Our parts guy shared this with us. The HiLo comes from the factory with Lap seal Caulk under this long trim strip and the many screws. This a huge area where water can get in. All the trailers they received had all the trim and screws removed. Butyl tape was applied and reinstalled under warranty work. He even went so far as to make a visit to the factory to tell them what the problem was and the corrective steps to take. His advice was not implimented. "Maybe this is one of the reasons HiLo went out of business." Our parts guy said this. It only cost us $6.00 for our inspection/costs more in gas to drive 11/2 hrs. Our leakdown test showed no problems. Cost to us $23.75 for peace of mind.

Sam,

Just bought two more rolls of butyl tape just for the awning and roadside gutter. With the eterna-bond tape and butyl tape, I think I will be safe. When I removed the awning, there were a couple of screws that were rusted off, so I am glad I caught it before something bad happened.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Looks like you are doing the correct steps in your repair. Anywhere we found rusted screws we replaced with stainless steel ones. Ordered from McFreelys because we could get 100 in the box. This should have been done at the factory.

Sam,

While removing the drip protectors over the slide out and front door, I found a couple of screws that were rusted inside the body of the screw. I will have to find some replacement screws locally, I don't want to wait around for a delivery. Hopefully, the local RV supply will have some. When I began replacing them, I doped each screw with the caulking material, some of them would not 'grab', so I had to put some match sticks in the holes so they would take hold.

Jerry Curtis
2406T

Home Depot or any hardwear store should have stainless steel screws. We replaced all screws interior or exterior with stainless steel screws. I hate to see rusted screws on anything.