How long should caulking hold up before it needs to be redone?

[IQRaceworks]

I've had our 2011 Crossroads Zinger for close to three year now. When I first got it I went through everything and cleaned out the old caulking on all of the joints, and redid it. Then last summer I noticed that some of that caulking had started to crack and look pretty bad so I redid a bunch of it again.

And now this summer/fall I've started to notice that once again, I can see several spots were the caulking around things has started to pull away and/or crack...and needs to be redone.

I've always used the high quality (and expensive) RV caulk, and it just doesn't seem to last very long.

Is that pretty normal, or am I doing it wrong??

[Lloyd]

Well, I think it's normal. If you are cleaning the area good after removing the old caulk, and you are using a good quality caulk that's about all you can do. Remember, these things twist, turn, and vibrate when you are towing them down the road. It's really surprising in a way that the caulk holds up as well as it does.
I usually go over ours every year, and most always find someplace that needs to be redone.

[mark5w]

Constant maintenance of an rv is something that is often overlooked. Many owners don't realize the amount of work and time it takes to maintain an rv.


Like Lloyd said, the shake, rattle, and roll going down the road puts a lot of stress on an rv. No surprise that caulk fails on almost a yearly basis.

[Papa-T]

I will say that it make a big difference depending on where your unit is kept. (Inside vs Outside). We’ve always kept our units inside a metal building with a concrete floor. Never had to redo the caulking on any unit. The sun and weather is what breaks down the caulking. I would always suggest that if you can afford a building to keep your unit in; it will greatly extend the lifespan of any unit.

[LouieMcClure]

I'm lazy, so I pay my RV dealer to winterize, and de-winterize our 2010, Cruiser Patriot. When I take it in for de-winterizing every year, I make out a list of repairs, specific checks, or new accessories. Checking our caulking is on the list every year. In fact, I just paid for new seals for all three slide outs.