Leak-free Class-C?

[fitznj]

For a couple of months now, I've been looking for a small (24ft)
Class C. Less than 10 years old, 50K miles, clean......

I have a list of questions I send to the lister and one of them
is regarding leaks in the overhead cab. About 60% of the responses
state that they had a leak at one time but is now leak-free.....

I bumped into a friend yesterday who has a Class C and said that most
of his problems relate to the cab over.

So.... is it a case of "if you own a class C, you will eventually
experience a leak ?"

I understand annual maintenance and resealing etc etc but I've owned
4 TTs and except for cleaning the roof, I've never had to reseal
any of the roofs.

I'm tempted to buy a B+ because of the better "cab-over" design but
then I loose the bed/storage space of a Class C.

I have noticed that the newer Class C's have redesigned cab-overs
with a moulded "nose" - so maybe the problems have been solved.

Looking for opinions from Class C owners of older (10 years) ones -

Are leaks that common ?

[toedtoes]

Exactly my point. Many owners think if it is under cover, nothing can happen and they can ignore it until the next season. Those who have no cover are more likely to check on it regularly.

Of course, this is in regards to owners who actually use their RVs. If it has been unused for several years, then it's anyone's guess.

[lfcjasp]

toedtoes wrote:
My disagreement was with the idea that an owner who puts their rig under cover cares more and checks it out more frequently. Many owners will put it under cover and not look at it until the next season - that is not caring for the RV more than a person who stores it outdoors and checks it after every rain, etc.

We don't have an RV garage or "carport" to store our MH under, but we do pay attention to what might be happening in that cabover area (I'd love to pull out that mattress and store elsewhere as we so rarely use it as a bed, but DH says it must stay...sigh) and DH has no problem climbing up on the roof and checking things over. Yes, we've had two leaks that required repairs and thank God our insurance came through and we could get it done right...well CW did the last repair and we still skittish...

[pnichols]

The bottom of our cabover area's floor is cutout part-way (so you can raise up out of the cab seats to go back to the coach) and mates securely to a matching cutout in the cab's steel roof. In fact in looks very much like the cab's steel roof helps to support the cabover - in addition to the aluminum struts in the cabover walls themselves that are of course extensions of the aluminum joists and runners used in the entire coach area's walls and ceiling.

How can our cabover area "bounce independently" if it's bottom rides right on - and is attached to - the Ford cab's steel roof? Especially how can it bounce relative to the coach's sidewalls that are the same piece of vertical material making up the cabover's sidewalls?

I'm almost about to use the word "impossible" relative to any cabover up/down movement separate from the Ford cab roof itself. I've never seen our cabover "move separate from" the main coach structure ... and I sure hope that our whole coach never moves relative to the main chassis steel frame beams that it's bolted to and that support it.

However, we did once own a Class C in which the cabover floor was separate from the cab's intact steel roof. There was 2-3 inches of air between the outer surface of cabover floor and the cab's steel roof (just like in a truck camper). I suppose in that case, the cabover could sometimes bounch a little vertically separate from the cab, but even then we never experienced any leaks in the cabover sleeping area.

What I don't trust to not need leak over time are: The five forward facing clearance lights in the cabover, and the forward facing cabover window seal for those of us unlucky enough to have one. When our Class C is in uncovered storage out in the back yard, I'm very careful to keep it parked it in the shade so that the sun cannot shine on the cabover window or on the clearance lights. The sun's UV rays are a killer to just about any sealing material - so shade or a roof covering are essential to keeping an RV's roof areas sealed up tight.

We also long ago installed vent covers over our roof vents so that UV rays wouldn't cause the plastic crank-up vents to crack and leak water. These covers over the vents also help to keep water away from the screwed-down and sealed vent frame itself so as to help prevent leaks in that area.

[klutchdust]

My B+ as some care to call it, the Itasca Cambria, has the entertainment center up front and the fiberglass shell. I watch as it bounces along while traveling down the road.
How many RV owners, new and seasoned, store items in their class C with the bunk while traveling causing the issue of leaks and cracks to be even further guaranteed. It is a nice large space and can be tempting.My guess is the folks that don't store items in the bunk while traveling have less leaks.

[toedtoes]

T18skyguy wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

T18skyguy wrote:
As a buyer, look first to sellers that have their rig covered, and these folks probably also inspect regularly cause they care.

Not always true. There are many posts from folks who put their RV under cover and then never bothered to look at them until spring only to find a leak had destroyed the rig.

The ideal owner does regular maintenance to prevent leaks, checks out their rig throughout the rainy/snow season regardless of where it's kept to identify any leaks early, and takes action to stop any leaks as quickly as possible.

However, no matter how on top of things a owner might be, there is always room for a leak to happen - whether the owner got ill or injured, there was a death or divorce in the family, or maybe just got caught up in work... Sometimes life gets in the way.

I have found that a roof vent leak is an easy fix. If the owner catches it early (which is usually easy to do because it's right in the open), then it may show a small water stain still but had been dealt with promptly and effectively with some basic caulking.

A leaky seam or window is different. The water is more likely to have drained down the side of the RV, doing additional damage along the way. It's harder to see because you have cabinets, beds, couches, etc., blocking your view of the leak and so it goes longer before detection. And repair is a lot more involved.

Not always true. There are many posts from folks who put their RV under cover and then never bothered to look at them until spring only to find a leak had destroyed the rig.

If that's true I would like to see their cover. Some folks put a few pieces of tin up and call it good, when it's very little protection from sun or blowing rain. Another possibility is they had a major leak in progress during a trip, didn't notice it, put the rig under the cover, and discovered it later and said the cover was inadequate. I have a 32 foot rig under a 40x14x12 foot cover, full back and full left side enclosed, and halfway down the right side. The rig sits 8 feet in and I've had a few drops blow on the front but that's it Nothing on top ever.

My disagreement was with the idea that an owner who puts their rig under cover cares more and checks it out more frequently. Many owners will put it under cover and not look at it until the next season - that is not caring for the RV more than a person who stores it outdoors and checks it after every rain, etc.

[T18skyguy]

toedtoes wrote:

T18skyguy wrote:
As a buyer, look first to sellers that have their rig covered, and these folks probably also inspect regularly cause they care.

Not always true. There are many posts from folks who put their RV under cover and then never bothered to look at them until spring only to find a leak had destroyed the rig.

The ideal owner does regular maintenance to prevent leaks, checks out their rig throughout the rainy/snow season regardless of where it's kept to identify any leaks early, and takes action to stop any leaks as quickly as possible.

However, no matter how on top of things a owner might be, there is always room for a leak to happen - whether the owner got ill or injured, there was a death or divorce in the family, or maybe just got caught up in work... Sometimes life gets in the way.

I have found that a roof vent leak is an easy fix. If the owner catches it early (which is usually easy to do because it's right in the open), then it may show a small water stain still but had been dealt with promptly and effectively with some basic caulking.

A leaky seam or window is different. The water is more likely to have drained down the side of the RV, doing additional damage along the way. It's harder to see because you have cabinets, beds, couches, etc., blocking your view of the leak and so it goes longer before detection. And repair is a lot more involved.

Not always true. There are many posts from folks who put their RV under cover and then never bothered to look at them until spring only to find a leak had destroyed the rig.

If that's true I would like to see their cover. Some folks put a few pieces of tin up and call it good, when it's very little protection from sun or blowing rain. Another possibility is they had a major leak in progress during a trip, didn't notice it, put the rig under the cover, and discovered it later and said the cover was inadequate. I have a 32 foot rig under a 40x14x12 foot cover, full back and full left side enclosed, and halfway down the right side. The rig sits 8 feet in and I've had a few drops blow on the front but that's it Nothing on top ever.

[theoldwizard1]

MDKMDK wrote:
Agreed. Build quality, roof material/design, and maintenance are the issues that affect whether or not a particular roof will leak or not.

I would change the order to roof material/design, build quality and then maintenance.

If the first two are done to top notch standards, the third item is almost non-existant !

[toedtoes]

T18skyguy wrote:
As a buyer, look first to sellers that have their rig covered, and these folks probably also inspect regularly cause they care.

Not always true. There are many posts from folks who put their RV under cover and then never bothered to look at them until spring only to find a leak had destroyed the rig.

The ideal owner does regular maintenance to prevent leaks, checks out their rig throughout the rainy/snow season regardless of where it's kept to identify any leaks early, and takes action to stop any leaks as quickly as possible.

However, no matter how on top of things a owner might be, there is always room for a leak to happen - whether the owner got ill or injured, there was a death or divorce in the family, or maybe just got caught up in work... Sometimes life gets in the way.

I have found that a roof vent leak is an easy fix. If the owner catches it early (which is usually easy to do because it's right in the open), then it may show a small water stain still but had been dealt with promptly and effectively with some basic caulking.

A leaky seam or window is different. The water is more likely to have drained down the side of the RV, doing additional damage along the way. It's harder to see because you have cabinets, beds, couches, etc., blocking your view of the leak and so it goes longer before detection. And repair is a lot more involved.

[wildtoad]

If you get anything marked “RV” sooner or later it will leak. Leaks are not limited to Class C’s.

[T18skyguy]

the RV should be stored (not used) out of the sun and rain.

It's hard to overstate the importance of this. Sure, not everyone has room for a cover, but I see plenty of folks who spend 6 figures for a rig, but won't spend 6 thousand to protect it. If a rig springs a leak and is exposed constantly, the damage is ongoing. With a cover you can catch it early and save the situation. As a buyer, look first to sellers that have their rig covered, and these folks probably also inspect regularly cause they care. The average bill for damage to an overhead cab leak is $7000, ironically more than the cover they should have bought. The new one piece overhead is a good improvement, but the joint where it meets the roof needs an inspection yearly. Also the overhead cab lights. I'm sure there are plenty of uncovered C's that are fine, but they only come with owners who care and stay on top of it. As a side note, there is a RV salesman, when taking a C in trade, asks the owner right of the bat "where is your leak?".

[toedtoes]

Mine is 43 years old and it has not had a cabover leak. Regular maintenance (e.g., caulking windows and seams) will prevent leaks.

[pianotuna]

If it is an RV it will leak. Class C with windows on the front of the cab over are worse than those without. Clearance lights are an issue, too.

[camperdave]

There are plenty out there that have not yet leaked. And with some care, you can keep them that way! I too saw a lot of leakers when I was looking. But good ones do exist. Mine was garaged by the previous owner which I'm sure helps. As far as I can tell not even the dreaded front window has leaked on it yet, and it's just a basic Fleetwood. I plan a full preventive eternabond and re-caulk of the whole cabover next summer to be safe.

[AJR]

Buy a class C without windows in the cab over. You still need to maintain the seam between the cab over & the roof. I had a class A that developed a leak were the fiberglass met the roof.

My rig has an entertainment center in the cab over. But the TV is mounted on a panel that can be raised. Providing lots of storage behind the TV.

[MDKMDK]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I don't think it exclusively a Class C issue. Very few, it any, RVs will live a long time without a leak.

There are a lot of reasons, but they all come down to build quality. The "rubber" (EPDM ?) roof material that is most commonly used is NOT impervious to sun. For maximum life, the RV should be stored (not used) out of the sun and rain. If not possible, the rubber roof should be washed with mild soap 2 - 4 times a year and then a light UV protectant (like 303®) applied.

The "ultimate" roof material is either fiberglass (which must be painted to prevent UV damage) or aluminum. Both are much more expensive to install, but require less maintenance and will live much longer.

Any roof penetration, seam, or roof to side seal is also a common source of leaks. Applying more and more sealant is not the best solution. Removing and replacing the sealant is better, but is difficult, especially getting ALL of the old sealant off without damaging the rubber roof.

Agreed. Build quality, roof material/design, and maintenance are the issues that affect whether or not a particular roof will leak or not.
In my opinion.