Bunk door leaking

[newtsx3]

I know many Roo and other hybrid owners have trouble with leaks on the bunk doors. In May I discovered that my front bunk door was leaking in the upper corners if the door. I took the mattress out and got inside in between the door and canvas while my DW sprayed around the door from the outside. It only leaked around the uppers corners. There was a noticeable gap between the door seal and the door frame about 3-4 inches on either side of both upper corners. Took it in to the dealer and they worked on it under warranty. Their solution was to slightly bend the edges of the bunk door at the top corners so that it sealed more tightly against the door frame. I was a little wary of the way they chose to do the repair, but I am no RV technician and it seemed to have worked. There was moderate rainfall a few days later and I saw no evidence of leaking. However, after cleaning my roof yesterday, I opened the bunk ends back up and there was about a gallon of water that had collected in the folded canvas. This was just from the water flowing off the roof while washing it. I am very careful about ensuring that no canvas or cables ever get caught in the seals when closing the bunk ends (learned that from this forum before we even took delivery of our Roo last year.) so I am pretty sure this is not the cause. We are out of factory warranty now, but my dealer told me today they would correct it under warranty since it is the same problem. My question is... How have similar repairs been done for other Roo owners out there? My dealer does not stock hybrids, ours was a special order, so they do not routinely work on Roos. I don't know if they called FR to ask how to fix the leak or if they just improvised. If anyone has had a similar problem repaired, please let me know how your repair shop handled it. I would appreciate it!

[bh183]

I have a 183 Roo and have also had problems with 2 of the 3 beds leaking. This is what I have tried and so far so good.
I went to Menards (a big box hardware store) and found a product called Campermount Closed Cell Vinyl. It is a foam tape used to place between a camper shell and truck bed. It is 1 1/4 inches wide and 3/16 thick. It is self adhesive on one side only.
My first step was to remove and reseal all the screws with 3M sealant.
Then I placed the foam tape around the opening of the bed doors (top, left and right sides). It fit nicely over top all the screw heads and allows for a nice seal between the bed seal and the metal frame (now covered with the foam tape). The only thing that I have noticed is to really clean all excess sealant off the bed seal. If it is sticky, it will remove some of the foam from the tape when you reopen the bed. It only costs around $5 dollars for a 30 foot roll, so it is a quick and cheap fix with good results so far. Hope this helps.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by bh183

I have a 183 Roo and have also had problems with 2 of the 3 beds leaking. This is what I have tried and so far so good.
I went to Menards (a big box hardware store) and found a product called Campermount Closed Cell Vinyl. It is a foam tape used to place between a camper shell and truck bed. It is 1 1/4 inches wide and 3/16 thick. It is self adhesive on one side only.
My first step was to remove and reseal all the screws with 3M sealant.
Then I placed the foam tape around the opening of the bed doors (top, left and right sides). It fit nicely over top all the screw heads and allows for a nice seal between the bed seal and the metal frame (now covered with the foam tape). The only thing that I have noticed is to really clean all excess sealant off the bed seal. If it is sticky, it will remove some of the foam from the tape when you reopen the bed. It only costs around $5 dollars for a 30 foot roll, so it is a quick and cheap fix with good results so far. Hope this helps.

it would be helpful for all, if you could post pics of what you did and where.

[jkinger]

I have done the same as bh183 on front bunk with good results too. My leak was at the center of bunk and only when parked.

[mousefn]

I agree....I would LOVE to see pictures of this fix

[imflyn2]

Had the same leaking issue. Dealer went with a bigger seal and it seemed to fix the problem as I brought it home in the rain after the fix and there was no water in the canvas. That being said, it hasn't been out since and is under cover so I won't know for sure until I wash it again or take it out in a storm.

[BradinOhio]

Had leakage and delamination issues on an '07 Roo 21SS that I used to own. Forest River replaced the entire front bunk end assembly. They also replaced seals on the rear bunk with a newer design that they had devloped. This was right at the end of my 2nd year and was covered under warranty (was sure glad that I had purchased the extra 2nd year warranty thru Forest River!). Never had any additional issues after the repair work.

[sjoneil]

I bought a brand new Rockwood Roo 183 last year from Campers in in New Hampshire. The first time driving in the rain the front bunk leaked. The dealer fixed this under warranty by replacing seals and adding more rubber to the clamps. After uncovering it this year I found leaking through the side bunk. I notified the dealer and the first comment was i was out of warranty, yea by 2 weeks!!! I added a spacer on the side clamps to add more pressure and this solved the issue. I contacted the dealer and stopped by on a camping trip, they said they would send the proper spacers. 4 weeks later nothing.
Rockwood had to know there was an issue. Not only did the dealer show me a newer version of the rubber like material that presses against the door they also showed me a new clamp bar for the door which was about twice the thickness. I'm sure the thicker metal will offer better protection.
For a unit just over 1 year old I will be contacting the dealer and Rockwood. Other than this and a radio which is sub par I love this camper.