in the slides rot out because of the caulk cracking. The bed and vanity slide are the common ones. We are slowly resealing our rig with Lexel. It is super clear and seems to holding up. But it is hard to work with.
How is Lexel so hard to work with?
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:42 PM   #9
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Caulking

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Originally Posted by Laco View Post
Seems that $1400.00 is a bit high, but I guess by the time you figure in the labor to remove all the old caulking, do the prep and re-caulk, it adds up.
I think DVR should help out some on this issue sounds like they were the ones that used the wrong caulking material. Sounds like there is lot of people having this issue.
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Old 12-05-2018, 06:35 PM   #10
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I think for that price I would just tackle the job myself. I know you guys have a much larger RV than I do but still thats a lot of pizza money.
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Old 12-05-2018, 07:02 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Fulltimer50 View Post
How is Lexel so hard to work with?
It is SUPER sticky. I cleaned out about 1/4 of my joints. Placed blue tape to make sure that I had good clean lines. When pulling the tape, some of the Lexel would try to come off and stay with the tape. This was after fingering the bead to smoothen it out. The key in my opinion is to apply a very small amount with no tape. As Lexel states that you can reapply to existing if needed. But the areas I have done have held up for 6 months with no cracking. And it is a TON thinner then the Geocell that was there. There is another product that has just started to be used by Rolling Retreats. To early to know the results, but I hear that it is easier to work with. But I believe it is a polymer silicone. Which I would not like to use.
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Old 12-05-2018, 07:04 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
I think DVR should help out some on this issue sounds like they were the ones that used the wrong caulking material. Sounds like there is lot of people having this issue.
Not going to happen. As people have spent thousands to have slide floors replaced and they denied claims as the cause was that the caulk broke down. And that they consider it a maintenance item. Even though it will start cracking in months.
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Old 12-05-2018, 07:27 PM   #13
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Not going to happen. As people have spent thousands to have slide floors replaced and they denied claims as the cause was that the caulk broke down. And that they consider it a maintenance item. Even though it will start cracking in months.
I talked to Greg at factory he as well said it was a maintenance problem and caulking is only warrant for 90 days and the problem is not there fault.
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Old 12-05-2018, 07:31 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
I talked to Greg at factory he as well said it was a maintenance problem and caulking is only warrant for 90 days and the problem is not there fault.
Yup, Greg informed us the same thing also.
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Old 12-06-2018, 02:29 AM   #15
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I talked to Greg at factory he as well said it was a maintenance problem and caulking is only warrant for 90 days and the problem is not there fault.
Yup....
$100k + unit... 90 day caulk....
Buyer beware.
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Old 12-06-2018, 02:39 AM   #16
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Lexel works well. But you have to learn how to use it as mentioned above. Before the DRV we had a 2009 Carrilite 36MAX1 full wall slide. Just as heavy and well built as DRV. In 2012 was the first time I had to recaulk the unit. There were several places the factory caulk was lifting. The downside to this was the caulk was painted over. I have no idea what brand or type it was, but there was paint on top of all of it. We had full body paint. So I very carefully cut the caulk lines, scrapped and cleaned, taped areas off and applied the Lexel. As of June 2017, I had to do touch-ups but hadn't had to redo an entire section.
So, now that we are in warmer climates.... Made it to Texas today, Conroe tomorrow, I'll start re-caulking the entire unit.... Or should I replace the rotten slide roof... Oh wait I need to pull all the T-Molding off and caulk and use Eternabond on all the exterior joints....
Hope I can get the RV all fixed before it falls apart on me.
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Old 12-08-2018, 03:27 PM   #17
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THOR #13911
Caulking

Quote:
Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
Just wondering if anyone else has had any issue with the caulking on all the seams, I have a 2014 38RSSB3 full body paint, I have it in getting some work done and they have informed me all the cocking has dried up and cracked and allowing moisture to get in. I new it was bad. The cost is 1400.00 for labor. Not very impressed with this happening to a newer unit, but needs to be done I have owned several units and never had this problem.
Just talked to my RV dealerships and they tried to remove old caulking and so hard they that they will damage the paint on the unit so they only can remove small amount and caulk it with new stuff.
Sure not happy with Mobile suites they said there nothing they will do and it a maintenance problem. They know people are having issues but they won’t Amit they maybe been using the wrong caulking. Not sure what they mean by that. My unit is waxed spring and fall never been in freezing weather.
What they want for there units should be better support from the factory.
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Old 12-08-2018, 03:39 PM   #18
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Trick to nice caulking. Forget the taping of the edges to leave a even line of caulking!

Have a bottle of windex ready, place a nice even bead then spray liberally with windex then finger off the excess caulk.

Your welcome!
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Old 12-08-2018, 04:52 PM   #19
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THOR #1658
Quote:
Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
Just talked to my RV dealerships and they tried to remove old caulking and so hard they that they will damage the paint on the unit so they only can remove small amount and caulk it with new stuff.
Sure not happy with Mobile suites they said there nothing they will do and it a maintenance problem. They know people are having issues but they won’t Amit they maybe been using the wrong caulking. Not sure what they mean by that. My unit is waxed spring and fall never been in freezing weather.
What they want for there units should be better support from the factory.
Then they are not taking there time and doing it right. Plastic razor blades, goof off and denatured alcohol is the trick.
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Old 12-08-2018, 05:41 PM   #20
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Model: Memphis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brad014 View Post
Just talked to my RV dealerships and they tried to remove old caulking and so hard they that they will damage the paint on the unit so they only can remove small amount and caulk it with new stuff.
Sure not happy with Mobile suites they said there nothing they will do and it a maintenance problem. They know people are having issues but they won’t Amit they maybe been using the wrong caulking. Not sure what they mean by that. My unit is waxed spring and fall never been in freezing weather.
What they want for there units should be better support from the factory.
Welcome to my world. We just replaced a kitchen slide floor. We've owned the unit for 17 months and a floor was rotten....
I cannot in good conscience recommend DRV to any potential owners.. They do NOT stand behind their product.
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