Best sealants and adhesives for exterior and interior of TAB

HAWAIIANTAB

Newbie is repairing a few little details before taking her on the road and found a separation of the main exterior  corner trim piece where the forward and aft pieces meet and being on the highest part of the rig, it seems it could be vulnerable to leaks and the most exposed to the elements, so I want to use the best sealant [silicone?].
Also, will be attaching a few accessories to walls in the shower and elsewhere on the interior and exterior..........solar motion detector lights, etc and need the best adhesive for that. Very cautious not to drill holes in the pristine finish of the rig. 
Thanks in advance..............

falcon1970

Pictures always help.
The consensus seems to be to avoid silicon.
For hanging stuff on the wood, plastic, or laminate surfaces I use 3M Command Strips.  I think many other Tabbers also use them.  I have heard that attaching things to the "wallpaper" type coverings has caused the wallpaper to peel away from the substrate.

N7SHG_Ham

Those colored trim pieces are decorative ONLY, they weren't sealed from factory. They do tend to crack/break, but cosmetic ONLY. The real seal is under the trim. I believe a polyurethane sealant is recommended by NuCamp?

No clue what to use to attach stuff to walls, I haven't done that. I would be very careful of that on the interior at least as it is very easy to strip the covering off the walls.

RollingBnB

If you are referring to the trim pieces that are on the roof edge where it meets the wall, that is cosmetic only. Don’t try to seal it to the roof.

HAWAIIANTAB

Thanks for the comments so far.  It's reassuring that the outer edge trim is cosmetic only, but I will reseal it anyway. 
Those 3M Command Strips mentioned, would they work on exterior where I'd like to attach leveling bubbles and motion detectors on the 'skin'??
my interior is plywood and plastic in the shower stall.  Would they work on those surfaces as well??
Thanks all............

falcon1970

The Command strips seem to work well on smooth non-porous surfaces.  I don't know how well they would hold up on an exterior surface exposed to weather.

Marceline

HAWAIIANTAB said:

Thanks for the comments so far.  It's reassuring that the outer edge trim is cosmetic only, but I will reseal it anyway. 
Those 3M Command Strips mentioned, would they work on exterior where I'd like to attach leveling bubbles and motion detectors on the 'skin'??
my interior is plywood and plastic in the shower stall.  Would they work on those surfaces as well??
Thanks all............

I use 3M Command strips on the interior walls but I don't think it's suitable for exterior use. I want to avoid drilling any holes into the exterior of my trailer so I used 3M Dual Lock (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/dual-lock-reclosable-fasteners-us/) to attach a small motion-detecting solar porch light (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JVPFI48/?ref=idea_lv_dp_) to the exterior of my trailer. Dual Lock is pretty strong stuff but I pull the light off when I'm on the road.

It's important to note that Command strips use a removable adhesive, while it takes a fair amount of effort (probably heat and solvent) to remove Dual Lock.  

Mouseketab

I have had a Command Adhesive hook on the outside of my T@B for 13 years. It stays on all the time. It is my rain jacket hook, so I don't bring wet raingear inside. I also used to have small command hooks along the edge under my keder rail for light strings. They never moved either. When I did want to remove them, the strips left a residue that I had to remove very carefully with a razor blade.

So yes Command strips work well on the outside.

Benita

Same here, use Command hooks for exterior string lights, and even moved the ones I had (at first outlining the window, then the shape of the whole teardrop) and didn't have an issue with residue or anything. 

junnyquest

@HAWAIIANTAB... and anyone else who might be reading 🙂. Here's how I think about the importance of NOT applying caulk to the exterior plastic trim on our campers.

One reason the plastic exterior trim pieces are cracking is because they are designed to be tightly screwed to the trailer. As a result, the individual pieces are not allowed to expand and contract as the temperature changes which is  causing pressure... to the point of fracturing. It seems logical that applying caulk between the individual pieces to 'seal' them is going to increase the odds they will crack. Similar to what would happen to vinyl house siding if it were tightly nailed. Instead, it's designed to 'float' on the it's slotted nailing holes to allow for expansion and contraction. But, of course, it isn't possible to attach our camper's trim in this way. Nevertheless, applying caulk would further restrict what little expansion the trim is permitted.

Another consequence of tightly screwing those trim pieces is that they are going to be constantly flexing with the trailer as it travels down the road. This adds stress to the trim's fragile plastic construction. Applying caulk between the plastic trim and the camper body to 'seal' them is also going to more securely attach them and exaggerate the flexing.

Avoid applying caulk to your camper's plastic trim.

Tundra57

I used marine sealant/adhesive. If it will seal thro pies to the hull underwater I think it will hold in any weather. It also does not go rock hard. Available from Home Depot etc. Only used on outside.

Tundra57

BTW I used solar outdoor lights movement and night activated. S cured with 3m heavy duty Velcro. Forgot to turn it off while traveling. Everytime I passed something the light came on until the battery died. Very interesting to other tlroad users I'm sure.