Repair behind Tail Light

[depo]

While Camping this weekend and testing the New to Us Roo17, everything worked great. We enjoyed it very much, but did discover one problem that I want to share with you and see if you have any suggestions.

I found a small puddle forming under the rear right corner of the camper.... no rain for the past couple days.

While looking at the area I noticed that the rear lens of the tail lamp was dirty and the bulb socket rusted. I did some exploring and in doing so discovered all but one screw hole was soft in the wood and the screws rusty.

I came to the conclusion that the puddle formed after I put the stabs down and the slight pressure from stabs on that corner caused the moisture to essentially squeeze out of the corner.

I do not want to cut in to the Fiberglass outer and it would be next to impossible to get at it from the inside without removing the cabinets and etc....

there is no damage what so ever inside or outside..... it is the wood inside.

I used caulk to hold the unit together, using the screws as posts to hold in place as the caulk dried. Caulking not only the angled plate, but also the electric mounting plate.... so it would stay together down the road. I am confident that it being sealed tight and using the high quality sealant I would never have it come off or more leaks, but I want to repair it.

Does anyone suggest a wood binding epoxy that will solidify the wood and then I would glue plugs and re-tap holes or some other route.

Thanks for reading and suggestions appreciated.

[capucine]

there is no wood in the construction of your roo 17. The wall is a sandwich type . You have a sheet of fiberglass on the outside followed by a thin sheet of luan bonded to a hard styrofoam pad. another thin sheet of luan bonded to the styrofoam form your inside wall. The frame for these walls is made of aluminum. All the walls, the roof, the floor are made the same way. I think what you have done will take care of this problem. You could have used some # 10 stainless steel screws also. My son has a trailer exactly like yours. He had a Sienna for his towing vehicle but he found that there was not enough power. He just bought a ford echoboost as his new towing vehicle.

[depo]

So the wood coming out on the threads of the screws is the luan.....

so if there is a little bit of softness around the area is the luan rotting..... and delam from the foam core...


Would an expanding form be a way to fill the area..... or should I not worry about it?

I still want a way to mount it to the trailer and not just have caulk hold it on.

[capucine]

If your trailer is still on warranty I would bring it to the dealer for a check up. If the leak has been going for a quite long period it is possible that the back wall has been damaged and some delamination around the light is possible. Also you can check under the trailer under the menbrane to see if the water has travelled down at the base of the back wall. I am telling you this because I have a 2011 minilite that had a quite major leak on the back wall that necessited a return to the manufacturer for a new replacement rear wall. After it was raining the menbrane was leaking under behind the back wall. I noticed this major problem one week after I took possession of my new trailer. Enough to turn nuts.See a few of my photos. This luan sheet is so thin that it does not take too much force to strip this paper sheet.You can seal your screws in epoxy if you want, It will probably be very hard to replace the light assembly later if you have to do it. Use a good quality rubber silicone to seal all around and inside the treads of your screws. Good luck.

[Dave_Monica]

A good, accurate discription of the wall construction. We got to see this first-hand at the FR plant in Millersberg, IN.

If wood is coming out of the screw holes, it could be from wooden backing blocks inside the wall used as an anchoring point for anything attached to the exterior.

Is it possible to inspect the inside wall in the same area by removing panels inside the cabinets?

Have you inspected the roof for recent repairs or have you identified the source of a leak? The most likely location is where the roof meet the end cap.

Dave

[depo]

The roof is well sealed and the walls are super solid all the way down until you get below the tail light and it is down and to the corner of the trailer....

[capucine]

As I can conclude the leakage came from this light. If you reseal around this light ( let it dry with the light removed with a hair dryer ) before you reseal it it should be okay. There are so many places where the water can infiltrate and some of them that you will never tought than you hope your trailer will last many years without problems. When you are on the road everything is stressed and bound to develop some leakages over time.

[depo]

Thank you for your insight I appreciate it....