Why I Don't Like EternaBond RV Roof Tape

I'm back on this 2008 Beaver Patriot. The full wall slide has roof tape peeling and I have some thoughts about the whole ordeal.

[zz]

I'm an advocate of Eternabond tape, but I do appreciate what you say about the difficulty of removing it. Kudos to a job well done...I'm certain many shops would never clean it up as well as you did here. Proper preparation is key to everything we do to achieve long lasting results.

[gdu]

You make everything seem so easy but it really isn't- it is a testament to your experience, well done.

[greghamblin]

It’s fascinating watching you work. Your smile makes the whole scene brighten. 😀

[mwrcrft]

I do enjoy your work being a semi retired guy who made/makes a living fixing things it is/was always enjoyable for folks to tell me how it should be repaired/installed. Those who can do and those who can't try to tell you how to do it right.

[rik]

Prep is everything! If the surface has been prepared correctly, Eternabond will last a lot longer than the trailer.

[michaelm]

Having done this same job on my Holiday Rambler, I admit it's messy, but I didn't think it was that difficult. I used a heat gun and a putty knife to scrape up the old tape and most of the adhesive in one pass. I made a second pass to scrape up more adhesive, but I did not try to remove all of it. I sprayed the remaining adhesive with EternaPrime, let it dry and applied the new tape. It's only been a couple of years, but it seems to be holding up. I did learn to avoid any of the Eternabond imitators.

[davidharrison]

“I don’t like eternabond.” Removes eternabond, replaces with eternabond. 🤔

[waynebush]

Looking at this project you can readily see that the surface was not prepared properly before installing the Eternabond tape. It was very difficult for this guy to remove. Had it been applied properly moisture would not have gotten under the tape.

[bobbyb.]

Was the preparation done correctly ? Was the original underlay solid ? 🤔

[sandybonfiglio]

I totally understand working in roof in Arizona, did it in Spring three years ago and it was so hot ! I started about 6:00 am because it was 90 by 8:00! Great teaching about this tape cause I’m in Louisiana and it’s hot at 1:00 here and I got my knee all burnt but the roof I’m working on hasn’t ever had roof coating a 1985 Yellowstone with lots of leaks! Was doing spots but it rained yesterday real bad and I found part of the problem the ac the roof is warping and held water! So thank you! Good luck

[dirtfpv]

Just bought a monaco coach where someone decided to seal the entire bathroom skylight with eternabond all the way around, and finish it up with what I think is caulk. It was leaking a little bit. The repair was a mess. I removed all of it and resealed with dicor. Not leaking anymore. On my travel trailer I had a tree branch poke a small hole in my rubber roof. Used eternabond to repair it 8 years ago. Still holding strong, but it was a 4"x4" patch.

[dianewolfe]

Man what a job, I would lose my mind, in that heat. I commend your perseverance.

[tomtee]

I've done several repairs the best thing I've used is the peel and stick black tar on one side and a thin piece of aluminum on the other side. I bought it at Lowe's in the insulation section it's similar to dynamat but it's a lot thinner and lighter. You need something on the top like aluminum so it doesn't break down and crack and come off. I usually clean the roof first with vinegar let it dry real good put the 587 Uncle Henry's white coat from Home Depot on it then put that peel and stick aluminum foil black tar tape on the other side stuck to the roof and then paint it again with the Uncle Henry's 587 roof coat. And if using the tape towards the front overlap it so the wind will not catch it in the front and lift it up. Any other kind of tape or sealants will break down crack and fall apart like what's on there. At Lowe's 6 inch x about a 30 foot roll is $18.00 I always like to do it once and do it right the first time.

[betterwithrum]

I still plan on applying EternaBond to all my seals. I don't believe EternaBond is suggesting you don't ever check your tape after applying it, but plenty of RVs have had success using it to stop the lap sealant from being a source of water intrusion. But using it to give you years between applications rather than months makes a lot of sense.

[coderesponsevideos]

What about using eternabond on lap joints on a new roof to protect them from damage and wear. If not what’s the best way to protect a brand new roof?

[robertdl]

Thanks for this information but I couldn't help but notice that after you said Eternabond shoudln't be used for that type of application but you put Eternabond back down. I do have a question. I was thinking of putting Eternabond on that outbound flashing lip on my slide to shore it up. Seems like Dicor or Silicon on where the flashing meets the roof material would be more apt to peel. What do you suggest to protect those joints on a slide where water entry is comon but often not discovered until too late?

[Patrick_Gray]

What glue or adhesive would I use to glue down a two square foot piece of EPDM rubber roof to plywood (fiber board)?

This would be part of an roof repair on my RV. I am going to cut a small square of the EPDM rubber roof and replace the plywood under it that is soft due to a leak. Then glue it or a new piece back down. After gluing down the piece of EPDM, I have bought 4 inch wide Eternabond tape to seal the cut I made. Also plan to use Dicor lap sealant at the edge of the tape. The leak was caused by gap in the lap sealant at the roof exhaust fan.

[sailorjohnboy]

Finally a video about my problem, thanks for the video James. My issue is the factory used 1/4 inch hex drives to hold down the slideout trim. The seals ripped the tape on the screw heads, then it leaked. I put some aluminum backed roof tape over it and now its peeling off the TPO roof. I'm trying to finger out a forever fix. I'm thinking I'm going to have to clean it all off, pull off the trim, and reseal. Once I get it all back together, I'm wondering if I should go back with Eternaleak or coat it with Henry's silicone roof coating. Decisions, decisions...

[sbruce]

Many thanks for the great tech tip, seen some videos of people using it on vents and such and i cringed thinking that’s not right. But as a nubie RVer I thought OK...May be. Now I know, reseal vent and use this in the right place for the right reason!

[HomesickforAlaska]

I love all the comments from couch experts here that know how to do every step of this so much better than James. Use a heat gun, use a multi tool, you didn't do it right the first time, you cleaned it wrong, you didn't clean it enough, you used the wrong cleaner, you put the tape on wrong, you should have done it this way, your not a real repair man, you don't know what your doing, etc, etc, etc.
And then we get to the BIG one, Don't disrespect Eternabond its the greatest invention in the history of mankind, how dare James say anything bad about our sacred cow.
Almost all of the negative comments were obviously from people that didn't watch the video, didn't listen to anything James said in the video, can't comprehend what James said in the video, or are just plain too stupid to understand what James said. They saw the title, their eyes rolled back in their heads and they just started typing nasty shite about a topic they know nothing about. I have seen many comments in every video James has done that even mentions Eternabond about how he must be sponsored by some tape competitor because thats the only reason why he wouldn't like it, personally as consistent as the attacks are It seems like Eternabond is the one who is sponsoring trolls to attack anyone that dares say anything bad about the product.
James has said MANY TIMES that the main reason he doesn't like it is because it is so often installed incorrectly, used in the wrong way, and used to hide glaring issues that should have been repaired before the tape was installed.
I really fail to see why its so hard to comprehend that he doesn't like Eternabond because he sees it installed or used incorrectly all the time, then he has to fix the actual problem that wasn't fixed correctly originally. Tons of comments on every single video about an Eternabond failures about how it was installed wrong, bad prep, whatever, the commenters are actually making James point, its installed incorrectly ALL THE TIME.
James is not hurting for work, there was a comment "what do you care its billable hours", people with integrity don't think that way, they want to get the job done correctly and move on to the next one, how many hours they can milk out of the job never occurs to them.
I really don't get this quasi religion around Eternabond, its literally like a cult of some kind. I am going back and watching all of James old videos and its interesting that usually 99% of the comments are positive about what a great job he does until Eternabond is mentioned in the video, then BOOM 50% negative comments about what a hack James is. And most of the commenters clearly didn't watch or listen to the video, Pathetic.