Vintage RV

[Lrrilet]

Just bought an old RV and we were hit with an unexpected storm. I have a few leaks in the roof I need to address.

Got a tarp on it now. So I’ve stopped the water influx.

So a couple questions:
1. If I get some fans in there tomorrow, will that speed up drying enough to minimize the damage? Any other advice?

2. When I work on the roof, if I use Dicor for the seams and openings, is that enough? Or do I need to do something like Liquid Rubber too?

Thank you!

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

If water has leaked inside the walls, there's no uncooking that egg with fans. We have no way to guess if that has happened or not, or how long it has been leaking before you noticed it. Swelling/bubbling/delamination will give that away.

Dicor or any other sealant can seal small fissures and gaps. If this is really "vintage" it may be beyond just application of seam sealer. The roof has to be inherently sound for seam sealer to fix anything.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[TheBar]

Seal up seams and larger gaps with caulking like Geocel, then Eternabond tape over the caulk, then recoat the roof. Even a missing screw can cause a big leak. Most RV walls and roof are a sandwich of thin sheets of plywood with structural foam between them. Fans will help the interior paneling and carpet. But once that foam gets wet it stays wet for a long time causing mold and rot. Water leaks are like cancer to an RV. Liquid Rubber lasts longer and does a much better job of sealing than thin elastomeric coatings.

 

[SpencerPJ]

In general, a fan and air movement will speed up the drying process. How wet, how long will determine the damage. A dehumidifier would be beneficial as well.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Yeap, a fan and anything else you can use to circulate air will help. But as others have said, it's an open question whether simply drying it out will be sufficient. If the leaks have been there a while and it has been soaked repeatedly, there may be wood rot or mold problems.