By Chris Dougherty
Chris Dougherty is a certified RV technician. Here is a letter he received from a reader while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor.
Dear Chris,
Please recommend your choice for metal roof sealant on my 21-foot Minnie Winnie camper. I have some roof leaking issues, mainly along roof edges. —Jerry
Dear Jerry,
Plain aluminum roofs on RVs are actually pretty easy to seal. There are a number of options available, but the one I like the best is Eternabond. Eternabond is a microsealant tape that will permanently cover a seam on a roof, provided the directions are carefully followed. Dicor also has a similar product available for metal roofs.
If you don’t want to go that route, there are other sealants that work well. Sika has a line of RV sealant and adhesive products on the market that are top-shelf. Their Sikaflex 505UV is a UV- and weather-resistant sealant ideal for metal roofs, but can’t be used on EPDM or TPO membrane roofs. It’s pretty forgiving, as it will adhere to almost anything without much surface preparation.
Lastly, Geocel ProFlex RV is a flexible sealant that the company says will last 25 years, and is also not usable on membrane roofs but would be fine for your metal roof. Proflex RV also comes in several colors, and is usable on the sides of the coach as well.
##RVDT1336
We had an aluminum roof on our c coachman that was full of pinholes. We tried everything you mentioned. A total waste of time and money. If they had at the time this sprayed stuff I sure would have tried it. As it was, my son in law and I took all the stuff off the roof and installed a rubber roof over the aluminum. Doing it ourselves cost us around $300 and together about 6 hours total.( Not each,total) Still have some of that eternal bond.