Jump to content

Downside to filling and covering roof trim strips?


deannak

Recommended Posts

I've found lots of dirt, silicone and rusty screws under the vinyl trim strips in the tracks along the edges of my roof.  It doesn't look like that setup has been doing the job of keeping the water out properly.

On another forum (can't remember exactly where) I read an account by a guy who filled in the tracks completely with lap sealant, and then covered the whole thing with Eternabond tape.

It must be a bear if you need to remove it for something, but as long as it doesn't leak, I don't see why I'd ever want to remove it. If it makes my roof more leak proof, it seems like a good idea to me.

I'm sure this is overkill, but is there a downside to doing it this way? 

Thanks! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The water is getting deep here. Here's what I did

1. Remove trim inset, Remove the screws, easier said than done, most will be rusted almost in half. A small grinder will be a great help. just grind off the head of the screw.

Then remove the trim itself. Be careful not to bend it out of shape,

2.  Clean, clean, clean the joint. I used Pro Seal 34 to seal the joint, mask the caulk line for neatness. Butyl tape over the joint and edge.  Reinstall the trim strip, I used self tapping stainless steel screws installed in new holes. Each screw got a dab of Dycor over it and so did the old holes. The Pro Seal is the actual seal agent

3. I laid out the new trim insert out on the roof for 3 months to "preshrink"  it. I reinstalled it with a screw at each end.

In 5 years no problems. If yours starts to show ANY leakage this the correct fix, any patch job is short term.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WME seems to have the solution. because of my experience with having to replace my entire roof i know that keeping water from finding its way into your MH is paramount. the repair shop that replaced my roof installed all new trim strips and on the flatter portions put like a gutter type of strip. fortunately i should have no issues. as WME stated he replaced the trim strip screws with stainless, i also replaced any exterior screw on the coach with stainless when i first got my warrior. maybe i was anal ..but for the small price i thought it would be a good thing to do.  joe from dover

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hey WME, that sounds like a very professional job you did!  I'm sure mine won't be up to those same standards, but I'm learning a lot as I go.  Fortunately my rusty screws aren't in quite that bad shape.  I haven't had any (so far) that I had to grind out.  Thanks for all the info!

Joe from Dover - I'm replacing all the screws on the roof with stainless.  Haven't even thought about all the screws on the rest of the vehicle!  :o

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey deanak, I've never had a leak but had to reseal my roof also after 35 yrs. everything original up there. I did what your doing by replacing all the rusted screws around all the trim with larger Stainless steel screws. I put Flex seal into each screw hole and on top of the new stainless screw heads. Installed new vinyl trim all around the rig. I then used Dicor lap sealant on the edges of the roof trim. WME does Exceptional work and completely removing the trim and re-sealing with butyl tape is the way to go but too scary for me lol:-)! I used hunkamans tip and also replaced all exterior screws with Stainless. Maybe anal but sure dresses up the exterior with shiny new screws!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi there,  if you do replace all the screws with stainless, try and find an industrial hardware supply company to purchase your replacements.  usually if you go to a lowes or home depot, you have to purchase blister packs and typically they are always in the wrong amount that you require and are expensive to buy.  the place i went to was like an old time hardware store where you could buy a single screw or as many as needed. i believe i spent less than $20.00 for all the screws i replaced. most were just a few pennies each. the place i went to was not a chain store, but you may have luck at "fastenal" if you have one in your area. good luck. joe from dover

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/8/2017 at 9:11 AM, hunkaman said:

hi there,  if you do replace all the screws with stainless, try and find an industrial hardware supply company to purchase your replacements.  usually if you go to a lowes or home depot, you have to purchase blister packs and typically they are always in the wrong amount that you require and are expensive to buy.  the place i went to was like an old time hardware store where you could buy a single screw or as many as needed. i believe i spent less than $20.00 for all the screws i replaced. most were just a few pennies each. the place i went to was not a chain store, but you may have luck at "fastenal" if you have one in your area. good luck. joe from dover

What ^^^^ said.  The price difference is astounding. Also, selection is much better. You can generally find one of these places in industrial parks. They are not in strip malls, with the possible exception of fastenal/grainger. As an example, I recently needed some M5x20mm socket head cap screws. Individually bagged at big box stores for a buck or two a piece, box of 100 at industrial supply about 8 bucks.

If you happen to be in central RI, actually, anywhere in RI as it is about 5 miles long, these guys are great. http://www.warwickfasteners.com/pfasteners/21.pdf

Great service, knowledgeable staff. Kinda like the big boxes were.....25 years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ordered stainless screws from Fastenere on Amazon. $10 for 100. Unfortunately, can't buy just the quantity I want this way.  The old fashioned hardware store sounds kind of fun. :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi folks; I'm a ''fresh'' new owner of a Toyota RV 6 cyl.  , and I'm searching for others in my area [ Parksville BC Canada] to learn from. I need all the help I can get !  Thanks J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...