Fixing roof cracks

[slackercruster]

I have a white rubber roof on my truck camper. The little skylight has a crack all around the white caulking. How do I fix this? Is silicone white caulking good to use? Do I just fill in the crack?

 

Thanks

[chirakawa]

I have a white rubber roof on my truck camper. The little skylight has a crack all around the white caulking. How do I fix this? Is silicone white caulking good to use? Do I just fill in the crack?

 

Thanks

 

If the skylight is cracked like you state, I would replace the skylight. If there is just cracks in the caulking, you can remove all the old caulk and re-caulk with Dicor Self Leveling sealant or something similar. I would not use silicone caulk.

[Kirk W]

I always use Dicor brand caulking but there are other brands that are approved for this use. Most of the roof membranes are made by Dicor and thus the reason for using their product. You must use a product of latex materials approved for use on EDPM which is what your roof is covered with. Use a plastic scraper and remove as much of the old caulking as you can but it isn't necessary to get every trace off, like is needed if silicone is used. Replace the caulking carefully and it must also be "self leveling" which is what was used at the factory. The self leveling products will flow into any cracks to fill them and it will level out to a near smooth surface once done and being latex you can add more later if needed. Apply enough, but this is not a case of "more is better."

[coachmac9]

Definitely Dicor self leveling, works great.

[slackercruster]

If the skylight is cracked like you state, I would replace the skylight. If there is just cracks in the caulking, you can remove all the old caulk and re-caulk with Dicor Self Leveling sealant or something similar. I would not use silicone caulk.

Skylight is good, caulking is what has cracked.

[slackercruster]

I always use Dicor brand caulking but there are other brands that are approved for this use. Most of the roof membranes are made by Dicor and thus the reason for using their product. You must use a product of latex materials approved for use on EDPM which is what your roof is covered with. Use a plastic scraper and remove as much of the old caulking as you can but it isn't necessary to get every trace off, like is needed if silicone is used. Replace the caulking carefully and it must also be "self leveling" which is what was used at the factory. The self leveling products will flow into any cracks to fill them and it will level out to a near smooth surface once done and being latex you can add more later if needed. Apply enough, but this is not a case of "more is better."

OK, thanks for all the help!

[Yarome]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned eternabond yet. It doesn't require you to remove all of the old caulking.. just trim up the loose bits, clean it-n-stick-it. Near permanent caulking on a roll. It is more expensive than a tube of dicor, but very easy to use, and if applied properly.. you'll never have to touch it again.

 

On edit: Best prices are usually on eBay. 2", 4", or 6" rolls in various lengths. Hint.. a 4" or 6" roll can be cut into 2" strips and save a little money on the roll.

[Kirk W]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned eternabond yet. It doesn't require you to remove all of the old caulking.. just trim up the loose bits, clean it-n-stick-it. Near permanent caulking on a roll. It is more expensive than a tube of dicor, but very easy to use, and if applied properly.. you'll never have to touch it again.

But what happens if you do need to replace the skylight, which can happen? From what I've always been told the stuff is nearly impossible to remove once it is stuck.

[Yarome]

the stuff is nearly impossible to remove once it is stuck.

 

Pretty darn near.. for sure. However.. you CAN cut through it along the seam to remove the skylight or other rooftop feature.. reinstall, then simply tape back over the existing eternabond and new fixture. It's not terribly thick, but if necessary you could run a thin strip along the new fixture and then add an overlayer on top of the old and new if pooling or such was a concern. POOF! You're done.

 

It "can" be removed with a heat gun, box knife, heavy solvent and a lot of elbow grease.. but there's not enough barley pop in the world to get me to do it.

[rdickinson]

X2 for eternabond tape. When upgrades were underway a couple of years ago, the roof was one of the first areas to be addressed. Cleaning as much of the caulking off as possible then putting down a primer after which the tape was put down.

 

Caulking can crack, Eternabond, I don't think does.

[Ray,IN]

 

If the skylight is cracked like you state, I would replace the skylight. If there is just cracks in the caulking, you can remove all the old caulk and re-caulk with Dicor Self Leveling sealant or something similar. I would not use silicone caulk.

Exactly!