Roof Gutter Inspection Results (It's Ugly)

[Mike & Rebecca]

howson Howard, would the armored roof have prevented the gutter problem? Or two separate issues? Would love to get one full season out of a new roof before I upgrade.

[NoPeeking]

Why did you not use Eternabond Tape the full length of the RV?? You can overlap the Eternabond over the guttering water could not get in anywhere that way. I have the same problem you do on my 2018 150 5th wheel.I have seen others use the Eternabond ??

One advantage of the butyl tape is aiding in sealing-off the the gutter rail screws. The (flimsy) decorative plastic cap on the rail does very little to prevent moisture from collecting in that space. A strip of Eternabond over the top of the rail to the membrane would have benefit, though.

Mike

[150]

The etherabobd would go from roof over gutter with screws to the bottom of gutter . That would also protect the top of gutter if the roof ever tore which mine has in a few places. For me it would be a lot less work than taking gutter off. Just saying.

[ThePowells]

150 Great question and I am sure Howard wil have an answer. That question popped into my mind also.

Welcome to the Family and the forum!

[howson]

Why did you not use Eternabond Tape the full length of the RV?? You can overlap the Eternabond over the guttering water could not get in anywhere that way. I have the same problem you do on my 2018 150 5th wheel.I have seen others use the Eternabond ??

I did consider using the tape, but knowing I want to go to the FlexArmor roof, using eternabond would make the prep for the new roof very difficult. Also, in my case the gutter had to come down to clean and repair the sticker damage due to water penetration.

Personally I wouldn't eternabond over an area that had already had obvious moisture issues. I'd also hesitate to use eternabond around anything that may require servicing (skylights, fans, etc) as removing that tape is not fun.

Using eternabond is not wrong or right--it's a choice. A choice with benefit (less short term maintenance) but also a potential pitfall (very, very difficult to remove).

[howson]

howson Howard, would the armored roof have prevented the gutter problem? Or two separate issues? Would love to get one full season out of a new roof before I upgrade.

Mike,
The roof I'm going to get is called FlexArmor. There's info here: rvroof.com

I can't imagine they'd leave that area vulnerable, but I don't know for sure. The picture below is a 3100RD that has a FlexArmor roof. I zoomed in so it's a little fuzzy but it looks like the gutter edges are sealed.

[Guest]

I ordered a 100' roll of the new style gutter cap material. Been looking for this for a while.

The concern I have in covering up large areas with Eternabond is if the tape leaks, it can provide a path to keep the entire area saturated and unseen.


Jim

[150]

looks like in the picture where the rusty staple is the tpo roof is ripped just above the gutter and seal cap water could get in and cause delamination behind gutter.
I notices that is where mine is separated in a few places also.GD uses silicone there I thank any kind of sealant could crack or leak.

[Guest]

looks like in the picture where the rusty staple is the tpo roof is ripped just above the gutter and seal cap water could get in and cause delamination behind gutter.
I notices that is where mine is separated in a few places also.GD uses silicone there I thank any kind of sealant could crack or leak.

150,

It does look like there is a break in the sealant above the rusty staple. But unless GDRV has moved to a different method of sealing the gutter to the TPO, they have traditionally used the Alpha TPO sealant in this area. Your rig has silicone at the top of the gutter? If so I would question how this got there.

Jim

[Jlawles2]

howson Howard, in the picture of the staple, what appears to be a break in the seal, was this caused by pulling the staple?

[howson]

Jlawles2 -- there were minor cracks and breaks in the cap seal along the entire length of the gutter. Especially where the two lengths of 15' gutter come together a the midpoint of the trailer.

Again...somehow this area never "registered" with me that it required inspection and resealing. Now that I know of the very vulnerable (and unprotected) material underneath that very thin cap seal it's why I'm trying to highlight it to the rest of the forum. Also the alternate decorative cover that can shed water better (hopefully).

If anyone has tips and tricks on how to make that cap seal look good when applying Alpha sealant, please share. My application looks like crap.

[StephenO]

If anyone has tips and tricks on how to make that cap seal look good when applying Alpha sealant, please share. My application looks like crap.

While this is mostly a sarcastic response, there is a bit of truth behind it, but my only tip would be 'just don't look up' The few areas I've resealed along the cap also look like crap / my kids were let loose with the caulking gun, and it bothered me at first, but over time I forgot about it. That stuff is so stringy, to the point where doing these smaller fine areas is brutal.

Related question, are you using the self-leveling Alpha roof sealant, or the non-sag stuff? I know the 'norm' is for the use of the self-leveling sealant on the roof, but the non-sag sealant does say 'roof edge' in the list of applications

https://store.lci1.com/1010-low-voc-...-sag-tube.html

[Jkwilson]

6) Reattached the gutter rail over the butyl using #10 x 1" stainless screws. (The originals were #8 x 1" --I went one size larger as I was sure the material in the wall was compromised.) A helper was needed at this point to hold the other end of the gutter.

I suspect you don’t need a helper if you pop a staple through the gutter.

[Jlawles2]

Jkwilson Or you only need the helper for a minute. Tossing around a 15' piece of trim trying to get it aligned is possible, but can be a bit of a hassle. 2 people, 60 seconds and it's up, tacked in place, and one guy is off to something else, or focus is no longer on keeping it in place but driving screws. In wood working, I tend to pop nails and staples in places to use as aids before driving screws so things don't move.

[howson]

StephenO -- I've tried both types in a (hopeless?) attempt to make it look good.

The original GD cap seal application of Alpha sealant looked good--there must be some skill or method of application.

I know for silicone sealant a finger wetted with (ammonia-free) window cleaner works great. Just haven't figured out the "trick" to the Alpha sealant (yet).

Maybe this is something I'll ask a GD tech to show me when the mods visit the "mothership" next month or is worth an email to Alpha.