who2ted Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Was thinking of resealing the exterior of the bunk with Eternabond and possibly replacing the old molding. Has anyone found a molding that works or should I reuse the old molding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 If you are talking about the aluminum channel that goes around the exterior with the vinyl screw covers. Reuse the original as bending new ones to fit will never work and you will always have leaks. Remove the old aluminum channel, clean off the old putty tape, put new putty tape on the underside of the channel and replace it. Put on new screw cover. Your leaks are more than likely from the windows and the marker lights if it is the bunk area. Remove the marker lights and windows and put new putty tape on them and put them back on. This needs to be done every 5-7 years and you can bet that it has never been done on your coach (no one does it because no one knows it needs to be done and those that do know HATE doing it). You need to remove all side channels, marker lights, windows, roof vents, and stacks and replace the putty tape on them every 5-7 years also. Owning an RV is just as high maintenance as owning a boat. All boats want to do is sink and it is a constant effort to keep them from NOT sinking. All RVs want to do is leak and it requires the same constant diligence to keep them from rotting away. You can keep a boat out of water to lower the maintenance on it just like you can keep an RV in a garage to lower the maintenance on them. Most people do not keep their RVs in a garage, I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Sorry cant help you. I was hoping to do the same but that stuff is expensive.Over $500 to replce just in parts! I've since saved it to put back on later. Let me know if you find any cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostcoast Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) Sorry cant help you. I was hoping to do the same but that stuff is expensive.Over $500 to replce just in parts! I've since saved it to put back on later. Let me know if you find any cheap. So what do thes alu tracks & vinyl covers cover (other than the screws that hold in the track)? Is it purely cosmetic? Or does it provide mechanical fastening for two parts of the fiberglass shell? Im having a tough time finding replacement vinyl for my Nova Star (there are two types, A flexible single piece U-channel with outer flanges that pops in to the alu track, and a u-channel with interior flanges that pops over the track). Most of the flexible stuff that I see in rolls at RV supply places is flat that pops into a channel....seems like this *might* work for some of it but there is alot of it missing from the rig and Im not finding replacement vinyl for the pop-over stuff. It seems like someone was a little over-zealous when they decided to add this 'feature' because it is everywhere.... What Id really like to do is pull it all off, fill the zillion screw holes with white pigmented epoxy and then some day, down the road paint the sucker. Edited August 31, 2009 by lostcoast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 So what do thes alu tracks & vinyl covers cover (other than the screws that hold in the track)? Is it purely cosmetic? Or does it provide mechanical fastening for two parts of the fiberglass shell? Im having a tough time finding replacement vinyl for my Nova Star (there are two types, A flexible single piece U-channel with outer flanges that pops in to the alu track, and a u-channel with interior flanges that pops over the track). Most of the flexible stuff that I see in rolls at RV supply places is flat that pops into a channel....seems like this *might* work for some of it but there is alot of it missing from the rig and Im not finding replacement vinyl for the pop-over stuff. It seems like someone was a little over-zealous when they decided to add this 'feature' because it is everywhere.... What Id really like to do is pull it all off, fill the zillion screw holes with white pigmented epoxy and then some day, down the road paint the sucker. I had to go look at my pics of Nova Stars to get the idea of what you are talking about. The metal channels go where 2 pieces of body work come together. It covers the joint/seam. It uses butyl putty tape under it to seal out water and moisture from getting inside. The vinyl screw cover is just that, a cover for the screws. It is mostly cosmetic but it keeps water/moisture off of the screw heads. I can't see from the pics I have where there is any outside groove molding. here are a couple of places that have different screw cover (that is what the vinyl insert material is called) http://www.rvsurplus.net/catalog/display.php?category_id=70 http://www.shoprvparts.com/product.do?no=14182F http://www.approducts.net/21screw_covers.htm It would not be a good idea to remove the aluminum panel joint covering and make a permanent cover. This is where panels need to come apart in case you get a "boo boo" in one and need to replace it so it needs to be able to be taken apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostcoast Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) I had to go look at my pics of Nova Stars to get the idea of what you are talking about. The metal channels go where 2 pieces of body work come together. It covers the joint/seam. It uses butyl putty tape under it to seal out water and moisture from getting inside. The vinyl screw cover is just that, a cover for the screws. It is mostly cosmetic but it keeps water/moisture off of the screw heads. I can't see from the pics I have where there is any outside groove molding. here are a couple of places that have different screw cover (that is what the vinyl insert material is called) http://www.rvsurplus...?category_id=70 http://www.shoprvpar...ct.do?no=14182F http://www.approduct...crew_covers.htm It would not be a good idea to remove the aluminum panel joint covering and make a permanent cover. This is where panels need to come apart in case you get a "boo boo" in one and need to replace it so it needs to be able to be taken apart. Man Turtle, you must have some serious resources to have Nova Star pics lurking around I mean, they're functional but. pretty?...No. Thanks for the links I had seen all of them but the ap products one which might have what im looking for the clip-in (actually alot of other sites had it too but flat, it looks like it will have a round profile, the illustration on the AP website makes things a little clearer). Looks like the clip-over might be tougher to come up with. While you were researching, I was taking pics...here are a couple of crappy ones . Note the square profile on both. The clip over appears to be longer on one side than on the other, maybe to accomodate glass overlap. Edited August 31, 2009 by lostcoast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Was thinking of resealing the exterior of the bunk with Eternabond and possibly replacing the old molding. Has anyone found a molding that works or should I reuse the old molding? Try these guys they have the closest stuff I have seen yet for the Nova Star: http://www.all-rite.com/ lots of pictures. I doubt that you would get the old stuff off and be able to reuse it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostcoast Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Try these guys they have the closest stuff I have seen yet for the Nova Star: http://www.all-rite.com/ lots of pictures. I doubt that you would get the old stuff off and be able to reuse it. Thanks for the link Maineah, wooo those guys are expensive! What a PITA, hopefully we'll find something that works for less than a buck twenty five a foot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobirds Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 (edited) We definitely need to lay down new putty tape and replace our screw covers. We looked on All-Rite and found the right stuff. However, when we measure our current screw covers, it's barely 3/4" wide, but All-Rite only carries 1" in our cover. Do you think our covers have shrunk that much? (I broke a piece off and am measuring from underneath, from edge to edge.) Edited March 2, 2010 by twobirds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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