What is that sealer Winne uses on the roof?

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Hi Harry!  Welcome aboard and glad to have you join rvforum!!  Ladder tricks..hmm.. yes.  Six staples pulled my brains back in a couple of years ago (okay, not all of them  ;D )
 
Jee-wiz I love this place  ;D After all this discussion I went and looked at our MH and I have the exact same picture as Y-guy on the passenger side. I don't know what the previous caulk was it is dry and dark and crumbling. I guess I'm off to get some 3M and a couple of screws.....
 
I got into a discussion with another Sightseer owner tonight, he's having the same issue and was happy I was willing to share my tube of 5200.

However he made point about the screw, his concern is that the cap needs to flex and is worried that a screw might not allow that flex and lead to cracking the cap - which would be worse then cleaning the caulking out every couple years if needed.

Any thoughts on this?  If things cool down I hope to tackle my rig, but when its 93 outside I'm thinking its not the best time to apply the caulking.
 
Steve - I would have no problems with a screw in the corner of my cap.  I think the cap would flex along with the sidewall (or whatever the screw was attached to.)
 
Steve,

Like John said it apparently is not a point of concern as Winnie is putting this very screw in all newer coaches. I don't know what year they started with this but I have checked some other (newer) coaches while at WIT rallies and they all have this screw installed.

Just don't over tighten it as that could crack the fiberglass. The caps are hand made and the thickness is not very uniform. My passenger side for example s thicker than the driver side. Just make sure all the old sealant is removed and that the 5200 is just grabbing fiberglass and not old sealant left behind.  That should take all the stress off of the screw.
 
I may regret this but I fixed both sides of my front cap today with #8 hex head SS sheet metal screws. The regret may be because I used the Pro Flex white sealant instead of the 3M; but that was the suggestion from the dealer's technician that I talked to. ( This may be suspect because they happen to sell the ProFlex and not 3M).  When drilling on the passenger side I hit some metal behind the fiber glass and it snugged up very nicely. For unknown reasons, I didn't hit any metal on the drivers side. It pulled up OK but I'm not sure it is going to hold. We'll see how long this lasts.
  It is an interesting design that the gap between the wall an cap occurs at exactly the spot where the gutter dumps the roof water. 
 
Indy Itasca said:
I may regret this but I fixed both sides of my front cap today with #8 hex head SS sheet metal screws. The regret may be because I used the Pro Flex white sealant instead of the 3M; but that was the suggestion from the dealer's technician that I talked to. ( This may be suspect because they happen to sell the ProFlex and not 3M).  When drilling on the passenger side I hit some metal behind the fiber glass and it snugged up very nicely. For unknown reasons, I didn't hit any metal on the drivers side. It pulled up OK but I'm not sure it is going to hold. We'll see how long this lasts.
  It is an interesting design that the gap between the wall an cap occurs at exactly the spot where the gutter dumps the roof water. 
Click to expand...

Did you use the 3/4 inch screw or a longer one?  I'm not convinced that the 3/4 inch would be long enough to go through (2) layers of fiberglass and possibly into an additional metal support behind those. 
 
jc2 said:
Did you use the 3/4 inch screw or a longer one?  I'm not convinced that the 3/4 inch would be long enough to go through (2) layers of fiberglass and possibly into an additional metal support behind those. 
Click to expand...
Yes it was 3/4 inch and it was plenty. I think 1/2 might work but you really don't want to force the fiberglass into too much compression. One inch might be too long and hit something behind. 
 
Thank you for the info.  To those that have done this fix, did you paint the screw(s)  after the fix to possibly match the cap cover?
 
jc2 said:
Thank you for the info.  To those that have done this fix, did you paint the screw(s)  after the fix to possibly match the cap cover?
Click to expand...

I didn't paint the screws. I did smear a very light coat of the caulk over them.  I don't think anyone would notice one way or the other and being SS I hope they don't rust.... If the job needs to be redone, it will be my excuse for trading it in on a newer one  ::)
 
Thanks for all the info.  My situation is somewhat similiar to the photo posted by Y-Guy on page (2) of this thread so I'm contemplating whether to us the 3/4 or possible 1 inch SS washer screw and the 3M 5200.  Eternabond is also an option but I noticed that there is very little distance  between where the rain gutter and roof cap meet which would make me wonder how to get the Eternabond Tape to stick.  Decisions, Decisions. :-\
 
Well JC2 A guys gotta do whatever lets him sleep better at nights. Personally I think the eternabond is not going to be a very pretty picture up on the side of the coach in plan view.  My situation was exactly like Y-guys picture, I think the caulk and a screw look better than a tape strip but it is your coach. 
 
I agree with Bruce...I wouldn't use Eternabond in that visible area.  JC2....why dont you buy some of that caulk that Rex is offering to sell, and use a stainless steel screw.....that's what I would do.
 
  Good Day,

  First off I'd like to clear up some confusion on the substance used on a Winnebago roof for sealant, it is the same sealant they have used for years. The name is NuFlex 311, it is......wait for it....... a silicone :eek:. The only thing I have to say about the stuff is it's outstanding. I am one of the hardest people to convince, EVER. But this product is the only thing like it that I know of. Since I started using it about 5 years ago and discovering what it was, I wanted to try it on everything! Because of my position in service and very wide range of experience in roof leaks and more roof leaks and more roof leaks and.... Well I can tell you that I use more of this stuff then any other product ever. Not a fan of "The other stuff" (trying to stay neutral here) I have found myself solving very difficult problems with everything from exterior slide molding sealant to all around roof sealing. Allthough it's a silicone, it retains a self-leveling feature that is unmatched, once cured it adheres to everything it makes contact with as long as you start with a very very basic rule, PREPERATION! You can put any kind of sealant on anything, just name it, and if there is some kind of chemical there, even as simple as a little water for silicone sealants and silicone for urethane sealants, it won't seal no matter what you do. I would love to continue but don't want to sound like I'm trying to peddle the stuff either. Just know that Winnebago spends upwards of several millions of dollars on Field Research And Developement every year and have tested Everything on the market but have gone on to use this product for years on every roof they've sealed that comes out of that factory. You don't have to be a believer to just try it, but give it a chance.

;D
 
  Need to add a note to the thought of using 5200 on a flex point. I'm not saying 5200 isn't probably the strongest stuff out there, but the major problem with anything that strong is the fiberglass and gelcoat will be the first to give and serious damage can and will result. Good luck.
 
RV_Lifeline said:
   First off I'd like to clear up some confusion on the substance used on a Winnebago roof for sealant, it is the same sealant they have used for years. The name is NuFlex 311, it is......wait for it....... a silicone :eek:. The only thing I have to say about the stuff is it's outstanding.
Click to expand...

That's a good testimony and thanks for the report!  However, I'm not convinced that it is the best product based on my limited experience.  Factory service touched up some of my roof to sidewall joint last summer and the sealant has pulled away.  To be fair, I can't speak for their technique or even if the tech used the appropriate product.  I continue to be a huge fan of 5200.
 
I gotta say I agree with john on this, If it is that great of stuff, then why does my MH have to be re-done every year(winnie say's this not me) I mean my MH sits inside of a shop, it's a 06 and I have had the front cap, and rear cap fixed three times already, I bought it in 07 :mad: I found some stuff called Patts..I think I will get some more info on it, anyway it seems to work on fiberglass, silicon or anyother clean surface.

I just don't get that with all the tech out there, that a guy would be told by a manufacture that he needs to re-seal his caps every year >: ::)
 
RV_Lifeline said:
   Good Day,

   First off I'd like to clear up some confusion on the substance used on a Winnebago roof for sealant, it is the same sealant they have used for years. The name is NuFlex 311, it is......wait for it....... a silicone :eek:. The only thing I have to say about the stuff is it's outstanding. I am one of the hardest people to convince, EVER. But this product is the only thing like it that I know of. Since I started using it about 5 years ago and discovering what it was, I wanted to try it on everything! Because of my position in service and very wide range of experience in roof leaks and more roof leaks and more roof leaks and.... Well I can tell you that I use more of this stuff then any other product ever. Not a fan of "The other stuff" (trying to stay neutral here) I have found myself solving very difficult problems with everything from exterior slide molding sealant to all around roof sealing. Allthough it's a silicone, it retains a self-leveling feature that is unmatched, once cured it adheres to everything it makes contact with as long as you start with a very very basic rule, PREPERATION! You can put any kind of sealant on anything, just name it, and if there is some kind of chemical there, even as simple as a little water for silicone sealants and silicone for urethane sealants, it won't seal no matter what you do. I would love to continue but don't want to sound like I'm trying to peddle the stuff either. Just know that Winnebago spends upwards of several millions of dollars on Field Research And Developement every year and have tested Everything on the market but have gone on to use this product for years on every roof they've sealed that comes out of that factory. You don't have to be a believer to just try it, but give it a chance.

;D
Click to expand...

I just want to make sure we are talking about the sidewall seams?  Or are you talking about the Dicor type self leveling stuff for the cap/vents/skylight etc?
 
  Sorry if any confusion. I was still on the question that started this thread. Please understand that the rule of checking your roof and all caulk joints at least every year is a basic and need to follow rule that is followed with the "peal and reseal" every 5 years. There is no manufactures nor service tech that would tell you different. The liability that would follow any form of other such policy would be catastrophic to those that spoke it just because of the industry we deal in. There is an old saying I'm sure will ring a bell, "There are two types of RVs, those that leak and those that are going to leak."  :'(

  On to the sides of the coach. Winnebago uses silicone in just about all their applications, from roofs to wall, from exterior to interior. Take a look around inside and outside your coach for a minute, yep all silicone. They don't expect it to last forever.

  I'm a huge believer in DO-IT-YOURSELF kind of stuff, and the ideas her are all good ideas as long as they fit your need. Try the best fitting one and keep a constent eye on it and if that doesn't work then try something else. There are no guarantees for forever. If it breaks then it's made by man, and if it's man made it will break! And remember keep your fingers crossed. Please heed warning about a screw into just fiberglass with any tension on it will not last, if you can get that screw into anything else behind it it would be a blessing.

  Do you mind if I ask if your problem is a collaping roof radius, I am very educated in that part and have a simpler better solution if this be the case.
 
Harry B said:
Steve,

Like John said it apparently is not a point of concern as Winnie is putting this very screw in all newer coaches. I don't know what year they started with this but I have checked some other (newer) coaches while at WIT rallies and they all have this screw installed.

Just don't over tighten it as that could crack the fiberglass. The caps are hand made and the thickness is not very uniform. My passenger side for example s thicker than the driver side. Just make sure all the old sealant is removed and that the 5200 is just grabbing fiberglass and not old sealant left behind.  That should take all the stress off of the screw.
Click to expand...

One more bit of info, the screw you need to use can be self or sheet. Why I say either or is a simple rule of pre-drilling. The self tapping screw can go through the first piece of fiberglass and bite while trying to drill through the second and start causing cracking and damage the fiberglass and the same can be said about the sheet metal screw, then it's on into the metal that will have the same effect.
 
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