Roof Repairs the easy way.
My bathroom skylight started leaking, the water traveled inside along the molding and soaked into the ceiling cover, staining it. So, after some Internet investigation on the best way to tackle this problem, I climbed up on the roof with a roll of Eternabond roof leak sealing tape. This tape has a smooth white surface, a thin gray layer, and a super sticky bottom surface. So super sticky that if once you put it down, it’s down for ever. The EPDM type roof that many RV’s have can develop leaks, or have leaks thrust upon them, like when I first started parking in RV parks, I skittered tough branches along the edge of the roof several times. This opened the EPDM covering which allowed water to seep into the RV. Not a good thing. Anyway, I knew I had a leak at the skylight so with the Eternabond and a pair of sharp scissors in hand, I completely surrounded the skylight with tape. The next big rainfall, which was later that night, proved the theory the the skylight was leaking as it remained dry as a desert in the bathroom. Before I taped it, it had been so bad it actually rained inside. Drip-drip-drip.
The skylight after an Eternabond treatment.
The repair lasted a couple – three years, and recently there was another slow leak into the bathroom. Not as bad as the original but an annoyance. I went up and checked yesterday just before we had a big rainstorm and added some tape to a new crack in the skylight, then sealed one of the tape edges on the skylight that had pulled away. Must have not cleaned the plastic well enough when I did it the first time. About 15 minutes later the rain came, very heavy, but no leak this time. I’d also re-did a section along the roof line, you can see the tape in the above photo. There was an open section that must have been the cause of the water getting into my overhead cabinets and soaking some of my technical journals. At least I hope so since it’s sealed now. While I was at it, I sealed the seam between the front end cap of the rig to the house portion. The end cap is a large molded fiberglass section that helps keep the front inside dry since it’s a large single piece.
Sealing the front seam.
Doing this would help prevent any leaks into that seam. I was in one rainstorm that went on so long and was so heavy that I was getting water dripping off of the antenna crank, which is close to that seam. Haven’t noticed that happening since. Note that the white Eternabond tape is 4″ wide.
I still have a leak in the endcap that drips on the dash while I’m driving in a rainstorm and I suspect that is from one of the running lights you can see in the above photo. When I can find a ladder to borrow, I’ll seal those up, too. Edit: Added Eternabond to the rear seam. All is well.