Scamp exterior caulking - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-01-2013, 11:18 PM   #1
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Name: Chuck
Trailer: Scamp 16 Deluxe
Washington
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Scamp exterior caulking

Hi Everybody,
I'm a new Scamp owner, and new to this forum. Thanks for being here!

My Scamp is a 2005 standard, with a toilet up forward. The caulking around the windows and the belly band is a mess. It's not only sloppily applied, but now it's dirty and off-color. Is it possible that it left the factory that way? It seems kind of messy for a production job.

So, just to help dress things up, I'm thinking of stripping the old caulk and replacing it, probably one window or fitting at a time. My thoought is to strip the old stuff out, mask the joint with blue masking tape, and re-caulk with a white caulk.

So my question is, what kind/brand of caulk would folks recommend?

Thanks,

Chuck
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Old 08-02-2013, 06:03 AM   #2
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Caulking and fiberglass do not mix, you use butyl tape around openings.
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Old 08-02-2013, 08:09 AM   #3
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My 1999 Scamp had caulk slopped around the belly band by the previous owner . I removed the old caulk and replaced it with white Lexel . From what I've read the only purpose for caulking the belly band is so that dirt does not accumulate (appearance) and not as a sealant against moisture. I would follow Jim's advice on using butyl tape around the windows and vent openings . I replaced my roof vent and resealed a window and used butyl tape without any leaks . Be careful when purchasing butyl tape , some RV dealers are trying to pass off putty tape as butyl They are not the same thing!

Jim ; Are you planning on coming to Scamp Camp this February? I would sure like to meet you in person and get to see your new 21 Ft. Escape even though it might give my wife ideas
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Old 08-02-2013, 08:16 AM   #4
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Scamp and Parkliner come with sealant applied over the window edges. Parkliner uses OSI Quad sealant it comes in clear and different colors. It is a non workable sealant but can be smoothed out with a wet finger. It takes a little while to get use to using but I am getting use to it. Home Depot sells it.
You can use Dicor non-sag sealant for vertical apps. which a lot RV mfg. use. This has been around a long time. Pro-flex is another RV sealant that I have heard good reports on.
Both OSI and Dicor have good videos on line on how to apply their sealant. Just stay away from silicone.
Eddie
Note: Butyl tape should be the primary window seal. The caulking is a secondary seal.
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Old 08-02-2013, 09:12 AM   #5
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Name: Chuck
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Hmm... Is it the consensus that Scamps do not leave the factory with caulk smeared around the edges of the windows and on the upper edge of the belly band? That's good to hear. I'm familiar with the Quad sealants, that was one of my candidates. But if the caulk isn't necessary for watertight integrity, I may just clean it off. It was probably put on by some over-zealous previous owner.

I agree that caulk and fiberglass don't mix well, that's why I was checking.

I've not used butyl tape before, I'll check it out. I'm assuming that it forms a gasket between the window and the fiberglass body? Fortunately, there appear to be no leaks at present (at least around the windows), this is just a cosmetic project, but I certainly don't want to start any new issues.

Thanks for the responses!

Chuck
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Old 08-02-2013, 09:32 AM   #6
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All the Scamps I have owned (4 or 5) with black radius frame windows have had clear sealant applied around the windows. The newer ones were also sealed above the belly band. If the belly band is not sealed trash collects behind it and it streaks the lower half of the trailer. When you wash your trailer without a sealed belly band you spend extra time getting out the collected trash behind the band.
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Old 08-02-2013, 01:19 PM   #7
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I'm far from a Scamp expert, but the one brand new one which I saw in person - including talking with the owner - had so much clear caulk (of unknown composition) smeared all over the general vicinity of the edges of the window frames that it looked like a child had been finger-painting. My guess: expect caulk from the factory.
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Old 08-02-2013, 03:54 PM   #8
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Belly band would not have caulk, it's cosmetic cover for the seam where the top and bottom are joined. The joining is done by fiberglassing on the inside. That fiberglass inside is the weather seal. Rare that a belly band will leak.

Really small bead down between belly band and trailer is all you need to keep dirt from accumulating behind it, then running down the side. 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch for most of it. Caulk will get dirty so if bead is all but hidden by belly band it won't show much and can still block the dirt accumulation.

It is possible prev. owner detected moisture at some point in time and just caulked everything. Better to find the leak and fix, but maybe it was end of season so they were shooting for a git-r-done before winter.

That said it is suprising how many people have little clue how to caulk well. Just for the record one pushes caulk forward and down into crack, not pull caulk behind tip like toothpaste to be smeared with finger.
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Old 08-02-2013, 06:04 PM   #9
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Old 08-02-2013, 07:59 PM   #10
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Interesting about Scamp. My 1988 16' Deluxe doesn't have a lick of caulk around the perimeter of the windows.
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Old 08-02-2013, 08:22 PM   #11
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Interesting about Scamp. My 1988 16' Deluxe doesn't have a lick of caulk around the perimeter of the windows.
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Neither did my '86 Scamp. If your windows are leaking your best move is to remove them. They are clamped together from the inside with screws. Then clear off all the old caulking - a miserable job if it is silicone. Buy butyl in tape form either online or at a good auto supply store. Comes in black and in gray.

I would avoid butyl in a tube because unless you are an expert that stuff is miserably, totally unforgiving. Clamping the window frame back squeezes the tape neatly in place.
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Old 08-02-2013, 11:05 PM   #12
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One thing to watch out for is there seems to be two types of gray colored "tape"--one butyl, and the other "putty" of some sort. The butyl is the one to get but it isn't always clearly labeled. Even after completely removing the window and redoing the butyl tape, it may be desirable to trim the tape flush with the frame and then put a very small bead of caulk over the putty. The putty attracts dirt and can start to look bad. Also, the caulk is an extra precaution against leakage--it is easy to see if it is compromised whereas you can't really tell with the butyl tape until you see the drip inside...

If there isn't a leak, I would not remove the window but instead just remove the caulk and redo it. Removing the window is much more involved as you must drill out the rivets (at least on mine). The problem will be removing all of the caulk, especially if it was silicone. It probably isn't, however, since it attracted so much dirt. Typical house caulk will do this--I tried it once on a small vent and it looked terrible in no time. On the positive side, it comes off easier than silicone caulk. I had good luck with the ProFlexRV. It smooths evenly with a finger and doesn't attract dirt. Be careful with metal scrapers as they may scratch even if you aren't noticing it. I ordered some plastic scraper blades from Lee Valley. Others have mentioned some type of chemical remover, but I have never tried it.

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Old 08-03-2013, 06:53 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Myron Leski View Post
Interesting about Scamp. My 1988 16' Deluxe doesn't have a lick of caulk around the perimeter of the windows.
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Neither did my '86 Scamp. If your windows are leaking your best move is to remove them. They are clamped together from the inside with screws. Then clear off all the old caulking - a miserable job if it is silicone. Buy butyl in tape form either online or at a good auto supply store. Comes in black and in gray.

I would avoid butyl in a tube because unless you are an expert that stuff is miserably, totally unforgiving. Clamping the window frame back squeezes the tape neatly in place.
The windows in my Scamp AREN'T leaking. And, I know what to do... but thanks. Hopefully the info you provided Myron will help the less initiated.

Anyone that blobs caulk on the perimeter of a window should be shot YMMV
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Old 08-03-2013, 08:29 AM   #14
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Donna, I knew that. Was just quoting your post as a reference for the less initiated but frogot to add the "re:"
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Old 08-03-2013, 08:35 AM   #15
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Donna, I knew that. Was just quoting your post as a reference for the less initiated but frogot to add the "re:"
, but I'm ALWAYS up for learning a better way!
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Old 08-04-2013, 03:03 PM   #16
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Our 2013 scamp one month old has white caulk around everything and I mean everything some is not so neat.
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Old 08-04-2013, 04:03 PM   #17
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My '98 Scamp (I'm not the original owner) had silicone caulk on the belly band, on the drip edge above the door, and around the door window. No caulk on any other windows. I recently resealed the windows with butyl tape with help from this forum. Thanks.

I also just removed the belly band caulk and was following this thread for advice on replacement caulk. Taping off the fiberglass side of the joint seems easy but I'm still not so sure about taping off the band as it curves. Maybe I'll skip the tape.

I thought I'd share the giant PVC thumbnail I used to scrape out caulk. Hope the attachment works.


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Old 08-04-2013, 04:07 PM   #18
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I thought I'd share the giant PVC thumbnail I used to scrape out caulk. Hope the attachment works.
Nifty idea!
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Old 08-04-2013, 04:14 PM   #19
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I'm with Roger, that's a GREAT idea and had I known about it, it would have saved BOTH of my thumbnails!

Cool beans!
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Old 08-04-2013, 04:36 PM   #20
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I've gotten so many great ideas here I'm glad to finally share one of mine.
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