Roof leak above bunk

[neils]

We've got a Rockwood 2318G. I've noticed some moisture one one of the bunks after having the camper sit out overnight. No rain, and no one was occupying the camper, so I think it's condensation from outside the tent seeping through. The wet spot is right in the center of the mattress.


I inspected the tent material and don't see any obvious holes.


Any advice on preventing this?

[phil435]

Is this new? If so, Rockwood advises before the first trip to wet the canvas thoroughly to seal the seams. They use a special thread that expands during water contact and this is part of the sealing process. They say in the manual that seeing water in the camper the first time doing this is normal.

[neils]

No, it's a 2018 model, though this is the first time we've had it out this season.

[flyerdp]

Hard to give advice on how to fix/prevent this without knowing the ingress point I am afraid.

[Mike91]

Likely leaking around the vent fan enclosure. Make sure the caulking around the vent fan on the roof hasn't hardened and pulled up. This vent fan needs to be recaulked every 6 months or so. I know, as I do it often and the caulk hardens and pulls up quickly.

I had a camper an earlier Rockwood camper that had the roof ruined because of this. All the wood in the roof was swollen and moldy.

Good luck.

[flyerdp]

Originally Posted by Mike91

Likely leaking around the vent fan enclosure. Make sure the caulking around the vent fan on the roof hasn't hardened and pulled up. This vent fan needs to be recaulked every 6 months or so. I know, as I do it often and the caulk hardens and pulls up quickly.

I had a camper an earlier Rockwood camper that had the roof ruined because of this. All the wood in the roof was swollen and moldy.

Good luck.

Did you do that with ProFlex? Wondering because I redid the entire roof sides and fan opening on my last camper with it. A year later it still looked great. I can't tell you any more as its been 9 mos since I sold it.

I also keep both in a garage out of sun, but not necessarily high/low temps.

[Mike91]

Originally Posted by flyerdp

Did you do that with ProFlex?

Yes, crystal clear and now on my 4th tube. This doesn't last long as it hardens and pulls away BUT will look great until you see the fine line between caulk and camper where it's no longer adhering anymore. It's nice because unlike silicone caulk, you can add it right on top of old Proflex but eventually it all will get so bad you'll need to strip it with a plastic putty knife and put all new on.

Don't think there's much better out there as silicone fails even worse plus it has to be stripped since you can't put new silicone caulk on old.

I'm in Indiana where we have weather/temp extremes then add the vibrations and movement when pulling down a bumpy road and then you get bad adhesion.

[flyerdp]

Originally Posted by Mike91

Yes, crystal clear and now on my 4th tube. This doesn't last long as it hardens and pulls away BUT will look great until you see the fine line between caulk and camper where it's no longer adhering anymore. It's nice because unlike silicone caulk, you can add it right on top of old Proflex but eventually it all will get so bad you'll need to strip it with a plastic putty knife and put all new on.

Don't think there's much better out there as silicone fails even worse plus it has to be stripped since you can't put new silicone caulk on old.

I'm in Indiana where we have weather/temp extremes then add the vibrations and movement when pulling down a bumpy road and then you get bad adhesion.

There is (or is supposed to be) a solid strip of Dicor under the corner molding from roof to sideboards but I wouldn't trust it either

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by neils

We've got a Rockwood 2318G. I've noticed some moisture one one of the bunks after having the camper sit out overnight. No rain, and no one was occupying the camper, so I think it's condensation from outside the tent seeping through. The wet spot is right in the center of the mattress.

I inspected the tent material and don't see any obvious holes.

I assume you are talking about one of the pullout bunks with the tent material over it. And that the tent was fully set up.

Yes, condensation is a regular problem with any kind of tent material or poorly insulated walls and roofs. In my pop-up, it was common to get condensation on the INSIDE of the end roof, as well as dew on the outside. All that needs to happen is that the temperature of the inside surface get below the dew point of the stagnant air. This is especially likely if there are humans or animals inside the tent area, as we exhaust water vapor when we breathe.

Any advice on preventing this?

Notice the conditions - the air has to be stagnant for the water to condense out of it. In my popup (and A-frame today), I learned to keep the roof vent at least cracked to allow some air movement. In the popup, I would always unzip a few inches along the top of the windows or screens to further promote airflow at both ends. It is even more critical to do this on the cold nights when you are using the heater.

Yes, I learned this the hard way camping in California - Lake Tahoe, California Coast, Sierra Nevada.

Fred W
now 2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
past 2000 Coleman Westlake popup

[Mike91]

I've never had a condensation problem in my many years of tent or Pop Up camping even in the 30s with heat.

My tents always had built in venting so no issue.

My newest 2 pop ups had at least the side window flaps of the bunkends with a breathable canvas or synthetic. The front window flaps of the bunk are vinyl coated so they are not breathable. All the slide out window flaps are vinyl coated as well but that doesn't matter as those also have a clear vinyl window flap to the outside.

On my 2005 Rockwood 2290, it had all bunkend window flaps with a vinyl coating so not breathable. I always left a 2" opening on the edge of the flap if I had the heat on. No heat, they stayed closed. Never an issue with dripping condensation.

In this 2005 Rockwood camper, the top of the bunkend was moist once but never dripping and that was with the heat on and the flaps completely zipped up. No venting at all.

If you have water dripping to make your mattress wet, you have a leak. I thought you setup after having it closed and discovered the wet mattress.

If the mattress was dry when setup, then wet after a morning dew or condensation on the outside of the bunk, you have pinhole leak somewhere in the vinyl coating of the roof of the bunkend. Very very easy to fix, some vinyl seal/glue will do the trick.

I seen some lighter spots in my vinyl coating on the top of the bunks and had dealer put on a dab of sealer in case. It actually bonds to the vinyl by melting and bonding to it. Now I see other light spots on the top but they haven't leaked in the years I've had it so I really didn't need to seal but gave extra protection.

So find your leak with a hose, mark it, then seal it. EASY.