Replacing rooflight vent sealant

UFO

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Our Adria Twin is nine years old and I think there may be some water ingress. Whether there is or not it seems like a good idea to replace the sealant on the Seitz Midi Heki Rooflight Vents and the toilet roof vent.

The current sealant is very soft and black but if the surface is broken it is white underneath so probably black from all the stuff in the environment.
Roof vent sealant 1.JPG

The rooflight vent appears to be in two pieces each with its own sealant layer, probably because the vent fits on a flat roof and the extra piece is needed to fit the ridged roof of the panel van.
Roof vent sealant 2.JPG

I’d prefer not to remove the vents, unless it is necessary to get a good to seal. My plan is to remove all the existing sealant that is visible, thoroughly clean all surfaces and then cover with new sealant.

Any advice from anyone who has done this job before would be appreciated, including which sealant to use.
 
From experience, trying to repair without totally removing the vents will probably be futile.

Do. It properly. Remove all the old sealant, make sure it's clean, then re seal with the sealant that the manufacturer's use. It comes on a roll, cut to length then replace the vents.

We bought ours via e bay.
 
Will
yorkslass said:
From experience, trying to repair without totally removing the vents will probably be futile.

Do. It properly. Remove all the old sealant, make sure it's clean, then re seal with the sealant that the manufacturer's use. It comes on a roll, cut to length then replace the vents.

We bought ours via e bay.
Click to expand...
Will that work with a corrugated roof Sue?
 
The pic looks to show a secondary part between the roof and the Heki (they're designed to go onto a flat surface) with a sealer strip between each part, never seen that before, but both need to be removed, and all the surfaces thoroughly cleaned
 
yorkslass said:
Might have to use two layers of the sealant, one on top of the other.

If you look at the pics the sealant looks pretty thick.
Click to expand...
From pic I wasn’t sure what was roof and what was vent, is there a run of sealant on the roof then a gap to sealant ant the vent or is there an adaptor that has the same corrugations? I know tape is best to use but wasn’t sure how you would do on that type of roof, is it semi liquid and will ‘push’ out to find a level? As you can tell I have never us3£ it but we did use a butyl sealant for electric motor/gearbox flanges at the quarry and that wouldn’t have squished out enough.

Edit: okay first post has been updated and it is an adaptor
 
The tape is what I always use, it's about 1/8'' thick 1'' wide, creamy colour, sticky as hell, and sort of banana skin softness :):) it does squeeze out a bit, don;t skimp on cost, get it from a caravan shop not Ebay then you can see it, I have some in my garage I'll see if there is a makers name on it, got mine from Kenmores in Morley, £19 a box I think.

Just remembered they sell on Ebay, this is the exact stuff I have.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19m-leng...-sealer-TS5-/173475282490?hash=item2863eebe3a

They do a shorter roll, but I bought mine 5 years ago and jsut used some to seal another, so as long as it's kept in the box it has a good life, better price per meter too.
 
Okay it is different to what I was thinking then, was imagining having to cut bits to build up the levels then possibility of leaks. :)
 
It may be that you'd need to do that on most PVCs roofs, but it sticks to itself and anything near it, so a good gap filler, old clothes, and vinyl gloves a good idea to wear.

It is best to cut it to length and sit it tape down ready to hand around the job, then apply it to a clean wet surface, this allows some movement and dries overnight, this is what I was advised and it works, but clean and dry is fine too, done it both ways.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
The tape is what I always use, it's about 1/8'' thick 1'' wide, creamy colour, sticky as hell, and sort of banana skin softness :):) it does squeeze out a bit, don;t skimp on cost, get it from a caravan shop not Ebay then you can see it, I have some in my garage I'll see if there is a makers name on it, got mine from Kenmores in Morley, £19 a box I think.

Just remembered they sell on Ebay, this is the exact stuff I have.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19m-leng...-sealer-TS5-/173475282490?hash=item2863eebe3a

They do a shorter roll, but I bought mine 5 years ago and jsut used some to seal another, so as long as it's kept in the box it has a good life, better price per meter too.
Click to expand...

Kenmore for us too. Saw it on e bay, saw the seller, and nipped down the road, only a mile from us.
 
Have you met Robert the owner, what a character, he micro manages everything..
 
Yes, of course, he runs the workshop, I had a Triplex oven problem on my self build, which had a 3 year warranty, he refused to touch the van but was happy to work on the oven if I took it out, 4 times I took it too him, in the end he gave up and got them to authorise a new oven, as he wasn't getting anything out of it after the first repair, it too broke down, I gave up in the end.
 
OK, just seen this post. I had the same problem in July this year on our 2010 Adria Twin (manufactured 2009).
As you say, there is a piece of plastic which turns the corrugated roof into a flat roof for the heki.
This plastic piece is glued to the roof with a strong adhesive and you will not remove it without totally destroying it.
First, identify where the leak is. If it is the seal between the Heki and the plastic filler piece, then reseal is easy. there are videos on YouTube to help you do this. Some people on Forums recommend a strong glue, some silicone. Ignore these poeple. The manufacturers use a non-setting mastic. I used sikaflex, bought over the Internet for about £12. (Could use the tape as mentioned earlier) The original is black. I bought grey and think it blends in with the van better as ours is silver. One tube is just enough.
Ours (and probably yours) leaked between the plastic fill and the van roof, so I am experienced it fixing this problem. Ours is now perfect and better than originally fitted by Adria (but a lot more work!).
Our leak was caused by a slight manufacturing fault which I first fixed.
I can describe the process in detail of how to fix the leak by a competent craftsman (me) but it will take me some time to type, but will do so if you require. It cost me £5 for glue (I use StiXall from local builders merchant), some silver Hammerite I had in, some PVA glue (to fix the manufacturing fault) £12 for sikaflex and £4 for a length of plastic to turn the corrugated roof into a flat roof, and a lot of time! Tools I used were, chisel, knife, steel rule, wet/dry paper, paint thinners (to clean off old glue) G clamps and piece of wood to spread G clamp load (to repair manufacturing fault), saw, chisel, knife and file (to shape pieces to flatten roof) the same G clamps and wood to glue down the shaped pieces to flatten roof. Paint brush to apply Hammerite to stop UV light getting to glue. Meths to clean off old Sikaflex.
If you would like me to go through the process, please ask. You may already have fixed it or taken it to a repair shop.
I have just taken a pic of the Heki I repaired. Raining again! (Hasn't stopped since early July!)
Dave.van roof.jpg
 
Which van and make of windows do you have, are you certain it is the window to van seal, which is leaking?
 
I'm a bit stuck there, not had any experience with that type of window yet, not even seen one up close, but I'm sure someone else will have.
 
Pushing sealant into is not the best way to fix it, that is a bodge and won't last long, you should remove the outer frame, remove all the mastic, then clean the surface and start again with Sikaflex, not sure which one you need for those windows, there should be some marking on the glass of the make and type, a picture again might help us to find the correct fitting instructions for you.
 
Are you thinking that the leak is between the frame and the van, or the pane and the frame rubber, if the latter it might be best to see if there is a rubber in the parts list, or it could be that the hinge has been strained to the point where the pane isn't in proper contact with the frame, a bit of dry newspaper will be hard to pull through if the hinge is okay normally.
 
I can't really advise on that, as I don't know what the materials are, some do not stick to sealant, but it sounds like the part with the hinge wasn't fitted properly in the first place and as damp is the biggest killer of motorhomes I'd remove the window and do it properly, it's not a big job, an hour should have it out and back in as you only have to do the outside part.

I have tried to find a install PDF but you've not given the info I need.
 
cerdicboy54 said:
I have a simalar problem with side windows - letting in a bit of water when slightly tilted away durning heavy rain.
Could someone suggest the best sealing for this job, low moduls?
Click to expand...

This sounds like a bodge, but I had a similar problem and it’s worked for me and no leaks several years on.
Simply trace where the water is entering and apply a little vaseline. I didn’t think it would work but it did and seems a permanent fix.
 
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