The butyl tape is among my purchased roof-sealing supplies. My rack-installation diary describes the mess caused by applying sealant before the landing pads were ready, making placement and sequence an important lesson.
Black sealant around a roof-rack landing pad during my installation.
The item in my kit
I bought Black Butyl RV Repair Tape as part of my camper van equipment.
The butyl tape is among my purchased roof-sealing supplies. My rack-installation diary describes the mess caused by applying sealant before the landing pads were ready, making placement and sequence an important lesson.
Where it fits my build
I removed the factory roof covers, widened the mounting holes and scraped the paint and adhesive from the landing-pad areas. I then fitted the landing pads and assembled the side rails, crossbars and fairing.
The sealant timing made the assembly messy. I applied it early and got it on my hands and parts, while the installed pads left little space for reaching underneath with the nozzle.
The close working space around one of the rack attachments.
My build notes
The access around the pad was the memorable part of this job. Small spaces between the roof, pad and rail affected how I could position the sealant and tighten the hardware.
The order of assembly changed which parts of the joint I could reach.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
Dicor and Kohree use cartridge-applied roof sealants rather than a wide tape strip, giving a different approach to shaping coverage around roof details.
Dicor White Self-Leveling Lap Sealant
Dicor 501LSW-1 is a white self-leveling lap sealant supplied in a cartridge. Its nozzle dispenses a bead for horizontal RV roof sealing work.
This white self-leveling sealant is packaged in cartridges for RV roof work. The multi-cartridge set supplies material for applying beads around roof details.
