Need to reseal bathroom sink and cabinet.

[Beachcamper]

I have a 2018 303rls and would like to reseal bathroom sink, counter and faucet. What GD used does not look like regular silicone caulking. Any ideas what factory uses? Can’t get answer from parts department. Would like to use same.

[Second Chance]

I had to reseal parts of the bathroom sink on our Solitude when it was brand new! I used silicone - but I bought the kind that's supposed to be mold-resistant for 10 years (GE brand, I think). I used the same silicone around the shower rails in our Reflection and it was still in excellent shape when we sold the trailer.

Rob

[Cate&Rob]

Beachcamper
Hi Vivian,

As far as I know, Grand Design uses silicone based caulking everywhere (including sinks and counter edges). The big problem with repairing/replacing silicone is that nothing sticks to silicone . . . even new silicone won't stick to cured silicone. The biggest part of the job is removing absolutely all of the old silicone. Even an almost invisible film will prevent the new caulking from bonding. There are various silicone removers available, but WD-40 seems to work as well as any of them. Be cautious using any silicone remover on or near the wallpaper.

Rob

[Second Chance]

Beachcamper
Hi Vivian,

As far as I know, Grand Design uses silicone based caulking everywhere (including sinks and counter edges). The big problem with repairing/replacing silicone is that nothing sticks to silicone . . . even new silicone won't stick to cured silicone. The biggest part of the job is removing absolutely all of the old silicone. Even an almost invisible film will prevent the new caulking from bonding. There are various silicone removers available, but WD-40 seems to work as well as any of them. Be cautious using any silicone remover on or near the wallpaper.

Rob

Thanks, Rob - I forgot to mention that part.

(Another) Rob

[Beachcamper]

I finally got a response from GD parts. I will be boondocking next two days but will get more info when we get to a place with decent cell service.

I am very pleased I used the recommended sealant Trempro 645 on resealing all exterior before our trip. Even on the ski that was separated from outside edge is sealing great. it formed a rubberized flexible bond. Plus it looks great almost like a professional applied it. Geocel was horrid glad I only did a small area with it. Been traveling since April on bad roads and at some places, torrential rain. It’s on the LaVanture catalog but hard to read on my iPhone.

“I show that the vendor in our system is LaVanture Products. I’ve included the information below just in case you’d like to purchase through us.

Silicone:

• GDRV Part Number: 960179
• Description: Sealant Semi Translucent Silicone
• Price: $10.88/each – before tax + shipping”

[Mike & Rebecca]

Cate&Rob and Second Chance - regards silicon sealants and the difficulty/impossibility of removing or repairing in the future - if silicon is so difficult to work with, should a different type of sealant (non-silicon) be used instead? I just experienced trying to remove old silicon from our 18-year-old 5th wheel and that was not fun. But based upon all the comments I see, I'm confused as to whether we need to use silicon on the trailers, and just recognize the future pain of removal or repair? Or do we use a non-silicon sealant?

realize you are both owners and not technicians but figured you might have opinions based upon past experience. We should be picking up our new GD 5th wheel next week and I trying to get a head start on the maintenace plan and appropriate products. We did pretty good with our prior 5th wheel, but I definitely learned about some things I wish I'd done differently from the beginning. Thanks!

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Mike & Rebecca:

Welcome to our owners technical forum. When you have a chance, have a look at our welcome post. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members . This will help you set up your signature and navigate the forum.

Silicone has a good reputation for (usually) sticking to adjacent surfaces while retaining flexibility & stretch. This makes it a good choice for an RV . . . until you have to replace it, as discussed earlier in this thread. I have used the "paintable" caulkings extensively on sticks-and-bricks projects and even on boats above the waterline, with good success. The problem is that your new GD 5th wheel will be sealed everywhere with silicone based sealers. Replacing silicone caulking with non-silicone still faces the problem of removing all traces of the original silicone. So far . . . I have stayed with silicone based caulking on the RV.

Rob