# Sealing Roof Caulking / Cracks



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

This friendly reminder is obvioulsy too late for those of you already hunkered down in your snow covered bunkers









But just for giggles I'm sending out a reminder that no matter how new your camper is, you need to be diligent in checking the roof caulking. Thankfully I resealed mine last weeked before it started raining buckets this week. I used up a whole tube of Dicor filling in all the questionable areas.

Case in point: when my camper was only about 1 year old I had a major water leak that saturated both bunk beds. All this came through a 3" hairline crack in the caulking.

Yup, it's important.

Use Dicor brand "self leveling" caulk. It's the same stuff that Outback uses and reccomended by the EPDM rubber roof manufacturer.

Gotta go. There is all this strange water falling from the sky. Not shure what it is


----------



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

A good reminder with a little cowbell in the background


----------



## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

CJ,

2008 will mark our 5th camping season in our Outback. So far I have done nothing to the roof except wash it twice a year (May and October). Noever had a single leak anywhere.

For this May, I purchased a quart of Liquid Roof from Pro Guard Coatings. I plan to "paint" over anything that looks worn or suspicious.

Randy


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

California Jim said:


> This friendly reminder is obvioulsy too late for those of you already hunkered down in your snow covered bunkers
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey Jim,

What do you use to clean up the area that you caulk? The roof gets pretty grimy, so it's gotta be cleaned before caulking. The little I've had to do I cleaned the roof with green soap and water with a soft bristled, long-handled brush. Then let dry . I prepped the area by removing any loose caulk and cleaning the exact area with little alcohol on a rag. It seemed to work for me, but I'd be interested in learning the best way to deal with this maintenance necessity.

And you ain't just whistlin' Dixie about it being cold around here!







Eight below last night and it got up to a balmy 12 degrees this afternoon. They're calling for five below tonight and then a gradual warm-up to 40 by Monday. (Hurry up SPRING!!)

Mike


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Mine was months old and I found hair line cracks in the caulk. I reasealed them and a few questionable spots too. I do it every year. I clean it with dicor EPDM roof cleaner, a long brush and let it dry. Then I put on dicor ultra violet spray on stuff to help preserve it. That stuff stinks too. I even cover it with an adco cover in the off season ( some dont, I do ). It even gets a quick spray on wax and buffed off every year. When I take the cover off it looks good as new.


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Scoutr2 said:


> Hey Jim,
> What do you use to clean up the area that you caulk?
> Mike


Yeah, it was very grimey up there for sure. At the reccomendation of The JollyMon I used mineral spirits which is esentially paint thinner I think. At least that's what it smells like. It cleans the area REALLY good, and even leaves it a little tacky. The new Dicor stuck to it like glue.

Aside from checking the caulking about once a year I really don't worry much about cleaning or servicing the roof too often. You will drive yourself crazy trying to keep it all white and beautiful. I wash it about once or twice a year with Tide in hot water and it's perfectly fine. Yeah it has a few stains and spots, but c'mon...it's the roof!









I use my elbow grease waxing the sides


----------



## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

They tell me that stuff falling out of the sky is called rain or something. It's happening in Ventura too. Weird huh


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

ED_RN said:


> They tell me that stuff falling out of the sky is called rain or something. It's happening in Ventura too. Weird huh


come up I-5 a bit....we'll show you want RAIN is all about.


----------



## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

Thanks CJ.

I took care of this issue back in December (and posted about it http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php...t&p=263397)

I just used plain old water and a towel to clean around the seams. The Dicor appeared to set just fine.


----------

