Eeek! Leaks!
Moderator: bfadmin
I have found a likely culprit for the leak! My 23RK has the solar panel option installed (a WONDERFUL option, I might add...) and the two charging lines enter the roof at a point almost immediately above where the leaks are showing on the walls. There are two lines going in... with silicone caulk gobbed around them... That's where I'll be attacking first. The rest of the caulk up there, and all the way around the cab looks really solid so far.
The first two photos are the passenger side cab showing the seam and drip rail above the door showing the over-the-sleeper cap seam as well.
The second two are an over-all showing the solar panels, and then a closer shot showing the suspect wiring entry point.
Roger
The first two photos are the passenger side cab showing the seam and drip rail above the door showing the over-the-sleeper cap seam as well.
The second two are an over-all showing the solar panels, and then a closer shot showing the suspect wiring entry point.
Roger
- Attachments
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- Passenger side cab
- 6 27 07 sm11.JPG (113.36 KiB) Viewed 16388 times
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- drip rail and over-the-sleeper cap seam seal
- 6 27 07 sm12.JPG (63.25 KiB) Viewed 16388 times
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
And the roof showing the solar panels and suspect caulk at the wiring entry.
Roger
Roger
- Attachments
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- Suspected leak point
- 6 27 07 sm14.JPG (106.02 KiB) Viewed 16387 times
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- Roof showing solar panels
- 6 27 07 sm13.JPG (88.8 KiB) Viewed 16387 times
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
The interior leak stain on the passenger side. The driver's side is nearly identical...
Roger
Roger
- Attachments
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- Passenger side water stain
- 6 27 07 sm10.JPG (65.98 KiB) Viewed 16384 times
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
I went leak chasing today. After I climbed up on the roof, I started poking and prodding silicone sealant, and found that the silicone around the cables wasn't adhered to the cables any more. That'd leak!
So, I dug the old silicone out from the hole, cleaned the cables and the gelcoat with acetone, and re-sealed it with self-levelling RV rubber roof sealant.
I had some screws leak in the Fantastic Fan in a Scamp 16' trailer I had last year, so I decided it would be prudent to check the seal on each screw on the Fantastic Fan. Of the 24 or so screws up there, 17 silicone gobs were loose and came right off. I replaced all of them with the roof sealant.
We'll see how I did!
Roger
So, I dug the old silicone out from the hole, cleaned the cables and the gelcoat with acetone, and re-sealed it with self-levelling RV rubber roof sealant.
I had some screws leak in the Fantastic Fan in a Scamp 16' trailer I had last year, so I decided it would be prudent to check the seal on each screw on the Fantastic Fan. Of the 24 or so screws up there, 17 silicone gobs were loose and came right off. I replaced all of them with the roof sealant.
We'll see how I did!
Roger
- Attachments
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- silicone removed
- roof repairs5.JPG (59.2 KiB) Viewed 16256 times
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- cleaned with acetone
- roof repairs7.JPG (46.44 KiB) Viewed 16256 times
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- re-caulked and re-sealed
- roof repairs8.JPG (45.07 KiB) Viewed 16256 times
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
The Fantastic Fan re-seal.
- Attachments
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- Resealed screws
- fantastic fan side resealed.jpg (11.08 KiB) Viewed 16254 times
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- This many screws had loose silicone seal!
- roof repairs1.JPG (81.3 KiB) Viewed 16254 times
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- Showing how loose the silicone is
- roof repairs3.JPG (46.89 KiB) Viewed 16254 times
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
Fantastic Fan Reseal
Fantastic Fan recommends using "Dicor" white sealant for their fans. It can be purchased from CW. Your water stains can be removed with "Woolite".
Sab & Ann
Sab & Ann
2000 RB, E450
Success!
After a 1.7" rainfall last night, the cabin is bone dry! The leak was apparently from the solar panel lines.
Roger
After a 1.7" rainfall last night, the cabin is bone dry! The leak was apparently from the solar panel lines.
Roger
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
Roger, Congrats!
I'm really surprised that those cables were just poked through the roof like that. I've always thought that they would typically be routed down a vent pipe, or the like. Since they are like they are, I like Steve's idea of covering the hole with a mini clam shell vent cover. Not only will it help deflect driving rain, it will keep the damaging sun's rays off the sealant.
Bill
I'm really surprised that those cables were just poked through the roof like that. I've always thought that they would typically be routed down a vent pipe, or the like. Since they are like they are, I like Steve's idea of covering the hole with a mini clam shell vent cover. Not only will it help deflect driving rain, it will keep the damaging sun's rays off the sealant.
Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo
Escondido, CA
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo
Escondido, CA
Bill, it would also trap water if the coach were off-level to the front or either side. I would have liked to have seen some kind of finishing fixture done, but really, the exposed sealant is probably the best way to do it. The shells work great if the opening is facing down, but I don't think it'd do so well placed horizontally unless you filled it with caulk. It'd be difficult to get a seal though 'cause you couldn't see how well you were filling it inside, and then you'd have more sealant issues because you have to use screws to keep it in place and THEY need to be sealed.
Roger
Roger
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
I've used these Cable Clams made by Blue Sea Systems for waterproof thru-deck fittings. The Buna-N (Nitrile) rubber gasket material seems to stand up to the elements better than most anything else I've used.
Even though there is a bottom gasket which should preclude the use of extra sealant for the screws, I always drilled and tapped the screw holes and applied a small dollop of thread sealant to the screws. I replaced the self-tapping screws with machine screws but this probably wasn't necessary if one didn't want to go to the extra trouble to tap the holes.
You may find them useful.
http://pyacht.iserver.net/cgi-local/Sof ... 1183736606
Even though there is a bottom gasket which should preclude the use of extra sealant for the screws, I always drilled and tapped the screw holes and applied a small dollop of thread sealant to the screws. I replaced the self-tapping screws with machine screws but this probably wasn't necessary if one didn't want to go to the extra trouble to tap the holes.
You may find them useful.
http://pyacht.iserver.net/cgi-local/Sof ... 1183736606