Leaks

[BigJohnD]

I'm all for the entertainment and a good laugh. No worries. The seals and slide will get fixed in March. In the mean time, heading out again tomorrow for the second trip. All sunshine this weekend.

SCOC, glad to see a good positive post.

On another note, if these motorhomes were built exactly how we wanted them to be, I would have nothing to do. Every spare minute I have is usually in the garage modifying something on the MH, adding to it, or just plain detailing / cleaning it. Out of all my grown up toys, the MH is the favorite. If you've seen my photo albums, you've seen the picture of the "Toy House". It's a grown up's toy land. Had three RV's in it a few years back, then wife said no way we're keeping all 3. RV's are my drug of choice. Some people go to the mall or to Wal-Mart, we go RV shopping literally every time I'm home. Just went today and looked at some FR trailers and fifth wheels. We just like to look at them and keep up with what's on the market.

Now, I've hijacked my own thread.

[ependydad]

To continue the hijack- thanks for talking about your toy shed- I just went looking at the pictures. Really great stuff! I'm dreaming a few years down the road for a different house and my very own toy shed. I kinda kicked around the idea of having 2 RV-sized bays, but I couldn't quite come to terms with how to pay it out. It almost looks like your building is almost "T"-shaped. Mind jumping over to my "Show me pictures of your RV storage buildings" thread and posting some info about your building?

[paulmlac]

BigJohnD - What's your secret, man, did you win the lottery?!?! I looked through your album & it looks like you've owned a camper from every year in the past decade. Do you still own the pop up? Seems like it would be a real contrast to go from a Tiffin class A one trip to a pop up the next. Truth be told, we owned 2 Fleetwood / Coleman pop ups & while I hated setting up the thing & lack of facilities, it's ease of use was great in retrospect.

[Mountainmanbob]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

1) how does one "blow" smoke up a tailpipe?


Turbs

not exactly sure
but
I would not want to get caught trying it

Mountainman

[BigJohnD]

ependydad, I posted on that other thread.

paulmlac, no real secret. Definitely didn't win the lottery. I'm not that lucky. When it was started (2001), I was single, working offshore making very good money, lived in a small single wide trailer, little to no bills and a lot of time. Every dime I had went into this thing. I still work offshore (17 years) and of course the income is good. As for the RV's, we just own the Class C for now. Some overlapped others, thus ending up with 3 at one time. Had the 2003 SB, Fifth wheel and popup at the same time. I loved that little popup. Not hard for us to adjust one way or the other. I still had my DirecTV, air and heat in the popup. All depends on the mood. We got a tent to, and use it. We just love the outdoors. What was funny about the popup, was pulling it with the F350 truck in our album. You'd get weird looks in a campground, and a few questions. I'd always come up with some remark, like you wouldn't believe what this popup weighs. Don't be fooled by the dealers or weight tags.

[Jalpa_Mike]

Back on the subject of water leaks....

I started noticing a red stain on the outside of our "Cab-over" a few months ago on our 2011 3101SS. Never gave it much thought until we got ready to head down to Arizona and when I was pulling out of the driveway water started dripping on my head. We pulled over and looked under the mattress of the cab-over berth. It was SWIMMING in water! The stain on wood was coming off (hence the red stain on the outside), mold was growing, the fabric of the mattress was soaked as was the foam on the inside. What a mess.

Down in Sedona, we took everything out so it could dry in the 108 degree temps! I ran to a store and got some silicon sealer and got up on the roof. Sure enough, both top edges (where the cap is sealed to the RV), had 2" - 3" areas where the silicon had split and was allowing water to pour in when it rained (like it does 300 days a year here in Seattle).

I was so disappointed that an RV only 2 years old would have those sort of issues. And, to add insult to injury, as I started checking elsewhere on the roof, I found the seals at the rear of the RV on the roof were also coming loose! I went back into the RV and started looking at the ceiling of the bedroom area and sure enough you can see black and red stains coming through the headliner.

After we got home I contacted Forest River to see what they could do for us. Nothing. Since it was a used RV when we bought it, the warranty does not transfer for the that portion (only the Ford Drivetrain, etc..)

Next step was to contact Progressive to see if they would cover it. Nope. They could not be certain the seals were cracked or split as a cause of low branches hitting it, etc. So, we are on our own since the policy does not cover water leaks.

Just took the RV down to a local repair facility to get a quote. $7000.

I guess the lesson learned here is to check your roof all the time! The place doing the repair will check ours for no cost every 6 months after the repair.

[trwmodela]

Roof sealant is a standard maintenance item. This is something that one should inspect several times each year. I inspect mine monthly since I am camping now for four months. Traveling causes sealant to flex as one drives on the highway. This is NOT a factory defect or workmanship issue. My 2010 Newmar Dutchstar Class "A" required the same inspects as my new 2013 Forester Class "C".

Always carry a tube or two of lap seal and putty rope for quick repairs.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by trwmodela

Roof sealant is a standard maintenance item. This is something that one should inspect several times each year. I inspect mine monthly since I am camping now for four months. Traveling causes sealant to flex as one drives on the highway. This is NOT a factory defect or workmanship issue. My 2010 Newmar Dutchstar Class "A" required the same inspects as my new 2013 Forester Class "C".

Always carry a tube or two of lap seal and putty rope for quick repairs.

Times two; roof maintenance is a monthly chore. Not checking for 2 years won't get you much sympathy. Even with 100% Eternabond sealed seams, roof inspection is once a quarter.

[mwebber78]

The corners of an RV, towable or driving type, is a high stress area where the box flexes at the roof and side wall joint - the manual clearly states inspection and resealing as mandatory inspections. If the unit had been inspected every six months they'd be no leak issue here. I actually laid Eternabond on that front seam because in my first year of ownership I touched it up twice. Before I sold it I was getting ready to seal the rear seam too out of sheer caution. I also put a dab of self leveling dicor on each screw head on the left/right strip that holds the roof at the transition even though FR stated it wasn't required...