Leak, my homemade Sealtech attempt, & question
Got a small leak in a front cabinet of my trailer. Happens during a windy rain or while driving through rain. Just a normal rain and nothing. Slow drips from the same area. Cap seal looks great, and leak appears right behind the marker light.
I can simulate a driving rain by focusing a garden hose on the front right side/roof and within a minute a get drips inside the closet. The leak is most likely very close to the right front corner.
So I made my own Sealtech machine with parts from Harbor Freight.
1600 CFM ventilator
16' 8" diameter duct
8" galvanized duct (from Lowes)
I made a base for the galvanized duct out of OSB and traced the vent beauty ring matching the screw holes so I didn't have to make more holes in the ceiling.
I sealed the galvanized duct as best I could:
And attached it to the ceiling:
Next I attached the 16' long duct:
My wife bought the local Walmart's stock of kids bubbles which I sprayed on using a small pressurized sprayer.
I powered the system up and sprayed the area in question with bubbles. No sign of leaks. I sprayed areas around the door where I knew would leak and nothing. Not enough pressure inside.
Problem 1: If you look closely you can see daylight coming through the galvanized piece.
Problem 2: The orange 16' duct really cuts down the volume of air. The blower itself can really move some air and is well built.
I ended up pulling the marker light off to inspect:
There was no sign of water behind that light however I stuck my finger up inside that hole and did notice moisture. I also found that Crossroads overlaps the rubber roof to almost the marker light and the small amount of water would run down the rubber roof tucked away under the aluminum skin.
As I said above the cap seal looks great. I am ANAL about inspecting this seal. I ended up going down to my local RV store who was out of ProFlex but offered some OSI Quad (which was pretty easy to use compared to ProFlex). I resealed the corner molding on both sides, and the area where the gutter meets with the drip extension.
Re-ran my rain simulation and no drip, even after 20 minutes of heavy rain simulation so I think I may have gotten it.
So my question is to those who have gotten a real Sealtech test done, do the dealers get any attitude when you just want the test done so you can patch at home? A dealer about 45 minutes away wants $99 for the test which is about what I have in parts for my homemade machine...too bad it didn't work. At least I can return the blower and duct.
I am OUT of the two year warranty so that isn't an option. Trailer was purchased in 2011 but is a 2012 model.
Thanks for reading!
Todd
I can simulate a driving rain by focusing a garden hose on the front right side/roof and within a minute a get drips inside the closet. The leak is most likely very close to the right front corner.
So I made my own Sealtech machine with parts from Harbor Freight.
1600 CFM ventilator
16' 8" diameter duct
8" galvanized duct (from Lowes)
I made a base for the galvanized duct out of OSB and traced the vent beauty ring matching the screw holes so I didn't have to make more holes in the ceiling.
I sealed the galvanized duct as best I could:
And attached it to the ceiling:
Next I attached the 16' long duct:
My wife bought the local Walmart's stock of kids bubbles which I sprayed on using a small pressurized sprayer.
I powered the system up and sprayed the area in question with bubbles. No sign of leaks. I sprayed areas around the door where I knew would leak and nothing. Not enough pressure inside.
Problem 1: If you look closely you can see daylight coming through the galvanized piece.
Problem 2: The orange 16' duct really cuts down the volume of air. The blower itself can really move some air and is well built.
I ended up pulling the marker light off to inspect:
There was no sign of water behind that light however I stuck my finger up inside that hole and did notice moisture. I also found that Crossroads overlaps the rubber roof to almost the marker light and the small amount of water would run down the rubber roof tucked away under the aluminum skin.
As I said above the cap seal looks great. I am ANAL about inspecting this seal. I ended up going down to my local RV store who was out of ProFlex but offered some OSI Quad (which was pretty easy to use compared to ProFlex). I resealed the corner molding on both sides, and the area where the gutter meets with the drip extension.
Re-ran my rain simulation and no drip, even after 20 minutes of heavy rain simulation so I think I may have gotten it.
So my question is to those who have gotten a real Sealtech test done, do the dealers get any attitude when you just want the test done so you can patch at home? A dealer about 45 minutes away wants $99 for the test which is about what I have in parts for my homemade machine...too bad it didn't work. At least I can return the blower and duct.
I am OUT of the two year warranty so that isn't an option. Trailer was purchased in 2011 but is a 2012 model.
Thanks for reading!
Todd
