Major leaks

Canada_camper · 03-15-2018, 04:32 PM

So our 2014 forest river 16b trailer (which we bought new from a dealer in 2015) is currently at an rv shop after we discovered multiple roof leaks following the spring thaw here. They've quoted us $8000 for a new roof and to take the side off to get at soaked insulation under the furnace. That's half the original purchase price!!! We are newbies and did check the seals several times a year but I think the dealer had sealed it in the year they had it on the lot with some weird sticky sealant that never hardened and would get warped with the heat or cold. We are stuck now, we don't really have $8000 lying around (and what if it's more?!) do we try and find a buyer and get a minuscule amount for it and say up front it needs these repairs? Try and do it ourselves? I'm scared to continue owning a trailer when this is what happens after not even 3 years.

Witch Doctor · 03-15-2018, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canada_camper

So our 2014 forest river 16b trailer (which we bought new from a dealer in 2015) is currently at an rv shop after we discovered multiple roof leaks following the spring thaw here. They've quoted us $8000 for a new roof and to take the side off to get at soaked insulation under the furnace. That's half the original purchase price!!! We are newbies and did check the seals several times a year but I think the dealer had sealed it in the year they had it on the lot with some weird sticky sealant that never hardened and would get warped with the heat or cold. We are stuck now, we don't really have $8000 lying around (and what if it's more?!) do we try and find a buyer and get a minuscule amount for it and say up front it needs these repairs? Try and do it ourselves? I'm scared to continue owning a trailer when this is what happens after not even 3 years.

First, sorry to read that. Do you know where the leaks are? You can repair the leaks yourself, it's hard for anyone to say, but I doubt if you need a whole new roof. Do you know if it caused the plywood to delam? Are the leaks around the protrusions on the roof , like vents, a/c and vent pipes? That is the most common places. If the roof is solid and that is where it's leaking you don't need a new total roof. If you can't find soft spots on the roof, sealing it again could end your problem. A picture posted would be great help in people giving you ideas. I would be awful Leary on just taking a stealers word. Get another opinion, call a RV mobile service to look at it. Pictures really would help of the leaks. Good luck, don't give up yet

Witch Doctor · 03-15-2018, 04:58 PM

Why would he have to take the side off to get to insulation under the furnace, can't a space heater dry that area out?

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Canada_camper · 03-15-2018, 05:19 PM

This was the initial area I noticed when I went out to check on the trailer. This is the front wall of the trailer. There isn't a window directly above this but the corner of the roof is spongy above this and the rubber roof is loose as well.

Sorrry, pics don't seem to be working. Small hard bubbles that look like blisters. I suspect where the awning was attached to the trailer to be part of the issue, there was never any sealant there that I know of.

Witch Doctor · 03-15-2018, 05:29 PM

Sounds like the sealer went between the roof line and front wall, easy repaired with tape . Roof material will expand and contract, it dosent mean it has to be replaced, have seen a lot of roofs with big bubbles or bunched together. How big is the soft area? It still could be wet. Do you have Batt. Type insulation in the wall or the normal strofome Type? I'm not familiar with your trailer. Do you see water marks on the inside wall?

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Canada_camper · 03-15-2018, 06:33 PM

No water marks on the walls or ceiling but some dark area along the floor that worries me. We just picked it up from the person who gave us the quote. He says at the very least we need to cut open the material on the underside of the trailer and pull out the wet insulation and leave it open to dry. It's fibreglass batt insulation.

Witch Doctor · 03-15-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canada_camper

No water marks on the walls or ceiling but some dark area along the floor that worries me. We just picked it up from the person who gave us the quote. He says at the very least we need to cut open the material on the underside of the trailer and pull out the wet insulation and leave it open to dry. It's fibreglass batt insulation.

That is sound advice, best to drop the belly and pull it out, I wouldn't wait I would seal the area from the wall to the roof now. Then see what happens but stop the joint leak now.

ray98 · 03-24-2018, 07:24 AM

Water can do an amazing amount of damage so fast.

Uschi Goddesmann · 03-24-2018, 04:03 PM

In which province are you located? If you are in Quebec you can sue in small claims court. You would sue both the dealership and Forest River at the same time (you will find their Canadian HQ address in the registre des entreprises). The Quebec consumer protection act states:

38. Goods forming the object of a contract must be durable in normal use for a reasonable length of time, having regard to their price, the terms of the contract and the conditions of their use.

One would think that 3-4 years of durability on a $18.000 trailer cannot be considered a reasonable amount of time.

Canada_camper · 03-26-2018, 11:59 PM

Thanks everyone, as of right now there seems no good solution. We have gotten two quotes from trusted rv repair people and both are saying it needs extensive work to the tune of $6000-$8000. Both have said it's not difficult repairs but just very time consuming and therefore the high price. It has been suggested that if we are handy we could maybe do it ourselves over an extended period of time but we are definitely not handy and don't have a lot of free time. The dealership is being less than helpful, asking repeatedly for more pictures and saying that unless we can prove the seals had been re-done yearly that we had no recourse against forest river. I don't know in what world people remove the old seals and reseal yearly on a nearly brand new trailer but we certainly didn't and even our owners manual says to "inspect yearly and repair as necessary" which is what we did. So we a) keep it and try and repair what we can slowly and use it until it falls apart b) sell it for a painfully low price to someone willing to fix it themselves or c) try and guilt the dealer into a trade in for a decent price on a new trailer (which I don't see happening as they don't seem at all inclined to help us)

Rock and a hard place right now.

Hexnut · 04-21-2018, 07:22 AM

Sorry for your troubles, but unfortunately leaks are part of the RV game. Units are just not designed to properly shed water and rely on sealant to do the job. The number one rule to keep water out of buildings is to shed the water first and seal it second. Sealant alone should never be used to keep out standing water! I have a $110k motorhome that leaked after only one year from a pinhole in the sealant that was not discovered until the ceiling stain showed up. Primary cause...standing water that happened to be at the pinhole.

Become familiar with DICOR self-leveling sealant and ETERNABOND tape. Get help from friends if need be and dig into it. Chances are you can be just as effective as a trainee in a repair shop. Go for it and good luck.

cavie · 04-21-2018, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canada_camper

Thanks everyone, as of right now there seems no good solution. We have gotten two quotes from trusted rv repair people and both are saying it needs extensive work to the tune of $6000-$8000. Both have said it's not difficult repairs but just very time consuming and therefore the high price. It has been suggested that if we are handy we could maybe do it ourselves over an extended period of time but we are definitely not handy and don't have a lot of free time. The dealership is being less than helpful, asking repeatedly for more pictures and saying that unless we can prove the seals had been re-done yearly that we had no recourse against forest river. I don't know in what world people remove the old seals and reseal yearly on a nearly brand new trailer but we certainly didn't and even our owners manual says to "inspect yearly and repair as necessary" which is what we did. So we a) keep it and try and repair what we can slowly and use it until it falls apart b) sell it for a painfully low price to someone willing to fix it themselves or c) try and guilt the dealer into a trade in for a decent price on a new trailer (which I don't see happening as they don't seem at all inclined to help us)

Rock and a hard place right now.

Last summer I had my roof covered from gutter to gutter with Ultimate RV acrylic roof coating with all seams and penetrations sealed with tape before coating. $1300.00 2002 Wildcat 27' fiver.

Canada_camper · 05-28-2018, 06:56 PM

So we decided to work on the trailer ourselves and the more I do the more I'm convinced that this was not a maintenance issue but due to the way the trailer was built. The awning was installed straddling the gutter on the side of the trailer with the bolts going into the side of the roof. There was never any sealant on the top side of the mount so I never though anything of it. This weekend I removed all the sticky butyl sealant that was piled all over the gutter beside the awning mounts and low and behold the moulding that should be tight against the wall holding the rubber roof was bent and busted as well as had an empty screw hole. There is a good 1/2 inch gap there for water to pool in that someone hid with a big pile of butyl. I've contacted alpha roofing to ask if that is even a compatible sealant for roof seams (I'm sure it's not). I've attached a picture, hopefully it works.

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