Resealing 5th wheel: Newbie

[Izzy1313]

Hi Community! I had a quick question about resealing your 5th wheel. Some context.

I have a 40 ft Montana 3855BR. Bought it brand new in August 2022, and I have had it sitting on my parents property. I have only taking it out 2-3 times since purchasing it. Once to practice and twice to take back to the dealership for some minor maintenance. My partner and I will be taking off on our first trip here in the next 3 weeks. From TN to CA to start.

Last time I spoke to Dealership service shop I had asked about resealing the RV and they had suggested that I reseal the entire 5th wheel every 6 months. and that if I was going to be taking off out west I should do it prior. Problem is they want to charge like $850 in order to do the service. That just seems a little ridiculous too me and I want to know if anybody has had any experience in getting your RV resealed as a paid service or have done DIY project. Which I am now leaning towards.

Any advice, thoughts, or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[AZ Traveler]

You are being scammed. Wash it every once in awhile and wax it every year or two. If you find a leak, deal with it.

[payneo]

Reseal every 6 months? As someone else who replied - this is a dealer SCAM. Wash it at least once/year. Check your roof seals 2x/yr. Other side seams should be inspected every time you take it out. Try to store covered, but if not then pay attention to the side/top that gets the most UV exposure.

Go out and have fun in your new rig!!

[twindman]

I don't even know what 'reseal' would be on a Montana!!!!! Definitely a scam, Dang moneygrabbing dealers!!

[DutchmenSport]

As others have said (above), it's a scam. I also have no clue what "resealing" means.

Here's some "tips" I feel you should follow. I know there are hundreds and hundreds and little "tips" that will aid in keeping your camper really nice, but these are some of my "basics, I do all the time" tips.

1) Every time you pull in the slides, climb up the ladder, take a long handled brush and sweep the debris off the slides. Small twigs, leaves, crud left on the slide will all compress against the rubber seals and can potentially punch holes in them, tear them, and get caught under them...all preventing good sealing and will result in water intrusion when it rains. I use a 14 foot expandable painters wand I purchased from Lowes Home Improvement many years ago and a soft RV brush. The handle is long enough I can stand on the main roof and use the long handle to sweep the slide roofs. I do this EVERY time I pull the slides in ... ALWAYS ... WITHOUT FAIL. If you do this, you will not have issues with slide seals, the roof of the slides, or dirt.

2) While you are on the roof brushing off the seals and as you are walking around, look at the seams (the calking) on the edges, around the air vents, and the air conditioners. Look for cracks in the putty that that may start forming. If you pay real attention to this, you'll see fine cracks and little dimples and calking beginning to form and a simple dab of new calking on top of a potential future problem area will take about 30 seconds and save you hours and hours of grief in the future. So, be vigilent about inspecting the seams.... especially if you get up on the roof anyway to brush off the slides.

3) About resealing the seams ... if your Montana is a 2022 model, you probably will not have to touch anything on the roof for at least a couple years. Making changes and doing "stuff" and trying to improve on something that is already perfectly OK can actually cause issues, rather than trying to prevent issues. So, actually, your roof needs no maintenance for .... probably ... at least ... a couple years .... BUT do keep an eye on it always.

4) If you do anything to the roof, wash it a couple times a year and treat it with RV roof conditioner. The conditioner is really NOT necessary on an Alpha roof, but I like using it because it does put a nice... really slick surface on the rubber. I treat mine once a year, in the Spring.

5) Especially if you wash the roof, wash the sides of the trailer also. Soap dripping from the roof of the trailer will streak the sides with white soap residue. So, if nothing else, spray down the sides too.

6) As often as possible, wash the sides of the trailer. That may be only once a year, or you might be able to wash it once every week. It's your schedule. But you should wash it as much as possible. When you are washing it, you are also inspecting every square inch of the outside walls, windows, seals, calking, paint, paint chipping, scars, scratches, bumps, dings, places where road rocks may have chipped the paint, everything on the outside. Doing so, you can fix small blemishes right then (as much as possible)

7). Do a visual inspection of your trailer tires every time you move the camper, even if just moving the camper from one end of your drive way to the other. At an absolute bare minimum, check the tire pressure at the start of every trip. Invest in a TMPS (If you can), but if not, keep a close eye on tire pressure and ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS inspect your tires and invest into a portable air compressor that is capable of blowing up a tire at a minimum of 150 pounds. Your trailer tires are probably max at 110, but an air compressor needs to go higher than that.

8) And one more time (but definately not the final one)... if you are washing the outside walls of your camper, WD-40 is great for removing road tar. It works wonderful on your camper (any surface) and on your car / truck also. I take the time and spot clean my Montana at least ever other week (we travel a lot) with the WD-40 (especially the front), and I WD-40 my truck a couple times a year. It's amazing how "new" things look again when all the black road tar and all those little spots are removed!

9) I just remember one more, very basic "tip". Take the time to photograph every square inch of your camper: Inside, outside, under it, the axles, the wheels, the wiring, inside the pass throughs, the closets, even inside the oven and refrigerator. Anything that comes apart, and absolutely before and after shots if you make any changes or upgrades or repairs. Why? Because in time things change, age out, and need replacing. It's good to have photos of what things looked like in their original condition. When age catches up (like the caulking on the roof) you can go back and look at the photos and REALLY see the subtle changes occurring due to age and time.

Again, your dealership is scamming you. He's full of wet noodles!

[ChuckS]

Stay out of and away from RV dealerships as much as possible..

Roof and slide out seals... I inspect my roof at least 4 times a year.. I wash the roof and slide out roofs at least twice a year.

I have a tube of dicor self leveling sealant and a tube of non sag sealant,

I wash the roof, let it dry and then inspect the roof and slide outs including wiper seals.

I touch up the sealant as needed..

My cost for sealant.. about $20 for both tubes of sealant..

My time to inspect and touch up the sealant - maybe 30 minutes at most

My RV is starting its 10th year of use.. No leaks, etc. I have replaced the wiper seals once on all 3 slides

Im 69 years old and have no issues getting up on the fifth wheel roof and taking care of it

[DQDick]

We have two Monty's that now days just sit in the sun on permanent sites. Before that we towed over 200K miles. Don't "seal" now and never have. We watch the windows and seams and will reseal an area if the caulk is cracked or pulling away but that's it. If it were me, I'd seal myself off from that dealer.

[aaronh59]

Same as what others have said here. There is no need to reseal every six months. Keep good maintenance and if seals around windows/door are cracked reseal them. Periodically check slide-out seals and replace them when torn or when water intrusion is occurring.

[wed]

Tell them no thanks

[Izzy1313]

Thank you so much too everyone for the replies and recommendations. Being a newbie it can be easy to just defer to the dealership, but those prices are ridiculous. Definitely confirmed that this is a DIY project and maintenance I will have to do, and keep on eye regularly.