Roof Leak Advice & Insight

G.E. Silicone II has so far been good to us. Getting out old caulk is tough. I've never tried any chemicals, just a good putty knife. And with silicone, if it's still sticking I don't feel the need to remove it.

[Nasafan]

I bought a 2002 2619 last fall and it had leaked so bad that the wood around the roof vents had turned to mulch. I removed layer after layer of caulking around the vents and replaced with eternabond and just continued along the entire roof seam..worked great. No more leaks, not one drop.

[Speckul8r]

I had a stubborn leak around the Fantastic Fan and just plain could not seal it with silicone. Got some C-10 and "shotgunned" the perimeter of the fan and that did it. Sticks much more aggressively than the original caulk used. It is self leveling so not for vertical seams.

I've tried many different types of caulks, including C-10 and finally settled on 3M Marine Adhesive/Sealant Fast Cure 4000U. This product seems to work well, survives being in the sun and stays flexible. I talked to the factory and they are now using 3M products to seal Trailmanors at the factory.

I've found this in our area at a store called West Marine and I'm sure other marine stores sell this.

Originally Posted by brulaz

G.E. Silicone II has so far been good to us.

Well, I'm going to have to eat those words. And probably eternabond will be the next step.

While my new caulking has reduced the leakage to something more like seepage, after a heavy rainstorm there's still water coming down the walls from the roof/side wall angle in the vicinity of the door and bedroom window. Others have reported roof leaks in this area as well.

Inside, the water collects at the top of the inside Al angle piece holding the side wall and roof together, and then tends to drain at the end of the angle piece in the closet. And, as you would expect, if we're not there to mop it up, mold develops.

I checked the new caulk on the roof, and there's no visible separation between the new caulk and the plastic strips like there was with the original caulk. But when poking and prodding the caulk, I could see that it can separate from the plastic strips very cleanly, and there was a lot of water and mold under the strips.


Some thoughts:

I just don't think there is a silicone type caulk (or maybe any type?) that can stick to those plastic strips, even after my cleaning with iso-propyl alcohol. Maybe some more rigorous chemical cleaning is required, or abrasion?

The front to back plastic strips along the edge of the roof of the Elkmont do not seem to cover a seam. Perhaps the strips are just there to provide an additional barrier to water pooling against the outside angle piece between side wall and roof panels? The awning is attached to this length of outside angle, and perhaps its weight and all our traveling caused it to separate from the caulk?

There is a side-to-side roof seam covered by a plastic strip that ends in the vicinity of the leak. Water pools against the plastic strip and could possibly travel under the strip along the seam to the roof/wall edge? There's no interior leakage along this seam though. But when I re-caulked around the strip, I did find water under it.

There is also a front to back seam covered by a plastic strip in the centre of the roof. Although most of it has been re-caulked, there is no interior leakage and I can't imagine it contributing to our side wall leakage as it's right at the roof peak. Water should drain away from it.


Plans:

My plan is to strip off those plastic strips next to the outside angle piece, clean it up and apply a 6" eternabond strip with a good 3" going up and over the outside angle piece. And similarly replace the strip covering the side-to-side seam with eternabond. Hopefully this will strengthen the joints as well make them waterproof.

It's tempting to take the trailer down to the Ohio Dealer or the Tennessee factory for repair, but I suspect that all they would do is re-caulk it. It needs more than that.

If there are any new experiences with eternabond, good or bad, I'd like to hear it. This problem needs to be fixed.

[ShrimpBurrito]

How incredibly sad you are having to repair a roof from a brand new trailer. Unbelievable.

You might try 3M 4200 (semi-permanent) or 5200 (permanent). Comes in a caulking tube, goes on like caulk, looks like caulk, works like caulk. Made for the marine industry. I used 4200 to seal around one of the roof vents 3 years ago, and it shows no signs of letting up. I believe that vent frame is made from plastic, maybe PVC. 5200 is particularly permanent, which can be a good thing; but don't use it if you think you'd have to remove it.

Dave

The leak *is* frustrating. But, we have spent a lot more time enjoying the trailer and the great outdoors than worrying about or fixing the stupid thing, although it may not sound like it on this forum.

Those 3M products are tempting. But eternabond should add some structural strength to the joints and reduce flexing, as well as stopping the water seepage. We do travel a lot, and it does seem that leaks that disappeared after caulking, reappear after some travel.

Maybe I'll remove the plastic strips, lay down a thin bead of 3M 4200 and then cover it all with 6" wide strip of eternabond! Or vice-versa, caulk the edges of the eternabond with 4200 if there's still a leak.

It would be nice to live in the SouthWest, that's for sure.

[Frenchy]

On my old 98 3023, I had a leak that occurred between the outside wall of the TM and the top trim. The water was actually running uphill into the camper. There was a lot of water coming inside. If there is a small gap there, the water will flow up by capillary action. Once I caulked the side gaps all along the TM, my leak stopped and I never had another problem.

Originally Posted by Frenchy

On my old 98 3023, I had a leak that occurred between the outside wall of the TM and the top trim. The water was actually running uphill into the camper.

Thanks, Frenchy. I did re-caulk down about half way to the floor on the front/side corners. Thinking maybe that while driving the water was being forced up into top corner. But that hasn't helped.

On the inside you can see the moisture first appear mid-trailer, in the vicinity of the door and bedroom window.

I've also caulked under the awning case, but I'm not sure whether it would be better to have that drain freely. Not sure what the state of caulk is behind/under the awning case.

[Virginia Deacon]

The factory recommended mineral spirits to clean those areas to be caulked. I agree. Isopropol alcohol won't clean nearly as well.

The caulk-removal took worked great, and there have been no more leaks, since I re-caulked both sides of the center seam on the front roof.