Touched up my roof caulking... Curing question

[SkyBound]

I saw that the caulking on the front seam of my roof was starting to show signs of cracking, so after washing the whole roof with a mild soap and water (using a hand scrub brush on a 30' trailer... yeah.) I used some mineral spirits on a rag and cleaned the dirt off the old stuff. It's amazing how well that stuff works to cut through that dirt - it made the old stuff bright white again. I made sure to not get much of it on the roof membrane itself either.

I used 2 tubes of Dicor Self Leveling LAP sealant which was just enough. If you are planning on doing this same job, leaving the old stuff on and adding to it, get 2 tubes minimum. If you plan on scraping it all off and starting clean, get 3 or 4. I decided to leave the old stuff on this time since it's the factory sealant, and next time I'll scrape it all off and start fresh, or maybe Eternabond...

I applied the caulking around 4-5pm on a hot and sunny afternoon and then left it overnight, however we had a bit of dew develop overnight and I'm sure there's a small bit of water up on it. Will this be ok for the curing?

[TWP723]

Should be. I'm sure it skinned over before the dew set in. Even if it does have dew on it, don't disturb it. Let it dry. Trust me, it'll eventually cure.

[Scoutr2]

It will be fine. Once the outer skin is cured, the moisture will not penetrate it. Just give it 24-48 hours to cure completely before moving the trailer. There will always be a bit of twisting and bending between the roof and the front/side panels when a trailer bounces down the road. I heard it stated on another forum that when your trailer travels down a typical highway, it is akin to your house enduring a 3.0 magnitude earthquake.

The most important things when caulking are to make sure the surfaces are clean, dry, and the temperature is above 60 degrees. Then let it cure.

[VicS1950]

I agree that the water will not be a problem. It is a problem with water based sealants, but not with petroleum based sealants. As long as the water is not strong enough to physically disturb and move the sealant or create a deep puddle all will be fine. I've seen sealant repairs which were not skinned over end up with tiny craters from rain. The bond of the sealant was unaffected.

vic

[SkyBound]

Very good, thanks guys. It's going to be hot and sunny here for the next several days so it should have good curing time and conditions.

I used the Dicor 501 or 502? self leveling sealant, it's all that's available around here. From what I've read it should be fine for my roof which I believe to be Alpha Ply.

[Subaru297]

I used 502-LSW Self Leveling Sealant recently on my 2014 281BHS. Probably the same roof as you. So far so good.

[SkyBound]

Have any of you experienced the rubber roof wrinkling in the area that the sealant was applied? There was a disclaimer on the tube saying that with some TPO roofs this may happen and that it's normal and won't affect the durability of the roof/seal.

Others have said that this will go away with time once the sealant is finished curing...

I can't help but feel like I've done something wrong here.

[TWP723]

From what I understand, it will eventually go away after full cure. But why would the product cause this? Is it 'pulling' or 'pushing' the roof material? Just seems strange. I'd take pictures to..just in case.

[SkyBound]

It's not pulling or pushing on the material at all. It was perfectly flat when it was applied. From what I've read it is due to the petroleum distillates in the caulk which, from what I understand, evaporates/disappears after curing is complete.

After all the reading and browsing and hassle of trying to find the right sealant for my roof, I almost wish I didn't have this Alpha Systems roof material. It seems like a very unsupported product with conflicting information and very little maintenance products on the market. I still don't know of anywhere in Canada that sells their brand of sealant.

[TWP723]

That's strange. How about Amazon??

[SkyBound]

Nothing that I can find. I mean, there are TONS of Jaycos out there with Alpha roofs. People are obviously maintaining their roofs with something, and I can pretty much guarantee that it's with Dicor since that product is so readily available and the dealerships use it on everything, so they say. I'd rather have a few small wrinkles than a leaky roof, but ideally it should settle back down to the way it was.

[Scoutr2]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

After all the reading and browsing and hassle of trying to find the right sealant for my roof, I almost wish I didn't have this Alpha Systems roof material. It seems like a very unsupported product with conflicting information and very little maintenance products on the market. I still don't know of anywhere in Canada that sells their brand of sealant.

The internet is a wonderful thing! I do very little shopping in stores anymore. I go to Camping World's website to find what I need, then go to Amazon and double check. Sometimes CW has what I'm looking for at a better price, but when I add shipping costs, the price is higher than Amazon. And since I'm an Amazon Prime member, the free 2-day shipping usually gets me the item at a cheaper price. And I've had items delivered on a Sunday by UPS. I'll bet you can find what you need on Amazon.

Yes. Amazon Prime is $99/year. But I don't burn all that fuel shopping in several stores to find what I want, and still can't be sure I got the best deal. And then there's the free streaming video on my laptop/TV for all kinds of entertainment - plus free e-books, music, etc. Well worth the annual fee! (Who need NetFlix, etc when I have Prime!?!?!)

[certified106]

I have a 2013 with the same roof and my dealer won't use Dicor on it. They recommend, use and sell an Alpha brand self leveling caulk. They have touched up areas and I just applied two tubes this past summer to my roof with no wrinkling. When I get home I can snap a picture of the tube as I keep a couple tubes handy in case of emergency at all times.

[SkyBound]

Where did you get the tubes from? I called several different Jayco dealers around my area and they all said they use Dicor self-leveling LAP sealant. Same stuff I used. Seems like that's all that's available up here and it's what everyone is using.

[rodandmir]

I put eternabond over the original caulking on my roof. I was thinking of removing the old goo first, but the chances of damaging the roof trying to get that gunk off was not worth it.
Adding more self leveling sealer over the old stuff didn't seem to be a good option as you would eventually have to remove some or create a mountain

[certified106]

This is what I have used and what my dealer uses. I have never had an issue with it and have used it on the last 3 campers I owned. Even on the one I have now it has never caused bubbling.

I bought both of these tubes from the dealer I use but I am pretty sure you can get it on amazon. I think I paid right around $10 a tube.

[SkyBound]

Just an update on the roof caulking. Now that the new Dicor self leveling sealant has had time to properly cure, all of the initial wrinkling that occurred shortly after application has vanished. The roof is back to normal and laying flat, and the new caulking has adhered perfectly. I figure it was a byproduct of the curing process - this stuff takes about a month to fully cure.

So for those of you with an Alpha roof, if you choose to apply Dicor you can expect initial wrinkling of the roof material but it will settle back down to normal.

[hbravo]

Yes you can use the Dicor. Our sealant is sold at Camping World under Superflex sealants.



Thank you



Yvonne Christian

Alpha Systems LLC

574-295-5206

800-462-4698

ychristian@alphallc.us