Forum Discussion

Camper_Jeff___K's avatar
Nov 09, 2015

Long standing leak entry point found

For a long time, I had a slight dampness forming in the bottom rear compartment next to the bottom jack mount clip bracket after heavy rains. For a couple years, I treated the water intrusion as being from the two windows in the area. The large dinette and the smaller out the back wall windows. I also caulked and sealed the right rear jack mount bolts. The condition improved but I noticed a little dampness forming again in the problem area after several days of heavy rain. I climbed up on the roof cleaned and applied Dicor to the roof rack mount brackets. That's when I noticed the way the side awning was mounted. There are two 3" small lag screws holding the top mount to the side flush to the roof of the TC. The lag screws are mounted such that they are drilled through the gutter. Whenever it rains and standing water only 1/8" deep forms, the water will be at the level of the screws and be drawn via surface tension into the TC. I pulled the bracket off between storms over the weekend and cleaned things out. Then I injected Dicor into the hole cleaning the excess. I then filled the screw threads with Dicor and ran them back into the TC mount point. A bit of the Dicor spluged out from the holes when tightened and I cleaned that excess out to make sure the gutter was open and free flowing. The holes are now sealed with Dicor. It will take a few days to tell if the fix worked and the right rear compartment dries out.
Every few days and after any good rain, I make it a habit of running out to the TC and checking the any problems before they become big problems.
I'll report back on how things worked.
J&K
  • I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessed with leaks. I just got mine and many people I talk to with an RV tells me about their leak issues to the point I'm nervous.
  • gbopp wrote:
    jimh425 wrote:
    Good luck with it. For sure, we'll have enough rain to test it out! :)

    Do you get much rain in Washington? :B

    Western WA gets it rain spread through the entire year instead of over one season.
  • Mine is in the driveway. No cover but I do keep electric heat on at 60 degrees all fall winter spring to help keep it dry. I'm with it on the constant checking for dampness. I just resealed the entire roof and windows and any other entry point. Everything is sealed except the one point and I think I have it now too. I have an aluminum roof so it's pretty impervious to weather. The TC gets used all year and hoping to do a big outing for Thanksgiving this year with the family and friends.
  • We bought a camplite just because of the no wood all aluminum construction, tired of chasing the leak problem
  • I have had my Lance 1055 since 2010. It has spent every year out in the weather, 30+" of rain every winter for the first 3 years, snow, wind, baking heat in the summers. No leaks that I have found but I redo all the seams with dicor every year and I have replaced the vent covers. I use my TC year round for work and play. I love camping out in the weather.
  • Our TC is stored under a shelter at home when not in use. We try to avoid rainy conditions like the plague and only in the most dire circumstances will we travel in the rain. Any time we get rained on be it enroute or camping we almost literally tear it apart inside and out looking for leaks. Our TC is almost five years old and has yet to be washed with a hose, bet you can guess why. Yes i am totally and completely anal when it comes to leaks. We are equally as anal about condensation as it is a leaks first cousin. I am convinced that ALL campers were built with the full intention of leaking and rotting.

    In case you are wondering we clean our TC using cloth ,clear water and a bucket. Believe it or not it really isn't that hard or take much longer, least ways not to us. A side benefit is i don't have to check for leaks. Lol.
  • jimh425 wrote:
    Good luck with it. For sure, we'll have enough rain to test it out! :)

    Do you get much rain in Washington? :B
  • Campers (houses too!) would be so much more water tight if only the people involved in their construction understood that, for the most part, water runs downhill. It seems simple to me, but I guess must be complex to others based on the choices I see.
  • Good luck with it. For sure, we'll have enough rain to test it out! :)