Water in 5th wheel nose cone

[Dakota EV]

Well last weekend I used the 6" roll of Eternabond tape with the roller and sealed the roof of my trailer where the nose section mounted to the body of the camper. I then put self leveling caulking along the outside edges of the tape just to be sure that everything was sealed. I ran the tape from the top rain gutter on the drivers side to the top of the rain gutter on the right side. This was one piece of tape so I am positive that there is no chance that it is leaking there. I also sealed three other places where it looked like it might be leaking. But this did not solve my problem. We just got a good hard rain last night with over 2" of rain. I went out this afternoon and checked the trailer and water is still coming out of the nose section. I am going to seal the lights and reseal the sides of the front nose section, even though they look okay. This is all that I can figure would be leaking. I am open to any suggestions if anyone has them. I do not plan to wait until the next rain to test it. I will give the caulking a full 24 hours to cure and then I am going to use my water hose to test the trailer instead of waiting for the next rain.

[bob caldwell]

Bet you'll find the clearance light hous'n aren't sealed very well

[Dakota EV]

You may be right but mine look like they are pushed into a rubber housing or some other material. I really do not see how they will leak. I do intend to seal around the top marker lights and the bottom lights too.

[bob caldwell]

Is water getting into storage area?

[PSEYFRIED]

Hey Dakota. You also might want to check the passenger side where the awning is attached to the side of the rig. If you put the awning out there is a piece if plastic that covers the channel where the wires are run into the side of the camper. The hole for the wires is almost 2 inches around and they only seal it with foam. Silicone the hell out of that spot and then I would also check the marker lights and the lights on the top of the nose. Mine is currently in the shop for this problem and I'm going to call and check on it in a little bit. Collectively we have to solve this problem since FR isn't helping. Good luck.

[Dakota EV]

" Is water getting into storage area? "
No, I am not getting any water in the storage area. I am only getting water in the nose cone of the camper.

Thanks, "PSEYFRIED", I will check this out this weekend. It is still overcast today so I want to wait and let the trailer dry so that I can seal it. I believe that the problem now will be somewhere on the lights or even possible on my washer/dryer exhaust. After thinking about this for awhile I can not remember this water leaking before I had my dealer install my new vented washer/dryer. I have looked at the vent and it looks ok but that does not mean a lot. I did notice yesterday that there does not appear to be any seal around the outside edges of the cover and the screws that hold the cover onto the camper. All of the water seems to be pooling into the area where the 5th wheel assembly is located. As I said in earlier post. I can push up on the plastic material around the 5th wheel and this will force water to drain out. I checked inside of the trailer and the storage area and I see no evidence of water in either of these areas. Thanks for each persons advice and help. I will get this fixed even if Forest River does not want to take ownership of the problem. My camper is a 2015 model and I do not think that I should be have leaks like this from this new of a camper. I will be sealing one area at a time so that I can find out where the leak is. If the leak is around where the dealer has done something then I will let them know this.

[larmman1]

Originally Posted by PSEYFRIED

Hello. We have a 2015 Sierra 376BHOK and we got it last November. I have been back to the dealer several times with a reoccurring issue. I am finding that the bottom of the nose cone of the 5th wheel is being filled with water after a heavy rain. The dealership has had it 3 times and each time they are convinced that they fixed it. Has anyone else had this problem and know how to fix it ? Thanks

Seal the running lights the gaskets never last or they leak from the beginning I have found them to be cheap

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Bet you'll find the clearance light hous'n aren't sealed very well

Is this a typical Forest River procedure? While looking over our new unit that was delivered to the dealer one of my unanswered questions is why are none of the exterior lights caulked, and also windows. That's all new to me. Our other trailers were caulked in addition to butyl tape behind all the light fixtures and window flanges.

[bob caldwell]

I keep a roll of butyl tape on hand,,,,,,found landing gear and rear stabilizer switches not sealed worth a damn, when I pulled them to insert a 'box' to house them.....lots of moisture was there

[bob caldwell]

Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp

Is this a typical Forest River procedure? While looking over our new unit that was delivered to the dealer one of my unanswered questions is why are none of the exterior lights caulked, and also windows. That's all new to me. Our other trailers were caulked in addition to butyl tape behind all the light fixtures and window flanges.

Only time will tell....Take a garden hose to it! Trouble is unless the interior paneling is gett'n stained, who knows what's going on between outer and inner walls

[Dakota EV]

I sealed all of the marker lights, awning and every other place that even looked like it could leak today. We are supposed to be getting rain starting tomorrow and ending Thursday so I guess that I will find out Friday if I have finally found the problem. I did find some areas on the drivers side of the camper where the cap connects to the trailer that I think might have been the problem. There is some kind of seal looking material here that had several small holes and was mess up in one area. I sent pictures to my dealer rep and he said that this was "Belt Moulding" and could not be causing the leak but I sealed it anyway. If this does not fix the problem then I am stumped because I do not see anything else on the front of my camper that could be leaking. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

[Dakota EV]

Well the rain came in last night. We got over three inches in the past 24 hours. I just checked my camper and the water is still pouring out of the front cap area. So I am at a loss to know where the leak is. I have sealed everything that I can find on the front cap but it is still leaking. I don't know where to go from here. Contacted the dealer and he said the they would look at the problem for $160.00 per hour with no guarantee as to how long or even if they could find the problem. We are on fixed income so I do not have deep pockets to give them a blank check with no idea as to how long it might take them to find the problem or even if they will find the problem.

[SKnight]

The last few days we've had rain that I'm surprised didn't float the thing away, it's dry. I'm actually really impressed. The rate the rain was falling it's a wonder it didn't beat it's way in.

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by Dakota EV

Well the rain came in last night. We got over three inches in the past 24 hours. I just checked my camper and the water is still pouring out of the front cap area. So I am at a loss to know where the leak is. I have sealed everything that I can find on the front cap but it is still leaking. I don't know where to go from here. Contacted the dealer and he said the they would look at the problem for $160.00 per hour with no guarantee as to how long or even if they could find the problem. We are on fixed income so I do not have deep pockets to give them a blank check with no idea as to how long it might take them to find the problem or even if they will find the problem.

How far is yours out of warranty? I had a history of complaints while it was in warranty so they fixed mine under goodwill.

[Dakota EV]

The warranty ran out last May. I had only one complaint about leaking before then and they fixed it. The Dealer has stated that this is my problem. So I will remember that when I get ready to purchase another camper, if that ever happens. I have been talking to the factory and they are trying to help me to figure out where the camper is leaking but they said that it is still my problem. The rain is supposed to end tomorrow so I hope to get back on it over the weekend.

[PSEYFRIED]

Mine is still in the shop trying to get the leak fixed. If I get any info on where they think it is coming from I will let you know.

[Dakota EV]

Thanks, I appreciate any help that I can get. The factory rep called yesterday and made some suggestions based on what their technicians have see in the past. I am going to follow their suggestions as soon as the weather dries up enough to do more caulking on the camper.

[PSEYFRIED]

What were some of there recommendations? I'll let you know if I had any luck with them.

[bob caldwell]

Had sort of that problem, but at the rear.....when they caulked this one, they created a low spot in the center ( 1/2 way in from each side) and created a puddle.......when I was add'n cupboard light and runn'n wires, noticed a water drop on some factory wire'n....no damage was done, but took some time to track it down, 'cause the condition of caulk'n looked very good

[SKnight]

On mine they took the sealer off and found where the rubber roof wasn't folded in right (?) and he didn't like the way the sealer was done. Roof tucked in, sealer replaced and that fixed the majority of it. Then they found that the marker light was filling up so they sealed that.

It's bone dry now, which given the storms that are going on it's been thoroughly tested.