Discovering Serenity

So we had found our Dolphin! We were so excited about our luck- that when we got her home we immediately starting planning on how to protect our investment. I patched up the cracked skylight with Flextape. (super disappointing stuff, but it worked for the time) I kept thinking back to how the seller had explained how he was constantly chasing any occurring cracks with a caulking gun. I decided that is not how I wanted to live my life. I started researching the best way to seal up the RV camper completely- and after a ton of research I found my answer right at my local hardware store. I discovered a product called GACO roofing. It is a paintable silicone product that is designed for flat roofs. Once I finally decided this was what I wanted to gamble my experimentation on, we had to evaluate if we wanted to special order a color. We had originally thought about painting her a sky blue, but in the end we decided we didn’t want to end up dealing with waiting to special order the color again if we ran short. So- our choices were the in stock colors- white or gray.

Gray was a big decision for us- it wasn’t our favorite color, but better than white. That’s when it happened- we decided we were going to theme our project after one of our favorite space crafts from one of our favorite TV shows- Serenity from Firefly. And from then on that’s who she was! We also decided we were going to paint the truck portion of her along with the camper in the same color.

So we started the Gaco Project- it was a hellish 4 day project- and we picked the hottest days in one of the hottest summer we have had. (I know- baking in Alaska, right?) FYI: Gaco does make an RV kit- but it was way more cost effective to just buy the roofing product. Gaco recommends you wash down the surface first, so we scrubbed her down, then plastic coated and taped the windows. Every day was a rush- because never having used the product we followed the directions exactly. They say to apply the Gaco tape over seams and areas that may have any flexing concern, so we ran Gaco tape over all of the roof seams and the edges of the camper. Gaco says to not leave the tape exposed to weather, so when we ran out, it turned out the store was out, and Laura drove 2 hours to the next town and back to buy some more while I kept working. So once the tape is down, Gaco recommends you use their Liquid tape. It is a mix of Gaco and fiberglass thatch- and you are supposed to apply it over the tape, screw heads, and anything that might need extra support, but less support than the tape. So I painted Liquid Tape while she made the trip. She arrived back later and we were able to finish it up, get the liquid tape on, and leave it out for the night.

Luckily, there was no rain on the forecast, because Gaco says you aren’t supposed to leave the Gaco Liquid Tape open to the elements either. Fun Fact as well, both the Gaco Liquid Tape and Gaco itself come in gallon buckets at the smallest- and Gaco claims once you open one you have to use the whole thing because it is air activated. FYI: Having used the stuff for years now that’s not true- just take a layer of thick plastic and lay it over the surface of the Gaco. You might lose a layer of it on the top, but underneath the surface it will keep. Long story short- I used the whole bucket of liquid tape not knowing any better.

The next day it was back on. We had purchased Gaco in white for the first coat. Gaco recommends you use a different color than your final color so you can tell where you’ve painted. FYI: I have found this not to be necessary, and it is cheaper to just buy the bigger 5 gallon bucket in the color you want, especially if you are doing 2 coats on your whole RV. We did this whole project with gallon buckets and it got pretty expensive. Some more info about painting Gaco- it is really mostly meant for flat roofs, so it is difficult to paint on vertical surfaces. When you first open the bucket you mix it a bunch but it is still really drippy and runny, but by the end of the bucket the product thickens so much you are almost troweling on the stuff with your brush. We learned it is best to paint it on a moderate temp day as well- because when it is hot out it thickens even faster. Also- any brush that touches Gaco you might as well say good bye to at the end of the day. So after a whole day of painting Gaco- Serenity was bright white for 1 whole night. I want to give a huge shout out and Thank You to our friend Rebecca Langman- she helped us paint Gaco all day, and the next day too. I also want to give a shout out to our daughter Kera for helping out for a part of the day as well.

And last but not least- we did another baking day of Gaco turning her gray.

We did end up painting the edges of bubble window in the very front- because the front camper windows tend to find ways to leak around the edges of them. It took care of that problem for good. We also painted the roof storage pods and the air conditioner body. Whew! It was a lot- but when the next day came around- she was water tight through and through.

Geoff Murphy 1-9-2020