How to Re-Seal Your Scout Campers: A Step-by-Step Guide

In today's video, we're diving into a comprehensive DIY guide on how to maintain and replace the exterior edge seals on your Scout Camper. Whether you're far from a dealer or prefer to handle maintenance yourself, this step-by-step tutorial is designed to empower you with all the knowledge and tips you need to keep your camper in top condition.
Contact us if you need a dealer to do this for you :: adventurevehicleoutfitters.co...
What You’ll Need
• Manus-Bond 73-A Silicone Rubber Sealant (what Scout uses in the factory)
• Caulk Gun
• Isopropyl alcohol or other cleaning solvent
• Clean rag or paper towels
• Scuffing pad
• Small flathead screwdriver (the smaller, the better)
• Painters/masking tape
• OPTIONAL: Disposable gloves
• OPTIONAL: Razer blade or precision knife
Notes/Prerequisites
• Don’t fix just a portion of the seal along one edge, remove and reapply the entire edge
• Do this on a warmer day with good, dry weather
Steps
1. Wash exterior of camper and allow to completely dry
2. Thoroughly clean all seals with a solvent or cleaning agent like isopropyl alcohol or equivalent to ensure a clean working surface
3. Using a small flathead screwdriver, scrape along edges to remove old seal. Trick: scrape from one edge to the corner where the edges, then scrape from the opposite edge to ‘cut’ the seal from the camper. Pull away and out while you cut. Use as little pressure as you can. You don’t need to worry about scratching the camper with your screwdriver as this will be covered back up with new seal.
4. Spot scrape any remaining seal so that you see the corner where the two surfaces meet
5. With a scuffing pad, scuff up the surface under the removed seal to remove any little bits of seal leftover as well as prep the surface for better adhesion. We recommend a 3M Red Scuff Pad.
6. Thoroughly clean all seals and surfaces again with isopropyl alcohol or equivalent.
7. Tape off the edges of either surface to create a clean and straight line for the new seal. Any type of masking or painters tape will work great here. Leave a gap of about 1/8” to 1/4” on the wall side of the seal, and only 1/16” to 1/8” on the corner side. Be careful when taping around the corner caps to help create a clean and smooth line of sealant. A small razor blade or precision knife can be helpful here to cut straight edges and corners.
8. Once all edges are taped, apply a small bead of sealant along taped edge. Try to apply in one continuous bead without lifting to ensure a clean and well-applied seal. Work from edge to edge, not stopping or changing edges in the middle.
9. Once you’ve applied sealant to all edges, take your finger (a disposable glove is helpful) and run it along the edge to remove the excess, clean the sealant and make a smooth curve in the corner.
10. Before the sealant has time to cure, carefully peal the masking tape away so that it doesn’t cure onto the tape and become a huge pain to remove. Trick: Pull the tape towards and away from the bead of sealant so that it doesn’t pull away with your tape.
11. If you see a small edge created by the sealant where the tape was, you can use your finger again to clean up the seal and remove any excess. You can remove any drying or stringing sealant using isopropyl alcohol.
12. Allow the sealant to cure enough that it is safe to touch, then repeat steps 7 & 8 to apply a second small bead of sealant over top. Again, smooth out the seal edge with your finger. This is to minimize any ledges where water can pool and get inside the seal.
13. Allow to full dry and cure before reviewing your work to ensure all seals are replaced.

[@jessicagardner7305]

Can you show the re-sealing of the solar panel.

[@JuniperOverland]

Do you mean re-tape the outer edges of the solar panel to the roof or re-sealing the wire ingress?

[@jessicagardner7305]

Both

[@marcosw6893]

Jeez, this would take forever to do all of the seals. How much do y’all charge for this service?

[@JuniperOverland]

Depending on how many seals need to be replaced, this could be upwards of an 8 hour or more job. We'd need to see the camper in person to best quote you on labor

[@JasonTylerS]

How often should this be done?

[@JuniperOverland]

Scout says to check them every year, but if you live in wetter climates we would suggest twice a year.

[@Sscott1985]

More often than it should…

[@krazykev123]

what color? Is it just Gray

[@JuniperOverland]

Yup! Just their normal grey color.