2019 Kodiak water in wheel well

[bkenobi]

I recently sold my NL TC and moved to a 2019 Kodiak Ultra Lite 201QB. Its in great shape but that never means "perfect" though what is.

I've taken it on 1 weekend trip and with heavy rain found the kitchen window seal faulty (4+ inch butyl tape gap at top). After pulling and reinstalling correctly that seems good.

When I ran the hose over window all was good with no lake on the counter. However, i still saw water in the wheel well. Inspecting outside the best i can figure is that either the band holding the skirt on or the wheel well extension must be the source.

Other than shooting proflex into the screw holes, is there anything else? This really seems like a dumb design to have screws installed all the way around with a silicon bead as protection. The wheel well extension is semiflexible and driving will cause it to fail any sealant bead pretty quickly.

I have pictures but not seeing how (and can't remember wither) to upload.

[Gdetrailer]

bkenobi wrote:
I decided the best option was to start by removing the spray foam. I needed to figure out if it was open or closed cell anyway (it's closed cell). So now I have a blank canvas except for the residue. Can I install eternabond tape over the spray foam residue or will that compromise the seal?




Second, I'm assuming I'm going to have to pull the skirt back to get that area sealed. I don't like the idea of ignoring it but it looks like a royal pain to get it off. I can remove the screws, but I'm guessing the metal is sealed on with silicon. To reinstall, I'd assume I'll have to clean the silicon first. Just seems like opening a can of worms!







If there's an easier way and I'm over complicating this, I'd appreciate experienced comments!

Wheel well metal is installed incorrectly and sealing it permanently will be doubtful.

That upturned sheet metal of the wheel well should actually be behind the outside wall. Having it behind the outside wall allows any moisture running down the outside wall is simply shed off.

That is a very good example of poor design and/or assembly and the outside "skirt" just hides and serves as a means to hide the bad design/assembly..

Is there any way you can drop the wheel well enough to relocate behind the outside wall? If it is possible to relocate that metal you can use any caulking/sealant between the wall and the relocated metal.

[bkenobi]

PButler96 wrote:
I would scrape off the spray foam. Re attach the sheet metal, mask off inside the skirt line and spray everything with rubberized undercoating, then reinstall the skirts back caulking the screws, followed by caulking them with geocell proflexRV.

I reread your comment and think I understand your intent. The sheet metal was held onto the side of the trailer with ~3 screws for the entire ~6' span. I believe you are suggesting to add more screws to properly attach the sheet metal to the side and then use undercoating spray to cover the joint. Once cured, reinstall the plastic fender flare and caulk with proflex.

This is basically what I was originally suggesting except using eternabond instead of undercoating. Except, I don't know if eternabond is able to withstand road salts but undercoating certainly should be.

[bkenobi]

When I talked to dealer they recommended caulking. I assumed that meant cap seal over spray foam so wasn't interested. I looked up the product (DAP 230) and see that it would work well in the crack as it can fill up to 1" wide and remain flexible up to 600% (presumably meaning 1" could expand to 6"). I like proflex, but it cracks with minimal expansion so this might work here.

Only thing i dont like is that cleanup of cured caulk is cut/scrape.

[bkenobi]

Can the sheet metal fwnder tray be removed? There are a few screws holdi g the vertical tabs on but im sure its bolted on too. If it comes off without huge disassembly inside that would work.

If the tab had more screws attaching it i would consider butyl tape all the way around as well as proflex caulking.

[PButler96]

I would scrape off the spray foam. Re attach the sheet metal, mask off inside the skirt line and spray everything with rubberized undercoating, then reinstall the skirts back caulking the screws, followed by caulking them with geocell proflexRV.

[bkenobi]

I decided the best option was to start by removing the spray foam. I needed to figure out if it was open or closed cell anyway (it's closed cell). So now I have a blank canvas except for the residue. Can I install eternabond tape over the spray foam residue or will that compromise the seal?




Second, I'm assuming I'm going to have to pull the skirt back to get that area sealed. I don't like the idea of ignoring it but it looks like a royal pain to get it off. I can remove the screws, but I'm guessing the metal is sealed on with silicon. To reinstall, I'd assume I'll have to clean the silicon first. Just seems like opening a can of worms!







If there's an easier way and I'm over complicating this, I'd appreciate experienced comments!

[bkenobi]

Double_Haul wrote:
The plastic fender trim is just decoration, and on my trailer, has nothing to do with sealing the unit. It shouldnt require any butyl tape.
My wheel well sheet metal was never sealed against the siding at the factory and resulted in water gathering and rotting the osb floor. Major work to fix.

Sounds like this situation. What did you use to seal the metal wheel well to the wall? I'm heavily leaning towards cutting the spray foam flush and installing a strip of 2" eternabond. I can access most of the length currently but would have to pull the metal skirt to access the last few inches front and back.

[Double_Haul]

The plastic fender trim is just decoration, and on my trailer, has nothing to do with sealing the unit. It shouldnt require any butyl tape.
My wheel well sheet metal was never sealed against the siding at the factory and resulted in water gathering and rotting the osb floor. Major work to fix.

[bkenobi]

afidel wrote:
Cut the spray foam level with the siding and wrap the entire corner in eternabond using a wrap applicator tool to form it to the curves?

That sounds like a good option. Does eternabond survive against road salt?

[afidel]

Cut the spray foam level with the siding and wrap the entire corner in eternabond using a wrap applicator tool to form it to the curves?

[bkenobi]

I sealed the couple gaps I found with Great Stuff Black which is designed for ponds and other outdoor environments that will come in contact with standing water and create a watertight seal (I've used it in my basement to seal a gap around a copper pipe and it's held up great). After letting it set for a few days as a precaution, I poured water over it and initially thought all was good. Then I tried every other location where the spray foam was and realized it's not even close to a sealed gap. In some places, they put the spray foam on the outside of the metal fender well meaning it actually captures water running down the side and forces it inside.



So it appears I have a few choices.

1. Reseal the fender with silicon and walk away covering my ears repeating "nanananana"
2. Replace the silicon with Proflex and cross my fingers
3. Reinstall the plastic fender flare with a bead of butyl tape
4. Find a product to cap seal the spray foam/gap (undercoating, rubber spray, etc)
5. Cut out all the spray foam and install Great Stuff Black

Although I'm really tempted to try option 5, I suspect that's not going to be realistic to actually seal things. My best bet I think is to use butyl tape, but there isn't a lot of edge to work with so I'm not sure it will work.



I guess I'll do that first and if it appears it won't hold a seal, I'll fall back to Proflex. I find this an asinine design to be the standard!

[bkenobi]

Upon closer inspection today i noticed that there is a gap in the fender that isnt sealed that creates a relatively large opening into the living space. I dont know if it would let water in, but both would make a great entrance for a colony of bees! I've added spray foam so it should be resolved now. Details are important and I'm starting to think either this mfg or all mfg just don't care about critical things to prevent huge issues down the road.

[bkenobi]

After talking to a couple local dealers, I've decided that cleaning with Acrysol to remove the silicon is a best bet. Then I'll use squares of butyl tape on the screw holes to properly seal and use proflex caulking. The only problem is that two of the screws are behind the skirt and I'd rather not remove the whole skirt right now. If I can fix this leak without having to do that, I can get some use out of this thing.

Screw hold on right may be the source of the leak. The others on the fiberglass should be simple to deal with. The one on the lower left (one matching on opposite end) is going to be challenging to seal unless I can reach it from under the skirt.


I pulled the opposite fender flare and didn't see any corrosion on any of the screws (though they forgot to install one lol).

[bkenobi]

PButler96 wrote:
Have you checked the roof? Water can leak in at the roof, find its way into the laminated wall panel between the foam and luan, and come out at the bottom of the panel. Your picture seems to have some yellow material that may be the water based adhesive leaching out if the above is happening although the adhesive is typically red.

Just about every trailer made has the same plastic fender skirt such as your Kodiak installed the same exact way. Re caulk the top of in and remove, back caulk, and reinstall the screws.

I ran the hose on the roof rolling down the wall initially. It's possible there are more leaks but so far I have only located 2. The window is now fixed. The fender flare definitely has a leak. I pulled the plastic off and found rust on one of the screw's threads so that's definitely a suspect location. That one was in the same general area where water dumped on the outside resulted in water inside.

I was surprised to see a leak down there too since this TT looks identical construction as every other one I have seen as far as the plastic fender flare. I'm thinking that the best bet is to use butyl tape to seal the fender to the side of the camper. As opposed to proflext and silicon it will last for the life of the camper. I'll probably also shoot some proflex in the screw holes, too.

[PButler96]

Have you checked the roof? Water can leak in at the roof, find its way into the laminated wall panel between the foam and luan, and come out at the bottom of the panel. Your picture seems to have some yellow material that may be the water based adhesive leaching out if the above is happening although the adhesive is typically red.

Just about every trailer made has the same plastic fender skirt such as your Kodiak installed the same exact way. Re caulk the top of in and remove, back caulk, and reinstall the screws.