Caulking windows

[Doodlebug]

Hi all, I am not understanding what you mean about pulling the windows out and recaulking them. I have searched but found no real explanation or photos explaining this process. Is the caulking holding the window from rattling or? I understand screws are holding them in, so can you insulate inside the walls with the windows out or is there a ledge under them to stop this? Explain please? Leslie

[John]

We pulled our windows out because when we first got the bus they had leaked quite a bit and we wanted to see what condition they were in. For Gustav, they are held in by four screws and sit on a ledge. Once out, we cleaned up the metal ledge they sat on (scuffed bare, then POR-15'd 'em). We decided to move our emergency exit windows (they not only open but also swing out) so that they were all together where we wanted to place our garden. Our windows had some simple weather stripping which we peeled off, cleaned up and applied new.

Then we did a simple water-check by taking a hose and pointing it in the air and letting the water fall back onto the bus as simulated rain. We could see water coming in, and after the big rust cleanup job, we decided that it wasn't good enough. After talking with several people, who claimed that a bus would never be rain proof, we decided to caulk from the outside of the bus along the edges where the weather stripping was. Creating a complete seal took 5 or 6 tubes of caulk, but in the end you can take a water hose and spray directly against the windows and there will be no leakage.

So to answer your question, we used Caulk as a way to keep rain and spray out of the bus, not to hold the window in place. The screws tighten down the window enough that it doesn't rattle in the slightest. As for pictures, I will see what I can find.

[John]

Here are a couple of shows of the bus with the windows out. In the first picture, we had just removed the windows and are cleaning up the old weather stripping. We covered the entire bus with a tarp to keep us a bit warmer (it was cold that month) and keep the bus dry.



In the second picture, the rust has been removed, and we used a pre POR-15 treatment on the sill. Joni is now applying the POR-15.



Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of the caulking itself and at the moment it is covered with thick plastic (to keep the winter cold outside.)

[Doodlebug]

Thanks so much John, I see the ledge and the old caulking and it makes sense to me now. Sigh, I was hoping for a simple way to insulate the sides without ripping off the sheet metal, but no such luck. Leslie

[Seeria]

Curious which caulking you used.

[John]

Pure silicone caulk, black. But we're not sealant experts...

I've used pure silicone caulk for everything in the bus, except for parts of the stove and propane exhausts, There I used a high-temp silicone-based caulk.