Reasons
This is probably not necessary to mention, but when it comes to steel RVs, the one biggest killer is rust. There are a right and a wrong way to do almost anything. If you do most things right, you save yourself loads of future problems. In this post, we take a look at fitting equipment and accessories to your RV without compromising the rustfree factor.
Accessories for – no hole – fitting
Lets have a look at a few available accessories that you can fit without drilling holes:
Towel / drying rack
Flexible stick-on solar panel
Suction Cup Hooks for anywhere and everywhere
Silicone Aternative
If you can’t avoid the holes, use silicone sealant in the drilled hole and cover the screw threads before screwing it down. Always make sure surfaces are oil, grease and dust free when using silicone, else you create an even worse problem when water can seep in under the silicone.
The silicone makes for a great place to keep the water trapped and it will eat away at your investment at double speed. When done right, water will not be able to enter for many years.
Common Places to Look for Rust
Always have a good look inside the wheel arches. Stones are thrown up by the tires that chip away at the paint. This is food for rust. Inside the engine compartment is another common place for rust to start. Don’t forget to regularly inspect all around the windows especially the windscreen.
Windscreen rubbers take quite a hammering from the weather and shrink and go hard over time. This causes it to loose its sealing ability. If caught out early, a fresh layer of Black Marine Silicone can seal the gaps and a thin layer on the rubber will prevent it from deteriorating much more.
All frontal painted areas pick up stone chips at some stage. Have a good look and if the chip has gone through to raw metal, touching it up immediately is the best way to stop rust.
Conclusion
If you have a choice at all, go for fibreglass or alluminum body panels. If you already bought your RV and it is a steel panel vehicle, keep a close eye on it.
The silicon alternative seems a very practical solution to me. But I recognize we could use silicon and still do it wrong and have our investment eaten away. Thank you very much for the warning concerning not cleaning properly the surfaces from oil, grease and dust. It’s super simple but I recognize that some days we’re just rushing and we could neglect this point. From here on, I’ll always remember it and do the cleaning with special care. Viewing this from the perspective of the years it could last, it’s definitely worth investing the time cleaning properly.
This simple procedure has also made me think of so many other areas in our life where this is also true. We sometimes neglect things we should do today (considering them peripheral) and shortly after we begin to reap the negative consequences. It’s not about finishing the work fast or attaining our goal quickly, it’s about obtaining lasting results!
Hi Henry, I cannot agree with you more. Quality is key! You save lots in the long run. That is our main aim – affordable quality.
Thanks for your comment.
Kind regards
Noah