Sealant & Adhesive

Caravan Sealant & Adhesive at the Cost Guide

Maintaining a caravan or motorhome can be quite a bit of work. Gluing, repairing, sealing... if you want to take the whole thing into your own hands, you need not only helpful instructions but also the right tools. Caravan sealant is indispensable for campers! Whether you're a hobby camper or a passionate outdoor enthusiast: With the right basic equipment, your problems will be solved in no time. We provide you with patches, adhesives, sealants and many other products for camping. Discover our wide range of camping accessories.

Caravan sealant - sealing, bonding, repairing

Drilling on the caravan? That was yesterday! Nowadays, people prefer to use adhesives or caravan sealant for repairs to their mobile homes in order to minimize moisture penetration or consequential damage. The vehicle remains undamaged.

Adhesives and sealants are often mentioned in the same breath when it comes to caravans or motor homes, because: What sticks, usually also seals. Nevertheless, you should be aware of the difference between caravan sealant and caravan adhesive so as not to cause any damage during the craftsmanship.

In the case of mechanical assembly, drilled holes are a weak point for moisture penetration. The use of sealants ensures that no leaks occur in the process. And with the right caravan adhesive, you can even completely dispense with drilling during installation.

Sealant for caravans: basic knowledge

Sealing compound is mainly used when installing roof hoods, exterior flaps or windows. But sealant is also an important tool for minor repairs , preventing the penetration of moisture, dust and cold. Unlike adhesives, caravan sealant never hardens completely, but remains elastic and can usually be removed again with much less effort.

Before you get down to work, however, you should inform yourself about the most important properties of sealant. Otherwise, your sealing attempts may quickly fail and you may cause major damage to your camping vehicle.

Step by step: How to use caravan sealant successfully

1. Pay attention to curing time & ingredients: The best case scenario is to focus on just one manufacturer when buying. Due to different ingredients, the combination of different manufacturers could have an impact on optimal curing, adhesion and sealing.
2. Consider the outside temperature: The right outside temperature is important for the optimal curing time during your work with caravan sealant. If it is too warm, it will make curing extremely difficult. Temperatures that are too low, on the other hand, can cause the material to cure too quickly and become brittle. The optimum temperature range is between 15 and 21°C.
3. Clean the surfaces: Very important! Before you start sealing or gluing, the respective surfaces should be cleaned properly. Even small amounts of dirt can be responsible for allowing moisture, cold or noise to penetrate.
4. Increase the surface tension: Adhesive cleaners and adhesion promoters are suitable aids for increasing the surface tension. Since plastics often have a lower surface tension than steel, for example, increasing the surface tension may be necessary to achieve the optimum bonding or sealing result.
5. Consider UV resistance: In addition to the elasticity of caravan sealant, aging and UV resistance is also an important factor you should consider.
6. Adjust the bead thickness: Both caravan sealant and adhesive are usually applied with a cartridge gun. Depending on the size of the area to be processed, you should also adjust the bead thickness. An opening that is too small can easily be enlarged with a cut.
7. Work in a team: Of course, sealing and bonding work can also be carried out alone, but it is still advisable to work at least in pairs when using caravan sealant. This ensures sufficient stability during the process and you can react more flexibly to unforeseen problems.

Replacing seals/removing gaskets

Old gaskets can become porous and permeable over time, in which case they should be replaced. Aesthetics can also be a reason to replace old gaskets. Before you can get to caulking, though, the old stuff has to go.

If you only want to remove a part of the caravan sealant, for example, because the stuff that has squeezed out looks unsightly, you should proceed very carefully. Otherwise, the caravan may leak at this point and moisture may penetrate. To remove the excess sealing compound, it is best to use a plastic spatula or similar sharp tool. Carefully drive along the edge and separate the mass to be removed from the rest. Only then can you remove the excess sealant without pulling it completely out of the joint.

Caravan adhesive: How to install it successfully

When it comes to the subject of "assembly on the motor home," bonding is now a common procedure. And not just for smaller jobs, such as attaching socket trim or coat hooks - awnings or even solar panels can also be attached with the help of the right adhesive. The advantages:

• Even distribution of force due to larger contact area
• No material weakening due to drill holes
• Larger vibrations do not result in loosening of the accessories (as can be the case with screws)
• No attack surface for penetrating humidity

However, there are also some disadvantages to consider with RV glue. For one thing, bonding requires much more time-consuming preparation of the surface, and for another, it makes disassembly more difficult. In contrast to mechanically mounted systems, which can be unscrewed quite easily, removing the adhesive involves significantly more effort.

Important to know!

To ensure that the adhesive bonds last as long as possible, you should prepare the surface to be bonded well in advance. Proceed step by step:

• Clean the gluing area
• Sand the bonding area and apply primer
• Apply adhesive on one side at least 3 mm thick

A simple caravan cleaner is usually not sufficient to clean the surface, as it does not completely remove greasy residues. It is therefore best to use special adhesive cleaners. For optimum adhesion of the adhesive, the use of a primer is also recommended. This is applied as a liquid and should harden completely. This creates a solid layer with which the caravan adhesive can bond perfectly. If you take these steps into account in advance, nothing can go wrong!

Camping department store: accessories for your camping trip

Caravan sealant and adhesive require precise and clean work. Get all the tools and materials you need ready and go through all the steps beforehand - then you're ready to go. You have to take care of the sealing and glueing of your motorhome yourself, but you can get the necessary equipment from us.

At Camping-Kaufhaus you will find not only sealant for caravans and caravan glue, but also primers, closures and other accessories for successful work. For every camping problem we offer you the solution: Take a look at the different articles in our assortment. Here you will find everything you need for your motorhome.

FAQs

Gluing or sealing? What's the difference?

There is often confusion when it comes to adhesives and sealants. However, if you assume there is no difference between bonding and sealing, you are wrong and can do a lot of damage by using the wrong adhesive or sealant. While adhesives are used to permanently bond joints and attach satellite dishes, for example, permanently elastic sealants are used to seal windows and hatches.

How do I check the caravan tightness?

A leak test is carried out by a specialist company and is obligatory in the case of a leak guarantee in order to obtain this guarantee. But even without a guarantee, a test can be worthwhile, because moisture that has penetrated unnoticed can cause major damage to the mobile home.

Why can't I use silicone for the caravan?

You find a leak in your caravan or motorhome and want to "just reseal it with silicone"? You'd better not do that. Because if you use silicone for sealing in the caravan, the water damage is virtually pre-programmed.

Since the material of the camper expands or contracts depending on the weather and is also in constant motion, joints sealed with silicone can quickly tear and moisture penetrates. Therefore, always use special camper sealant. This is the only way to guarantee optimum sealing.

Dekalin or Sikaflex? Which caravan sealant?

There is now a wide range of different sealants for mobile homes and caravans on the market. Probably the best-known manufacturers are Dekalin and Sika. If you are looking for the right sealant for your purpose, you should consider various factors: UV resistance, environmental compatibility and adhesion play a decisive role in the processing of caravan sealant. In the product information, you will also find more detailed information on the application and intended use of the products.