Roof Hardware

Roof trim, mounts, and fasteners

Nearly everything here is hardware that seals or secures whatever runs along the roof edge or pokes up through the membrane. Two things decide whether it works: sizing and sealing. An insert cut to the right width and a base bedded in putty tape and sealant stays put, while a mismatch turns into the next leak or a trim strip flapping loose at highway speed.

• Vinyl insert trim. The RV Designer and JR Products inserts snap into the metal edge rail that covers the roof-to-wall seam. They come in standard 1-inch width and a range of colors — white, colonial white, black, brown — so match your existing trim color and buy the length for the run. It's usually sold by the foot in 25- and 100-foot rolls.
• Vent installation kits. The RV Designer vent kit bundles the putty tape and screws to mount a roof vent and seal it correctly. Putty tape under the flange plus lap sealant over the screws is how a vent stays watertight — the kit gets you the underneath half.
• Antenna and satellite mounts. Winegard roof hardware like the RW-2000 edge wedge and the RP-4200 thick-roof kit adapt antenna and satellite mounts to your roof — the wedge levels a mount on a slanted roof, and the thick-roof kit extends the crank hardware for deeper roofs.
• Threadlocker. Permatex blue threadlocker keeps roof and mount fasteners from vibrating loose over the miles without gluing them permanently — blue is the removable strength, so you can still service the part later.

Whenever you mount or remount anything on the roof, seal it: putty tape under the base and a bead of sealant over every screw head. Grab the matching lap sealant to finish, and if you're pulling trim to replace it, have foam cap tape on hand for underneath the molding.