Most expensive failure to date

[betsytom]

Don't have a clue as to how to begin to tackle this one, if I am unable to fix it myself it will have to be time for a voluntary repo-I emailed pictures to a repair shop in the Boston area and a preliminary estimate is between 4-6 large depending on the extent of rust under the front cowl cap.

What we know for certain is that we are not going to spend $6,000 on this piece of poop, hopefully I can figure something out.

Pics at the "Doesn't Look Good' gallery

http://www.betsy-tom.smugmug.com/

[jeffmue]

[/URL]"This has been copied and pasted from Camper Community by Ctfortner." It's a really good post and might be of some help to you.

Rubber Roof Leak Repair
I wanted to share this with those who may be in a similar situation as I was.

We bought our camper used from a dealer, but in new condition. There was said to be no leaks at all in the unit. Well, after 2 or 3 good rains, we had a leak, and it was coming in pretty good. I had never worked on a rv camper rubber roof before, so I had no idea what I needed to do, other than dive in and find it, and go from there.
I went on the roof and found a large area where a ton of silicone had been applied. So, I immediately thought, add more silicone. Wrong answer it seems, still leaked after the next rain. After some research, I learned this is NOT a leak fix for rubber roofs. So I put a tarp on it while I did some research.

I had to determine exactly where the leak was, so I used a garden hose and put it in different spots on the roof for a few minutes at a time, until I could find the source. Once I found it, I realized it was leaking in the corner, where the rubber roof meets the aluminum frame of the camper.

I spent a day on top of the camper, and removed all the old silicone. Then I removed the threshold that joins the roof to the aluminum frame. Once i did that, I was able to lift up the roofabout 6 inches and see the wood underneath. The corner that was suspect to being the problem, definitely was due to the wood discoloration, and it was still damp. So I placed a couple of towels underneath the roof to hold it open to the outside air to allow the wood to dry out before repairing. Do this when there is no rain in the forecast

Now, how to fix it so it wouldn't leak.
I read about some stuff called eternabond, a microsealant tape that has lifetime and worked really well on rubber roofs. I think it was pretty new to the RV market at the time, but it has become quite popular since. I believe it was originally designed for underwater repairs/leaks, and has a lifetime guarantee against leaking. So I guess if you ever sink your camper and need to patch it, it should work underwater

So once the wood had completely dried, I placed the roof back down in place, and used the eternabond tape (4" wide), which was wide enough to have half on the rubber roof and half on the aluminum frame, therefore completely sealing the wood from water. I debated whether to put the threshhold back in place, since I had basically created a threshold with the eternabond. After some further investigation, I found that putting the threshold back on with the screws I removed, would be just fine. The tape is very sticky and if you screw something through it, it completely adheres to the screws and still provides a 100% seal. So I did put it back on.

After using the eternabond tape over a year ago, not a drop of water has found the camper. knock on wood :thumbup2:

I bought a huge role of this stuff, 40 feet I think, and only used about 10 feet of it, but I plan to do my other roof seams in the near future to prevent anymore leaks. But heck, you can use it for about any leaks. My neighbor had a leak in there above ground pool last summer and i put a patch of it on there, worked like a champ. It is not cheap stuff, but it is well worth it.
I actually believe now that the people that had the camper sold it because of this. While trying to find the leak I found silicone on the roof, around the ac unit, and completely around one side window of the camper (another story). It was still leaking and I think they gave up on it and sold it. It was practically brand new and didnt have a spec of dirt in it.

You can see the video below for a general idea of the product.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=78527292101421075&q=RV+Roof+Repair+%26+Vent+Maintenance&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=78527292101421075&q=RV+Roof+Repair+%26+Vent+Maintenance&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)


[url]http://www.campercommunity.com/forum/rv-camper-discussions/131-rubber-roof-leak-repair-2.html

[murffdog]

The top is separating from the cab??

[betsytom]

jeffmue, thank you for that link - it may be the only alternative that I have for fixing it myself. After work tomorrow I am going to remove the tv, which is mounted in this cowl along with all the interior trim in the hopes that I will be able to -see- into this area. Something about this horrible coach has to start going my way, with a bit of luck I can get clear access into the area to that I can get to work on it.
I'll post pics as to what I find.

Murffdog, I hadn't thought of it that way but I fear that your thought may be exactly what is happening. My thinking was that the gasket had compressed, after a hidden water leak had blistered the paint BUT the gasket material doesn't look to be deformed/compressed so what else could be going on? I have been severly oc/ar with regard to inspecting the seams for the slightest sign of caulking failure and I inspected every mm of seam prior to leaving for our trip, everything looked tight but apparently the rv is taking water in somewhere.

Most of the time the weather was rotten, a few hours of sun in the morning and then sudden and severe thunderstorms with a few monsters while we were on the road which is why it doesn't make sense as to us NOT seeing any sign at all of a leak anywhere around the front area if we have a leak as all the cloth trim is dry to the touch as is the ceiling material. It would seem that water would have been forced up, over and into the living area if there was a gap.

But then again with the intimate knowledge that we have of the idiot Kermit Fisher and his moron craftspeople.........

This truly is ugly and it may very well be the end for us, but as I mentioned SOMETHING has to start going towards our favor.