Roof seam sealing

[HoosierMomma]

I am getting ready to redo the seams on my 2002 Coleman Fleetwood Cheyenne pop pup camper. The abs roof is in really great condition (for now), as it was stored inside for many years and probably only used the last year or so. We purchased this summer, so working on a few projects.

My plan is Dicor the seams, then once dry/cured (?) apply eternabond tape. I have already dug out the old cracked silicone as best i could. Anything i am missing. I plan on prepping well before the application of both. How much of that old silicone do i need to dig out of the cracks?

I am wondering about ways to preserve the abs roof as best as possible. Is there a preventative way to stop delamination? Does grizzly grip, or rhino eco rsv coating Stop that? Or is it just a waiting game until the abs will fail?

Thank you for any help and encouragement!

Central Indiana, 2002 Coleman Cheyenne pop up

 

[xxxapache]

I would put Eternabond over the seam, then put Dicor on the edges of the Eternabond. If I did this, I wouldnt worry too much about the old silicone.

 

[Sjm9911]

If you have an abs roof , where are the seams? I am confused. Abs has 0 seams. There is a seal around the edge, a plastic cover over the roof brace and maybe around the cargo bars. But no seams . Maybe you have a warrantee roof? Alumintight?

 

[Snow]

X2 for Etrnabond Tape first then dicor.

 

[Spridle]

I'm confused as well. not much need for either with an ABS roof. But dicor is great stuff and I see no need for eternabond at all if the dicor was applied correctly.

 

[Snow]

Well if the existing sealant is silicone, t wi take a lot of work to prep the seams for the dicor.. so running eternabond The over the seams (with a half inch overlap on the roof) would seal the seam, then use the dicor along the edges of the tape.

 

[HoosierMomma]

If you have an abs roof , where are the seams? I am confused. Abs has 0 seams. There is a seal around the edge, a plastic cover over the roof brace and maybe around the cargo bars. But no seams . Maybe you have a warrantee roof? Alumintight?

The seams on the front back and along the sides

 

[HoosierMomma]

Well if the existing sealant is silicone, t wi take a lot of work to prep the seams for the dicor.. so running eternabond The over the seams (with a half inch overlap on the roof) would seal the seam, then use the dicor along the edges of the tape.

Fantastic! Thank you!

 

[HoosierMomma]

Well if the existing sealant is silicone, t wi take a lot of work to prep the seams for the dicor.. so running eternabond The over the seams (with a half inch overlap on the roof) would seal the seam, then use the dicor along the edges of the tape.

Fantastic! Thank you

 

[Sjm9911]

This is your camper woth an abs roof? I dont see seems on the front back or sides?

The seams on the front back and along the sides

 

[HoosierMomma]

The seams on the front back and along the sides

There are these seams that the sealant was dried, cracking, or missing.

 

[bondebond]

That looks like metal roofing, not ABS, at least where there are the little diamond patterns. That is almost exclusively a surface pattern for metal. You may have ABS front and rear caps. It probably is a factory warranty repair (which I've never seen, only heard about). @Sjm9911 has displayed a picture of a full ABS roof from that timeframe. You can see no seams in it at all.

So indeed, you do need to seal those seams, but you do not have a full ABS original roof. That said, I am not Fleetwood/Coleman expert. That could have been factory but it is not the dreaded full ABS roof that cracks and delaminates that causes the roof recalls.

Nothing that you can apply for sealant will stick to that silicone. So it depends on how much work you want to put into removal of the old stuff. Almost everything that will soften or dissolve it will also attack paint so you have to be careful using chemical processes.

I did remove silicone and put down Dicor or a similar sealant to fill in the gaps, then put Eternabond over that. Some people love to put Dicor or similar over the edges either for cosmetic or additional layers of protection. That's up to you. I found that I did not need to, for either reason. If surface prep is done to the proper level, the Eternabond will far out last the Dicor and probably the plastic caps.

 

[Sjm9911]

Yup , some sort or replacement roof. I only had the abs ones. The side pannels may be abs? Hard to tell, do you have any side shots of it? As they said, nothing sticks to silicone. Unless you get it all off, and that will require scrubbing and maybe solvents. Eternabond is great, but will be a long run on both sides. But doable. Its a metal roof , so maybe a metal roof paint would be better then GG. But if the sides are abs, you may need 2 diffrent products. How is the roof seal around the edge of the roof? It dosen't look like the old one at all. Make sure that your is in tack and seals well. It almost looks shrunk in the corners. But that could be the way that seal is?

 

[HoosierMomma]

That looks like metal roofing, not ABS, at least where there are the little diamond patterns. That is almost exclusively a surface pattern for metal. You may have ABS front and rear caps. It probably is a factory warranty repair (which I've never seen, only heard about). @Sjm9911 has displayed a picture of a full ABS roof from that timeframe. You can see no seams in it at all.

So indeed, you do need to seal those seams, but you do not have a full ABS original roof. That said, I am not Fleetwood/Coleman expert. That could have been factory but it is not the dreaded full ABS roof that cracks and delaminates that causes the roof recalls.

Nothing that you can apply for sealant will stick to that silicone. So it depends on how much work you want to put into removal of the old stuff. Almost everything that will soften or dissolve it will also attack paint so you have to be careful using chemical processes.

I did remove silicone and put down Dicor or a similar sealant to fill in the gaps, then put Eternabond over that. Some people love to put Dicor or similar over the edges either for cosmetic or additional layers of protection. That's up to you. I found that I did not need to, for either reason. If surface prep is done to the proper level, the Eternabond will far out last the Dicor and probably the plastic caps.

You are right, i didn’t know what abs was really, just that it was on my model originally, so i figured what i have is what it is. After actually looking it up, the ends are probably just abs, as is the front storage, i presume, which has some cracked areas around the lid. Well i have eternabond tape, guess i will use that and decide if dicor on edges is needed.

 

[HoosierMomma]

Yup , some sort or replacement roof. I only had the abs ones. The side pannels may be abs? Hard to tell, do you have any side shots of it? As they said, nothing sticks to silicone. Unless you get it all off, and that will require scrubbing and maybe solvents. Eternabond is great, but will be a long run on both sides. But doable. Its a metal roof , so maybe a metal roof paint would be better then GG. But if the sides are abs, you may need 2 diffrent products. How is the roof seal around the edge of the roof? It dosen't look like the old one at all. Make sure that your is in tack and seals well. It almost looks shrunk in the corners. But that could be the way that seal is?

It’s actually in great shape, the front and back ends are abs. The long sides are whatever the top is, maybe painted aluminum? It is all one piece except the ends. The seams are intact, so that just must be the look of the picture and the gap from where the old sealant was removed. Now i almost wonder if it was some type of butyl tape along its edge, i am not really familiar with it though.

 

[Sjm9911]

The roof seal is the black peice that goes around the entire roof top. It squishes on the bottem piece to make a seal so water dosen't get it. Its not a seam. But a seal. Take some more pictures for us, people here will get you started in the right direction.

 

[HoosierMomma]

The roof seal is the black peice that goes around the entire roof top. It squishes on the bottem piece to make a seal so water dosen't get it. Its not a seam. But a seal. Take some more pictures for us, people here will get you started in the right direction.

I think that is part of a roof rack system, but i will certainly post more picture this weekend! I need all the direction i can get

 

[HoosierMomma]

More pictures. The black metal bars along the top look like roof rack tracks and are screwed in.

I have dicor, silicone and enternabond tape available to do the seams, just not sure what is best to use.

 

[Snow]

Dicor or etrnabond tape.. avoid using silicone.