A reminder to check your TT for leaks.

[oldokie]

I recently discovered that my trailer has been leaking thru the front trim pieces on the corners.This is my fault for not checking more often and keeping up with maintenance.My trailer is metal sided and has the trim with the vinyl insert to cover the screws holding the trim on. I did not notice a problem until one of the trim pieces pulled loose from the corner. I found that it had been leaking on both front sides from about 2/3 of the way up all the way to the bottom. I have had tts since 1974 and I knew better than to not take the vinyl off and check. I found several loose screws and some that had been put in at a severe angle and the head acted like a funnel to the water coming down under the vinyl strip. I also found extra holes drilled thru the metal trim with no screw in them. I just removed the vinyl from the metal around my rear storage door. I found 2 stripped screws and 6 holes with no screw in them. This is a 2013 trailer and the front corners were completely rotted away. So don't do as I did, CHECK UNDER THOSE VINYL INSERTS.

[westend]

Drew A. wrote:
How would one perform maintenance to the corner moldings mentioned by the OP. Given that this type of corner doesn't have caulking, but a thick layer of butyl tape that fills the space between the corrugating of the aluminum siding under and around the molding.

I've wondered this myself, as I have this type of construction. Short of pulling off the moldings and reinstalling them with new butyl tape, what can you do as preventative maintenance?

Typical aluminum trim molding leaks happen when a screw allows water into the wooden frame. The plastic trim molding cover does not keep all the water out but will allow a small amount underneath and, if there is an unsealed screw, water will find it's way.

When I restored my aluminum sided trailer, I attempted to seal all the screws in the roof moldings. I still had a couple of leaks. I then covered the top and sides of the trim with Eternabond tape. That stopped all my trim leaks.

Sealing the screws in the moldings and applying good sealer to any weather exposed edges is the typical process for keeping water out. FWIW, I occasionally perform a pressurized air leak test to the trailer. It uncovers any pinholes or leaks. I use a common furnace squirrel cage blower to push the air inside. Spray bottle of soap and water is the indicating solution. A bubble means a leak.

BTW, installing threaded fasteners through Eternabond tape seals the screw when using a powered driver. The glue rides up the thread and even caps the screw head.

[Drew_A_]

How would one perform maintenance to the corner moldings mentioned by the OP. Given that this type of corner doesn't have caulking, but a thick layer of butyl tape that fills the space between the corrugating of the aluminum siding under and around the molding.

I've wondered this myself, as I have this type of construction. Short of pulling off the moldings and reinstalling them with new butyl tape, what can you do as preventative maintenance?

[SidecarFlip]

Seal and caulk inspection is certainly a do-it-yourself thing, not a trust a dealer to do it thing. It not only protects your investment, it adds resale value when you sell it. Rotten units don't bring much and severe rot from seal failure can be a trip to the landfill instead of a resale.

Seal maintenance is stone simple. Seal failure isn't.

Even a brand new unit off the showroom floor can have compromised seals from poor factory prep and I don't know of any dealers who check the seals prior to selling a unit. If there are any please post it.

When I bought my unit new in 2015, the outside shower had no caulk whatsoever. It does now. I pulled the unit completely out of the sidewall, applied a bead of Dicor and reinstalled it. If I had left it alone, water would have gotten in, delaminated the Filon and probably initiated a rot issue.

Clearance lights are another area where the factory is lax about sealing. I replaced all my clearance light bulbs with LED bulbs and completely sealed the lights to the roof and then sealed the lenses to the mounting pads. The LED bulbs will last the life of the unit so replacement is not necessary. Standard clearance lights all have a weep hole in the lens and the factory can install them upside down, a sure place for water to get in. Complete sealing and LED bulbs totally eliminate that issue forever.

[falconbrother]

I do my own inspections but, can't swear that I know what I'm doing. I have repaired a lot of leaks in 30 years of RVing. Leaks are scary. RVs don't die, they rot. I sold my 26 year old motorhome at the first of the year. It was still good because twice a year I spent a couple of days crawling all over it looking for anything that looked like it might be future trouble.

[drsteve]

oyarsa wrote:
For someone that's not a big do-it-yourselfer, is that sort of checking something you could get a dealer to do? Is there such a thing as annual maintenance offered by most dealers? I'm new to all this RVing and while I took it upon myself to do the winterizing, I have a feeling there's a lot of maintenance I will either not do or not be able to do myself...

Yes, a dealer will do that sort of inspection and maintenance. Just make sure you find a good dealer or an RV tech you can trust.

[oyarsa]

For someone that's not a big do-it-yourselfer, is that sort of checking something you could get a dealer to do? Is there such a thing as annual maintenance offered by most dealers? I'm new to all this RVing and while I took it upon myself to do the winterizing, I have a feeling there's a lot of maintenance I will either not do or not be able to do myself...

[ScottG]

Rusty heads are normal - any crack in the paint or damage from a screw driver will allow rust.
If the screws have rusted threads then they've been leaking.

[SidecarFlip]

Rule of thumb is, if you pull the trim and any screws have rusty heads, you have a water intrusion issue and most likely rot. The heads rust because the wet wood causes an acidic reaction that in turn corrodes the heads of the screws.

At over 100 bucks an hour (typical shop rate) for intrusion remediation plus materials, even a small remediation job can exceed the retail value of a unit.

Ongoing and regular maintenance is the key. A forget about it attitude will destroy and RV in a short amount of time.