Hi Jim,
I'll answer some of your questions and ask you a few for more claification.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimS
Anyway, I thought about putting a bead of Dicor in the seam that starts on the roof and comes down the front(to just below the window). The siding on the front of the camper appears to be not metal. Possibly a vinyl? Is there any bad effects of putting the Dicor here? Also thinking about if the Dicor is removable off this siding if/when the front siding panels come off?
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I see you have moved from the roof, now to the siding of the camper. The siding can leak as bad if not worse then the roof at any joint/opening/penetration in the siding. As the years and towing miles go by, these siding leaks get worse.
This pic of yours shows the perfect classic water entry point of a camper siding leak. It may not be leaking now, or has been and dried out, but from what I have found, the 4 corner moldings on the camper (2 at front, 2 at the rear) are bad actors for leaks.
The joint your arrows point to is a problem area. And so is the same molding joint where that corner molding meets the long side wall. Both of those joints need attention if you want to keep the camper leak free as time goes on.
The problem is, the siding sealing (all siding penetrations) was done using what is called "putty tape". It is a more easily trimmable lower cost version of sealing tape. And as the camper ages, the seal will start to release from the molding or the siding due to UV rays from the sun. It starts to shrink, then fine cracks start and the putty tape starts lifting off the siding or the molding or both. As time goes on, the split/cracks gets larger until it reached the inside of the camper. Then water can wick in.
You say the front is made of vinyl, well yes and no. The siding is aluminum just like your roof. The moldings are aluminum. What is vinyl is a screw strip cover on the molding. It hides the screws that holds the molding on. That vinyl is only a cover, it is not a water seal for the camper. Yes, it helps keep water off the screws, but if any water wicks behind that cover, it will flow to the bottom and drip out unless someone caulked it shut which is a no/no as the water can't get out. That cover is replaceable, it is not very expensive and most times gets sun baked and cracks. You do caulk the top to have water not get in at the end of the vinyl at the roof.
These 2 links will drop you into repair projects showing what the molding looks like off the camper. And how to up grade the sealing when the moldings are put on. I use different sealing tape and techniques.
https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post131986
scroll down, you will get to the moldings
https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post154534
This same leak issue happens on any joint/penetration in the camper siding. Meaning, any door, window, furnace vent, power cord door, clearance light, tail light etc.
You have a few options on these siding penetrations, on how to seal them up.
1. Reset the molding, window etc. Remove the entire molding or window etc. Take off all the old putty tape, clean both the siding and the molding etc, install commercial grade high quality butyl tape used in steel buildings etc. using the technique in my links. Put the molding back onto the camper, trim off excess butyl and then go to option 2. Caulk seal the exposed butyl.
2. Clean and caulk the exposed putty tape or new butyl tape joint. I'll write this for cleaning over the old putty tape. The exposed old putty tape has dirt and mold stuck to it. This must be cleaned off before caulking. You can use soap and water to clean the dirt, scrub with plastic bristle brush, then hose rinse.
After the dirt scrub, you do a bleach clean to get the mold off. Use 3 parts water to 1 part unscented household bleach in a bucket. You do not need a lot of solution, 1 to 2 qts of mixed solution goes a long way. Use gloves and apply mixture with a scrub brush. Keep it wet all the time for about 15 minutes, scrub lightly as needed. Water rinse well when done. You may notice the color of the old putty tape change from black (mold) to the original color, many times it is grey but not always. If there are stubborn spots, retreat.
Let the area dry completely. Caulk the joint using Dicor no sag/no leveling caulk or Proflex RV flexible sealant. The caulk "must" touch the siding and touch the molding to create a total seal over the exposed putty/butyl tape.
Doing option 1 and 2, is the method I use on a total camper restoration. It takes a good amount of time to do all the joints on a camper. They can be done in stages, they do not have to all be done at once.
I'll give you some background on just doing option 2 with what you have now. I have done this on my own camper (2004 T310SR) when I obtained the camper back in 2007. In 2018 I pulled the front corner moldings to install a diamond plate lower siding upgrade on the front wall. I stopped corner molding leaks that where active in 2007 and that repair was still holding in 2018 (11 years later) when I took the corners off.
Here is my front left corner molding off with Dicor caulk used to seal out the active leaks that I did not know was going on.
The corner molding off
Close ups of the failing putty tape. The black dirt on the gray tape is where the putty tape lifted and water and dirt started to penetrate the joint. Some cracks never made it to the inside and I stopped them with the Dicor. You can see the white Dicor still intact.
Another area showing the crack/leak progressing that stopped with the Dicor
The backside of the molding
The side wall looking on, you can see the dicor still intact
Point: Option 2 by itself is not a bad option, it can buy you years (10 plus) of time before you start into Option 1 and 2 if ever. You do need to inspect the caulking annually and address any tiny splits or shrinkage.
You can get off the Dicor and Proflex RV if needed to do a repair. The Dicor comes off a little easier then the Proflex, but I have removed both successfully. A heat gun is your friend on this task.
Now to use Dicor or Proflex RV? I have used both, both work well at sealing the camper. Both apply using the same wet soapy finger and short application length then smooth out technique.
I now use the Proflex RV or standard Proflex for homes if I cannot buy the Proflex RV, as the dirt does not stick to it as the Dicor can have some slight dirt sticking to it over time. The Proflex just works a little better. Either are very good and you can apply Proflex over the top of Dicor once cured if wanted to help with the dirt thing.
From all that.... your choice, going to option 2 is a lot quicker, and can be done in stages. It takes 8 to 9 tubes of caulk to do an entire 30 ft Sunline camper to do every siding penetration. Yours may take 7 to 8 tubes, the length is not that different, the smaller campers have about the same siding penetration's as a longer one.
One heads up, do not apply either Dicor or Proflex on a hot (80F plus) sunny day with the siding heated up. The caulk dries too fast and shrink wrinkles end up in the caulk. Go for early morning application on dry siding if the afternoon gets up close to 80F.
Start with the 4 corners of the camper, then the windows and doors, then everything else.
Hope this helps
John