HOW TO: Essentials EZE RV Rain Gutters, how to get the corners to lie down flat with a HEAT GUN

[John E Davies]

This isn't a full HOW TO install them, there are plenty of videos you can watch. Here's one: ...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsEjREGiBj0  ... The most important thing is prep, you must get ALL the old junk and wax off or the adhesive won't stick well. I started with isopropyl alcohol, then followed up with 3M Adhesive Cleaner, with an old clean tee shirt. One big problem I had was with the rounded corners, they would not lie flat. This was indoors at 78 degrees F.

I used a heat gun on LOW to warm the plastic, then pressed it down hard, and held it for a few seconds while it cooled.

I then warmed the entire length and worked it hard against the gelcoat with a plastic tool and my fingers. The 3M VHB adhesive is heat activated and it set up well, and there are no worries of the gutters lifting, there is no need to tape everything down for days, as some people have done.

I am not sure why I waited so long to do this mod, it isn't very difficult. However, I ran out of material and was unable to complete the rear window, so I am waiting on another 10 foot section. When I measured, I did not plan on running the gutters so far down the window frames....  I bought a 25 foot roll. Drat.

Large windows 3 @ 76" = 19.0 feet

Bathroom window 42" = 3.5 feet

Fridge upper vent 21"= 1.75 feet

Rear hatch 68" = 5.7 feet

TOTAL 359" = 30 feet MINIMUM, buy this: ... Esssentials UW05004 Polar White 50' EZE RV Gutter

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

I did this mod twice. The first time it was spring (April) and the temps were in the mid 80s.  I installed the gutters then took my trailer back to storage.  That night we had a norther come through and the temperatures dropped to the 30s and the next morning all the ends of my gutters had flipped up.  The second time It did it was summer.  Hot.  No temperature drop and the gutters have remained in position for a couple of years.  Like John, I did all the prep before installing.

 

Positioning before sticking them on.

 

Slowly remove the red backing and stick in place.

 

I left the tape on overnight.  I also let it sit in the sun after sticking the gutters.

 

Finished product.  I didn’t go down as far as John, but they still work well.  We’ve had lots of rain this current trip and the run off from the roof is shunted around the windows.

[SeaDawg]

We did ours on North Carolina,  on our camping property.  No way to use a heat gun, as we didn't have 110. That was 8 or 10 years ago. Prep is the key. Get all the dirt and wax off. It was fairly warm though, probably July, as the rhododendron was in bloom. 

We didn't run them far down the window sides. Instead, we angled the last few inches away from the windows.  Don't know if that's better or not, but it has worked so far. Got all the windows in our littler Elite from one roll.

Edit to add: it was only 7 years ago. I found my post.

Even so, 7 years is pretty good. So far, so good.

 

[John E Davies]

I continued them further down to get the discharge point past the joint where the two window frame pieces meet; to deal with wind driven water coming from the side; and to help anchor those pesky top corners.

But really, I mostly needed to divert AC condensation from my Air Command unit, it does not have an internal drain hose, and I rarely encounter rain anyway. Since I have figured out a way to put HEPA furnace filters into my windows, I did not want condensate draining across them and ruining the paper.

So the gutter project was killing two stones with one bird….😬

Join Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

6 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

So the gutter project was killing two stones with one bird….😬

Good, thinking, JED

When and if we ever run our Houghton ac long enough to get a lot of condensate off the roof, we'll see how our method works.🤔

We also lost the condensate line, with the install. The way we park and jack it at home, the condensate mainly ran off the rear curbside. Camping may be a different story.

[mossemi]

7 hours ago, John E Davies said:

However, I ran out of material and was unable to complete the rear window, so I am waiting on another 10 foot section. When I measured, I did not plan on running the gutters so far down the window frames....  I bought a 25 foot roll. Drat.

Large windows 3 @ 76" = 19.0 feet

Bathroom window 42" = 3.5 feet

Fridge upper vent 21"= 1.75 feet

Rear hatch 68" = 5.7 feet

TOTAL 359" = 30 feet MINIMUM, buy this: ... Esssentials UW05004 Polar White 50' EZE RV Gutter

 

JD,

My rear emergency exit window has an integrated gutter so I did not use the EZE Gutter there.  I did think your use of the extra gutter over the upper refrigerator vent was an excellent idea.

I was able to complete my installation with 2-10' rolls of EZE Gutter.  And as another forum poster suggested, I used the 3M 4298 Adhesion Promotor.

Mossey

[SeaDawg]

We applied eze rv gutter to the third tail light, as well, recently.

 

[DJM]

John,

When you go to buy these Amazon urges the purchase of Gutter extension spouts. Obviously this does not go with the product you installed around your windows but I am wondering if these "spouts" would fit at the end of the rain deflector that goes under the awning so that rain water is directed away from the body of the Oliver. As it is there is a lot of run off there both front and back which leaves a lot of dirt. So a little deflecting of the water away would be good but I don't know if this is the right product or even if it could be installed? 

[topgun2]

The basic answer to your question is - no.  These "gutter extensions" are made to actually extend gutters that are already on many campers.  However, there are no gutters of this type on an Oliver.  The "rain deflector" that you mention is actually nothing more than a pliable gasket that is (via 3M double sided tape) glued to the hull behind the awning.  I do not see how these gutter extensions could be used with this gasket in order to direct rain away from the body of the Oliver.

Bill

[Steve and Cindy]

For the EZE RV Rain Gutters positioned as shown in this thread, have there been any subsequent issues with getting access to re-caulk the windows?  

[Mike and Carol]

25 minutes ago, Steve and Cindy said:

For the EZE RV Rain Gutters positioned as shown in this thread, have there been any subsequent issues with getting access to re-caulk the windows?  

My windows are pictured above with the gutters applied.  It’s been several years and no issues.  I haven’t tried to re-caulk.  In fact, I’ve never re-caulked.  Going on 7 years now, no leaks.  I’m a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” guy.  If I get window leaks, I’ll just peal off the gutters, caulk and put new gutters on.  Mike

[SeaDawg]

13 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

My windows are pictured above with the gutters applied.  It’s been several years and no issues.  I haven’t tried to re-caulk.  In fact, I’ve never re-caulked.  Going on 7 years now, no leaks.  I’m a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” guy.  If I get window leaks, I’ll just peal off the gutters, caulk and put new gutters on.  Mike

Ditto

[John E Davies]

If you have to recaulk, just seal the gap between the window frame and the gutter. I intentionally left that 1/8” gap there, for this reason. No big deal IMHO.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[GarryandKristi]

We love these gutters as it has solved the perpetual battle to clean (with nominal success in the battle to prevent water ingress) the weep/drainage holes and channels for the windows.   I applied in summer so the temps were warm/hot and adhesion was good.  Also, as John mentioned, having a decent length of straight run beyond the curved section helps anchor things. 

[connor77]

Just did this mod a few days ago.  I had bought the EZ gutter material but hadn't had time to do the install.  My wife and I were camping about 1.5 hours from our home recently and I left my window open and got soaked during a heavy shower in the middle of the night.

Needed to get a few things done at our home and returned to it leaving the camper at the campground.  Referenced this thread and I cut all of the gutter material to length based on JD's "9.5" up from the belt-line" guidance and, probably most importantly, warmed the material before installing it.  Obviously, I spent a lot of time cleaning the surface with alcohol too.  I would never attempt to install these on any kind of a curve without heating them up a bit.  On the low setting, as JD mentioned.

Warming the material activates the adhesive and really made it less difficult to make the turn around the corners of the windows.  As another mentioned, having it extend further down just creates that much better of a bond.  I used a plastic tool to really push the gutter on while it was still warm.  And I was lucky to have a warm day to do the install.  No painter's tape was needed.  They're on there and good. 

As the instructions state, make sure to clean the surface really well but I think it's equally important to warm the gutter material too before installing it. 

[kmoon4545]

I did this installation on my Elite 2 exactly as John Davies lays out at the top of this thread.  I would like to give him a huge thanks for laying out the process and the exact measurements needed.  Do yourself a favor and use a heat gun on low for this installation.  I am really happy with the results.