Search This Blog


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Up On The Roof (Part II), With a Little Shake, Rattle and Roll Thrown In

I have been remiss in not always answering questions asked by our blog readers, so let me start by answering a couple:

Barbara asked Marti if the picture of my sideburns didn't cause her to hesitate in marrying me.


She worked hard to catch me, sideburns, or not.  Actually, that was the style back in 1977, but Barbara, you're too young to remember back that far! :c)

Chuck asked if the campground we stayed at up in Winchester, VA is the Candy Hill Campground.  Yes it is, we like to go there once and a while for a change of pace, and it is close to a Camping World store and a Flying J where I top off the diesel fuel tank at good prices.  That was a very observant question by Chuck, but then I'd expect nothing less from a brother Coastie. :c)

Now, onward to the roof.  If you have any RV brand other than a Winnebago, you don't have to read on if you don't want to.  However, if you own a Winnie, you might want to pay attention.  
Winnebago uses a system of tucking the fiberglass roof into a channel that runs along the side of the roof and then seals it in with caulk.


A little closer look.


The caulk needs to be inspected twice a year, per Winnebago's requirement.  What happens is the caulk can dry out, crack and separate the seam that bonds the roof into the channel.  Failing to inspect the seam can lead to the fiberglass roof blowing off while driving.  It has happened to Winnebago owners that neglected (or didn't know about) this important maintenance requirement. 


  You check it by pressing all along the seam with your finger.  If the caulk has failed you'll see this condition.


To repair the failure, you have to dig out the old caulk.

 

After getting the majority of the old caulk out, I use a razor blade to get the tiny remnants out.


Once the little bits are cleaned out, I rinse the area out with a little spray of Brake Shoe Cleaner, then wipe the area dry.  You can use acetone, if you prefer.

I pass on the caulk that Winnebago uses, I know I'd be doing the seam over again in a couple years.  Instead I use this:



This is why I use this caulk:


It provides a crack proof, water resistant seal.  Plus I like using the small tubes instead of the big tubes you'd use in a caulking gun.  You can do small areas, seal the tube with its own top and use it again later.  The large tubes of caulk have no good way to seal the end in between uses and you end up wasting the remainder.

This caulk goes on white, making it easier to see your repaired area, then it drys clear.  Don't ask me how that happens, it must be magic or something.


You can smooth out the caulk with your finger, dipped in some soapy water.  Excess caulk can be wiped off with a rag dipped in the soapy water.

Now for the shake, rattle and roll.  I repaired the seam standing on a ladder.  I'm not too steady on my feet to begin with, and I'm even a little more shaky standing on a ladder 10 feet in the air.  I finished the repair, put the ladder away and then the area around my home in Northern Virgina got hit with a 5.9 earthquake!  Fortunately for me, I was standing on solid ground at the time,  can you picture me with a tube of caulk swaying around on a ladder?  Timing (and luck) are everything. :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.


21 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you are both safe!!..nice repair post !!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't know that about my roof. Guess I'd better find someone who is better on a ladder than I am. :) I wouldn't need an earthquake to knock me off...

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you stick a drywall screw in the end of the caulking gun kind of caulk, it won't dry out. That is, as long as you only have cut that size hole in the tip.

    I would have thought that self-leveling marine or RV caulk, like Dicor, would have been more permanent and suitable for that job?

    As you said, I expect there are a lot of people who don't, or don't know they have to do that.

    Happy Trails, Penny, TX.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you were on solid ground when the earthquake hit :o)) Heck, I was in our upstairs bonus room, above the garage, typing the blog when everything began to shake. I quickly went downstairs as I thought our garage was about to collaspe. We are 500 miles away in South Carolina... I don't want to think what could have happened if you were up on that ladder ;o((

    Hope everyone and everything is OK!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I check that seam every once in awhile and it was completely redone by the dealer last year. Okay, I am lazy, but I accept that:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep, we thought about y'all when we heard about the quake. We were playing in the water at the time.
    Syl

    ReplyDelete
  7. We felt the earthquake here in Maryland, very scary..............

    ReplyDelete
  8. Glad to hear your guys are okay. I keep checking blogs to make sure everybody is reporting in. Up on the roof would not have been a good place to be when you started rockin and rollin.

    ReplyDelete
  9. good to hear you are OK. Lots of posts going up and it seems that so far most folks are fine. Thanks for writing and the repair post was really well done as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dicor self leveling caulk is not recommended by Winnie for this application. It does dry out and crack, too. There may be other good choices of types of sealant out there, this is just what I used.

    I hate to do things over and over again, goes to my lazy nature.

    ReplyDelete
  11. And Paul if folks are too lazy or never get around to checking out that caulk and the inevitable happens here is what they can expect.

    http://johnbrendasincredibleadventure.blogspot.com/2010/04/blast-from-past.html

    And if they need help strapping it down have them give me a call I still have about a mile of webbing and crank straps around Dogpound North.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We couldn't believe it when we heard about the earthquake and are very glad your guardian angel called you down off the ladder before it hit!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good to hear you were on solid ground when that quake hit. Take it from someone who's been in more than a few, it was quite a jolt we felt! See you at Bull Run!

    ReplyDelete
  14. WELL!!!!!! WE HAVE ACCEPTED AN OFFER ON OUR HOME - SO JUST THE INSPECTION AND APPRAISAL TO GO AND A TENTATIVE CLOSING HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR 9/23 - 9/24. DURING EARLY OCTOBER WE WILL TRAVEL OUT TO VISIT THE FOLKS AT NEXUS RV AND IF ALL IS WHAT MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN TO DATE, WE WILL ORDER A 31 FOOT PHANTOM RV WITH ONE SLIDE!! YOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!
    IT'S BEEN A LONG STRESSFUL HAUL - BUT WE BELEIVE WE ARE JUST ABOUT THERE.

    I HOPE YOUR HOUSE IS NEXT TO SELL. OURS WAS ON THE NARKET FOR 7 MONTHS AND IT WOULD SEEM TO BE ALMOST OVER!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Havoc created by weather including earthquakes are not something we want to be in! Glad to hear you're fine and weren't on that ladder when the rocking started.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great post Paul another keeper I'm passing on to my mechanic/handyman/driver/chef and all around nice guy. Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. great post...Rick tends to be very diligent checking our roof and making sure it is clean and all is in order on a regular basis...glad you were off the roof when the earthquake hit...
    stay safe
    Elaine
    Rick tucker and lilly too

    ReplyDelete
  18. I wondered how you guys were/if you felt the earth move (oh yeah, from the earthquake!). It rattled a bit up here as well in PA.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks Paul, that will go on my "to do" list as soon as I get a cooler day :).

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good to know Murphy was attending to the rest of VA and left you alone.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well, thanks, Paul, for that nice compliment. And here I was so mean to you. :-( Actually I remember those days well. In 1977, I was married with two kids.

    ReplyDelete