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.

[gotsmart]

Several months after I bought the MH I noticed a small wet spot underneath the front corner of the mattress in the cabover. A visit to an RV shop showed a leak where the rubber roof met the cabover. $250 later fixed the leak. The tech pointed to a bow in the righthand side exterior panel underneath the cabover and said that is where the water is collecting. He said to remove this screw (see below) and let it drain. It wept water from the hole for over 3 weeks. Since then I've had the roof replaced and no longer have a cabover leak, but I haven't put back that screw. I guess I could take a gutter tip and fashion a scupper drain cover over it, but I figure it would only attract spiders to nest it in. It's been over a 2 years now and it will stay that way.

image of right-front cabover

[yrraleel]

We are living in this class c in Texas for the winter. Will have to work on it all summer. Larry

[DaHose]

I saw one gentleman who made his own fiberglass edging for the cabover area as a fix for thin factory edge mouldings. It was at least 2" wide on both surfaces. By putting that on the egdes with butyl underneath and lap sealant on seams, it was a great solution.

Jose

[mikeleblanc413]

pnichols wrote:
Mike,

Could the water be coming from the cabover's clearance lights?

[pnichols]

Mike,

Could the water be coming from the cabover's clearance lights?

[mikeleblanc413]

pnichols wrote:

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
Yes, I've had leaks. Yes, I can check for them very quickly.

From your profile it looks like you have a Winnebago Class C?

The "nice thing" about leaks in one of their Class C rigs is there is not much to rot inside their walls ... only aluminum, solid foam insulation, and wires ... all of which don't "rot", per se. This means that if you have leaks inside the walls but don't see them probably not a lot is getting destroyed. I'm sure glad my Itasca Class C is also built that way.

BTW .... what leaks have you had in your Winnie? Now you have my attention. Ours is a 2005 and I have replaced/added-to very, very little of it's chaulking anywhere because it all still "looks good" visually everywhee on it's roof and around it's windows. The main thing of have done is to modify it's forward facing cabover running lights so water can never get in it around them (and bleed down their wiring into the walls) when driving down the road in a blasting rainstorm. From the get-go those running lights looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

I do have a 2000 Winnebago Minnie Winnie. I understand about the styrofoam in the walls, but I do have wood (have not seen any aluminum). When I had the massive leak in 2012, just after purchase, so much water was in the styrofoam on the cabove bed that I had to remove the front portion and I have left it removed so that it is easier to check for leaks. With that section open and being able to see the side framework, water appears to be coming down the side walls and underneath the side wood framing. Sometimes it comes from the right and sometimes the drivers side. I've covered the cabover during rains and occasionally will still get leaks. With the motorhome level, I don't see how water could travel so far. And where could it be travelling from? All thought is appreciated! THANKS!

[mikeleblanc413]

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

Now that's a thought! I have a 2000 Winnebago Minnie Winnie that I've struggled with leaks since purchase in December 2011. How would you redesign an existing unit for the water to run over the cabover?

[mikeleblanc413]

pnichols wrote:
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.

I certainly agree with the one piece cabover construction! You would think that some creative minded individual would have a company that would create one piece Fiberglass replacements.

We are all aware of the need to be proactive in preventing water from leaking into the cab area and of caulking and Eternabond. I'm interested in knowing of any "outside the box" thinking to keep water from out of the motorhome and especially the cab area.

[DaHose]

Look earlier in the thread, Larry. Eternabond is a great, long term fix. As with anything, you must do proper prep. work.

Jose

[yrraleel]

I would say do not buy a class c ... For us who own them what is the best way to fix them ? HAVE GOOD DAY Larry

[pnichols]

mikeleblanc413 wrote:
Yes, I've had leaks. Yes, I can check for them very quickly.

From your profile it looks like you have a Winnebago Class C?

The "nice thing" about leaks in one of their Class C rigs is there is not much to rot inside their walls ... only aluminum, solid foam insulation, and wires ... all of which don't "rot", per se. This means that if you have leaks inside the walls but don't see them probably not a lot is getting destroyed. I'm sure glad my Itasca Class C is also built that way.

BTW .... what leaks have you had in your Winnie? Now you have my attention. Ours is a 2005 and I have replaced/added-to very, very little of it's chaulking anywhere because it all still "looks good" visually everywhee on it's roof and around it's windows. The main thing of have done is to modify it's forward facing cabover running lights so water can never get in it around them (and bleed down their wiring into the walls) when driving down the road in a blasting rainstorm. From the get-go those running lights looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

[ReadyToGo]

I would say that most RV's leak sometime in their usable life. Where some are more prone to leak than others, just about all will leak.
Windows, slide outs, and anything on the roof will leak at some time or require maintenance. Anything that moves down the road a lot of time will have up and down and side to side issues that cause things to leak.

We have a class C and yes it has had 3 leaks other than the cab over. But each one of those has just occured once in over 3 years. Cannot determine what caused the leaks and haven't done anything about them. Also, this is a 13 year old class C.

As far as the cabover leak, we fixed that by caulking the running lights and we don't have a window in front.
I have often wondered if the leaks in the cabover are because that isn't supported vertically and instead it overhangs with just 2x4s for support. Driving on I40 causes a lot of bouncing, what does that do to the construction concept?

[mikeleblanc413]

scroller95969 wrote:
Since this seems to be a common problem it's too bad that the manufacturers don't make an access doors or inspection plates at critical failure areas that can be taken off from the inside so that periodic inspections can be made. That way repairs could be made before serious damage had been done. I know with our uninsulated cargo trailer I would be able to tell immediately if a leak had started.

VERY GOOD POINT! My research prior to purchase indicated the cabover would be most prone to leaks. That's why I wanted an empty cabover: no console, no cabinets, nothing built in. Yes, I've had leaks. Yes, I can check for them very quickly.

[pnichols]

One thing that will help with front cabover leaks due to the front cabover window's seals - there's two of them ... the rubber one all around the glass and the sticky chaulk one between the outer frame and the outer RV surface - is to remove the window and while it's out use a good grade of construction tape to seal all the way around the sandwich opening between the outer and inner walls. Doing this, if a leak develops in either of the two window seals the water is kept either to the outside, or at least can only run down onto the outside of the inner wall where you can easily see it from the the inside. No water can get in between the cabover walls sandwich structure to rot things where you can't see it.

We had this done to ours when the window was replaced several years ago, just in case. Sealing of this window is so tricky that it took the professionals three separate whole window assembles to get it installed without leaking using hose testing. The final two complete cabover window assemblies were factory ones direct from Winnebago.