How to Caulk an RV

RVs are heavily exposed to the elements. One of the regular maintenance chores of RV ownerships is inspection and replacement of the caulking. This is a fairly easy task, and a lack of experience only means that your cleanup after the job is complete will require an extra step.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Ladder (possible)
Buck knife
Putty knife
Painter's or masking tape (possible)
Tubes of RV caulk
Caulking gun

Step 1

Examine the seams on the outside of your RV to determine what needs to be caulked. Examples include the window frames (except the windshield), the openings in the roof for air conditioners and skylights, and the areas where the roof and the back wall of the RV meet the sidewalls.

Step 2

Remove cracked or eroded caulk. Using a buck knife and a putty knife, peel and scrape away the caulking until you are about 1 inch into the sound caulking. If there is no sound caulking, remove the entire string of caulk.

Step 3

Lay down painter's tape or masking tape along the periphery of the area to be caulked if you are not confident in your caulking skills. This will make your cleanup a lot easier.

Step 4

Caulk the seams with a caulking gun and a tube of RV caulk. Do not use ordinary household silicon caulk, since this has problems adhering to some RV components. Use steady, even pressure on the trigger and steadily lay down a smooth string of caulk into the seam. Release the pressure on the trigger shortly before reaching the end of the seam, or else you will still have caulk coming out of the gun when you remove it from the seam and create a mess to clean up.

Step 5

Allow the caulk to dry as directed by the manufacturer. Peel up your tape if you put any down, taking any off excess caulk with it.

Article Written By Edwin Thomas

Edwin Thomas has been writing since 1997. His work has appeared in various online publications, including The Black Table, Proboxing-Fans and others. A travel blogger, editor and writer, Thomas has traveled from Argentina to Vietnam in pursuit of stories. He holds a Master of Arts in international affairs from American University.

Editor's Pick

5 Top North American Wildflower Hikes

Springtime brings a sense of new beginnings and new life as flowers begin to bloom and fill the air with their sweet and pleasant fragrance. Luckily we can see wildflowers all summer long, since spring hits at different times throughout North America. See flowering cactu...
More National Parks...
Popular Article

National Park Substitutes: Great Spots Without the Crowds

Coping with crowds at national parks can get tiresome, especially during the peak tourist season. If you want to escape from the herd, or just take a breather from the bustle of bigger attractions, the United States has plenty of less-visited but still worthwhile spots t...
More National Parks...
Featured Destination

Prevent Yourself from Getting Lost While Hiking

When you're hiking you're going to want to make sure you stay found. What I mean by that is that you've put an itinerary in the car, you know the area that you're hiking to, you know the route and the trail you plan on being on, you know what the trail markers are going ...
More Camping Basics...