Resealing a Jayco Class C Cabover Leak

[pshipsey]

Hei, hei. It's been a while. I have a 2001 C class jayco. When I adopted it 5 years ago I had water damage in the cabover. i used eternal bond (?)...that super sticky tape. It worked great, but now (5 yrs later) I have moisture showing up in the same area. What can I use to reseal without removing the eternal bond? I see maybe geocel Pro Flex? Or, is there a type of sealant I can brush on to get into any areas in the tape that may be allowing water to enter?
I also need recommendation for caulking around the outside seams in the cab over. Before winter hit I noticed the moisture damage in the cabover beginning again so I applied some caulking to those outside seams. No new moisture after a long, hard winter (it was tarped), but I need to pay it more attention now.
Cabover replacement is not an option for this 25 year old beast...just keeping it running and in good shape.
I'm living in the UP of Michigan now, so there is a scarcity of RV repair places
ps...I did look at past posts regarding this issue

Thanks in advance!

Pat

 

[Vic Harder]

does your Jayco have corner/edge trim around the nose of the cabover? If you can remove that and scrape off the old sealant in there, apply new butyl rubber under the trim and re-attach it, with a dab of proflex on each screw's threads, that would be better than putting it on the outside. Hopefully you don't find too much rot when you take off the trim!

 

[Isaac-1]

It is hard to say what is best without knowing what has been used previously as there are compatibility issues, also in general you often need to remove what is failing, not just cover it up.

 

[zulutron]

When I adopted it 5 years ago I had water damage in the cabover. i used eternal bond (?)...that super sticky tape. It worked great, but now (5 yrs later) I have moisture showing up in the same area. What can I use to reseal without removing the eternal bond?

After 5 years it may be time to remove the old Eternabond tape and replace it with new tape.

Below is what my Eternabond looked like after 5 years in the Southwest sun:

I used EternaCaulk along the edges of the EternaBond tape.

 

[TheBar]

Did the Eternabond come off or the edges came loose? If not closely examine any surrounding areas for places that could allow water to get in. The running lights are frequently overlooked but have to be resealed if the caulking has failed. You can cut Eternabond to fit under the running light then screw the fixture back down over it. A little extra caulking won't hurt. Same way with the corner or side trim. I sealed every seam and edge on my roof with Eternabond 12 years ago and have had no failures

 

[gwinger]

Most failures with Eternabond or any other sealant is poor preparation.
The surfaces must be completely clean.
When applying the tape, do not stretch it. Lay it down and use a wallpaper seam roller to press it down.
Apply self-leveling caulk along the edges of the tape.

 

[RV_Lee122]

Replace the eternabond, use the pro flex on the seams

 

[gwinger]

Replace the eternabond, use the pro flex on the seams

That's great if you are removing it from Plexiglass, fiberglass or metal.
The problem comes in when it is used on a rubber roof.
Some solvents will damage the rubber membrane, especially petroleum based products.

 

[pshipsey]

does your Jayco have corner/edge trim around the nose of the cabover? If you can remove that and scrape off the old sealant in there, apply new butyl rubber under the trim and re-attach it, with a dab of proflex on each screw's threads, that would be better than putting it on the outside. Hopefully you don't find too much rot when you take off the trim!

Thanks for your reply. I just watched a youtube video on this subject. Looks doable though I am afraid of what I find under the trim. It has been caulked over multiple times so there's a mess to be cleaned up for sure.
I'll post a pic later. Thanks again

 

[pshipsey]

Most failures with Eternabond or any other sealant is poor preparation.
The surfaces must be completely clean.
When applying the tape, do not stretch it. Lay it down and use a wallpaper seam roller to press it down.
Apply self-leveling caulk along the edges of the tape.

Thanks for your reply. After further inspection I do not think it's the window in the cabover where the Eternabond is. I am going to apply caulk around the edges while I'm up there though.

 

[pshipsey]

Did the Eternabond come off or the edges came loose? If not closely examine any surrounding areas for places that could allow water to get in. The running lights are frequently overlooked but have to be resealed if the caulking has failed. You can cut Eternabond to fit under the running light then screw the fixture back down over it. A little extra caulking won't hurt. Same way with the corner or side trim. I sealed every seam and edge on my roof with Eternabond 12 years ago and have had no failures

Thanks for your reply. Upon further inspection, I don't think the Eternabond around the cab window is the issue. I think it's the side trim, where it's been caulked multiple times. I'm going to replace that and seal the whole thing, including around the running lights and the roof.
That Eternabond is trick! I have an old metal door that is rusted from a bad seal and a lot of snow. I was not ready to replace the door so i cleaned up the rust, applied a seal coat, then the Eternabond. It's holding up through 2 winters. I'm impressed.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Upon further inspection, I don't think the Eternabond around the cab window is the issue. I think it's the side trim, where it's been caulked multiple times. I'm going to replace that and seal the whole thing, including around the running lights and the roof.

Now you are on the right track. It is imperative to figure out where the moisture is coming from - do NOT assume it is the same as the earlier source. Don't fix the Eternabond unless you have good reason to believe it has failed in some way, e.g. edges have lifted or wrinkles allowing seepage underneath.

 

[Kirk]

I think it's the side trim, where it's been caulked multiple times.

The fact that the trim has been caulked more than once seems to make it suspect that it has leaked before. I would address that first.

 

[RV_Lee122]

Proflex won't be good for a big job, I think you might want "no sag" lap sealant for that, perhaps others will know?

 

[Kirk]

perhaps others will know?

See the replies in the thread on leaky sealant.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Proflex won't be good for a big job, I think you might want "no sag" lap sealant for that, perhaps others will know?

Proflex doesn't "sag" either. Are you thinking of a self-leveling sealant for use on horizontal surfaces (roofs) vs vertical seams? The size of the job isn't the criteria - it's horizontal & level vs any degree of angle. The self-leveling sealants need near perfect level surfaces; everything else requires a non-sag sealant.