tvchen
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Re: 2013 Leprechaun water leak problems
CT51 wrote: tvchen wrote: GollyCollie wrote: tvchen wrote: Did he tell you where those other leaks are? The one that he mentioned in particular was in the rail above the awning. He said he believed that there was entrusion happening there and that the water then traveled under the rail up to the front and then into the cap. I hope Azdel does what they say it will or those walls are in trouble. When I saw those railings I did not have too much confidence in them so I laid a bead of dicor at the rail and roof junction. In fact I also laid a bead between the plastic trim (in front of the awning railing)up to the point where the trim meets the front cap). I also pro-flexed all the screw heads inside the rail. I believe I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts. tvchen, Regarding the sealant work you did, what made you choose Dicor to seal at the rail/roof junction rather than Pro-flex? Also, it seems to me that water that gets into the awning rail (under the vinyl insert, where the screws that hold it on are), should have a way to get out. If you remove the vinyl insert, it's easy to see that water has been in there. Has anyone considered adding weep holes to the vinyl strip, or better yet drilling a few small (1/8" or less), holes thru the awning channel, and up into the area of the rail where the vinyl insert rest? If there wasn't any water ever allowed to stay in the rail, there wouldn't be a problem with it passing thru the screw holes. Of course, this doesn't address water entering behind the rail from above-that area would still need to be resealed as discussed above. Hasn't rained hard yet, so have just been thinking about what actions I might take after I see what happens tonight. Even if I don't have any leak occur, I still plan to add whatever protection I can. CT51 I reason I picked dicor is because it is self leveling so it will get into any cracks. I've found that Proflex also does not like to stick to TPO that well. For your other question about the vinyl strip, I basically ran a small bead of Proflex at the vinyl/railing junction both top and bottom along the whole length. We've had quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks and I did check behind the vinyl strip and it was bone dry. So this method completely prevents water entering the rail. The Proflex never hardens so the vinyl strip can still be removed and the Proflex scraped off and cleaned with mineral spirit.271Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2013 Leprechaun water leak problems
GollyCollie wrote: tvchen wrote: Did he tell you where those other leaks are? The one that he mentioned in particular was in the rail above the awning. He said he believed that there was entrusion happening there and that the water then traveled under the rail up to the front and then into the cap. I hope Azdel does what they say it will or those walls are in trouble. When I saw those railings I did not have too much confidence in them so I laid a bead of dicor at the rail and roof junction. In fact I also laid a bead between the plastic trim (in front of the awning railing)up to the point where the trim meets the front cap). I also pro-flexed all the screw heads inside the rail. I believe I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts.271Views0likes0CommentsRe: Lesson learned, about winterizing using blow-out method
JaxDad wrote: ripperoo wrote: Well I doubt that the propylene glycol caused any "fumes" as it has a very low vapor pressure. Me neither..that's why I said plain old water vapour will set off CO detectors. It is not the propylene glycol that is setting it off, rather it is most likely the ethanol in the antifreeze. The MSDS for the antifreeze I'm using contains up to 12% propylene glycol and up to 30% ethanol. I blew out my lines about a day before I put in the antifreeze so it definitely is not water vapour. As soon as I pumped the antifreeze through and opened the taps, the propane alarm went off (not the CO).444Views0likes0CommentsRe: Cold Climate Folks: how often to run your C in the winter?
I have kept my rv on my driveway for up to 6 month over the winter and been doing that for the last 10 years. All I do is 1. Top up the gas and add Stabil, 2. Run the generator and engine at least 1/2 hour every month 3. Top off the gas tank and add more Stabil to keep condensation out of the tank as required over the winter with a gas can 4. Fill all tires about 2 psi above the max rated (in my case 82psi) to minimize flat spots. 5. Park the rv (all wheels)on top of at least 3/4" thick wood boards. This will ensure that the weight is distributed on the driveway and also to ensure that water will not collect around the tires and possibly freeze. 6. Cover the tires and AC. I do not cover my rv over the winter as I found the hard way that the wind will cause the cover to rub against the edge of the roof causing small pin holes. Also, without the cover we can get away at the last minute over the Xmas break without too much work. I've been doing this on my previous and current unit for the last ten years and had no problems.97Views0likes0CommentsRe: Lesson learned, about winterizing using blow-out method
willald wrote: tvchen wrote: Is your CO detector a combo CO and Propane detector? The propane detector is really a flammable vapour detector so any combustible hydrocarbons will set it off. Since you said that you poured antifreeze into the drains and if the detector is near the floor and anywhere near the drain it will set it off. The pink antifreeze that is safe for metal pipes will more likely set off the alarm more than the antifreeze for plastic pipes only as they contain a higher concentration of volatile hydrocarbons Once the volatiles dissipate then you should be good for the rest of the winter. the detector is a combo, detects both CO and Propane. ..Now that I'm thinking about this...This is only 2nd time winterizing the RV we have now, as we bought it in March 2012. Last year when winterizing, the CO detector was disconnected, as it had gone bad a few weeks before and was going off non-stop. I got it fixed a few weeks after that. Soo, this is first time winterizing this RV (Motorhome), with the CO detector hooked up and working as it should. And, indeed, it (detector) is at floor level, just a few feet away from the shower stall, where I poured a good bit of antifreeze down to protect the traps. OK, so this may well have been vapor from the pink stuff, and not actual CO pulled in from the garage. That being the case, though, seems there's not really much I can do about it, except to just live with it when winterizing, or relocate the detector (not worth it). Still, I would have thought if RV antifreeze could cause this, we'd have seen a LOT more posts from other folks having the same issue when they winterize. I have a double wammy, my detector is located near the floor just outside the washroom and across from the shower. So I'm getting fumes from 3 sources. It also depends on what the temperature inside your RV was when you poured the antifreeze. The higher the temperature the faster the volatiles dissipate. I know when I winterized a 2 weeks ago it was warm enough for the fumes to get out but cold enough for it to linger around for at least 24hrs. Had to put a fan next to the sensor to pull air away from it to not set it off.483Views0likes0CommentsRe: Lesson learned, about winterizing using blow-out method
Is your CO detector a combo CO and Propane detector? The propane detector is really a flammable vapour detector so any combustible hydrocarbons will set it off. Since you said that you poured antifreeze into the drains and if the detector is near the floor and anywhere near the drain it will set it off. The pink antifreeze that is safe for metal pipes will more likely set off the alarm more than the antifreeze for plastic pipes only as they contain a higher concentration of volatile hydrocarbons Once the volatiles dissipate then you should be good for the rest of the winter.442Views0likes0CommentsRe: Winter covers
On our first unit we covered it with an ADCO cover for the first few years. However, I found that it did more damage than good. No matter how tight we secured the cover, on a very windy day it would bellow and move slightly. This causes the cover to rub against the edge of the roof and other things. In the spring we found that there were very small "wear/rub" marks on the edge of the rubber roof which I then had to reinforce with small strips of eternabond to ensure it did not rub through the following year. Other thing was the cover only lasted about 4yrs. I never replaced it and now just leave it uncovered except for the AC. After a snowfall I just clear the edges of roof so that there is no ice dam build up from the thawing and freezing. On our new rig there are more fragile parts on the roof like HD antennas which would not take to kindly to the weight of a cover on top of it.408Views0likes0CommentsRe: has anyone tried these convection cooktops as advertised
We got an induction stove earlier this year, 1500W model. Didn't use any of my propane stoves (outside and inside) all summer. Cooks in half the time and is virtually wind proof unlike a propane stove. We bought all our induction cookware at Winners here in Canada where if you don't mind mixing and matching different styles of pots and pans, you can get it for less than half price.295Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2013 Leprechaun water leak problems
GollyCollie wrote: tvchen wrote: Ended up finding the leak on the left hand side where the roof starts to slope down and the termination of the awning rail. If you take the vinyl strip off the awning rail you will see that if there is not enough sealant at the termination then there is a wide open channel into the side wall that will eventually end up in the front cap. The second attempt to fix the problem involved taking the metal edge trim off starting at the awning and extending all the way across the bottom to the other side of the motorhome. There was nothing under the metal trim as far as a sealant, so the technician ran putty tape the entire length and reinstalled the metal strip and vinyl trim. I was convinced that the problem was solved. Make sure they also check the screws along the whole length of the awning rail. Also the awning rail is not one piece and there is a joint in the half way down the RV. I had to fill this with proflex also as there was a big gap and I noticed water inside the gap when I opened it up. This may also contribute to the leak. As I mentioned the water would show up several hours later when my was leaking so this may actually be source of the leak. I know I filled the gap at the front and in the middle of the awning rail at the same time.114Views0likes0Comments
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