Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

All,
Finally got to do some work on the CT today. I pressure washed the roof in preparation for the application of the roof coating. My roof is made up of sheets of corrugated galvanized steel. The joints have some sort of sealant in about a 2-3in wide strip across all of the joints. The material is prety weathered, and I would like to put a coat of whatever sealant this is on before I apply the coatingt. My CT is a 2001 Haulmark. Does anyone know what type/brand of sealant they used?

If I can not find out what type/brand of sealant was used, I plan on using a polyurethane based sealant of the type for sealing around doors and windows. I plan on applying a thick bead of sealant, then spreading it out with a plastic spreader. That way it gets pushed down into the crack in the old sealant. This method appears to be the method that was used to apply the original sealant. For general information, the roof does not leak.

Thanks
Mitch

Mitch, you might consider Eternabond tape ... very sticky , supposed to last 15-20 years ... EASY !!!

Take the time and do the job right. You need to remove the old joint sealant first. You should be able to scrape most of the old sealant off with a putty knife. Then, clean up the residue with acetone.

I used OSI Quad sealant - available at home depot. It's paintable, and very heavy duty. Unless it's a hot day, it won't really spread around on it's own. If you keep your fingers wet, you can follow up after the caulk gun and press the sealant down. Don't try to use any tools - just wet fingers.

Also, I used the clear version. Helps during application - you can see if there are any air bubbles and massage them out. It was pretty obvious that the original sealant was applied quite rapidly and had many bubbles in it - which is where it started breaking down first

I also recommend Eternabond Tape, 6" wide version. Better than any caulk/sealant out there. Can be found at most RV Dealers or Camping World. It is more expensive than caulk at about $2 per foot for the 6" wide version.

After much searching and a few phone calls to CT trailer dealers, here is what I have come up with.

According to a couple of CT trailer dealers, all that the manufactures use is a regular 50 year caulk. According to various sources on the internet, they recommend 3M 4200 or 3M 5200 adhesive. These products are designed for a marine environment. Another source stated that the PL brands of polyurethane caulks had a similar formulation and actually recommended the version designed for concrete and masonary crack filling. Both the 3M and PL products are available at the local HD store. So I took a trip to the HD store today. I ended up going with the PL product since I have had excellent experiences using it for other purposes. I purchased a few tubes of the concrete version (gray in color) and will do some tests prior to using on the CT. In my case, as long as the product adhears well, it should be ok. I plan on applying the Snow Systems coating over it anyway, which should be more than adequate and provide some more UV protection to the polyurethane.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Mitch

I Had a friend that worked in a caulk factory. He said they would fill tubes of the cheap 10 year stuff all morning. Then they would change the tube to a 25 year and start pumping in the same caulk.

Just a tip.