Fiberglass roof to side wall separation

[cbeierl]

According to the manufacturer, HENRY 212 CRYSTAL CLEAR ALL PURPOSE PATCH ELASTOMERIC SEALANT is the US equivalent of the Canadian Manus Bond sealant specified by Winnebago. It is available at Home Depot, among other locations.

[Stan.Birch]

Originally Posted by jhanan

OK, based on that it looks like the ployseamseal is a better choice

Loctite Polyseamseal 10 fl. oz. White All Purpose Adhesive Caulk-1675282 at The Home Depot

No! That's latex; not nearly as strong as polyurethane. All polyurethane sealants are adhesive sealants, and if you want the absolute very best then 3M 5200 marine sealant is the way to go, with 3M 4200 as runner up.

3M 5200 Polyurethane Adhesive/Sealant | West Marine

3m is four times the price of regular polyurethane sealant; and a comparatively short shelf life. Another downside is that once you have sealed a joint with 3M 5200, it is extremely difficult to separate the joint if needed.

[Clay L]

In case someone is interested this is a cross section of the roof edge.

[rjsupersonic]

Seems to me that this is an ongoing problem with the Winnebago Fiberglass roofs. Winnebago makes on-going improvements of their coaches each year, I wonder why this has not been addressed. Seems like it would be easy to engineer a clamp down attachment system in addition to the sealant maintenance that would fix this problem??

[Harry B]

Originally Posted by cbeierl

According to the manufacturer, HENRY 212 CRYSTAL CLEAR ALL PURPOSE PATCH ELASTOMERIC SEALANT is the US equivalent of the Canadian Manus Bond sealant specified by Winnebago. It is available at Home Depot, among other locations.

I have used Henry 212 in the past and works well but not every Home Depot carries it. Mine doesn't. Had to order it.


3M 5200;
is not UV resistant. It needs to be painted but is great stuff. Just remember it is for a permanent installation. In other words very difficult to remove. 3M did not recommend using 5200 for the gutter seal application. 3M recommended using the 3M 4200

There isn't much I haven't tried but none of it was a very long lasting solution except for the Eternabond. I installed the 2" Eternabond Webseal and painted it as I have full body paint and that was the last time I needed to do anything again. That was 3 plus years ago now.

You can use Eternabond a a permanent solution after today's quick fix method. It will apply right over top of what is applied now except SILICONE.

[CaptBill]

I suppose it doesn't matter if 5200 is UV or not, as it will not deteriorate in direct sunlight in any case. I suppose it may get slightly off-white. I have used it extensively in the marine business over many years, and I have never seen it fail, constantly exposed to direct sunlight, unpainted.

Lowes have it for far less than West Marine, and even less than ebay, which, BTW, lists it as a UV sealant/adhesive:
3M 5200 UV 10 oz Cart Marine Adhesive Sealant White Permanent 7 Days 06500 | eBay

It can be removed, if need be, but consider it a permanent bond. A good choice for roof to sidewall adhesive.

[jhanan]

Originally Posted by Clay L

In case someone is interested this is a cross section of the roof edge.

This explains a lot. Thanks. Also, as others have mentioned - the factory bond does not last very long if you park you rig outside - like mine - although it has been covered in the winter for the last 3 years. The entire bond is toast on my rig. In the process of fixing it. I used a paint scraper type blade that has a hooked point on one side - this brought out the old stuff is it was just crumbling. And as can be seen by the cross section - there is a large air gap there with nothing behind it - I found that alarming at 1st but it is per the drawing. It also explains where the screws are. I don't understand why they would make you remove the roof in order to remove/repair/replace the drip rail. At least don't have to worry about the drip rail backing out. Thanks. I hope others find this thread useful.....I searched for roof side separation and did not get any hits fast.

[jhanan]

Originally Posted by CaptBill

I suppose it doesn't matter if 5200 is UV or not, as it will not deteriorate in direct sunlight in any case. I suppose it may get slightly off-white. I have used it extensively in the marine business over many years, and I have never seen it fail, constantly exposed to direct sunlight, unpainted.

Lowes have it for far less than West Marine, and even less than ebay, which, BTW, lists it as a UV sealant/adhesive:
3M 5200 UV 10 oz Cart Marine Adhesive Sealant White Permanent 7 Days 06500 | eBay

It can be removed, if need be, but consider it a permanent bond. A good choice for roof to sidewall adhesive.

Agree - this stuff has an extensive reputation.

[cbeierl]

You might find this thread over on rvforum.net of interest: Roof separation from sidewall fix? (Note that you'll probably need to join (free) the forum to see posted pictures.)

[jhanan]

What is the life of the fiberglass roof. Will it go brittle? I'm getting a little concered about the condition of my roof. I have no threw cracks yet, but looking close there seems to be some hairline cracks here and there and when walking on the roof, there is some "creaking" going on. Is there anything that can be done to protect the roof from further wear?