Cabover leaks - Would This Work

[fortytwo]

The current horror story thread detailing Coachman Leprechaun cabover leaks is unfortunately representative of very common class C events. Poor workmanship, combined with design incompetence are almost always present. After you own one locating, fixing, and keeping the leak fixed are difficult and often ugly.

There have been discussions of applying pickup bed liner material as a fix for pesky roof problems. Could that be a viable long term solution for the manufacturers inability to deliver leak free cabover units?

I discovered a Coachman class C I really like; no leaks yet; but the seam design is a leak waiting to happen. The selling dealer does not dispute my analysis, and said cabover seam leaks were a frequent problem with Coachman C's they get in trade. I can't consider trading until I identify a way to take the probability of cabover leaks away. I've been RV'ing almost 50 years and simply can't watch for em' and fix em' myself any more.

[Jim_Shoe]

I have a 2004 Fleetwood that has never leaked. Only thing I can think of is that nobody has ever slept in it. Probably never more than 20 lbs. of "stuff" up there.

[yrraleel]

My 02 GULF STREAM had a front window with rot, I enclosed with plywood and fiber glassed over, but the water came from the seam above. now it is leaking again.
Larry

[OldRadios]

My 2006 Tioga looks like Johns. I have a roof that extends over the cab and down the sides a few inches but there is a front window. It's the only thing this one has I did not want. A B+ would have been OK but in our last one we used the cab over for storage and made the choice for buying this one on its condition and floor plan. Too many other pluses with it to let a front window stop us. I'll just have to pay attention to it.

You can't buy and use any make/model, A, B, B+, or C without paying attention to the roof unless you have no skylights, vents, air conditioner, or antenna. They are all points water can enter if you don't inspect and maintain the seals.

[pnichols]

John,

Your signature photo is small, but it appears that your Tioga has exactly the right kind of cabover construction to put leak worries to rest once and for all. Way to go!

I wish my cabover section was completely one piece fiberglass as yours appears to be. There's no reason to put up with cabover construction any less than what you have in any modern Class C today.

[JNorton]

2008 no leaks. As always people who are satified are not as vocal as those who have had problems. I check my roof twice a year. Just my two cents.

[yrraleel]

GULF STREAM maybe the worst, but I wish I had never seen this leaking class c.
now how do fix them?? Larry

[hotbyte]

How many new RVs are built with front over cab windows now? Why did mfr stop building in front over cab windows? Just because a rock rolls very very slowly doesn't mean it is not moving.

[super_camper]

Mocoondo wrote:

pnichols wrote:
I'm well aware of all of what you say above ... within the conditions of when and where the various engineering principles apply. (Masters + in engineering fields, too ... FWIW.)

As much stiffness in Class C non-one-piece-walls/roofs design cabover areas is the name of the game if you're going to keep their interface points ("seams") from flexing relative to each other. You don't want seams flexing between themselves if you're going to keep sealants in them from being under unnecessary physical stress. You also don't want UV rays drying out and/or breaking down the chemistry of those sealants.

Cabover Class C areas do not have to "automatically" leak anymore than vehicle roofs leak - over the years. One has to know some very basic things to look for when buying a Class C as to what might keep any one particular Class C cabover setup from being future-leak prone. It doesn't take advanced, or any, educational degrees to figure out what might be required.

Ron Dittmer has posted plenty in these forums on some excellent basics to look for in RV roofs in general, and cabover roofs in particular, regarding what designs might or might not leak in the future with an RV.

My posts here in this discussion thread were merely to add some comments on sensible internal construction details that us buyers and OEM manufacturers should be keeping in mind if we want to buy, or they want to built in, a quality product strength-wise so as to help with seam-leak prevention. OEMs don't even need extensive engineering staffs to apply good old backyard savvy in getting their structures rigid enough on the road so they don't either crack from inadequate flexibility where it belongs or leak from too much flexibility in seam areas.

All In My Humble Mixed Background Opinion, of course.

As long as we continue buying the crap, manufacturers will continue selling it. Threads just like this prove the point succinctly. Designing a cabover that will not leak is very simple, but it also costs money, and apparently not all consumers are willing to a pay a premium for a fail safe design. The problem is not with the manufacturers. The problem is with us because we accept it, and we reinforce that acceptance every time we drive a poorly designed motorhome off the showroom floor.

Since we are all generally accepting of poor workmanship and construction, then it follows that the only solution to keeping the water out is to improve our preventative maintenance.

Government regulation is not going to solve the problem. The only way to solve the problem is with our wallets...either through continuous repetitive maintenance, or ideally, collectively excluding poorly designed RV's from our purchasing decisions.

You appear to be very dissatisfied with whatever kind of RV you have but you should not expect that same experience of others.

I actually do not agree that class c's are "crap" and we should all stop buying them. Like most things in life there are varying degrees of quality with big swings in price tags. Base your buying decision on what's important to you but please stop complaining about the******at the bottom end. If it's important to you then pay more and move up in quality. BTW: I'm a PHD

[super_camper]

yrraleel wrote:
It would be a simple fix build the roof so water ran over the cabover instead
of depending on caulking. any builder should know better. Larry

It has little to do with Engineering, it's about economics.

[yrraleel]

that is not true most all do leak

[GrumpyandGrandm]

dumboat2 wrote:
OK, so what I am hearing is stay away from class C's because no matter what the over hang will leak. What I would like to know- is there anyone out there that has had a C for several years and the cab-over did not leak?

That is not a totally true statement. Any improperly maintained RV roof will leak. I have an 08 JAYCO "Super C" with a cab over, no leaks. My sister-in-law has an 08 JAYCO Greyhawk, no leaks. There are far more on the road that don't leak than ones that do leak.

[mlts22]

Mocoondo wrote:

Government regulation is not going to solve the problem. The only way to solve the problem is with our wallets...either through continuous repetitive maintenance, or ideally, collectively excluding poorly designed RV's from our purchasing decisions.

This is a definite factor with my decisions, and this is something that should keep being mentioned in RV forums. For example, Lazy Daze, Nexus RV, and Winnebagos are high on my list because all their models have fiberglass roofs and either one piece front caps, or the seams are not at a pressure point for water to spray past and start internal rot damage.

[yrraleel]

It would be a simple fix build the roof so water ran over the cabover instead
of depending on caulking. any builder should know better. Larry

[Mocoondo]

pnichols wrote:
I'm well aware of all of what you say above ... within the conditions of when and where the various engineering principles apply. (Masters + in engineering fields, too ... FWIW.)

As much stiffness in Class C non-one-piece-walls/roofs design cabover areas is the name of the game if you're going to keep their interface points ("seams") from flexing relative to each other. You don't want seams flexing between themselves if you're going to keep sealants in them from being under unnecessary physical stress. You also don't want UV rays drying out and/or breaking down the chemistry of those sealants.

Cabover Class C areas do not have to "automatically" leak anymore than vehicle roofs leak - over the years. One has to know some very basic things to look for when buying a Class C as to what might keep any one particular Class C cabover setup from being future-leak prone. It doesn't take advanced, or any, educational degrees to figure out what might be required.

Ron Dittmer has posted plenty in these forums on some excellent basics to look for in RV roofs in general, and cabover roofs in particular, regarding what designs might or might not leak in the future with an RV.

My posts here in this discussion thread were merely to add some comments on sensible internal construction details that us buyers and OEM manufacturers should be keeping in mind if we want to buy, or they want to built in, a quality product strength-wise so as to help with seam-leak prevention. OEMs don't even need extensive engineering staffs to apply good old backyard savvy in getting their structures rigid enough on the road so they don't either crack from inadequate flexibility where it belongs or leak from too much flexibility in seam areas.

All In My Humble Mixed Background Opinion, of course.

As long as we continue buying the crap, manufacturers will continue selling it. Threads just like this prove the point succinctly. Designing a cabover that will not leak is very simple, but it also costs money, and apparently not all consumers are willing to a pay a premium for a fail safe design. The problem is not with the manufacturers. The problem is with us because we accept it, and we reinforce that acceptance every time we drive a poorly designed motorhome off the showroom floor.

Since we are all generally accepting of poor workmanship and construction, then it follows that the only solution to keeping the water out is to improve our preventative maintenance.

Government regulation is not going to solve the problem. The only way to solve the problem is with our wallets...either through continuous repetitive maintenance, or ideally, collectively excluding poorly designed RV's from our purchasing decisions.

[mlts22]

This is one of the few issues where I wish RVIA or some body that has some clout will step in. Without a seamless cabover or roof, the rig has an expiration date stamped on it. I don't think anyone would buy a car if they knew that after 3-4 years, it would be worth only the scrap metal inside and not be usable. A motorhome easily costs far more than the typical vehicle, so shouldn't it be at least up to the same standard of leak-worthiness as a Kia Soul?