Exterior Roof Repair - What Silicone to fix a small roof leak

[SimonM]

After the Easter rain in Busselton this year , we found a very small amount of water coming from our van roof. A towel on the cupboard soaked up the drip .
Very disappointing as its the first real rain we have been in since buying the van last year (its a 2012 expanda)
The leak seemed to stop after a few hours , very curious.
Once home yesterday and I could inspect the roof section on a ladder , It appears that the factory sealant between the flat roof section and the corner moulding has a small split in the sealant about 150mm each side of the front right corner.
My question is , what type of sealant is best to reseal this join.

Ive read lots of things about silicones and the acidic nature during curing , sikaflex is better , but im not sure which one is the best for this job as it will be in weather all the time.
Or do I just use good old window and gutter sealant as it can withstand UV and weather?.

Any advice will be great.

Simon

 

[NoWorries]

I used Sellys solaflex where I drilled a hole for the solar

 

[dagree]

I use Sikaflex 291 and seems to hold up to the elements and UV but if concerned with the UV effects maybe try Sikaflex 295UV @SimonM

 

[spiderpig]

We have a similar leak on our 2012 14.44

I went to jayco and asked what sealent should be used, they sold me a tube of the stuff they recommend, maybe its worth a visit to your local.

Im yet to fix ours, on the to do list...

 

[achjimmy]

When I was sus of some roof joints on our new Expanda Canberra sent us some Bostick V60. I also bought it from Jayco Newcastle to fix the awning leak on the Starcraft . I am a sika fan but can't fault the V60. Also found it doesn't yellow like the sika can. So I keep a tub in the fridge on hand for Jayco repairs

 

[Drover]

I think it was Sikaflex 261 that I used on a similar repair, I ended up removing most of the orignal sealant to be safe, just ran the scraper down each edge to lift the old silicon off, cleaned it down then applied the new stuff, did the round down corners as well. Was surprised at how easy it all lifted, the sikaflex stuck really well.
On Big Mal Iused another brand, german made but the name escapes me but it was a 261 and similar to sika, way superior to what was used originally.
With using silastic stuff read the label, for use on alloys, plastics etc you want "neutral cure", then it won't eat anything.

 

[SimonM]

Thanks everyone.

Went for the sika 291 in the end. Bought it a couple of weeks ago haven't done the job yet , waiting for a fine weekend day in Perth and some time... . . .oh for some spare time !!.

 

[jeff]

How timely, need to replace some on our roof as well

 

[Drover]

Just remember to clean it up the best you can, use sticky tape to mask around it, works well and a finger dipped in dish washing liquid/truck wash will give a smooth finish, rip the tape up when you've finished putting it down, leave too long and you could wreck all your tidy work.

 

[spiderpig]

Thanks everyone.

Went for the sika 291 in the end. Bought it a couple of weeks ago haven't done the job yet , waiting for a fine weekend day in Perth and some time... . . .oh for some spare time !!.

I resealed the whole roof on our van over the last couple of days. What a s**& job. After seeing how easily the sealant scraped off that jayco used originally i decided not to use the sealant that the local jayco shop sold me and went with Sika 291 aswell. Prepped/cleaned it up with prepsol, masked it up. The 291 seams to have stuck really well.

 

[Drover]

The main problem with the 291 stuff is you need to get it right first time, especially with vents and stuff, when it sets it is bloody well there for good I can tell you !!!!!.......................will never fall off.

 

[daznmel]

Hi,
Sounds like I am not the only one that has sprung a leak through the roof of my Jayco Expanda.
Opened it up after the large amount of winter ran this year in Canberra, to discover it had a leak in the front right corner.
(Unfortunately, my van has to live outside under a caravan cover) There has been a little bit of damage to the inside ceiling.
Jumped up to have a look, and discovered the sealant Jayco used has split in the corner join for about about 800mm in each direction.
Lets say I was disappointed to say the least. (Just wished I had checked it sooner)
Knowing I had more rain on the way, quick trip to Bunnings for the some UV rated silicon, cut back the existing silicone in that area with a Stanley knife and a quick repair job.
I have since rang Jayco to discuss this problem, and asked how long should the Sikaflex Jayco use last? and where does Jayco tell you that you need to replace it?
His response was, every 3-4 years, and did nobody tell you it ! No !!! I then asked do they do it and how much ? His response... about $700..
What !!! I guess I have some work to do myself..
Then I asked about repairing the ceiling, and that was a casual "about $1000.00 it is very difficult to replace the ceiling inside".. So I will come up with a solution my self to cover the area in the corner.
My van is a 2013 vintage..

My question to the group... Can anyone remember Jayco telling them that you need to change the Sikaflex every 3 - 4 years on your pop-top roof.. and is it written down anywhere ?

Cheers

Darren

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Hi,
Sounds like I am not the only one that has sprung a leak through the roof of my Jayco Expanda.
Opened it up after the large amount of winter ran this year in Canberra, to discover it had a leak in the front right corner.
(Unfortunately, my van has to live outside under a caravan cover) There has been a little bit of damage to the inside ceiling.
Jumped up to have a look, and discovered the sealant Jayco used has split in the corner join for about about 800mm in each direction.
Lets say I was disappointed to say the least. (Just wished I had checked it sooner)
Knowing I had more rain on the way, quick trip to Bunnings for the some UV rated silicon, cut back the existing silicone in that area with a Stanley knife and a quick repair job.
I have since rang Jayco to discuss this problem, and asked how long should the Sikaflex Jayco use last? and where does Jayco tell you that you need to replace it?
His response was, every 3-4 years, and did nobody tell you it ! No !!! I then asked do they do it and how much ? His response... about $700..
What !!! I guess I have some work to do myself..
Then I asked about repairing the ceiling, and that was a casual "about $1000.00 it is very difficult to replace the ceiling inside".. So I will come up with a solution my self to cover the area in the corner.
My van is a 2013 vintage..

My question to the group... Can anyone remember Jayco telling them that you need to change the Sikaflex every 3 - 4 years on your pop-top roof.. and is it written down anywhere ?

Cheers

Darren

Jayco didn't mention it, nor did I find it written anywhere.

I did notice that my service agent has a point on their service check sheet that includes checking the roof sealant.

 

[chartrock]

Definitely not told to even check it but my service guys (not Jayco dealers) said the roof should be checked every 12 months.

 

[Herbertclan]

His response was, every 3-4 years

Our Discovery is a 2012 vintage (but have only just purchased it) . I could see evidence of a very small leak where some internal wiring went through the ceiling internally. The roof dipped slightly near this area and would hold water and eventually seep through. Long story short, I got up and cleaned off all the sealant around the edge of the pop top and it was A) a crap job and B) should of been replaced after at worst 2-2.5 years. I used a $2 plastic spac filler blade from Bunnings and had all the old sealant off in about an hour, it was that hard and crusty. What I thought was going to be a crap job was easy because of the degraded sealant, next time it may be a different scenario!!

If Jayco want $700 to do this job then I'm in the wrong game

I used 291 Sika and while I haven't used it before on caravans I use Sika sealants in the ag industry and is the sealant of choice in my opinion.

Cheers Max.

 

[Drover]

Having done the roof sealant on my old rig, I didn't find any Sikalflex used by Jayco just the old sort of peel off silastic which would mean check every 12 mths, the Sikaflex I replaced it with didn't seem to be lifting or moving when I sold it, didn't have any leaks but the stuff didn't look good so got in early.........................Big Mal has the usual trowel job of silastic on the roof joins, one day it will get a job done on it..................