Eternabond and Winnebago warranty considerations

[John Canfield]

My friend at Winnebago wanted me to pass along some info about using Eternabond on your Winnebago Industries product.  The use of it will not void any warranty, but any problem or issue that arises because of or due to Eternabond will not be covered by warranty.  Their engineering staff hasn't evaluated it and therefore make no recommendation for or against it.  This is my paraphrase and do not consider it an official Winnie statement - only their communications department can talk with that kind of confidence 

There is a service tip document you can download which gives some general instructions about sealants and exterior care.  Have a look.

Edit:  I'm going to make this a sticky.

[jimandsue60]

Thanks for going the extra mile John, and chatting with your friend at Winnebago. I think we have a friend in common! I can not see how using EB could create a voidable warranty issue unless it was used improperly or impeded the repair of a roof that was under warranty. I can understand Winnebagos point of view but appreciate more that they even acknowledged the use of an after market product!

Jim

[John Canfield]

Thanks for going the extra mile John, and chatting with your friend at Winnebago. I think we have a friend in common!

You are very welcome and yes we do!

[Ron]

Having used Eternabond and knowing its effectiveness I think all RV manufacturers should evaluate Eternabond.  Why they might even learn enough to like it so well they will start using it make one less maintenance task.  I am a fan of Eternabond.

[John Canfield]

A buddy used it to seal his front cap and he discovered after two or three years it was turning loose.  Bad surface prep?  Bad batch of product?  Only negative incident I have ever heard about it.

[howgluck]

Hi,

Just purchased 1989 Winnebago with some leaks in cab and in rear bedroom closet. After investigating the multitude of products and needing to cover seams and many years of tried solutions, I used bott the 3 " and the 6" rolls. the 3inch did the trick for the front cab area and the 6 inch was necessary for the rear seams. Looks like a great product if used properly.

Howard Gluck

[John Canfield]

Hi Howard!  We're glad you stopped by!

I haven't used it but practically everybody raves about Etrnabond.  My buddy with a Trek used some to seal his front cap to the roof and it gave up after a few years - application issue?  Don't know, but it is not foolproof.

[scottydl]

My buddy with a Trek used some to seal his front cap to the roof and it gave up after a few years - application issue?  Don't know, but it is not foolproof.

I can verify that Eternabond does NOT stick properly if the surface is not completely dry during application.  I've used it on my own RV and a rig we have at work, and I initially went too fast when applying it on the work truck... I was using a grease-buster spray cleaner to prep the surface, and tried to lay down a 4" strip of Eternabond before the area was dry.  The tape would not stick and I was able to peel it right off again, which is impossible if applied correctly as the videos show on the Eternabond website.  However, I did notice that right away and there was no multi-year protection as your friend with the Trek had.  May or may not have been his problem.  But yes, there are basic instructions that need to be followed during the application phase.  And of course, periodic inspections of the roof & tape are still recommended I'm sure.  Even if mine only lasted 3 years and I had to reapply another layer, I would still use the stuff! 

[Art In Mobile]

I removed the old caulk on the drip rail & installed 3M5200 then put 4 inch tape over it to stop the UV from damaging the caulk. The one big added thing the 4 inch  Eternabond does is cover the complete round edge where all the tree limbs like to slide across. Art

[John Canfield]

Art - you now have thermonuclear protection!  Can you post some pictures?

[Bob G]

I'm the one that John talks about that had the Eternabond come loose.  I originally had to do emergency repairs while at at remote campground in northern Vermont.  I didn't do a good job of surface prep and it started leaking in a downpour a couple of years later.  The original seam done by Safari was not done well.  The front cap overlapped the roof but had no backing at that point.  They had pop riveted an aluminum trim strip through the fiberglass cap,  the Filon roof and into the 1/4" plywood roofdeck.  Needless to say the rivets did not hold.  There were two layers of the pour type of caulking covering the whole thing.  It was UGLY.  It took a couple of hours to remove it, drill new holes and install additional screws.  I then applied the Eternaond tape.  A picture can be seen at http://bgeisler.com/trek%20site/Modifications.html.  The tape came loose from the Filon (left side of the picture).
I have since redone this area and the remainder of the roof seams.  I removed the original tape, screws and pop-rivets.  I cleaned the entire area with acetone and no-sand prepaint cleaner.  I installed expanding threaded anchors to the plywood, caulked between the front cap and the roof and used machine screw to pull it all together.  I then applied two layers of Eternabond tape overlapping at the top of the trim strip to get extra width.  I finished  the roof by painting with Petit marine Polyurethane non-skid paint. 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Wow, Bob. You really did a thorough job!  Good work!!!

[Ron]

Good Job Bob.  That should make it a permanent fix.

[John Canfield]

Hey Bobby!   

Bob is my old boating buddy (they lived on a gigantic steel houseboat and we lived about 20' away on our sailboat), and now RV buddy.  I was the last of the boating group to make the transition from boat to RV.

[GTS]

I actually have mixed feelings about Eternabond.  We use it a lot but... I have seen it come loose LOTS of times also.  It will bubble up on the edges and allow water intrusion.

I would think the difference is surface prep.  IF, in fact, it is that sensitive to surface prep....MOST factories cannot be trusted to apply it correctly for the time restraints in getting units built.

[Jim Godward]

The secret to ANY adhesive sticking is surface preparation.  It is not hard but it must be done and done well for success.  EternaBond must be aplied to a clean surface but it is easy to do, wipe with mineral sprits or alcohol and it is done unless there is residual stuff like old adhesive.  Then a couple of more wipes and you are good to go.

The same is true of caulking.  If the surface is not clean, small voids will be left and in time will allow water or ?? to seap into the seam and it will fail. 

I spent a good part of my life making sure the factory cleaned things well enough so that things would work when needed.  I guess I was somewhat successful as I transferred from that job in 1972 and most of the stuff is still working although much is now being replaced with newer things.