Best aftermarket AC gasket

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undara12

Member
Mar 25, 2016
44
I calked everything in sight but my 2006 (I think) Fleetwood Santa Fe still has a leaking roof. I have turned my attention to the roof mounted air conditioner. It looks like new gaskets costs between $12 and $40 but is there a way to judge quality other than price? What brand do you think would be best and why?

Thank you.
 
theseus

theseus

Living the Darkside...
Silver Supporting Member
Feb 6, 2007
3,498
Centerville, OH
I assume you have tightened the bolts on your A/C as they work loose over time. I don't know that there is a better gasket one over the other. I personally wouldn't pay $40 for a new one. Most of the gaskets I have seen are of the same type of material and same quality.
 
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undara12

Member
Mar 25, 2016
44
Yep. I think I read that the torque should be around 40 inch pounds. I have a USA made Craftsman, inch pound, needle binding torque wrench. I tightened until the reading was between 25 and 50 in-lb. Three of the bolts did not seem to overly compress the gasket where I could see or feel it. One started out very loose and by the time I reached my desired torque, the gasket was very compressed. I loosened the bolt and will tighten it again tomorrow and watch the compression of the gasket. I am not sure that the torque wrench method is accurate, but the problem may be my wrench and not the method.

I originally found the leak when I had the trailer parked outside for a while. I discovered that discolored water was dripping from one corner of the roof. I tested with a water hose and found that there was a leak somewhere. I don't see a lot of evidence that the AC gasket is leaking but I do see some discoloration in the roof material in the AC opening. I hesitate to test again with a water hose to see if tightening helps. I may just go to replacement.

Thanks for the info.
 
Raycfe

Raycfe

Waterford Ct.
Oct 3, 2007
18,107
Waterford, Ct
A couple of things clean the drains in the AC pan and when you remove the old gasket clean every thing well. The gasket goes on with NO SEALER and as others have stated don't over tighten the bolts and recheck after a month or two. I try to buy a factory gasket and not an universal one. the Steele brand make a lot of good quality weatherstrips etc. I would stay away from Camco or no name brands.
 
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SteveP

Super Active Member
Platinum Supporting Member
May 21, 2015
2,477
When I replaced mine I looked for one cut from a single sheet and avoided the ones with glued seams in the corner.
 
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Bobby Keller

Member
Oct 6, 2020
16
https://www.steelerubber.com/ I have used several. TOP quality, perfect fit. I used their Coleman Mach seal. It took two of us to remove the unit. Ensure you check the roof material below the old seal when you remove it. Mine was cracked and peeling off. I used Eternabond tape around the edges prior to replacing the seal to keep the cracks to a minimum. It works great, no leaks or anything.

The Steele seals are good quality and fit perfectly with the OEM seal (which may have been a Steele product, I am not sure). They do seals for just about everything RV related (ACs, slide outs, etc).
 
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rcpopup

Member
May 25, 2015
81
Miami, Fl
I have used Camco a/c 14 x 14 gaskets twice and leaked each time. Lacking other information I torqued/compressed the gasket using the original existing "tabs" that looked original to my pop-up and clearly are a depth gauge for the gasket seal. When they leaked I torqued and torqued so more, finally calling Camco on the phone and they advised to torque to achieve maximum compression. I said "what?", they said "yes" but, after a while, they leaked again, though much less. The total life span of these two gaskets: 2 yrs.
Considering the stress and potential damage from a leaking gasket I prefer to spend the $66 for the Steele Rubber gasket #70-3905-207

Thank you very much for your valuable and generous comments. I will keep you posted on my experience if my head's memory bank does not fail me.
 
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tlhdoc

Active Member
Oct 2, 2004
178
undara12 said:
I calked everything in sight but my 2006 (I think) Fleetwood Santa Fe still has a leaking roof. I have turned my attention to the roof mounted air conditioner. It looks like new gaskets costs between $12 and $40 but is there a way to judge quality other than price? What brand do you think would be best and why?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Have you tightened the air conditioner bolts? If you have not tried tightening the 4 bolts, that hold the inside and the outside of the air conditioner together, I would try that first. The bolts should be checked or tightened every year.
 
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popup-flyer

Active Member
May 11, 2021
322
Central Texas
rcpopup said:
Has this product stood the test of time since you installed it? The price now is $66.00, is it worth it?
Would appreciate any and all comments on this. Thank you
Click to expand...
One year later and I have a new-to-me popup so I can't answer that.

One thing I will say is that we went to Colorado and back to Texas and after the trip was over I removed the air screens on the inside to clean them and saw one of the 4 corner screws had loosened itself about 1.5 inches out.
 
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Ronal Owens

Member
Jun 27, 2021
21
The simplicity of installation and versatility of Camco's Universal Air Conditioner Roof Gasket Kit set it apart from the competition. Its waterproof compression seal, which will prevent any leaks from entering your RV, also made me very happy. It has also proven to be able to survive heavy rain, which my prior gaskets couldn't do.
 
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undara12

Member
Mar 25, 2016
44
I went with the Camco because I have never done a replacement before. I figured that if I distroyed the new gasket trying to install it, the gasket may as well be cheap. So far, I have detected no leaks but I have not had the camper on a trip. Someday soon, I hope.
 
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