The EternaBond Challenge: EternaBond Tape vs Dicor

[Judge]

So I will challenge you newbies..... and old timers..... when it comes to roof maintenance and preventing water intrusion.... that EternaBond Tape beats Dicor all day... and all year long.

I became an EternaBond Tape proponent about 5 or 6 years ago and whenever I bought a new coach, the first thing I did was wash the roof, clean the Dicor and then apply EternaBond over top of all Dicor overlapping the roof surface.

I've never had a roof leak and other than an annual cleaning I've never had to do any roof maintenance / adding Dicor or replacing Dicor.

Over the winter I did a major repair / upgrade to the front cap on my /20 Magnitude SV34. There are many posts about Thor's horrible job securing the front cap on the coach and the screws beaking and / or backing out. I removed most of the screws and drilled holes through the walls and and roof to install bolts, washers and nylok nuts through the aluminum structure of the coach to fix the front cap issue once and for all.

On the roof I had already applied a strip of EternaBond Tape over the Dicor when the coach was new so I drilled through the EternaBond and Dicor to install the new bolts. When I was done installing the bolts I put Dicor down over the new bolts across the front cap seam when I got a warm day and it has cured for a couple months now.

Now that the temps are high enough, I am running a strip of 6" wide EternaBond Tape over the new bolts... the old Eternabond and the original Dicor. I thought I would post some pics for those of you who have never seen EternaBond Tape before.

I first cleaned the roof and old Eternabond by wiping down with Brake Cleaner. Then it helps to have a steel roller to roll the EternaBond in down after applying to activate it so it sticks well. You can also use your thumb to work into the surface but the roller helps.

The first roof picture is the old EternaBond Tape with the new bolts and Dicor over the bolts. The next two pictures are applying the new EternaBond Tape and then the last picture is the completed job.

EternaBond is great and comes in a wide variety of widths and lengths. This 6" length was the widest I've ever used. It is a tad expensive but came in a 10' roll so it was perfect to do the width of the roof.

They also make a two-side EternaBond Tape and Putty than can be very useful for sealing potential leaks. I highly recommend keeping a roll of EternaBond in the coach / camper in case you ever have an issue on the road with a branch tearing your roof or a hail storm cracking a skylight. You can do very quick and lasting repairs with the stuff.

I know there are guys who love Dicor and swear by it..... but I will always use EternaBond from day one and never have to worry about Dicor, leaks or roof maintenance again.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Judge

So I will challenge you newbies..... and old timers..... when it comes to roof maintenance and preventing water intrusion.... that EternaBond Tape beats Dicor all day... and all year long.

I agree - my experience as well (and other family members with campers).

[ducksface]

I even bought the eternabond pre-cleaner because i trust the brand.
6 inch roll always with me, never needed.

[bry899]

Whenever I use Eternabond tape a use a bead of Dicor along the Edges.
I have owned a few used Motorhomes and travel trailers, and most had roof issues as the prior owner never did roof maintenance.
Even when I replaced the vents, Eternabond tape and Dicor all edges.
Maybe its overkill but Double protection and Never had any issues after.

Originally Posted by Judge

So I will challenge you newbies..... and old timers..... when it comes to roof maintenance and preventing water intrusion.... that EternaBond Tape beats Dicor all day... and all year long.

I became an EternaBond Tape proponent about 5 or 6 years ago and whenever I bought a new coach, the first thing I did was wash the roof, clean the Dicor and then apply EternaBond over top of all Dicor overlapping the roof surface.

I've never had a roof leak and other than an annual cleaning I've never had to do any roof maintenance / adding Dicor or replacing Dicor.

Over the winter I did a major repair / upgrade to the front cap on my /20 Magnitude SV34. There are many posts about Thor's horrible job securing the front cap on the coach and the screws beaking and / or backing out. I removed most of the screws and drilled holes through the walls and and roof to install bolts, washers and nylok nuts through the aluminum structure of the coach to fix the front cap issue once and for all.

On the roof I had already applied a strip of EternaBond Tape over the Dicor when the coach was new so I drilled through the EternaBond and Dicor to install the new bolts. When I was done installing the bolts I put Dicor down over the new bolts across the front cap seam when I got a warm day and it has cured for a couple months now.

Now that the temps are high enough, I am running a strip of 6" wide EternaBond Tape over the new bolts... the old Eternabond and the original Dicor. I thought I would post some pics for those of you who have never seen EternaBond Tape before.

I first cleaned the roof and old Eternabond by wiping down with Brake Cleaner. Then it helps to have a steel roller to roll the EternaBond in down after applying to activate it so it sticks well. You can also use your thumb to work into the surface but the roller helps.

The first roof picture is the old EternaBond Tape with the new bolts and Dicor over the bolts. The next two pictures are applying the new EternaBond Tape and then the last picture is the completed job.

EternaBond is great and comes in a wide variety of widths and lengths. This 6" length was the widest I've ever used. It is a tad expensive but came in a 10' roll so it was perfect to do the width of the roof.

They also make a two-side EternaBond Tape and Putty than can be very useful for sealing potential leaks. I highly recommend keeping a roll of EternaBond in the coach / camper in case you ever have an issue on the road with a branch tearing your roof or a hail storm cracking a skylight. You can do very quick and lasting repairs with the stuff.

I know there are guys who love Dicor and swear by it..... but I will always use EternaBond from day one and never have to worry about Dicor, leaks or roof maintenance again.

[ador]

The first thing I did when we got our 2021 ACE 33.1 was to seal all roof joints with a 6" Eternabond tape. I even used it to seal the roof vents. I did the same with our previous Class C. Very good way to prevent water from getting into any openings.

[paulwadley]

I too recently applied EternaBond tape to the seams on my 2022 Miramar. On my other coach I used Dicor on all of the seams and never had a leak, but on this coach I decided to use EternaBond tape on the front and rear seams. I plan on sealing the rest of the roof(vents) with EternaBond also after this trip. I keep a small roll of it inside the coach for emergencies.

Paul

[Chateau_Nomad]

No convincing needed!!

Just wrapping up the inverter/battery install. Next project is do pretty much exactly what you did on your roof. Clean entire roof... remove existing 100 watt solar panels... seal every seam/joint/hole with Eternabond... install three new 200 watt solar panels.

[GI_Tom]

Ok, so by default I'm a Dicor guy. But I'm certainly not here to try and steer folks toward Dicor. Story: My wife works for a major auto insurance company as an adjuster, and Dicor is a big thing in that industry. Hence, my wife recommended for my semi-annual RV seal party (her and I are the only party goers) to use Dicor as SHE swears by it. I recently had a small leak in my 2022 Thor Chateau 31W around the overhead bunk window. I tried everything around the window, replacing the crappy foamy window sealer with butyl tape (twice), dicor sealing around all window edges, and the cap side seams themselves on that side of RV. The two trips after these efforts still had water intrusion. Finally when I got on the roof and started really examining all across the cap, I observed and saw some of the screws backing out just slightly. I liberally applied Dicor and it worked well and stopped all leaks (so far) which has been two more trips, and now a 3rd as I type this in NW Georgia (Blue Ridge). I had been checking the seams, but hadn't paid nearly any attention to those screws. Now I know.

However, I want to use something on top of all of that. This post likely has me convinced to use Eternabond as my 2nd CYA solution.

With all of that rambling out of the way, here's my question: Which mil size are most folks using? I see some fairly expensive options on Eternabond with different mil sizes. Is everyone using the $30-50 rolls or the $100+ rolls?

Thanks in advance.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by ducksface

I even bought the eternabond pre-cleaner because i trust the brand.
6 inch roll always with me, never needed.

TWO 2 things can be true.
Filled crack with dicor & tape over

[Elite Washington]

I am a total believer. I have used the tape on all my seems and just about anywhere water can leak through. The tape works amazing.

[Lt Keefer]

Nothing against the tapes, but I'm a dicor man. Never had a roof leak from a dicored seal. Had some bothersome clearance light leaks on my old coach that tapes wouldn't fix as well as a window seal leak but dicor has always kept the roof sealed up tight.

[Hooligan2]

Judge, - Belt and suspenders school. I use the tape and then dicor the edges to keep the glue from picking up dirt.

[Chateau_Nomad]

I'm preparing to embark on my major Eternabond roof sealing adventure. So Judge... is brake cleaner (in your opinion) equivalent to the official Eternabond cleaner?

I already have three or four cans of the exact brake cleaner in your pic. What say you?

[Fish and Dear]

Following

[Jimbo56]

Judge, tell me about brake parts cleaner as a cleaner for roof. Or was that just for size ref?

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

Nothing against the tapes, but I'm a dicor man. Never had a roof leak from a dicored seal. Had some bothersome clearance light leaks on my old coach that tapes wouldn't fix as well as a window seal leak but dicor has always kept the roof sealed up tight.

Me too. Never had a leak with Dicor. The one time I used tape it worked well enough but looked absolutely terrible as the edges picked up dirt. I see a post here where they used tape but then Dicor on the edges. That would work, I’m sure but then, so does just Dicor on the seams in the first place. And tape is VERY hard to remove if you ever have to.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

Me too. Never had a leak with Dicor. The one time I used tape it worked well enough but looked absolutely terrible as the edges picked up dirt. I see a post here where they used tape but then Dicor on the edges. That would work, I’m sure but then, so does just Dicor on the seams in the first place. And tape is VERY hard to remove if you ever have to.

First - I'm not a fanboy of either product. I just view them as tools to prevent leaks... a necessary evil.

My take on each:
Dicor - Much cheaper up front cost than Eternabond. Although can be messy, ultimately simpler to apply. BUT in my experience must be closely inspected at minimum every year - more often is preferred - and any cracks or gaps touched up... Otherwise it WILL deteriorated and fail.

Eternabond - Expensive up front cost. Meticulous cleaning required for guaranteed adhesion and sealing. Edges collect dirt, but doesn't seem to affect performance. For all intents, a permanent solution to sealing with many years lifetime expectancy.

If the dirty edges are aesthetically unpleasing, run a small bead of Dicor along the exposed butyl. Even if the Dicor breaks down in a few years, it's only for looks and can be scrubbed clean easily. Reapply as desired.

That's exactly my plan. I want to seal the roof pretty much permanently without having to do Dicor touchups. All I want to do is wash the roof a few times a year and be done.