By Dustin Simpson
My wife, Ashley, and I manage several RV-related Facebook groups and belong to several others. Join us as we sit down to discuss a post highlighting the trend of covering all your RV roof seams with EternaBond tape.
Is this a good or a bad idea? Well, just like politics, folks lean hard one way or the other. While there certainly is a time and place for using EternaBond® tape (e.g., to use it as a patch), I have multiple reasons why you shouldn’t use it to cover all the seams on your RV roof.
Watch the video below to see my reaction when someone tapes their roof seams with EternaBond.
Reasons why you SHOULDN’T use EternaBond tape
The plastics on your roof get sun/weather-damaged over time and become brittle. Should you need to remove anything from your roof (such as a broken vent or a cracked skylight), or you want to do a TV antenna upgrade, you won’t be able to remove the EternaBond tape without damaging the roof membrane.
The plastic membrane in the tape will get sun damaged, just like all the plastics on your roof. That tape was not designed to be flexible to give and flex with the unit. Eventually, the tape will shrink and cause the membrane to curl, creating toothpick-sized gaps which will allow water through and cause damage.
Nothing beats maintenance
At the end of the day, a maintenance-free RV just doesn’t exist. Sealants aren’t permanent. Nothing beats maintenance. It needs to be kept clean and the sealants need to be touched up, as necessary. You can get a roof coating, which will cover the roof membrane and sealants. But even then, it needs to be cleaned and routinely checked to see if there are any cracks or separations in the coating.
Join the discussion online
Join the fun online! We have multiple Facebook groups where others share their problems, repairs, and upgrades. There are general groups, and groups tailored to your specific RV manufacture. There is something here for everyone. Here’s a list of all our groups.
More from Dustin
Read more of Dustin’s articles here.
Dustin owns and operates California RV Specialists, an independent RV repair shop located in Lodi, CA. He thrives on sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm of RV repair and maintenance with his team, customers, and virtual friends.
Be sure to check out his YouTube channel, where he shares what’s going on in the shop and the product offerings in the store. Dustin is also very active on Facebook. Join his group, RV Repairs and Tips – What’s in the shop!
Dustin proudly operates the business alongside his wife, Ashley; but the true pair that run the show are their Boston Terriers, Arvie and Hitch.
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In all the years and RV’s, we have owned, never had a need to tape one together. And if ever having a leak, I will seal it once the rain has stopped the way it was sealed when built. That tape starts looking bad in just a short time on RV’s I have seen it installed.
And it doesn’t stick in the rain, I had a leak on my motor home roof, grabbed the eternabond and up I went, I could’ve sworn it said it could be applied to a wet surface, nope. Creating an umbrella patch over the leak I fixed it later. Lol
Nothing beats maintenance…do it now or pay later.
Thank you, Dustin! 🙂 Your arguments against taping roof seams with Eternabond tape are compelling; I will not do it. 🙂 Thanks again and have a great weekend! 🙂
Works fine on a fiberglass roof. your header so be more explicit I.E> don’t use on a membrane roof.
I have had DICOR tape on my fiberglass roof seams for 9 years with no problems. I do keep my roof clean and apply a coat of DICOR Fiberglass sealant every spring. I would not use it on a membrane roof but really like my results on fiberglass.
I had a leak coming in around my vent. My roof is gel-coated fiberglass. I removed all the old sealant and Dicored all around the base of the vent. For good measure I added strips of Eternabond. After two years, still no leaks. I think it works ok with fiberglass roofs.
While what you are saying is mostly true, there is a maintenance free RV roof. Its called a Revcon. My coach was 35 years old when I sold it. The guy who has it now still has not had any leaks, making that 41 years. The plastic marker lights had to be replaced, but things like roof seam did not have any maintenance done to them is 41 years. Stretchform aircraft aluminum when done right never leaks. Even the fiberglass end cap to aluminum shell seam will never leak. It was just done right.