Is this a problem?

Are you the original owner? maybe someone was in there before you?

The caulk smeared on the outside of the trim does little good and possible harm (by trapping moisture). The question is, what is under/between the seam?

HMS Beagle wrote:
The caulk smeared on the outside of the trim does little good and possible harm (by trapping moisture). The question is, what is under/between the seam?

I'm not the original owner and I'm not sure what is under the seam. It's strange because there's a bit of caulk at the top and the bottom but most of the seam has no caulk.

This is a 2014 Lance 992.

I'm thinking about just sealing it all up.

Have you considered asking Lance? My thought is thought that only Lance could answer the question, unless someone is a mind reader which is very unlikely.

Wayne

If it were me I would take the trim off and have a look,it doesn't look to difficult to do. But if you choose not to do that you need to clean ALL the caulk off the bottom to let any moisture out. That is the last place you would need caulk if you decide to nothing else.

Exactly. The penchant to caulk around the outside of trim, so prevalent in the RV industry, probably does more harm than good. It can channel water into the joint, without letting it out. If they must do it, caulk the top but not the bottom. Better still, caulk in between the seam, where it might do some good.

My 2014 Lance was the same way. When I took the camper to the Lance factory repair center in Lancaster (for other problems) their repair technician pointed out the missing caulk and caulked it for me.

What you're seeing is definitely wrong and a good example of the decline in Lance quality.

bighatnohorse wrote:
My 2014 Lance was the same way. When I took the camper to the Lance factory repair center in Lancaster (for other problems) their repair technician pointed out the missing caulk and caulked it for me.

What you're seeing is definitely wrong and a good example of the decline in Lance quality.

I'm curious what other problems you encountered. Our first problem was a water leak .. basement flooded. The techs at camping world couldn't find it and didn't really listen to us when we told them it only happened when the gray tank was full and we went up and down steep hills. Finally they located it and the shower drain was not completely connected to the grey tank, causing water to drain out on hills.The laminated panel on the bottom had to be replaced.

But because they couldn't find it at first after we told them several times how to make it happen they comped the bill which was nice. I still have to go back and do some rework on their fix though. :(

It's my contention that TC builder are going going to i piece front caps to eliminate or at least mitigate water intrusion from the pounding the front end gets when driving in a driving rain storm. The less seams there are in the nose area, the less intrusion there is. You see that on 5'ers today, one piece nose caps.

The new Palomino hard sides are all one piece and they come with a front facing automotive style window (made by Guardian Industries) that is hermetically sealed to the nose cap so leaks are (should be) completely eliminated. That was always an issue with with a TC that had a conventional front bunk window (my old Lance included). I spent a lot of time insuring the window and the trim was sealed against water intrusion.

I believe I'd pull of the garnish and have a look underneath. If it's caulked and sealed on the underside (on one side) you could assume the other side is also sealed. A little careful application of a heat gun will soften the caulking and allow the garnish to be removed easier.

I know my next TC (if I get another one) will be aluminum skinned versus the laminate. I realize the laminate looks nicer but it has it's issues (delam from various issues underneath) and it takes more upkeep to keep it looking nice, whereas pre-paint baked on aluminum skins are easier to maintain.

The other nice thing about an aluminum skin is, if, at some point in the future, you do need to get under it, it can be removed and replaced fairly easy. A smooth side laminated wall cannot be removed and replaced.

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

As good an argument as there is for Bigfoot style construction. That has its own set of issues, but leaking from 100' or poorly caulked seam is generally not one of them. Constructed with seams all around the corners can work, but requires attention to detail absent in the RV business.