Covering the Darco

[Brantlyj]

Holy cow that was a pain in the ***. I won’t be buying another RV that uses exposed Darco...

I used 1/4” HPDE. It was easier to bend to get into place. Plus Menards had it on clearance. The only drawback was that if it wasn’t perfectly flat it would bow on the Side closest to the skirting. I had several places I needed to fill gaps with expanding foam. Probably wouldn’t have had that issue with 1/2”.

I did both wheel wells. I have enough to do the whole trailer but for now the wheel wells will have to do. Forward of the wheels shouldn’t be to tough but a number of pipes and wires aft will be tricky.

[skids]

Originally Posted by Brantlyj

Holy cow that was a pain in the ***. I won’t be buying another RV that uses exposed Darco...

I used 1/4” HPDE. It was easier to bend to get into place. Plus Menards had it on clearance. The only drawback was that if it wasn’t perfectly flat it would bow on the Side closest to the skirting. I had several places I needed to fill gaps with expanding foam. Probably wouldn’t have had that issue with 1/2”.

I did both wheel wells. I have enough to do the whole trailer but for now the wheel wells will have to do. Forward of the wheels shouldn’t be to tough but a number of pipes and wires aft will be tricky.

I also used 1/4 inch thick HDPE. I think my sealant will be OK concerning adhesion to the HDPE. I didn’t have issues with gaps needing expansion foam. I did have issues on the right side (2019 Bullet 248RKS) because of all of the existing bolt heads in the way. I drilled holes bigger than the washer diameters of those bolts and the HDPE was installed and flat against the existing Darco. Yes, there was a lot of sealant to fill the holes in the HDPE. The whole time of this project, I kept thinking about “vapor barriers” that are normally required in regular construction to prevent wood rot.

[Lee]

Concerning water proofing the cover..... Part of me thinks it would be better to not water proof against the Darco as to let any water that could/will get under.... Run out. What's y'all think? I have also read another post where someone used aluminum flashing material instead of the HDPE...... This project is on my to-do list.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Lee

Concerning water proofing the cover..... Part of me thinks it would be better to not water proof against the Darco as to let any water that could/will get under.... Run out. What's y'all think? I have also read another post where someone used aluminum flashing material instead of the HDPE...... This project is on my to-do list.

Compared to my last trailer this one has far less Darco in the wheel wells but I'm going to cover it. If left open there is no way it's not going to be perforated if you go anywhere. Once perforated water will get in those holes then spread who knows where between the Darco and flooring. In theory that Darco should be stuck to the floor with adhesive but I've seen several where it is just sort of "stuck" there in places. Once between the Darco and floor it can migrate to a section that isn't perforated, it won't come out but instead just sits there, keeps accumulating and deteriorating the floor in my thinking. Covering and sealing it would eliminate that possibility and as many complaints and issues as we've seen I would rather be safe than sorry. As far as aluminum vs hdpe vs uhmw I suppose it would pretty much depend on what one can find and wants to work with. I figure I'll go with uhmw because I can find it to order vs the hdpe, don't want to stand in line to get into Lowe's or HD to look for hdpe and don't want to work with the aluminum.

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Compared to my last trailer this one has far less Darco in the wheel wells but I'm going to cover it. If left open there is no way it's not going to be perforated if you go anywhere. Once perforated water will get in those holes then spread who knows where between the Darco and flooring. In theory that Darco should be stuck to the floor with adhesive but I've seen several where it is just sort of "stuck" there in places. Once between the Darco and floor it can migrate to a section that isn't perforated, it won't come out but instead just sits there, keeps accumulating and deteriorating the floor in my thinking. Covering and sealing it would eliminate that possibility and as many complaints and issues as we've seen I would rather be safe than sorry. As far as aluminum vs hdpe vs uhmw I suppose it would pretty much depend on what one can find and wants to work with. I figure I'll go with uhmw because I can find it to order vs the hdpe, don't want to stand in line to get into Lowe's or HD to look for hdpe and don't want to work with the aluminum.

Yup, all this. And even if the water does not get into contact with the flooring it will just pool up, get stagnant and eventually smell. Would be a breeding ground for alge and mold.
Covering the wheel wells at minimum is a must imo. Any material that can take the impact of a small stone being kicked up will work. Hdpe is pretty strong, no experience with uhmw. Only real drawback I see with aluminum would be if it’s to thin it could get punctured. Even thin sheet metal would be stronger.

[Lee]

Ok,.... possibly dumb question of the day.

When installing the HDPE,... or whatever material to substitute,... what sealing material is used to seal the perimeter and screw heads? Does Dicor self leveling work upside downs? Reason I ask is a have a whole tube.

Many thanks,
Lee

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by Lee

Ok,.... possibly dumb question of the day.

When installing the HDPE,... or whatever material to substitute,... what sealing material is used to seal the perimeter and screw heads? Does Dicor self leveling work upside downs? Reason I ask is a have a whole tube.

Many thanks,
Lee

I used Vulkem

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Lee

Ok,.... possibly dumb question of the day.

When installing the HDPE,... or whatever material to substitute,... what sealing material is used to seal the perimeter and screw heads? Does Dicor self leveling work upside downs? Reason I ask is a have a whole tube.

Many thanks,
Lee

I used the 3/4 tube of DICOR self leveling and finished off with the 1/2 tube of DICOR non-leveling that I had in the refrigerator. The self leveling "sort of oozed a bit" but there's enough sealant on it that it's not going to leak. In the wheelwell, I wasn't too interested in "purdy" rather "functional"...