Recreational Vehicles

How are Henkel products making a difference in the recreational vehicle (RV) industry? It starts with the reduced manufacturing costs that result when RV companies switch from metal fasteners to adhesives. Henkel’s interior RV products and materials improve the look of RVs without all those rivets, screws, and welds. Our durable bonding solutions also reduce noise and vibration for a smoother ride.

When it comes to choosing the right RV caulk and sealants, Henkel offers a wide selection of products to meet your needs. Whether you require sealants for waterproofing your RV exterior or are looking to fill gaps or holes in the interior, our range of bonding and sealing materials provide the perfect solution.

To learn more about Henkel’s portfolio of Recreational Vehicle solutions, contact a member of our team today.

The Benefits of Structural Bonding and Composite Lamination

Your recreational vehicle customers expect their homes away from home to be attractive on the outside and comfortable inside. Getting there starts during assembly, when components are bonded together and expected to remain that way throughout the lifespan of the vehicle. From superior quality sealing and bonding products composite lamination on RV wall and floor panels, Henkel offers adhesives solutions for all RV applications.

There are numerous benefits for using structural bonding structural bonding and composite lamination adhesives to streamline RV assembly processes. Henkel’s innovative and market leading range of sealing products, adhesives, surface treatments as well as noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) solutions are sure to meet your needs.

Sealing

Henkel offers an extensive line of high-performance silicones, multipolymer, and new modified silane chemistries for multipurpose seam sealing. These products provide superior quality and high bond strength, overcoming difficulties posed by dissimilar substrates, temperature changes, and joint movement. Henkel also offers anti-wick coatings and sealants for both interior and exterior applications. Our exceptional sales and engineering staff can help you select the appropriate products for each sealing application to increase the longevity of your recreational vehicle.

Primary and secondary sealing applications include all panel gaps, RV exterior openings, and interior water-resistant areas, including showers and bathrooms. Our thread sealing solutions also prevent leaks in pneumatic and hydraulic lines that can be disastrous on the open road.

Adhesives

Our adhesives are formulated for composite lamination of RV wall, ceiling, and floor panels, as well as carpet bonding and construction of cabinets, doors, and cargo holds.

Henkel’s structural bonding solutions provide a timesaving and cost-saving alternative to rivets and mechanical fasteners, resulting in a leak-proof (and better-looking) recreational vehicle.

Surface Treatment

Our surface treatment materials have been used around the world in the automotive, railroad, and general transportation industries for many years. In fact, RV manufacturers have grown to rely on Henkel’s vast experience and in-depth knowledge in metal treatments to improve the design, assembly, productivity, and profitability of their operations.

As part of Henkel’s broad portfolio, we offer pretreatment products that clean, condition, coat, and protect light metals, plastics, and steel. Our advanced materials thoroughly clean metal surfaces, provide long-lasting corrosion protection, and significantly improve adhesion and durability of paint finishes for both steel and aluminum frames.

Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) Solutions

Our line of engineered products and components is geared to meet the demands of today’s NVH sealing and structural designs. With a variety of forms, films, and foils, our high performing materials can be applied at any stage of manufacturing assembly, allowing greater flexibility to the user. Henkel’s highly sophisticated Acoustics Laboratory provides detailed analytical reports that lead to the optimum solutions for noise reduction, structural reinforcement, and vibration dampening.

Market-Leading Technology and Innovation

With adhesive, sealant, and surface treatment centers strategically located around the globe, and a team of experienced, professional field sales engineers, we work in partnership with our customers to create tailored solutions that meet the most stringent application requirements.

From providing metal treatments for RV chassis to lamination adhesives for walls, roofs, and floors, Henkel assists RV manufacturers in streamlining operations, improving quality, increasing productivity, and, most importantly, saving money.

To learn more about Henkel’s portfolio of Recreational Vehicle solutions, contact a member of our team today.

Interior and Exterior Finishing Solutions

When it comes to RV interior and exterior finishing solutions, it is important to use the appropriate adhesives and caulking materials. Henkel’s range of flexible and high-performance RV silicone sealants and caulking materials can expand and contract depending on external environmental conditions without cracking or splitting. Additionally, our exterior RV sealants offer durable and reliable waterproofing protection and strong bonding for maximum moisture protection. With an extensive portfolio of RV adhesives for walls, floors, and panels, Henkel’s interior and exterior solutions lower manufacturing times and eliminate the need for fasteners.

Assembly

In every recreational vehicle, the walls, floors, and roof assemblies must all be strong, structural components that resist moisture penetration. Henkel provides its RV customers with unmatched waterproofing products to bond and seal these parts, as well as other assemblies such as cabinets, valances, sport flooring, and door assemblies. These assembly adhesives offer fast cure times and superior strength as well as moisture and chemical resistance.

High reliability and strength are key when it comes to selecting the right sealants and roofing caulk to make your RV waterproof since these products need to protect against damage caused by water leaks and unwanted moisture. The RV structural adhesives for siding and exterior sealants in Henkel’s portfolio also help eliminate the need for fasteners or welds on RV panels. Our urethane and modified silane technologies reduce the cost of using mechanical gaskets and improve window glazing operations.

Walls

In today’s competitive business environment, lowering manufacturing costs is vital to a company’s success. Whether your RV wall panel adhesive application consists of laminating, hanging, or stick and tin, Henkel’s experience in formulating RV panel bonding adhesives can help bring your product to market faster. We can lower project costs by reducing or eliminating expensive fasteners and providing wall and siding adhesives to improve efficiency during the RV assembly process. With the durability of our moisture cure urethanes and reactive hot melts, as well as our hung glass mastics and general assembly hot melts, Henkel is committed to becoming your one-source supplier.

Floors

Henkel provides a broad array of structural RV flooring adhesives, which can be used to laminate and bond floors instead of mechanical fastening. Use of these products avoids vibrational loosening of bolts. Our sealant technologies can also assist in reducing structural noise and resisting environmental elements.

Roof

Henkel offers waterproof sealants and structural adhesives that will improve your RV assembly process, whether you laminate or use “stick and tin” construction with trusses. Our moisture cure urethane RV lamination adhesives have passed rigorous, independent laboratory tests for all load-bearing applications. These roof adhesives and exterior sealants provide RV manufacturers with the flexibility to bond to multiple substrates. Our range of RV ceiling and skylight adhesives offer waterproof and durable protection against harsh environmental conditions. Henkel also offers a wide range of Frekote^® mold release technologies for your fiberglass-reinforced plastic and composite fabrication processes.

Other RV Finishing Solutions

Henkel’s range of RV finishing solutions can be used for window glazing and other applications as well.

Additional uses for adhesives and sealants:

• DGX window glazing
• Threadlocking bolts and fittings to prevent vibration loosening
• Directly bonding windows to structure

Further Resources

To learn more about our Recreational Vehicle solutions download the following PDFs here.