Sealing Camper Trailer

Submitted: Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 at 18:56
ThreadID: 103169 Views:2793 Replies:4 FollowUps:9
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Hi I have an old camper trailer but want to seal small narrow linear gaps that run between the floor and side walls .

I was thinking of using a silicon sealant with caulking gun that you get from hardware, but are wondering if there is any special type product that will withstand camper trailer rattles and shakes on corrugated roads?

Any thoughts appreciated

Jeff
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Reply By: Member - DereelGirl - Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 at 19:23

Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 at 19:23
Hi JFRCN,
I have a 2003 Southern Cross Camper and I had problems with dust so I just used silicon, and went around all the joins and it worked a treat. The only time things got covered was when I put the car and camper on the Ghan, I opened it up and everything was cover in a fine dusting of paint particles.

Cheers Dereelgirl
AnswerID: 514532

Reply By: Member - Wozikev - Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 at 08:49

Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 at 08:49
Hi Jeff
I have always found Sikaflex to be an excellent product for this type of application.

Cheers ...................... Kev.
AnswerID: 514552

Follow Up By: Sandman - Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 at 10:26

Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 at 10:26
Sikaflex from Supercheapauto firms like windscreen sealant....it would be the best choice IMHO
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FollowupID: 793651

Reply By: Sigmund - Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 17:57

Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 17:57
Silicone is pretty flexible so any reputable brand should do.

Maybe get the stuff designed for metal (low tumulus) to avoid corrosion on bare bits.

Wipe the sections first with acetone (nail polish remover) for the best bond.
AnswerID: 514636

Reply By: The Bantam - Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 20:59

Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 20:59
A great many people refer to anything that comes out of a tube as silicon....nothing could be further from the truth.

Silicon is a cheap and very popular product and is a great product where it is appropriate, but it does have dome significant failings.

Polyeurathane sealer is a far better option in body work particularly where there is metal and water involved.

Sicaflex is the market leading brand of polyeurathane sealer, and one of the first to supply such a sealer.

But almost every sealer manufacturer has a polyeurathane product or two these days.

PolyU, does not have any excess acid generated in it curing and it will not corrode metals.
PolyU, bonds far more intimately with surfaces than silicon does and does not suffer from water getting under it over time.
Standard pollyU takes paint very well.

Silicon suffers problems with all the above.

Any half decent Polly U sealer should be fine on the body work of a camper trailer and way better than silicon, so there is no need to spend on the high priced, high performance grades or brands.

I have had a good trot with the Parfix brand of sealants....with them you are not paying for large advertising budjets, flashy packaging or high status shelf positioning.....their sealers seem to work very well in every day applications.
You will find them on the bottom shelf in your hardware

I have also had a good trot with the Bostic Poly U sealer.

If it was a water immersed application like my boat, I would be spending in the appropriate grade of Sicaflex.....but not on a trailer.

cheers



AnswerID: 514644

Follow Up By: JFRCN - Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 21:53

Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 at 21:53
Thanks for your advice.

Just to clarify I understand I need a sealant with polyeurathane and can choose from brands of either:

PolyU (also known as Bostic Poly U)
Sicaflex
Parfix, or

and of these you suggest Parfix or Bostic Poly U ?

Cheers and thansk
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FollowupID: 793735

Follow Up By: The Bantam - Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 at 09:19

Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 at 09:19
The Bostic Polyeurathane is..from memory sold under the brand " Bostic Gold".

All the usual suspects, like Selleys also market a polyU sealer these days.

Read the tube, if it is a polyeurathane sealer it will say so on the tube.

Sica, without doubt are one of the top polyU sealer brands and the make a range of PolyU sealers ranging from a fairly basic construction industry sealer up to some very high spec quite expensive sealers for marine & automotive industries.
In the past they only made high end sealers....be aware these days they market a full range of sealers right down to ya "no more gaps" style acrilic painters sealers

So read the tube and make sure you know what you are buying.

For ya trailer, a basic construction grade polyU sealer should be adequate...particularly if you are going to paint over it.

If it is going to be permanently weather exposed or used in ya bathroom and not painted over, best to spend up and go with the marine grade Sicaflex.
It resists the weather and UV better and does not go mouldy any where near as fast as nearly anything else.

OH.
two things with Poly U sealers.....

They are a quite a lot stiffer than most other sealers, SO cheap cauking gins will not do....ya need a good strong frame and trigger assembly.....I've had good results with the yellow frame dripless guns.

Poly U sealer goes off far more surely than silicon even in the tube......SO
Get ya job worked out and plan to do as much of the job as you can in one go.
If you have sealer left in the gun....seal the end up as well as you can....stuffing a screw down the end is just not good enough.
Sealing up and storing in the fridge delays the tube going off

BUT once open, a tube of this stuff will go off sure as eggs.

A good reason to only buy fresh stuff from a high turnover supplier.

hope this helps.

cheers
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FollowupID: 793814

Follow Up By: JFRCN - Friday, Jul 19, 2013 at 19:49

Friday, Jul 19, 2013 at 19:49
Thanks for the great advice
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FollowupID: 794194

Follow Up By: Rockape - Friday, Jul 19, 2013 at 20:10

Friday, Jul 19, 2013 at 20:10
Just to add to Bantams good advise.

Make sure you substrate is clean/clean/clean, because no product will stick to dirt/oil or flacking surfaces. Clean with turps or white spirit and let it dry. One thing with any poly urethane products is they can be messy and get everywhere. Make sure you have some turps and rags to clean up. A small paint scraper and an old kitchen knife are good to shape and clean the poly on the join.
Just mask either side of the join and make sure you don't leave a thick edge of urethane on the masking.You can pull the tape off before the poly has cured, or let it set and then peel the tape off.

Sikaflex 11FC is good but expensive.
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FollowupID: 794195

Follow Up By: JFRCN - Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 07:49

Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 07:49
Thanks

The trailer has been painted on the inside so the sealant will be applied to paint at the joins.

I assume Turps or white spirits will not affect paint or should I use something else?


Thanks
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Follow Up By: Rockape - Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 12:38

Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 12:38
White spirit will not affect the paint. Turps may if it is oil based paint.

You may be able to test the turps in an inconspicuous place.
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FollowupID: 794215

Follow Up By: The Bantam - Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 22:28

Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 at 22:28
White spirit is almost identical to turps but less oily.

If turps will effect your paint white spirit most certianly will.

White spirit is not metholated spirit.

White spirit is a clean white mineral solvent and very close to the base of petrol and a variety of other mineral products.

metholated spirit is alcahol.

The big advantage of white spirit is that it evaporates cleanly leaving no residue.

cheers
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FollowupID: 794242

Follow Up By: Rockape - Sunday, Jul 21, 2013 at 18:34

Sunday, Jul 21, 2013 at 18:34
Bantam is probably right about the white spirit. In practise the spirit used in moderation evaporates that quickly that it doesn't affect the surface. I should have stated that. Have used it numerous times with no problems.

As said do a little test.
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