ANOTHER roof re-sealing concern!

[Slum Jack]

Greetings, all. Yes, I have done some Searching and reading here on this topic and elsewhere.

BUT, before I commit to any certain products/procedures I want to invite yet more seasoned opinions, suggestions, guidance and all.

I've got a '77 Dodge "Establishment" (Sportsman base). It's apparently got an aluminum roof. I was up there today trying to assess conditions BEFORE the rains return. I was a bit shocked to see that so many areas look a lot worse than I expected or suspected. There did not appear to be any leaks inside last winter (that I could tell), but now I'm suspecting INside the walls might be another thing.

I'm still trying to puzzle out the "best" stuff to seal with, of course. Also there is a strip of "trim" on the vertical exterior right next to/below roofline. I'm wondering if I could "get away with" resealing along that edge corner withOUT removing that strip, for now.

I realize that removing that and doing an entire EternaBond type treatment would likely be ideal, but I'm far from being able to afford it right now. So, Priority One is doing something at least reasonably realistic to keep water out over this Winter, while being able to afford that.

A friend urged me use Henry's Elastomeric, but I'm leaning toward Dicon.

Any thoughts?

[Dale and Lynne Park]

We have a 77 Sportsman Brougham and are also on a tight budget.  We were over 1 1/2 years in getting on the road so a tarp was our "waterproofing" in the beginning! First we removed the J-rail trim where the siding meets the roof, cleaned it with 0000 steel wool then scraped and cleaned the body where the rail attaches the same way.  We used putty tape which is pretty inexpensive and a traditional RV repair item.  It holds up well.  We saved our pennies for Eternabond tape to go over the seams in the aluminum roof sheeting.  We also went around the roof vents, A/C hole and the holes resulting from the removal of the old TV antenna with the Eternabond.  I am sure that others will have other solutions but I would stay away from silicone sealers. Good Luck!

[Lakota Wolf]

,Please DON'T use House type tar sealer, Black tar,silver tar type that they use on Flashings around chimmneys and vents. This will eat away the aluminum and make a mess way worse then your worst nightmare. Butyl tape is your best RV friend, (very inexpensive).

As with silicone sealer,, another no no. Ive spent many hrs removing a silicone repair job that only corrected the original problem for maybe a month. Temporary fixes for a hole or small rip in the sheet metal is metal tape after steel wool prep for good adhesion.

As for Elastomeric or Dicon,, They both rate good. They both do an excellent job.

I must add,, the Dicon brand was a little easier to work with. Good luck, Hope this helped a little bit.

[Slum Jack]

Thanks all.

I used "Henry's" roof tar on my pickup shell, which is not crucial, but now know more about the pitfalls of that. I do have a friend using Henry's Elastometric on his little RV, but my nosing around so far seems to suggest that Heng's would be better.

Unfortunately, a prior owner DID use some silicon, so I've got all the more elbow-grease work to do. Problem is, rain is forecast soon and time/resources are limited, so I need a right balance between expedient/effective/doable in the shorter term.

[Slum Jack]

At this point, I'm having trouble deciding if I should go with Dicor or Heng's. It's an aluminum roof. I don't think I need to cover the whole thing, but just redo some sections along outside edges and around vents, etc.

I'm having trouble calculating coverage, in terms of just how many Dicor tubes to get, for instance. Doesn't seem to be any retailed locally, meaning I might have to order online.