Roof Maintenance

[DadsHemi]

Was on the roof this afternoon fixing and patching loose caulk and staples backing out before the rain coming Saturday. I guess when spring comes I’ll be stripping all the caulk and re-sealing with eternabond tape and as little caulk as possible. While I was up their I noticed my high def antenna was damaged ? Obviously something hit it while traveling, so I guess I’ll be looking for a new/better one this one.

Happy Traveling 🧳

[Mikendebbie]

Just curious…why rip out the old caulk? Seems you would have a layer of insurance under the eternabond by leaving the caulk but resealing over the bad spots. Are you thinking with no old caulk you will get a better/smoother seal on the eternabond? I am no expert but I have not heard this approach before. It seems like a lot of work. I have always taped eternabond over the old caulk…and when I do my Montana I will do the tape-over method…but you may be onto something here!

[rohrmann]

Might be an NHTSA recall on that bad antenna. It would be worth a call to Keystone about it.

[DadsHemi]

Originally Posted by Mikendebbie

Just curious…why rip out the old caulk? Seems you would have a layer of insurance under the eternabond by leaving the caulk but resealing over the bad spots. Are you thinking with no old caulk you will get a better/smoother seal on the eternabond? I am no expert but I have not heard this approach before. It seems like a lot of work. I have always taped eternabond over the old caulk…and when I do my Montana I will do the tape-over method…but you may be onto something here!

Being in the Construction business that I’m in it goes against me. Don’t need to leave caulk that is deteriorating, covering it up with the eternabond Will on add heat and eventually that caulk will come loose. I would rather remove it so the eternabond had a fuller seal from roof to moldings, vents, skylight. There will be small places that still will need caulk, no getting around that.

[DadsHemi]

Couple of culprits I removed

https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...1&d=1644621739

[Mikendebbie]

Good explanation! Thanks!

[ChuckS]

How you choose to seal the roof membrane and ducts and such is a personal choice... of sorts... But removing all the existing sealant isn't necessary at all and can cause other issues...

I am also not fond of using eternabond all over the roof ... if a skylight cracks, etc and you need to remove it that tape may cause issues you didnt want.. like torn TPO

YMMV

[1retired06]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

How you choose to seal the roof membrane and ducts and such is a personal choice... of sorts... But removing all the existing sealant isn't necessary at all and can cause other issues...

I am also not fond of using eternabond all over the roof ... if a skylight cracks, etc and you need to remove it that tape may cause issues you didnt want.. like torn TPO

YMMV

Exactly what I was going to say

[JDDilly]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

How you choose to seal the roof membrane and ducts and such is a personal choice... of sorts... But removing all the existing sealant isn't necessary at all and can cause other issues...

I am also not fond of using eternabond all over the roof ... if a skylight cracks, etc and you need to remove it that tape may cause issues you didnt want.. like torn TPO

YMMV

Exactly, the tape is fairly permanent and is extremely tough to remove.

[DadsHemi]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

How you choose to seal the roof membrane and ducts and such is a personal choice... of sorts... But removing all the existing sealant isn't necessary at all and can cause other issues...

I am also not fond of using eternabond all over the roof ... if a skylight cracks, etc and you need to remove it that tape may cause issues you didnt want.. like torn TPO

YMMV

I’m not worried about tearing the TPO, it’s easy to repair and I can get it from any of our commercial roofers I work with. As you said….personal choice.

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by DadsHemi

Was on the roof this afternoon fixing and patching loose caulk and staples backing out before the rain coming Saturday. I guess when spring comes I’ll be stripping all the caulk and re-sealing with eternabond tape and as little caulk as possible. While I was up their I noticed my high def antenna was damaged ? Obviously something hit it while traveling, so I guess I’ll be looking for a new/better one this one.

Happy Traveling 🧳

No need to remove the caulk, but when I did mine I did a thorough clean and used the Eternabond cleaner and prep. Cheaper to use acetone but I went with the branded solution.

[FLYTYR]

Hi,
I've read a lot about caulk for resealing and I have done it on the various vents etc on the roof. I'd like to know how and what to use to seal the entire membrane surface and perimeter edges.
We seem to have developed some seepage into the RV interior around the edges of the roof where the membrane meets the side of the trailer. My current guess is to use caulk or possibly Eternabond tape as well around those edges.
2014 Montana 38RL
Thanks for the assist! FlyTyr

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by FLYTYR

Hi,
I've read a lot about caulk for resealing and I have done it on the various vents etc on the roof. I'd like to know how and what to use to seal the entire membrane surface and perimeter edges.
We seem to have developed some seepage into the RV interior around the edges of the roof where the membrane meets the side of the trailer. My current guess is to use caulk or possibly Eternabond tape as well around those edges.
2014 Montana 38RL
Thanks for the assist! FlyTyr

I have never used caulk, I use Dicor for roof as well as Eternabond tape. On vertical surfaces around doors and windows ProSeal. NEVER use silicone outside the RV. Many will advise against Eternabond because if you need to get under it, it's very very hard to do. The trick is just cut an X fix whatever is needed then put another patch of Eternabond on top of the X. It may not look pretty, but I only care about waterproof.

[FLYTYR]

Thanks!
I will proceed as shown in a video (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SCWISz52cw

) using Etrnabond Tape around the perimeter edge of the rv roof and Dicor sealant around the vents, etc. If that does not do the complete job, I will consider going to the Dicor RV Roof Coating System.