You want to know why I hate silicone? Here's a ONE example:

[Donna D.]

This is was posted on Facebook. A newer stick built Scotty (remember you have a wood floor and (perhaps) cleats for cabinets!:

Please, please ... when you have a window leak, repair it correctly. DO NOT use silicone or any other sealant or tape (unless you need to seal it in a rainstorm to get it home from your trip).

Correct factory sealing is NOT hard to do:
1. Unscrew the window frame
2. Remove window
3. Clean old Butyl off the window frame and the trailer
4. Apply new Butyl to window frame
5. Replace window
6. Replace screws

With that said here is what happens when you use silicone:

"This is what happens when a window isn't sealed. This is a 2007 Scotty from the "new" Scotty people. Trailer was bought new and only used three times. This wood was so rotted and full of water that no tools were needed to disassemble it. It was like mush."

[Casita Greg]

Amen!!!!!

[Carol H]

OMG a 5 year old sticky! Hard to believe!

[Raz]

The manufacturer did that? I wonder what else they didn't know about? Raz

[cpaharley2008]

Donna,
Our ever vigilant watchful guard, thanks for finding this, another good reason to stay with fiberglass and butyl tape.

[Cathy P.]

In 1999, we bought a new Forest River Salem 24' travel trailer when we were in NC. A hurricane came through 2 days after we got. The hurricane wasn't a bad one but had some sustained winds of 70 mph. Well, it was "interesting" and educational since we were not familiar with hurricanes. The front window leaked constantly for probably 7 hours while I mopped it up. When the repair man came out to our site, it turns out the window was just put in the slot and screwed down. We did have the trailer 6 years and we had no other leaks or unfinished things that we discovered.

[cpaharley2008]

Must have been a Monday assembly. They say never buy something made on a Monday, that is when most people call in sick and the replacement worker doesn't know where to start!! There is a lot of unfinished work performed on Mondays.

[Cam A]

It's a mystery to me how modern science has resulted in a material that is both nearly impossible to remove, and yet not be watertight.

[deryk]

Jim, Ive also heard dont buy anything made on a friday since there dying to get out of work and just want to get the trailer done...so they use shortcuts... Unfortunatly it happens. Friends bought a brand new Baja Cruiser fishing boat, well the manuf drilled the wrong sized drain plug hole in the stern so they added some extra calk and sent it out to be delivered...I was there when the boat was lowered into the water and we saw alot of bubbling at the stern and she was going down..slowly but definatly taking on water.... the manuf paid to have it fixed but its scary sometimes.

Almost 20 years ago I started looking for a camper and well being right out of college and super poor I looked at some small ones in my price range and one my foot went through the floor it was that rotten. 3 years ago the night after I ordered $1000 worth of cedar to build my lil vardo, a trailer I was oggling for a while went up for sale a Sunliner Sunspot...I was so mad at myself I could have bought it. Well someone on the forum did and man I was glad I didn't lol...he had a tremendous job rebuilding it. Its easier to start from scratch then to restore one.

Thats why I went with fiberglass.

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by Cam A

It's a mystery to me how modern science has resulted in a material that is both nearly impossible to remove, and yet not be watertight.

If used in an appropriate application, silicon is great stuff. But it is NOT a solution for all of the worlds problems.

[Andrew Gibbens]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Must have been a Monday assembly. They say never buy something made on a Monday, that is when most people call in sick and the replacement worker doesn't know where to start!! There is a lot of unfinished work performed on Mondays.

Just before its demise, the Soviet Union tried to create a new consumer law that major items had to be marked with the day and date on which they were made. It was a genuinely brave piece of work that I don't think any country has yet equalled.

This was a variant of the day-of-the-week problem as in Soviet times most employees were paid twice monthly, so what you didn't want was a product made on the 16, 17 or 18th of the month when the workers would be either severely hung over or still drunk from the 15th pay day. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd were even worse since not only was the product made by hung-over/still-drunk workers, but it was made from materials/parts that other plants had hurriedly shipped out (having bypassed any quality checks) in order to meet their monthly production quota.

Similarly you didn't want any product that had been made on the 28, 29 or 30th, since that would also have been rushed to count in that month's production quota. So there were two 'sweet spots' each month of a week or so when sober workers were making products from satisfactory materials.

[J Mac]

Originally Posted by Cam A

It's a mystery to me how modern science has resulted in a material that is both nearly impossible to remove, and yet not be watertight.

Silicone is very watertight if properly used. Silicone is the basis for almost all aquariums. Surface prep is most important!

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Andrew Gibbens

Just before its demise, the Soviet Union tried to create a new consumer law that major items had to be marked with the day and date on which they were made. It was a genuinely brave piece of work that I don't think any country has yet equalled.

This was a variant of the day-of-the-week problem as in Soviet times most employees were paid twice monthly, so what you didn't want was a product made on the 16, 17 or 18th of the month when the workers would be either severely hung over or still drunk from the 15th pay day. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd were even worse since not only was the product made by hung-over/still-drunk workers, but it was made from materials/parts that other plants had hurriedly shipped out (having bypassed any quality checks) in order to meet their monthly production quota.

Similarly you didn't want any product that had been made on the 28, 29 or 30th, since that would also have been rushed to count in that month's production quota. So there were two 'sweet spots' each month of a week or so when sober workers were making products from satisfactory materials.

Good story, thanks. Raz

[RogerDat]

Silly-Con works for the purpose intended. FGRV not one of those purposes. Unless your going to sell the trailer to the really annoying co-worker then by all means go for it..... as long as they don't know where you live.

[frank_a]

Was it a Sunspot near Syracuse NY? If so, that was me. It was a '79. I fixed it up, sold it early last year and bought the Sunline T-1550 we have now. I've put a tremendous amount of work into this one too. We want a late model egg that I do NOT need to fix, but that needs to wait while I save $. At least now I know what I want. We camped in tents for 40 years, so this trailer stuff was all new to me. Once I fixed the Sunspot up, we loved it, went bigger, and if nothing else, we aren't planning on sleeping in tents anymore.

I just replaced a bunch of rotted out wood around the big rear window in my Sunline. What a job that was! I don't think it was original butyl tape, but maybe. It was dried out, had gaps, but was stuck so good that I accidently ripped some of the aluminum siding under the window pulling it off. I may go around the trailer and do the other windows with new butyl tape.

Frank

Originally Posted by deryk

Jim, Ive also heard dont buy anything made on a friday since there dying to get out of work and just want to get the trailer done...so they use shortcuts... Unfortunatly it happens. Friends bought a brand new Baja Cruiser fishing boat, well the manuf drilled the wrong sized drain plug hole in the stern so they added some extra calk and sent it out to be delivered...I was there when the boat was lowered into the water and we saw alot of bubbling at the stern and she was going down..slowly but definatly taking on water.... the manuf paid to have it fixed but its scary sometimes.

Almost 20 years ago I started looking for a camper and well being right out of college and super poor I looked at some small ones in my price range and one my foot went through the floor it was that rotten. 3 years ago the night after I ordered $1000 worth of cedar to build my lil vardo, a trailer I was oggling for a while went up for sale a Sunliner Sunspot...I was so mad at myself I could have bought it. Well someone on the forum did and man I was glad I didn't lol...he had a tremendous job rebuilding it. Its easier to start from scratch then to restore one.

Thats why I went with fiberglass.

[deryk]

I think it was your s then Frank! I built 2 tiny travel trailers and was going tobuy a project egg but had the money so said nearly new saves me all that work and money!

[stairman]

Every camper will eventually leak. While I dont like clear silicone, since it doesnt stay clear for long, its hard to know a windows butyl tape is breaking down till wetness or that mildew smell hit you. Ive been told to seal campers annually and had it professionally done the 1st time on a driving camper I once had. They used tan, acrylic latex chaulk on every gutter seam, window, lights, reflectors etc. and cool sealed the roof. With the chaulk tooled in you couldnt really notice it but it sealed things up. Now with a FB trailor, there is less to seal and easier to find a leak before wood rots out. Id say damp carpeting would be a clue.

[Donna D.]

I wouldn't pay anyone to blob more caulk on top of old caulk... no matter what the brand of caulk on my trailer for NOTHIN'. Can you even imagine the mess you'd end up with in five years if they did this every year? Sounds like a scam to me. Or MAYBE it IS necessary on stick builts, but certainly not on all molded fiberglass.

[stairman]

Its common on metal campers with some age on em. Otherwise, you can fix the rotten wood when you finally realize it. Blobbing chaulk on old chaulk might be done by somebody but not on mine. I like the whole fibreglass concept which is why I got one. You know very quickly when a leak occurs and no paneling or 1x2's to slowly rot away.

[accrete]

Whew! Well i feel better...

My Parkliner rolled off the line about 1800 on Tuesday April 9th...out of the danger zone.

Thom