Sidewall Delamination

[guenter/jeanne]

Just a quick question to all of you out there. How many of you check and seal around your windows every season, or have your windows been sealed properly at the factory? Everyone I have talked to has never heard of having to check or seal around the windows.

Thanks.

Guenter

[Guest Wayne77590]

Guenter,

Not just every season, but I do it frequently. Shortly after I picked up my "new" motorhome it was in the shop for the sealant bubling out around the sides. They fixed it, but I watch it closely now.

My personal thoughts are that if anything can go wrong, it will. So preventative checking is an important function of driving any vehicle.

[jjgnn@yahoo.com]

Sorry, off topic, but Wayne, your inbox is full. Got my HAM call, KA5UFU in 1974 I think.

[tbutler]

I've never had to worry about the seals on my windows. I hand wash the motor home frequently and always check to see how the seals look. I'm on top of any evidence of water leakage and have never seen any evidence of leaks around the windows. I did have an awning that wasn't sealed properly when it was factory installed. It took some searching to find that leak but we eventually got it. I've had an air conditioner leak but we seem to have that taken care of as well. Recently we had the satellite dish replaced and when it rained we had water dripping from the crank-up antenna. I took off the dish and caulked generously and everything has been dry since. We just came through a 3" rain in California so I'm pretty confident that for now everything is tight. It's an ongoing battle though. You have to be ever vigilant, always on the look out for the next leak.

If I were to caulk the windows, I would talk to the dealer or an RV repair shop to get their recommendation for the best kind of caulk to use on your surfaces and then purchase the best quality you can get your hands on. Clean all surfaces carefully and the apply the caulk with the hope that I wouldn't have to do this every year. You should be able to get four or five years out of a good caulking job if not more. When the caulking starts to show signs of wearing or coming loose, I'd begin a systematic replacement of the caulk, two or three windows one year, another two or three the next year, etc.

[ambyn]

Tom,

Last Fall you posted the message below that included mention of an awning leak. I thought that I had found my leak at the awning wind sensor but in the Tucson rain yesterday it was still leaking. Would you please fill me in on where your leak was as I am having to find a leak which may also be related to awning mounting hardware. See more details below.

I spent some time after the rain with the hose on the roof again and think that it is related somehow to the large awning over our passenget side slide out. We have a gutter type extrusion on the roof that the awning is attached to. I pulled a few of the screws and found that water was under the extrusion and seeping into the screw holes. I pulled some more screws, cleaned the holes, and used some GE silicon caulking to fill the holes, put the screws in, and then cover the screws. I also removed some caulking at the end of the extrusion that actually let some water run out from under the extrusion. Unfortunately it rained during the early evening with water still coming in.

While laying in bed reading I remembered that some outfits offer some form of RV leak detection but I would like to think that I can find the leak myself. As an engineer I want to know what is causing the problem and many times find that it is a workmanship or poor engineering issue.

Any thoughts??

Regards,

Amby N.

I've never had to worry about the seals on my windows. I hand wash the motor home frequently and always check to see how the seals look. I'm on top of any evidence of water leakage and have never seen any evidence of leaks around the windows. I did have an awning that wasn't sealed properly when it was factory installed. It took some searching to find that leak but we eventually got it. I've had an air conditioner leak but we seem to have that taken care of as well. Recently we had the satellite dish replaced and when it rained we had water dripping from the crank-up antenna. I took off the dish and caulked generously and everything has been dry since. We just came through a 3" rain in California so I'm pretty confident that for now everything is tight. It's an ongoing battle though. You have to be ever vigilant, always on the look out for the next leak.

If I were to caulk the windows, I would talk to the dealer or an RV repair shop to get their recommendation for the best kind of caulk to use on your surfaces and then purchase the best quality you can get your hands on. Clean all surfaces carefully and the apply the caulk with the hope that I wouldn't have to do this every year. You should be able to get four or five years out of a good caulking job if not more. When the caulking starts to show signs of wearing or coming loose, I'd begin a systematic replacement of the caulk, two or three windows one year, another two or three the next year, etc.

[mountainkowboy@verizon.net]

Coming from truck campers and usually keeping our units for quite awhile, I check the "seals & silicone" a couple times a year. Our 05 will need some resealing this year, since I did notice that some of the silicone is starting to peel in places. We have always found its easier to reseal the whole coach at the same time. We just start at one point and clean and reseal our way around the coach taking our time and doing it over a couple day period. The clean and prep is the most important part. If it isnt cleaned correctly, the job doesnt last very long. Let it cure for a few days and then wax the areas that were worked on. We have an "issue" with letting people work on our RV's, cause it seems that they never do as good of job as we can, so we tend to do 90% of our maint. & upkeep.

[pkendzor]

Tom,

Last Fall you posted the message below that included mention of an awning leak. I thought that I had found my leak at the awning wind sensor but in the Tucson rain yesterday it was still leaking. Would you please fill me in on where your leak was as I am having to find a leak which may also be related to awning mounting hardware. See more details below.

I spent some time after the rain with the hose on the roof again and think that it is related somehow to the large awning over our passenget side slide out. We have a gutter type extrusion on the roof that the awning is attached to. I pulled a few of the screws and found that water was under the extrusion and seeping into the screw holes. I pulled some more screws, cleaned the holes, and used some GE silicon caulking to fill the holes, put the screws in, and then cover the screws. I also removed some caulking at the end of the extrusion that actually let some water run out from under the extrusion. Unfortunately it rained during the early evening with water still coming in.

While laying in bed reading I remembered that some outfits offer some form of RV leak detection but I would like to think that I can find the leak myself. As an engineer I want to know what is causing the problem and many times find that it is a workmanship or poor engineering issue.

Any thoughts??

Regards,

Amby N.

Ambly N.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to locate a small leak in the front of our coach. I finally removed the defroster hose and taped it to the end of my leaf blower. With the windows and door closed and the leaf blower on, I ran a garden hose over the coach and out poured the bubbles thru a small crack in the windshield seal in less than a minute.

Good Luck,

Paul