Anyone know about longevity/maintenance of silicone roof repair on caravans pls?
Submitted: Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 12:58
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TentEnKaMan
G'day all Elporozers again :O) In the market for a cheap 2nd hand caravan at the moment. Found a pearler but its had a leak which has been resealed with silicone near the roof vents. Can anyone who has experience with these sort of repairs please inform me of the frequency they have needed to renew this sort of repair. Have people found it effective? Is there a better and quite probably dearer way? lol. Thanks guys did a lot of caravaning as a kid but Ive never been in the position where im forking out/ maintaining/ choosing the thing. Is this sort of van a nightmare and best avoided. Caravan in question is also a Faulkner which I dont think the company is around anymore am I going to be able to find brake pads for it? Thanks to anyone knowledgable enough and kind enough to help. Your advice is very much appreciated
Reply By: greggu - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 13:12
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 13:12
mate silicone is not the best repair option mate has a 5 to 10 year life depending on sun impact etc the marine use siliflex is so much better and should last 25 years plus or more - usually brake pads not a prob as usually caravans use standard holden or falcon
wheels etc but best to check
see you greg
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Follow Up By: Member - John L G - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 13:53
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 13:53
Greg,
You are right, the marine grade 'Sikaflex' is what you need. Ordinary silicone is hopeless, loses its bond and breaks down over time.
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Reply By: S&N - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 23:46
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 23:46
try a brand called "shoe goo" you use it to repair tears in shoes etc. when i was a kid, working in a shoe
shop, we had it on display holding two strips of leather together. the pieces were about 2mm apart and the "goo" was put over
the gap, top and bottom. people would pick it up and try to pull it apart all the time. the strips of leather were about 2mm thick, and eventually the leather tore, but the "goo" was fine. i used it on the side of my skateboard shoes so when doing tricks, the grip tape on the board wouldnt cut holes in the shoes. ive also read an article online that says its good if you tear a lug off your tyres, you put a layer down, let it dry then another untill you fill the hole and it works a treat.
the stuff is gooooood! you get it from shoe shops!
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Reply By: gonebush SA - Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007 at 09:48
Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007 at 09:48
hi, we were told by a caravan repair store to use a product called caravan silicone sealant for the same sort of problem, it seemed to work good but it was only last year we did it so don't know how long it will last. but we are going to look into what was mentioned above as doing that job once every 25 years has to be better than every 5 or so years. good luck.
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Reply By: TentEnKaMan - Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007 at 07:38
Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007 at 07:38
Yep gonebush, Greg seems to be on a winner there, and I might also add that its lovely to see that this
forum helped someone beside my selfish self :P Haha. Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. See you all out in the bush :D
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