My first water leak... Sad Panda

[BartMarilyn]

Greetings!

I am new to the RV world, and frankly it is quite scary and so far a little bit stressful. I have a 2018 Coachmen Apex Nano. 193 BHS. My wife just discovered water in the most forward interior LED light. I removed the fixture and sure enough there is moister in the ceiling. There is no water anywhere else in the trailer. I checked the forward cabinets and walls. I took some photos of the corner of the out side roof and I think I see where the water is coming from. There is a very pliable rubber sealant that seals the roof membrane to the sides and the front fiberglass molded piece. There appears to be some "cracks" in the sealant. Although it appears quite porous. I was hoping some folks would take a gander and make some suggestions on how to repair these "cracks" and also if they felt these blemishes could be the source of the leak. Also I have purchased some sealer that should be here in about 10 days. It is a self leveling wet/dry application sealer.

[bikendan]

Welcome to FRF, from Camano Island.
The caulking on your trailer should be regularly checked and maintained. Manufacturers recommend every 90 days.
I check mine every 6 months.
Doesn't look like you've been doing that.
Did you buy the trailer new or used?
I've had a similar crack that allowed water in an overhead cabinet.
What sealant did you order? Should be Dicor.

[BartMarilyn]

Thanks for your reply! You're right I haven't been doing that, I guess I just thought to myself, "How could it really go bad in 2 years? How could they sell them if that was the case." I've glanced at it a couple of times, but this is the first time I really went up and looked. I believe the sealer I ordered was from Ziollo. It was the fastest thing I could find that would ship, as I live out in the sticks.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by BartMarilyn

Thanks for your reply! You're right I haven't been doing that, I guess I just thought to myself, "How could it really go bad in 2 years? How could they sell them if that was the case." I've glanced at it a couple of times, but this is the first time I really went up and looked. I believe the sealer I ordered was from Ziollo. It was the fastest thing I could find that would ship, as I live out in the sticks.

Never heard of Ziollo. You need to be careful and make sure it's for RV specific usage.
I wouldn't put it on until you verify that it is. I got self leveling Dicor delivered in 2 days and i live on an island.
You didn't say if you bought it new or used.

[BartMarilyn]

I bought it new in August of 2017. I hit up a friend after I read your post, turns out he has a tube. I'm going to clean and apply it today. Here goes nothing.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by BartMarilyn

I bought it new in August of 2017. I hit up a friend after I read your post, turns out he has a tube. I'm going to clean and apply it today. Here goes nothing.

You need to clean the old caulk with denatured alcohol, before applying.
So you never checked the roof caulk, for almost 3 years?

[BartMarilyn]

No I actually have not, other than taking glances.

[shadows4]

You should make checking the caulking on the roof a twice a year event. In the spring and in the fall just before you put it away for the winter. Hopefully you caught the leak before much if any damage is done.

Remember, if your not sure how to do something Google and YouTube are your friends. Also you can ask here, plenty of people here to help. Good luck.

[BartMarilyn]

Right now there is no damage I can see. I think the water that was in side is slowly leaking out of the whole in the ceiling where the fixture was. It's wet in side the sealing but it is not coming out anywhere else and there are no soft spots.
We'll see. It's supposed to rain tomorrow. I live in Washington state, it rains about eight months out of the year.

[DouglasReid]

As your pictures show Dicor shrinks, cracks and leaks. Every one of those lines is a potential leak.

I would suggest you buy one gallon of this stuff:

https://www.roofcoatingsupply.com/Ga...QaApFREALw_wcB

and put it on every seam all around the perimeter of your roof, over the Dicor at every roof penetration or where something is mounted (the top of ur ladder for instance).

Clean the Dicor well and brush on two coats of this stuff. It is good over RV Rubber roofs as well as many other substrates.

It is flexible too. We've had it on the roof of our current camper for 8 years and never had a leak or a crack in the material.