[OurNewelllife]

Hey everyone. As my better half Kimberly has said here, we are brand new to the RVing life and the brand new owner of #637. We endured a tropical storm type rain last night and our Newell and our 2 boxer dogs did great. however we did have a couple small leaks. One coming in from the top of the 2nd window back on driver side next to the booth area. There’s a awning that is practically new And fully operational However this rain was coming in horizontally. The second leak was coming from the ceiling in the cupboard next to the kitchen gallery which I think is coming from the fantastic fan. 
My initial question before I go up to inspect it today is is there a preferred product for sealing the roof and is there a preferred product for ceiling around windows? My second question, again before going up to visually inspect The roof and fantastic fan is there a way to make the fantastic fan lids more waterproof in situations like this? I appreciate any input from the group.

Brian

[folivier]

The best way would be to pull out the window, clean off all of the old butyl tape then re-apply new butyl tape then re-attach the window. Easier solution is to use a polyurethane caulk like Dicor or other brands. Dicor makes a caulk that self levels and one that doesn't.

[valento]

Before you start tearing things apart you may want to check where the awning power goes through the side of the coach to the awning motor. Sometimes the sealant breaks down and the water will follow the electrical wire into the coach. Had this happen on my coach when Newell was doing a leak check in their rain booth.

My 2 cents,
Oscar

[Tony Van Helden]

Eternabond tape is an excellent product for flanges etc on the roof.

[rheavn]

Water leaks can really fool you as to where the leak is coming from.  Use some vinyl stucco tape to cover what you think is the source.  Then apply water or wait for the next rain and see if it remains dry.  If it remains dry, you found your leak--caulk it.  If it still gets wet, keep looking.  This method will keep you from caulking where it is not needed.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shurtape-Stucco-Tape/3063563

Good luck.............................

[OurNewelllife]

Thanks for the responses guys. So the suggestions or ethernabond tape polyurethane caulk by decor or stucco poly tape. I read that polyurethane caulk can take up to 48 hours to fully cure and I am in Florida which is 98° and raining each afternoon. Based on what I am researching on these three choices I feel ethernabond tape may be my best choice for the roof
and to cover a giant hole I just discovered ion the top of my rear passenger slides which looks like the locking pin came down through it as some point before I owned it.
I will use the caulk around the awning where the electric comes through and any small seems that look like they need it.
This will be a good distraction from working on our book today.

[Richard]

If you caulk the window frames, use masking tape on both the coach and the frame to get a clean line. Prep the area with solvent to promote adhesion. Pull the masking tape right after you caulk. If you leave it for even 15 minutes it will get stringy and make a ragged line when you remove it.

Check the seams where the slideout outer wall meet the slideout roof. A small crack there dumps a lot of water in the coach

[bikestuff]

Ditto on what Richard says about the outer wall and the roof. Don't just look...press and pull and see if there is any give. I had one leak there that was only apparent if you pulled the wall skin away from coach. That opened up a hairline crack.

[encantotom]

mine too. i spent quite a bit of time taking out the old hard brittle sealant/adhesive all around there and replace it with 3m 5200.

tom

[cknuth]

Does anyone have experience with 3M 4000 UV adhesive/sealer? It was mentioned on my recent visit to Newell as what they're using to seal the outer slide seams. All my usual sources are out of stock, so I haven't been able to experiment with it. But is sounds ideal - dries to a slightly flexible but strong hardness (I've had cracks in my 5200 repairs which seems counterproductive.) Both 5200 and 4000 are designed to be applied to boat hulls in the water. They need water or at least humidity to cure. So I have high hopes for the 4000 UV.

BTW, for window caulking, where the factory sealant has oozed out from between the frame and exterior skin, I like Sikaflex 221.