Eternabond Tape - The End Of Leaks Forever :)

[steveclv]

Getting back on topic

 

Eternabond tape has arrived courtesy of the Royal Mail and HMRC who relieved me of another £15 duty and service charge - it turned out expensive but it's a fit once and forget product so cheap at twice the price.

 

Today I got up to the roof and prepped with methylated spirit and leaving it to fully dry and tomorrow I will lay the tape over the roof joints. The Bailey has one at the front and one at the back. Then it's just a case or removing the backing and rolling the edges with a wallpaper roller to activate the adhesive.

I'll try and take some pics tomorrow and add them

[steveclv]

OK, so just in case anyone is interested, here's a step by step guide to resealing the roof joints - in my case a 2004 Bailey Pegasus Monarch 2 berth which has two seams, one front and one rear.

I got up onto the roof and realised that a previous owner or repair shop had tried to use silicone sealant to seal the roof already - as far as I'm concerned, silicone has no place whatsoever on a caravan - there are correct sealants that are made for it and which should be used.

I had to remove as much of the now useless silicone sealant as Eternabond will stick to anything except that stuff.

 

I also made sure that I purchased a wide enough strip of Eternabond so that there was a good 2cm either side of the joint and enough so that if I went a little wavey then I wasn't in danger of getting too close to the edge - it's available in 2" wide but I chose the 4" for safety.

 

Step 1 was to clean the roof - fortunately mine wasn't too dirty so a wipe down with methylated spirits was sufficient and then just to let that dry.

Step 2 - this is the tape - it has a white plastic top face which is UV resistant and a gray sticky adhesive with a clear plastic protective film. Hint: when cutting the tape, only do so with the plastic film in place otherwise you will be throwing the scissors and sizeable piece of Eternabond away

Step3 is to lay the tape out across the seam and tape it at one end - much easier with two people but I managed on my own. Then peel back the film and using a bit of overlap over the edge of the roof, start to apply the tape. It is INCREDIBLY STICKY so when it is down, it's down and never coming off - so be careful and work in 20cm sections at a time.
Use a wallpaper roller to firmly roll the flat parts - not too much so that it squeezes the adhesive out, but enough to set it in place. Then use your fingers to press in and around the screws and joint.

Finally the whole seam is covered and rollered and it's never, ever, going to leak! I used this Eternabond tape when we lived in Arizona in the US and it survived the worst of the desert heat/sun and the rains of Florida - so I'm certain it will stand up to the British (and European) climate
It is also very useful for resealing around roof vents.

Just trying to show just how sticky this stuff is. When you have finished, keep any spare bits in the van in a plastic bag, you never know when it might come in handy to fix a leak.

If you are visiting the US at all then grab a roll - a 16' length costs $15 (eBay) but when shipped and customs grab their bit it worked out to just under £50 - worth it for my peace of mind but if I could find a UK supplier it would be even better - I have emailed one that said they sold it to enquire if it was the genuine Eternabond, but they didn't bother to reply.

Hope that's of interest to anyone with a leaking, or potentially leaking roof seam.

Steve
Sherborne, Dorset

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2017 by steveclv

[Alan Stanley]

Thanks for that. It certainly looks the ' bees knees '.

[Wunny]

This was caused by the auto correct, yes, my fault.

 

The man who invented auto correct died last night - his funfair is next monkey.

[Pickled Onion]

Thanks for the great post Steve. I too have a Bailey with similar front/rear sealing strip and would consider a one-time fix like yours as a preventive measure and for peace of mind.

 

Dave.

[sunshinetours]

Great post thank you

[Nidge4]

Might have stood up to the heat of the Arizona weather but wait until the North Atlantic has chucked wind rain and hail at it for several months of the year, only joking hope it is effective if so can some one let the caravan manufacturers know

[rovinmad]

Eternabond seems just the stuff to go over the infamous wall to floor joint in Bailey Alutec construction. I might just get some when my 10 year guarantee is up if I've still got the van.

[steveclv]

Just a quick update - I just changed the van and will now the same on the new (used) one. This time around I managed to find a UK supplier of the tape - 10cm wide by 7. 5m long for £45 shipped. Ordered at the weekend and delivered Tuesday and it's the genuine stuff.

http://www. repairproducts. co. uk/

[Dave W]

Hello folks. I'm in this same position having a Sprite Muskateer which has this taped 'over' joint on the roof between roof & rear ABS panel. The original tape has fractured at one corner. I emailed Sprite who recommended going to their dealer network for a replacement tape part.

 

However I'm keen to learn about alternatives. So from those who have now used this tape some 2 years ago, I ask  "How's have the DIY repairs held up?"