So, about caulk

[raffaelli]

I have poked around and found as many opinions about which caulk to use as there are caulks available. My message to Thor has gone unanswered.

I have a few areas on the outside of the rig that I need to re-caulk. These are seams of moldings and trim, non roof stuff.

What caulk to you guys recommend?

[Travelin' Texans]

DO NOT use any silicone caulk you can buy at your local hardware store anywhere on your RV.
The best if I recall is ProSeal or ProFlex by Geocel for the seams with Dicor for the roof.

[raffaelli]

Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans

DO NOT use any silicone caulk you can buy at your local hardware store anywhere on your RV.
The best if I recall is ProSeal or ProFlex by Geocel for the seams with Dicor for the roof.

I called DAP to ask what they recommend. They said silicone adhesive.

Thanks, Proflex seems to be the most common recommendation.

[Bob Denman]

DiCor....

[Cliff10]

Some RV manufacturers put out a chart for sealants. You can put in a search, such as, Winnebago sealant chart. They list the type of sealants for different areas (joints, trim, roof...) I did this because Thor would not respond, and apparently they don't like their charts to be available. I just picked a manufacturer that had the same build materials.

[reminckv]

Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans

DO NOT use any silicone caulk you can buy at your local hardware store anywhere on your RV.
The best if I recall is ProSeal or ProFlex by Geocel for the seams with Dicor for the roof.

I agree with this. No silicone. Geocel ProflexRV for seams and Dicor lap sealant for the roof.

[raffaelli]

So I have a local RV mobile repairman come by to show me some things. I asked him to caulk the outside of the rig. He used Proflex for the walls.

[Judge]

I should be done with caulking and sealing on my Magnitude for the foreseeable future....... I think it is just too tough to try and stay on top of preventing leaks by checking the Dicor every 3 to 6 months and having to continually add more caulking. Then eventually removing all of the old Dicor and redoing it all again is just more than I want to do.

My 2020 Magnitude was manufactured in April 2019 and I bought it in October 2019. It spent half the winter in enclosed storage after I finished having a pole building built for it to protect it from mice, weather, etc. The Dicor is still in very good condition at this point.

Last weekend I cleaned the roof with BEST Roof Cleaner and Protector. I was surprised how it changed the Dicor from dark gray to bright white during the cleaning process.

I then used EternaBond Tape and covered every seam on the roof where Dicor was used for sealing. Skylights, Fans, Sewer Vents, the Winegard ConnecT 2.0 mounts and wring entry point, Solar wiring entry point, Ladder Mount as well as the front and rear cap seals that ran the width of the roof. I made sure to overlap the EternaBond past the Dicor so it sealed around all of the edges.

In my opinion, EternaBond is the best thing to use for long term sealing and leak prevention as well as roof repairs. I keep a roll in the coach in case the roof ever gets damaged unexpectedly while on the road.

The downside is that it takes some work to remove it if you have to replace something like a Fan but once you put it on you don't have to be climbing on the roof every 3 - 6 months to be inspecting and adding / replacing the Dicor.

[dand]

Why can't silicone caulk be used?

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by dand

Why can't silicone caulk be used?

Yeah, why not?

[reminckv]

I wouldn't say that you can't use it. Based on my experiences, there are much better products. My experience is not as extensive as some others but it does include resealing every external seam on a 20 year old class c and a few seams on a 4 year old class A. The areas on the class c that were previously sealed with silicon were in the worst condition due to a lack of adhesion. They were also by far the most difficult to "clean up" such that new sealant could be applied. I can't confirm, but have always heard that the preferred sealants won't adhere to old silicone.

In my experience, the Proflex RV product is excellent in both adhesion and appearance although I found it difficult to apply without the use of painters tape due to it's tackiness (I'm not great with a caulk gun).

As far as the roof goes. The same holds true as far as silicone failing to maintain it's bond to the other materials and it's difficult to remove and replace with the correct roofing sealant (Dicor).

[Bob Denman]

Does anyone know if the Flex-Seal products are silicone based?

[reminckv]

On Geocel’s website they have 5 product categories of sealants/adhesives. One is silicone. The Flexseal RV is in a category called “solvent based”.

The contents list on the tube does not contain silicone.

[Bob Denman]

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1590325846

[xchawk]

Originally Posted by raffaelli

I have poked around and found as many opinions about which caulk to use as there are caulks available. My message to Thor has gone unanswered.

I have a few areas on the outside of the rig that I need to re-caulk. These are seams of moldings and trim, non roof stuff.

What caulk to you guys recommend?

This company helped me decide the best caulk for my application and very easy to work with.

rvroofandwall

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by dand

Why can't silicone caulk be used?

Most of the joints on a RV will need recaulked occasionally, some regularly, with using silicone caulk ALL of the old will need to be removed before the new can be applied as silicone with not stick to silicone & it's a huge PITA to remove.