Finding leaks in your vintage trailer is normal. But water intrusion is enemy number one for trailers, so addressing them should be at the top of your trailer project list. We assumed Roamie, our ‘73 Avion, had them when we bought her. She was in pretty great shape, but trailers require maintenance, and we knew she sat unused for a while. It was only a (short) matter of time before we would find those leaks.
When we pulled up the carpet, we found iron plates concealing the soft spot at the door. (Insert face palm here.) A following rainstorm confirmed we still had a leak at the entry.
Then we happened to notice light water on the wall under the kitchen sink as the A/C was running (condensation was making its way into the trailer).
We were able to quickly track down the A/C condensation leak, but the leak at the door was challenging, so we decided to seal the entire trailer top down. This would help us knock out any leaks we hadn’t found, yet, too.
So we started at the top – sealing the roof first. (Follow-up projects will be sealing the aluminum side panel seams, beltline seams, window frames, and reglazing the old aluminum frame Hehr windows.)
Starting the Roof Project
We had some layers of Kool Seal to scrape off before we could clean and prep the roof for sealing. It was admittedly a pain. The total project took about 2 weeks (working 2-3 hours most days) to carefully scrape, clean, and seal. We also replaced the A/C gasket to finish off the project (and cleaned out the crazy number of old mud daubers’ nests in the A/C). We spent a couple of hours each day working together. Fortunately, we enjoy each other’s company. 😆
Below is the list of steps we followed to seal the roof. We also made a video detailing a step-by-step walk-through of our process. Video at bottom of post along with complete list of all products used in our process.
Sealing your aluminum travel trailer with Eternabond tape:
1. Remove old sealant
You can watch our video below for the process and tools we used.
And that’s all folks! Two weeks of hanging out on the roof of our trailer! We did this project in July in Texas, and we would like to strongly encourage you to NOT do it during the summer. 😂
Click the video to see all the steps for yourself! 👇
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Complete roof sealing project materials list below!
MATERIALS NEEDED TO SEAL TRAILER ROOF
Scrape and clean roof (if needed):
- Warrior 1500 Watt 11 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun – Harbor Freight
- Nonmarring Scraper Set, 4 Pc. (used 3 sets on our 25’ trailer) – Harbor Freight
- Mechanic’s Shop Towels 14 in. x 13 in., 50 Pk. (had on hand) – Harbor Freight
- Mineral Spirits – local hardware store
Replace aluminum rivets (if needed):
- Drill and drill bits
- Central Pneumatic 3/16 in. Air Hydraulic Riveter – Harbor Freight
- Tradespro 836341 Aluminum Rivet Assortment, 500-Piece, Multiple Sizes
- Sikaflex 221
Clean and seal roof with Eternabond tape:
- Denatured Alcohol (with shop rags) – local hardware store
- Scissors (may get ruined with adhesive) – Harbor Freight has 5 pc set $7
- Eternabond tape 2” x 50’ (required 2 rolls to complete 25’ trailer with leftover)
- Eternabond roller (VERY highly recommend)
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions!
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I coated my RV’s roof with RV Roof Magic to protect it from heavy rain fall and hailstorms. I noticed that after being applied it was ok below-freezing temperatures at night. It’s a primer-free, one-coat system, that waterproofs in 3 hours and will completely cure after 8 – 10 hours of application. Giving an aesthetically pleasing new look for a fraction of the cost. It protects the RV’s roof from severe weather conditions due to its excellent weather-resistant properties and high tensile strength. Also extends the Roof’s life span for 18-20 years along with pledging a 10-year warranty.