Small leak in windows

I just taped off the upper weep holes, and ran some pretty strong water at the window for quite a while. No leaking from the top as I originally saw. I'm still going to present it to the dealer, but I am confident at this point that it is the rubber caps not doing their job effectively.

Without a doubt, I appreciate the insight shared here.

On a side note and not at all related to the issue I noted originally, I need to find someone that has a 27DBS, so I can compare the slide window tracks in theirs versus those in mine. One of my slide windows has a track at the bottom that does not have the slits in it to take advantage of the weep holes. The rest of my slide windows do have them on the bottom. Not sure if this was done on purpose, but hoping to validate somehow.

//Edit: Just to clarify, I taped off the outside of the weep hole. So any other leaking should have been able to flow freely.

Run a bead of non-leveling Dicor or Pro-Flex where the frame meets the side wall. Across the top and down about 2/3.

darsben wrote:
You should not have water on the top. If you caulk and plug them then the water will stay inside the area and rot the wood or delaminate the fiberglass. There should be no water at the top it is the sign of a defective seal.

Are you saying it is unlikely to be the weep hole(s) referenced in my pictures? These weep holes came with the plug already in them. I did pull and reseat the plugs today, and ran a bunch of water over them and the seals around the window and nothing came dripping down. So I'm leaning toward this being an issue with how those plugs were seated in the upper weep holes. Not ignoring what you are saying, as it is sound advice. Maybe I'm in denial. :-) Not that I'm signing off on my tests so far. I plan to keep checking things out.

Tacswa3 wrote:
The weep holes should not be plugged. Be sure they are always clear from build up / debris. Now, My previous 14' Coachman Clipper stated right in the manual it was normal for some water to enter the the windows but the weep holes let it drain back out.

Just to be clear, I have two sets of weep holes on most of the windows. A set on top and a set on bottom. The bottom ones are unplugged, and drain fine. The top ones have rubber plugs in them. The trailer came that way. The windows that do/did have this drip issue are slide windows, and I've seen the same mention you do - some water in the track is normal.

As noted, I've done some more testing by loosening the plug from one of the weep holes on top and spraying the trailer with a light mist. After a bit, the water drips occur again inside at that top track. That was with tape covering the sealant around the top edge of the window outside. If those weep holes rely on channels, then I think it's the culprit.

I agree that I'll want guarantees that this issue is resolved, so I plan to keep an eye on it every rain and wash. And next visit to the dealer, I'll be sure to discuss in great detail.

The weep holes should not be plugged. Be sure they are always clear from build up / debris. Now, My previous 14' Coachman Clipper stated right in the manual it was normal for some water to enter the the windows but the weep holes let it drain back out.

I would have this looked at as suggested above...we had something similar though leaking at the bottom versus the top. I found out when black mold appeared through the wallpaper. Service, at my cost, fixed the issue.

You should not have water on the top. If you caulk and plug them then the water will stay inside the area and rot the wood or delaminate the fiberglass. There should be no water at the top it is the sign of a defective seal.
The window and frame NEED to be removed and resealed to stop water incursion. There is no other cure
You can try removing the top weep holes and using caulk to plug the gap then replace the plugs but that will be a temporary fix and if you do not keep a close eye you could have SERIOUS water damage before you realize you have the problem again

Was not hoping to hear that.

I just went out during my lunch break, and did some more investigating since the rain has finally stopped here. When inside the trailer, you see those screws shown in the first post's pictures. If I look just next those screws, I can see the other end of the weep hole - the channel opening.

See the pictures attached to see the weep holes on the outside. My trailer has weep holes on top and bottom. The top ones are plugged with a piece of rubber - which can be removed. They don't seem to make a thorough seal.

This is just me thinking out loud, but it appears we had such a hard and steady rainfall, that these top plugged weep holes were letting a bit of rain in, and the water was flowing into the weep hole channel that lines up right next to the screws. I never saw the channels while looking before. But this would explain why I saw water dripping from the screws. I also learned those screws hold the sliding window track in place.

Why are their weep holes on top? Just for uniformity? Can you caulk these top holes instead of using those rubber plugs? I'd like to see if this resolves the issue, as I really don't see anything wrong with the caulking or trim around the window itself.







If it does turn out to be the caulking or something else, then we'll have to let the dealer "deal" with it then, since it is within warranty.

To isolate where the water is coming in I experiment with taping up one side at a time to see if it stops the leaking.

As mentioned the only way to permately fix is to remove the window and re-seal. Calking around the outside will likely only provide a temporary fix

The only permanent cure is to remove the window and frame and reseal the frame before replacing.
If you decide to do it (not hard to do) make sure you use a good caulk or membrane.
SILICONE IS NOT THE ANSWER

No heat. It is definitely from the rain outside.