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Newbie here. I bought a 1993 Jayco Sprite caravan. As it has two single beds, I decided to take them out to make a double bed. I noticed a wet patch as I started pulling the beds apart. To my sour joy the girl is leaking grrrrr. I would like to know a good sealant for inside and outside the van. Thanks team
Hello @Peppers
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your caravan.
I suggest having a look at Selleys 290ml Grey Storm Waterproof Gutter And Roof Sealant. It can be applied to various substrates and can be painted over.
Let me call on our experienced members @twocutekelpies and @FloTheCaravan for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi there @Peppers, what a shame to find that.
I'd recommend resealing the entire caravan which unfortunately involves taking off the trims, cleaning the old sealant off and resealing with new. Same with the windows. It looks like someone has smeared silicone over original sealant in the hopes of fixing any leaks and it hasn't worked. Silicone rarely sticks to other sealants and usually only leads to mess and failure ☹️
Most sealants generally only last around 5-10 yrs and most owners don't do full reseals until they find leaks and by then, they find more damage hidden inside the walls/roof as you have found.
Bunnings sells a silicone remover which might be worth trying to get that mess off, I can't comment on its effectiveness as I've always used a nylon wheel on a drill or wire wheel on a grinder if I need more aggressive means of removal, my method takes paint off though.
As far as what product to use to reseal, there have been many heated debates in the caravan diy community, what to use - silicone, polyurethane, mastic? There are quite a few pros and cons for each. I have used each of them successfully, my preference is Sikaflex Pro for the trims/j rails because it's budget friendly (sausage rather than cartridge is cheaper), available local to me, paintable and I've got it down to a fine art with application and clean-up. I like mastic caulking tape for the windows with a bead of Sikaflex Pro to finish off because I can take my time fitting the windows without the mess.
For sealing inside, I'm a fan of Crommelins Waterproofing paint, it can be used of roof joins on full vans but have heard not great with poptop roofs, too much flex. I've used that paint and Crommelins fabric on a few inside joins and on top, when used outside, it can be painted over with acrylic paint.
Good luck and I hope that you post your finished project.
I won't say resealing is an easy job but I've fully resealed 5 caravans now, my motto is do it once, do it right, band-aid fixes don't work. If this grandma can do it, anyone can 😎
Cheers
Shelley
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Hi Shelley,
You're right, resealing isn't an easy job, but it is really satisfying! 
Cheers, Liz.
Hi all over the week and weekend I took the front window out to reseal.. that was not easy as a screw refused to budge. I managed to get the window out, clean it up and put it back in. What a mission. It wasn’t a great job as it decided to storm down on me. So I had rush everything and seal the window. It looks terrible. I will need to do it again. I rushed as I don’t have the option to be under cover grrrr
