2006 Shamrock Hybrid Leak at Fold Out Bunk / Bed Ends

[hatvuay]

I am 2nd owner of a 2006 Shamrock Hybrid trailer, 17ft. Have owned for 3 years. Trailer never was covered or stored inside. I only now noticed that the front fold out bed has sustained lots of water damage Looks like water is getting in through the top, just below gutter. Seems a design flaw to me, in that the gutter appears too small and does not hang far enough over the closed bed. Note the two bunk hinges/locks do secure the bed as tight as possible to the frame, so that is not the problem. When spraying with hose, the gutter is seen to overflow, and water flows between the bottom of gutter and the top edge of closed bed. Also probably pretty bad during winter snowfall and accumulation on top. There are no noticeable leaks when bed is folded down (tested by spraying hose).

When the bed is folded down, there is noticeable water damage in the bed near the hinge (since the leak resulted in water flowing down to bottom of closed bed).

Anyone have similar experience?
Any ideas or solutions that have been addressed to improve the gutter?
Does anyone know what these fold out beds frames are made of? Is it just a perimeter aluminum frame that holds a wooden base?
I am afraid if it is just wood and now aluminum frame throughout, I am going to flal right through the bed!
Any used market for these fold out beds? Realistic to replace just the bed?

Sorry lots of questions, but any input on above (or other) is much appreciated!

[kpm]

As a owner of a brand new Roo23ss, I experienced the horror of Bunk end Leaks while they are in the closed position. While the first dealer repair attempt fixed the rear bunk, I still have leaks in the front. The positive in all this is that the problem was caught early and it looks like a simple fix. After weeks of monitoring the point of water entry has been determined.
While many owners never have had a leak, there appears to be a small group that do experience this "real" problem. Seems like some people are in denial that this is even a problem. Someone told me they never heard of such a problem. Yeah right LOL. Just do a google search.

Let me say that there are tons of posts in this forum that address some if not all of your questions. I did find a post where some owners modified the gutter system fixed their leaking problems.

Good luck!

[kpm]

This is a good example of a thread where an owner fixed the problem. Check out the links on page 3 to see the pictures of the solution.
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ap-4571-3.html

[Shanks12]

I'll be watching this thread as well... I have 232 Roo and when we bought it I noticed the front bunk had soft spots in the wood near the hinge. When we opened it, I could see water was on the tent.

It appears that previous owner put a black foam strip across the top in the rear to help seal it tighter, but didn't to the front. The rear didn't have any leaks.

So the dealer put one across the top on the front. I guess only time will tell (I haven't been out in rain yet.. (knock on wood... First trip this weekend).

[bikendan]

there is not aluminum frame to the bunk door.
it's simply luan with a metal frame around it. no internal metal frame of any kind.
no hybrid, no matter the manufacturer, has bunk doors with an internal metal frame.

like was said, there are numerous posts on many hybrid forums that can help you with replacement. you just have to do a search.

this is the key area to check constantly on a hybrid. the bunk doors and the hinge area of the bunk doors. i check my hinge area after every big rain and always make sure no canvas gets trapped in the seals.

many find that the marker lights above the door, weren't sealed well and let water in, which drains down to the hinge area and wicks into the door.

[Shanks12]

Thanks for the heads up. Will keep a close eye on those marker lights.

[bikendan]

just a comment about the gutter above the door.
i have a 2007 Roo 23SS, just a year newer than the OP's.
i have the same gutter as his Shamrock.

i've never had any major leaks/water in my bunk door frame/hinge area.
but i check it religiously and if i do get a little water, i dab it up with a rag.

another possible cause is after years of use, the bunk door can bow in the middle, causing a gap between seals when closed. it's something to keep an eye on. i use a piece of paper and see if it slides between the seals when closed up.

[Shanks12]

@Bikendan - What does that gutter look like?

[kpm]

Here is a pic I found online of a Roo with I am assuming is a gutter. Do a google image search for Rockwood Roo and a whole slew pop up. You will see different styles and some have those gutters. My Roo23ss did not come with a gutter installed. Although, BikenDan can elaborate more than me on the different model variations. Hope that helps!

[bikendan]

yep, the gutter over the door has been there for years.
it was only in a recent thread, that i saw that the gutter had been eliminated on the last couple of model years.
wasn't aware until then, that it wasn't standard anymore and don't know why it was eliminated.

[rockfordroo]

My 2012 has no gutters.

[hatvuay]

Thanks for the comments thus far, very interesting and helpful. The reference to another thread about various repairs is also quite helpful. I like the idea of covering the gutter and hinge areas with vinyl. I did not understand the PVC pipe solution in the gutter. It seems the gutter would still fill with water and overflow, under the PVC pipe edge.
Regarding bow in the bed, I did check for that, but when closed and locked, I can't push the inside middle of the bed toward the frame at all. The paper test is a good idea, I'll check.

[ebemis]

Not sure if its relevant or helps, but our 2013 ROO 233S front bunk exposed a leak about a year into use, not a major one, just slow drip came inside while in use during a torential rainstorm in a Georgia campground. On my rig, the actual "outer frame" that is screwed into the opening on the trailer wall itself was never mounted "flush" to the entire length of the wall, in fact there is about a 1/32-1/16" gap near the right corner running about 12-16 inches toward centerline before the frame is totally flush. The manufacturing process apparently didn't mind this "deviation" and simply applied a little extra caulk in that spot...there was already a bead running the length of the frame. What I discovered with close inspection was that that caulk bead had "dried and opened" up on that tiny gap of the frame from the wall. I was not able to "snug up" the frame to the wall for fear of stripping out the holes that the sheet metal screws hold the frame to the rig with so I simply cleaned things up and resealed that gap with some of the really sticky Dicor Roof self leveling sealant..its like caulk but much stickier from my experience.

SO...take a close look at the door frame that is screwed to the rig wall and make sure there aren't any gaps the entire perimeter of it that the factory caulk has dried and opened up on.

[HandymanCharlie]

Originally Posted by kpm

As a owner of a brand new Roo23ss, I experienced the horror of Bunk end Leaks while they are in the closed position. While the first dealer repair attempt fixed the rear bunk, I still have leaks in the front. The positive in all this is that the problem was caught early and it looks like a simple fix. After weeks of monitoring the point of water entry has been determined.
While many owners never have had a leak, there appears to be a small group that do experience this "real" problem. Seems like some people are in denial that this is even a problem. Someone told me they never heard of such a problem. Yeah right LOL. Just do a google search.

Let me say that there are tons of posts in this forum that address some if not all of your questions. I did find a post where some owners modified the gutter system fixed their leaking problems.

Good luck!

I have a 2012 Flagstaff Shamrock 19 hybrid and recently I found about a cup of water on the canvass when we opened the bunk end door. I figured I must have not closed it properly and got something caught in the seals, so I wiped it dry and went on.

About two weeks later, we discovered another cup of water on the front canvass when we opened the bunk door. I examined the black inner seal and the white outer seal and found no damage from pinching.

I closed the bunk door, removed the mattress from inside and "made rain" with the hose. After drying the outside, I opened the bunk door and sure enough, water got inside. I could see it was coming in about 12 inches in from the upper right corner. I closed the bunk door and examined the seals again. That is when I noticed that the bunk door was not closing tightly in the upper right hand corner.

If I pressed on the latch with my hand, I could seal the door. It appeared that the latching mechanism wasn't putting enough pressure on the door to close it tightly. It almost looked like the door was warped a bit.

THEN I NOTICED THE PROBLEM! There is a rubber-like pad on the latching mechanism, measuring about 1" x 2" and it had slipped so that it wasn't in it's original position on the latch. When I pealed off the rubber pad and moved it to the proper position on the latch, then closed the latch, the bunk end door sealed tightly against the trailer. I then moved around the trailer to look at the other rubber pads on the remaining 3 latches. On some, the rubber pad had moved half way off and on another it had moved about 1/3 of the way off. But all of the 4 pads had slipped out of position. When I repositioned the pads, all bunk door ends sealed tightly.....JUST LIKE NEW.

I reattached the rubber pads with liquid nails and tomorrow, I will "make rain" to verify my potential solution.

I'm willing to bet I no longer have a leaky bunk door.

[Mezgod]

I read through every thread to see what has been identified to this point. My 2009 Rockwood Roo 232 has the same issue on the bed platforms. The inside panel above where the hinge is located has soft spots, and on the external side the luan has bubbles. I recently got an estimate to repair from a local Roo dealer, ouch, approximately $3160.00. I would love to hear what the manufacturer may counter on this, but do not know how to go about this. I have seen (at the Hershey, PA RV show) that manufacturers have redesigned the rain tray on all slide outs and over bed trays. Following this repair I will incorporate this feature. Do not get me wrong I love my hybrid. We are the talk of the campground as folks approach me all the time to inquire about these campers. Lightweight, and tow like a dream.

[kpm]

Originally Posted by HandymanCharlie

I have a 2012 Flagstaff Shamrock 19 hybrid and recently I found about a cup of water on the canvass when we opened the bunk end door. I figured I must have not closed it properly and got something caught in the seals, so I wiped it dry and went on.

About two weeks later, we discovered another cup of water on the front canvass when we opened the bunk door. I examined the black inner seal and the white outer seal and found no damage from pinching.

I closed the bunk door, removed the mattress from inside and "made rain" with the hose. After drying the outside, I opened the bunk door and sure enough, water got inside. I could see it was coming in about 12 inches in from the upper right corner. I closed the bunk door and examined the seals again. That is when I noticed that the bunk door was not closing tightly in the upper right hand corner.

If I pressed on the latch with my hand, I could seal the door. It appeared that the latching mechanism wasn't putting enough pressure on the door to close it tightly. It almost looked like the door was warped a bit.

THEN I NOTICED THE PROBLEM! There is a rubber-like pad on the latching mechanism, measuring about 1" x 2" and it had slipped so that it wasn't in it's original position on the latch. When I pealed off the rubber pad and moved it to the proper position on the latch, then closed the latch, the bunk end door sealed tightly against the trailer. I then moved around the trailer to look at the other rubber pads on the remaining 3 latches. On some, the rubber pad had moved half way off and on another it had moved about 1/3 of the way off. But all of the 4 pads had slipped out of position. When I repositioned the pads, all bunk door ends sealed tightly.....JUST LIKE NEW.

I reattached the rubber pads with liquid nails and tomorrow, I will "make rain" to verify my potential solution.

I'm willing to bet I no longer have a leaky bunk door.

thanks for such a detailed solution. My bunk ends have not leaked since the dealer replaced the seal, but your information is great for future reference.

[dwolff]

Have the same trailer, same problem, ordered new black rubber seals, installed, no more leaks. Even tho the seals may look good they are not doing the job.

[Mitral]

I just purchased a 2017 Rockwood Roo 233S. It's been at the storage lot for 2 weeks since i bought it. I brought it back home to prep for our first camping trip and much to my dismay, all 3 tent beds had water trapped in them. Luckily the mattresses were still wrapped in plastic. I thought that perhaps the tent material had been trapped in the seams somewhere.

I've had it in front of the house for the past couple of days prepping for our maiden voyage this weekend. It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday while I sanitized the water system, cooled the fridge, installed a new shower head, cut out reflectix etc etc... At the end of the day, my wife and i diligently closed up the bunk ends, climbing a ladder to ensure that no tent material was sneaking out of the seam. Everything was wrapped up as good as possible. I locked up the camper and headed off to work the next morning.

Fast forward to this evening after a day of strong rain. We went outside to show my father in law the new camper and when we opened the door, there was about 5 gallons of water all over the floor of our brand new camper! We traced it back to the side bunk, which had about a gallon of water trapped in the tent material. I went out and opened up all three tent beds. Each one had some water in them, the side bunk having a couple of gallons of water trapped. It got the new mattress end complete saturated ( hole in the plastic) which then proceeded to drain clear across the floor all the way to the slide out carpet.

I'm just devastated that our brand new $25K camper that hasn't even been used yet has this much of an issue. I'll talk to the dealer asap and start the warranty process but this is just plain unacceptable imo.

I went over with fine tooth comb the upper weather stripping on all three sides of all three bunks. Things looks "normal". There is no "rain gutter" above the tent bed upper lip which i think would help immensely. I can't imaging that seal ever being tight enough to keep out direct water without cracking the panels they were attached to.

Can you please explain in more detail or provide a photo of these "black rubber pads/seals" that are on the clasping mechanism? I checked all of mine and I don't see anything that resembles what you are describing. I hope there is an easy fix for this before the water causes irreversible damage.

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by Mitral

Can you please explain in more detail or provide a photo of these "black rubber pads/seals" that are on the clasping mechanism? I checked all of mine and I don't see anything that resembles what you are describing. I hope there is an easy fix for this before the water causes irreversible damage.

You do not have them on a 2017, the person who made that post has a 2012 with the previous latches which were standard cargo door latches. Your 2017 has the rotovise latches.

They eliminated the gutter when they went to the new door design. The seal is different and so is the mating surface of the frames. No more screws or rivets are on that mating surface to interfere with the seal and the seal is designed to act like a gutter. If your getting that much water in your doors when closed you have something really wrong. Can you post pictures of all 3 door seals, especially at the upper corners? I have seen a few recently here and other forums where they just plain screwed up the seal install. Our 2017 23WS does not leak a drop. They also may have installed the rotovise latches incorrectly and they are not applying enough pressure.

[Mitral]

Getting dark out but here is the top seam along the side bunk