Somewhat OT - Mounting to top of utility truck, what material for gasket

I have a new 9' dually reading utility body and I need to do 2 things. I want to mount my miller trailblazer above the axle on the driver side and fabricate and mount a stainless metal rack above the passenger side. I currently have this same set-up on my current truck. The rack is only above the utility boxes on passenger side and is about 16' in total length. It is designed to hold a couple pieces of material, max 2 pc of 3x3x3/16 tube. I was going to design it to custom bend brackets so I mount the rack on the vertical part of the box and have all the weight still on top of the box. This way allows me to have a vertical penetration. Problem is... I can't do that to the welder.

So my questions is.... What material would work best as a sealing agent. Currently I have used silicone, but have to remove and reapply. I also will have a sheet of 3/16" alum diamond plate on the top and inside of the boxes. So I will need to silicone between the box and ALDP, and then use what between ALDP and welder/racks.

I am thinking getting some silicone gasket material and cut it to exact size, maybe a little bigger and caulk around so redoing it is simple and provides a double protection????? Does anyone know a better sealing material?

Are you sealing penetrations, or just wanting to prevent rust in gaps? When I bolt something to a truck, and do not want rust in between, I coat one or both surfaces with asphaltum or gilsonite. Keeps water and rust out, and keeps the bolts from loosening Can be kinda ugly where it oozes out, but that is not a problem on anything I am likely to own.

You might look at a marine product called life caulk. It was recommended to me 14 years ago for some attachments to
my new boat. I just removed some last week and found the caulking to be in place , soft and still sealing the joints.
Not bad for 14 years in the salt, sun and winters.

bridgedog said:

You might look at a marine product...

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If you are going the route of a marine sealant, 3M 5200 is about the industry standard.

Fish On said:

If you are going the route of a marine sealant, 3M 5200 is about the industry standard.

Click to expand...

+1 On the 3M.

As to durable and most-nasty-things-resistant resiliant material?

See if you can find fabic-reinforced Neoprene conveyor belting cut-offs and cut itto fit yer needs.

So very popular as jack-of-all-trades in salt-air Hong Kong, most hardware stores keep several dozen lineal feet in stock. "Somebody" will have it, stateside, too, even if that's an "online" order.

2CW

I would look at a peel and stick membrane used as ice shield on roofs...IF it is totaly covered and shielded from the sun..


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