What type sealant or caulk?

[AlaTex]

I have an apparent leak :swear: near the upper corner where the ABS end panel meets the metal side panel of 2000 Coleman/Fleetwood Mesa. What type of sealant or caulk would you suggest that would be best to use at this joint and other similar joints on the exterior body???

The idea I have, is to insert the sealant/caulk spout under the outermost panel and just apply a small amount of compound to fill the connection space or void, without having any exposed.

Suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks. :U

[brainpause]

Our local Fleetwood (formerly Coleman) and Palomino dealer recommended that I use some construction caulk, when I redid our Aluminum roof. It wasn't water-soluble, but instead non-polar soluble (i.e., kerosene). I think it dried much harder than the water-soluble caulks. Have not had any leaks since.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name or anything. I only remember that it was construction caulk, non-water-soluble. IIRC (and I could be wrong), it had some purplish colors on the label.

Larry

[tlhdoc]

Contact Fleetwood and ask them what to use.  The ABS may require a special type of caulk.

[flyfisherman]

There are a few different ways to go depending on just how serious you want it to seal it off. Some of these are sealant/adhesive products that are real bad news when it comes to sealing up a leak, the only problem with them is if you ever wanted to undo what you have sealed and remove it at some future date. One I'm sure you familar with is the windshield urethane sealant that holds your windshield in place on your car or truck. Nasty black stuff to work with, but buddy-row, when it sets it's a done deal! They even have some body shop seam-sealer variants of that material that are beige color for use on other parts of a car or truck. These products can even be painted over but their draw back is if you ever have to remove the product after it has set-up.

There's a rubber based product a little more people friendly to use,  clear in color and the clean-up after the fact is a little easier. This product is called "Parr" (Parbond), made by the H.B. Fuller Company of Elkhart, Indiana. A favoirite sealer where it will be exposed to adverse weather.  There are also some two-part epoxy products (you will want the flexible versions), and these epoxies will also seal and adhere, but these items, too, are tough to get back into at a later date, but maybe not as tough as the urethane.

Starcraft recommends using a silicone product for sealing on their popups; they recommend Dow silicone sealer (#999A), or it's equivalent. Cannot paint over silcones as paint will not adhere to it (if that should be an interest). This product can be removed at a later date and the old sealant residue can be removed using isopropyl alcohol and this will not remove the camper's old paint underneath the silicone sealant. I've used this product and it's pleasant to work with and holds up to the weather well.

Bottom line: if you just need to seal off from the weather and maybe have to get back into that area later on, use the Dow sealant. If you want it sealed and don't care about EVER getting back into it, use the Parbond. If you need to not only seal it off from the weather but also bond two panels together for a LONG, LONG TIME (amen) ... get some windshield urethane.


Fly

[dpomroy]

Try Phenoseal (Feen-o-seal). You can get it at any house store like Home Depot, Loews, etc. It is a multi purpose sealent that dries quick and stays flexable when it dries so that will help with the roof flexing during tow and temp. changes. It is also paintable and easy to clean up with water. I live and die by this stuff. It will seal anything as long as it has time to completely heal without getting wet.

Hope this helps