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Old 07-04-2013, 05:08 PM   #1
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Bunk leaks again...and again.....

I thought I had them licked, I installed extra seals around the frame of the bunks and watched it rain. And all was well, at least I thought. Our second trip to upstate pa. Was definitely interesting, it was raining when we got there Friday night and was not fun setting up in the light drizzle with impatient family members awaiting the final setup of camp. And Saturday was sunny and clear. Sunday when we went home the heavy rain began all the way home. But we made it without incident. But today, 4 days later I thought I'd open the bunks and trailer up to let the fresh air in the front bunk was a little wet at the bottom and the back bunk was saturated about 12 inches up. Now I know they were dry before we went on the trip but I guess with the rain and driving it worked its way in to the bottom of the hinge area and soaked that area.
Here's the question, has anybody else came across the same scenario?
Does anyone have a seal that goes in the lower hinge area? I think this would solve the water being pushed in. Does anybody agree with me?
Thanks in advance, I have read many threads on the leaky bunks and appreciate everyone who puts their effort in on contributing.
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Old 07-04-2013, 05:42 PM   #2
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By bunks, do you mean the tent camping beds as in a pop-up or hybrid?
Just generally knowing how helpful people are here, it would help if you stated when model of camper you have.
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Old 07-04-2013, 05:46 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Hivoltage98 View Post
I thought I had them licked, I installed extra seals around the frame of the bunks and watched it rain. And all was well, at least I thought. Our second trip to upstate pa. Was definitely interesting, it was raining when we got there Friday night and was not fun setting up in the light drizzle with impatient family members awaiting the final setup of camp. And Saturday was sunny and clear. Sunday when we went home the heavy rain began all the way home. But we made it without incident. But today, 4 days later I thought I'd open the bunks and trailer up to let the fresh air in the front bunk was a little wet at the bottom and the back bunk was saturated about 12 inches up. Now I know they were dry before we went on the trip but I guess with the rain and driving it worked its way in to the bottom of the hinge area and soaked that area.
Here's the question, has anybody else came across the same scenario?
Does anyone have a seal that goes in the lower hinge area? I think this would solve the water being pushed in. Does anybody agree with me?
Thanks in advance, I have read many threads on the leaky bunks and appreciate everyone who puts their effort in on contributing.
Oops sorry it's a 2001 roo 21'
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Old 07-09-2013, 05:26 PM   #4
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We have an 05 233 and the front bed is starting to delaminate which is obvious signs of leakage - altho we never gotten wet during rain storms while the unit is set up. So like you, it must leak when closed. We are looking for DIY instruction for replacing the plywood/styrofoam behind the outer skin.
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Old 07-10-2013, 05:46 AM   #5
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I will post a repair tutorial, but this week I have to repair it and put it back together. I'll post it late next week.
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Old 07-17-2013, 07:39 PM   #6
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I will post a repair tutorial, but this week I have to repair it and put it back together. I'll post it late next week.
Looking forward to seeing this tutorial!
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Old 07-17-2013, 07:50 PM   #7
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Oops sorry it's a 2001 roo 21'
I agree that i think the water hits the piano hinge, fills up the channel and wicks its way up from the bottom. My front is delaminating. The back os ok. I am going to try a repair this fall. Replacing the wood should be easy. Not sure how to prevent piano hinge from water.
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Old 07-20-2013, 11:47 PM   #8
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I'm almost done rebuilding the bunk and I found a few mods I will post all the info.
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Old 07-21-2013, 04:37 AM   #9
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I'm almost done rebuilding the bunk and I found a few mods I will post all the info.
Thanks for the update.
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Old 07-22-2013, 02:33 PM   #10
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Leaking Bunks

I have a 2013 233s roo and for the first summer of Camping we had zero leaks. A few weeks ago I noticed that one of the bunks was leaking and the mattress was getting wet after every rain storm. After about an hour of trying to figure out why or how to fix, I noticed that the handles that are attached to the bottom of the bunks (the ones that swing closed and hold the bunk in closed position) have a piece of rectangular rubber glued to the underside of the handle. I could see that as time has passed, the rubber piece had slid from where it was supposed to be and moved about an inch to the side. This piece of rubber is used to put pressure on the floor of the bunk in the closed position and when it moved, it wasn't contacting the bunk as it should. I romoved all of the rubber pieces and re-glued (in the correct location) with high strength epoxy, let dry and have had no leaking issues since. Not sure if this is what is happing to yours but is worth a look and was a cheap fix!
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Old 07-22-2013, 03:04 PM   #11
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^^^ Thanks for posting, Kink. Although that might or might not be part of the OPs problem here, its still a good warning. I've also had to readjust those pads (twice). Its good to watch them.
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Old 09-03-2013, 05:53 PM   #12
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Interesting point, kink. Does anyone know if you can get new sets of those rubber pads from FR? Here's pictures of mine. The first picture is the from the rear door and the second is from the front door.
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Old 09-05-2013, 09:12 PM   #13
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Interesting point, kink. Does anyone know if you can get new sets of those rubber pads from FR? Here's pictures of mine. The first picture is the from the rear door and the second is from the front door.
Contact Sheri Dunlap sdunlap@forestriverinc.com. Have your model and vin#. Phone 574-642-2640 xt136
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Old 09-05-2013, 09:15 PM   #14
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Contact Sheri Dunlap sdunlap@forestriverinc.com. Have your model and vin#. Phone 574-642-2640 xt136
For my '08 21ss they were $3.14 ea.
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Old 09-05-2013, 09:57 PM   #15
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Now I'm going to have to go look at my pads. The design of the piano hinge on my 08 Roo23SS just seems like a bad idea. I can see water pooling in there over time. Is there a drain? How is it supposed to behave?

I have resealed the metal frame that surrounds what would be the bottom of the bunk when open. My silicon was shot and I would think water would sit in the
U shaped channel. That would cause some serious rot!

We had 1 leak issue which I attributed to not putting the tent fabric back in correctly. Now we are extra careful when closing.
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Old 09-06-2013, 06:16 AM   #16
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For my '08 21ss they were $3.14 ea.
Thanks!

Do mine look like they have moved at all? We bought our Roo used (about 2 yrs old) so I don't know what they look like brand new.
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Old 09-06-2013, 05:56 PM   #17
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I just replaced my pads two months ago and they look like I never did them. Once they crush down they seem to retain that shape.
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Old 10-26-2013, 07:04 PM   #18
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Another try to stop the Bunk leaks!

Kudos to Pixleys for his idea on keeping water away from the seam!

After reading his posting on placing a PVC pipe along the gutter / drip rail to prevent water from reaching the upper seam of the bunk, I decided to give this a try. I had leaking in my front bunk after driving to a campsite in the rain.

Basically, it's a PVC pipe, cut down the length and strapped to the rain gutter. Water not caught by the rain gutter is diverted over and around the seam to run down the side. With no water at the upper seam, there is no water to leak in.

My modification was to use soft window trim along the bottom edge to prevent rubbing on the finish and help seal water from being pushed up and under the pipe.

I cut two slots in the pipe for the straps. The second higher strap slot helps put pressure on the window trim for a better seal.

Last, I added end caps for aesthetics.

Water tested yesterday with a hose on straight stream. It worked great. I had leaking using the hose before and no leaks after.

I also installed a gutter on the side bunk and installed the same piping over the seam.

Thanks again to Pixleys for his idea.



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Old 10-27-2013, 07:01 AM   #19
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Congratulations on the mod. My 2010 hasn't leaked a drop since I did mine.
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Old 10-31-2013, 04:53 PM   #20
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I agree that i think the water hits the piano hinge, fills up the channel and wicks its way up from the bottom. My front is delaminating. The back os ok. I am going to try a repair this fall. Replacing the wood should be easy. Not sure how to prevent piano hinge from water.
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Originally Posted by Rrickim63 View Post
I agree that i think the water hits the piano hinge, fills up the channel and wicks its way up from the bottom. My front is delaminating. The back os ok. I am going to try a repair this fall. Replacing the wood should be easy. Not sure how to prevent piano hinge from water.
This is exactly the issue with the Roo doors.

I have a 2012 19' and after about 4 months of ownership ( we bought the camper used and when I say used I mean it was used maybe one or two times by the previous owners) started to notice delamination on the front bunk end doors. (see attached pic) after contacting forest river we negotiated a front bunk core replacement. Since the warranty is non transferable ( go figure ) I ended up paying only shipping for the door core. I explained nicely that in no way shape or form should a camper this new be having such issues. I'm good with a wrench so I decided to do the replacement myself. It took about 4 -5 hours to complete. Here's what I found.
I will start off by saying that forest river needs to completely re design their bunk doors and the hinge system and maybe pay a little more attention to detail and workmanship on the assembly line. After removing the front bunk door and screws I found that different size screws were used randomly through out the door assembly. That was my first indicator that not much attention was made during assembly. After all the hardware was removed and the skirt that is attached from the camper body to the door removed. I found the following problems. First... Water enters through the door hinge and wicks it's way into the core through the screw holes turning the wood laminate inside the door into soggy cardboard!! I was in disbelief that with all of the composite and palstic materials in today's world that they would choose to use crap wood laminate in the construction of their doors. Second ...the rubber skirt that bridges the gap from the camper body to the bottom of the door is sandwiched in between the door core and the door frame, screws are put through this to secure the frame into the core, this makes a nice area for water to sit and turn any wood laminate products into soft poo! All of these things boggle the mind considering this is something that is ment to be left out in the elements. Third ...the caulking and silicone application process that was used during assembly looked to be like it was done by a 6 yo, again ... A little more attention to detail in the assembly process would give you a lot less headaches and forest river a lot less angry customers.
There was never a time that our camper was left out in the wet open or the door gaskets were compromised by the tent being closed in the gasket. I made sure the gaskets were clean and free of objects when being closed, I also checked to see if there was moisture in the top and sides of the door inside the gaskets after a period of rain, especially after I started to notice the delamination, there was none... All the moisture had entered the core through the bottom of the door frame through the screw holes. Not good.
I received my new core from forest river after about 5 weeks and started the replacement, I had ordered the proper caulking prior and reused the existing hardware. The disassembly and replacement process was an "intermediate" job as far as skill level is concerned and requires two people. After many " are you f$&?ing kidding me's" and " why would they make this like that's" the reinstall of the bunk core was fairly easy. Here's what I did differently.
I sealed the laminated edges of the core with calming prior to reinstalling it in the frame... The core assembly and wood laminate on the factory doors are left open to the elements... Bad idea FR! Why the wouldn't make the door cores a one piece sealed unit is beyond me... This would solve the majority of water intrusion problems. I also did not re install the rubber skirt that bridges the gap between the camper body and door frame and I left it open and connected to the camper body only so for one it wouldn't trap water in the core and two ...it would allow a better seal between the core and frame and also allow visual inspection of the area were the hinge is to see if there was water entering through the hinges, you can't see anything in this area with the rubber skirt there. I cut the skirt on the rear door as well to see if there was any moisture or water in the rear door hinge area and it appears to be dry but now at least I can see in that area and be able to visualize any issues there.
All of the hardware that was screwed into the door was also caulked as well as new caulking around the frame. I also got some quality 3m packing tape, the clear kind and put a long thin piece over the bottom of the door frame covering the hinge to prevent water from entering the hinges, this can be replaced as needed and is working perfect to keep water from running down the door and into the hinge. I left the ends open to allow for any water that might get in to escape. After the install I set the sprinkler up in front of the camper and left it on for an hour.... The door and hinge area stayed 100% dry. I'm 99.9% sure that with theses changes the bunk door core will stay as it should, without water intrusion causing delamination.
Please forest river, change your door and hinge design and pay just a little more attention to detail during the assembly process and you will have a much happier customer base and reputation. And to Roo owners ... Keep an eye on the hinge area, try the clear packing tape and skirt mod and you might avoid some problems in the future.
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