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Old 09-19-2017, 08:09 AM   #1
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2003 26' Land Yacht 26
Orlando , Florida
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SOS Bathroom roof leak, end of world or piece of cake?

We bought our first motor home a 2003 land Yacht 26, from its previous owner just before Erma. It is in good running condition but parked under tall trees in Florida weather for a couple of years. There was no maintenance log. We drove it home and scheduled a mechanic visit for today after electricity came back over the weekend.
Now I have been cleaning and just found a leak inside of the cabinet above toilet. I saw a small area of water stain on fabric before we bought it, but there was no dampness anywhere including inside of the same cabinet at the time. It was only last night after an afternoon of rain had I noticed the stain has expended. The wet spot was in the cabinet between roof and wall on the shower side. Brown water was slowly but surly running down the inside of the side wall. The spot might have been expending through out the hurricane week without my noticing. It was hard to see without electricity.
I attached files to show the location and leak spot. Sorry they are sideways.
I then climbed onto the roof and checked the "bubble" over shower area, which is surrounded by white rubbery wide tape. There was no visible damage to the bubble, the sealing tape or the roof itself. I ran my finger on the tape and surrounding area and could not feel any wetness either.
Now my best guess is something under that tape is not holding up to the shaking and baking of sunshine and hurricanes. The previous owner probably tried to fix it.
What now?

Before any of you graciously reply, let me say we are first time motor home owners. We read as much as we could before we bought yet still so nervous because neither one of us know what we are doing but we are moving in full time in the belly of this machine in a couple of months. The plan is to live in Florida until his terminally ill father passes then camp our way across America to relocate on west coast with our cat and dog. I am terrified but supper excited about the trip as well.
IF this machine holds it together that is.
So, what are the chances I replace the sealing tape and all my problems go away?
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:46 AM   #2
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How about a picture of the outside, one near and one far. The campers need to be resealed every few years, so this is not a huge problem. It's every diy.
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Old 09-19-2017, 04:20 PM   #3
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2003 26' Land Yacht 26
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I added pictures of the roof. Hope they help.
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Old 09-19-2017, 04:22 PM   #4
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2003 26' Land Yacht 26
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Picture of roof detail added.
Should I start looking for tape and caulking?
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Old 09-19-2017, 05:00 PM   #5
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Hi

Best approach on *any* older AS that has been neglected for a couple of years is to redo all the seals. Yes, it's a PIA to do. Once you do it (or get it done) you have a baseline to work from. You never have to wonder "what's under that?". You now *know* what's there and why. Is this the cheap approach? Nope, not in any way. Is it the "sleep at night" approach? yup.

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Old 09-19-2017, 05:01 PM   #6
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1974 31' Sovereign
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From one picture it looks like there is a vista view window right above the cabinet. Probably your best bet. Seal around the glass and metal trim with some polyurethane sealant(not silicone), trempro 635 or polyurethane roofing caulk.. Let it cure and then use hose to check for leaks. While you're at it reseal the other ones.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:15 AM   #7
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Water leaks in an Airstream seldom go straight down. It may leak in one area and travel to another spot to get inside. Using a hose as previously noted is a good way to isolate one area at a time when searching for the leak.

I would start with the big seams and work down to the small ones. The skylight that looks like it has tape around the edges would be first, then go to the roof vents, A/C and vent stacks, then seams.

If you are looking for loose rivets, I have read you can put a shop vac hose on and if they don't hold suction they leak, but, I have never tried it.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:53 AM   #8
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Since you said this is your first time . . .

The most important thing is to take your time, go slowly, and do each step carefully. No "short cuts" or "that looks like it might be good enough".

The second thing is to remove the previous sealants, all the way to metal, and do a really good job of exposing the surfaces you want to make a watertight bond between. If you have been lucky, you won't find any silicone sealant from a previous attempt. That stuff is by far the most difficult to completely remove. But whatever is there, take it off, and get back to bare metal, as far as you can go between the surfaces you want to bond. And as long as you are up there, you might as well get anything that looks at all suspicious or old. "Future you" will thank "present you".

The third thing is to pay attention to the advice about sealants that you can get here. Stay away from silicones. Get a good polyurethane. I like Vulkem, but there are other good ones.

Test it to see that you fixed it, and keep fixing until you have fixed it.

Last, the Sun will attack anything and everything that you do, so if you can, keep your unit away from the sun. (that includes tires).

This site is filled with useful information, left by helpful people with more experience than I have. Reading things here often turns out to be useful at some point in the future when things go sideways and you are away from the web.

Don't worry, you can do this. Best wishes for your Father in Law, and the grand adventure you are starting.
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:15 PM   #9
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Sealant

On your skylight, you've got Eternabond Tape on Vent, looks as if that's Dicor Sealant.

To be honest, if ANY water EVER gets past Eternabond, it would amaze me. I've used it on all roof seams of my Classic motorhome, and haven't had any leaks at all. I'm betting the Dicor on the Roof Vent is the culprit. No matter the region, Dicor only lasts a period of years. If you don't want to fight removing and recaulking Dicor, look for Eternabond I've found it local, but they really LIKE the stuff. Online, eBay or Amazon, was much less expensive.

I'll say this, as mentioned before, plan to re-seal every roof seam, to give yourself a base for the future.

To me, Eternabond is best! Once you go to use it, you'll understand. Heck, even if you try to remove what's already at skylight, you'll understand.

One more thought, with as yellow as that skylight is, there's possiblity of a small hairline crack. Maybe stand on roof and spray water on skylight to determine inside if that's your problem.

Good Luck, Derek
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Old 09-20-2017, 02:04 PM   #10
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After carefully looking at all the pics and reading the first post again, it looks the the plumbing vent (the one near the electric vent fan)is the issue. Remove the caulk and reseal all potential leak areas.
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Old 09-20-2017, 03:25 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HiJoeSilver View Post
From one picture it looks like there is a vista view window right above the cabinet. Probably your best bet. Seal around the glass and metal trim with some polyurethane sealant(not silicone), trempro 635 or polyurethane roofing caulk.. Let it cure and then use hose to check for leaks. While you're at it reseal the other ones.
Disregard, looking back at the picture zoomed in, what I was seeing was the centerline vent w/ fart fan and not a vists view window.
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Old 09-20-2017, 10:41 PM   #12
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2003 26' Land Yacht 26
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Alright! Big thank you to all of you! Great advise and gave me a lot of confidence to go up there and do it myself.
Before I rant off, What do you recommend for removing the old caulking from fiberglass roof? Flattipped screw driver or is there a chemical solution?
Or should I leave the old caulking, clean the surface and build on top?

I have been cleaning the bus (?) all day and watching "fiberglass rv roof repair" on YouTube all night. Went off my track a bit and learned about black water tank dumping and cleaning but it was time well spent.
Sounds like I need to attack the exhaust fan, the sky light and the plumbing vent. The skylight is hued. I can see tiny fractures where it is screwed in on the inside layer, which should not be contributing to a leak, or would it? No visible crack on the outside layer but there seems to be mold in between.
The bath exhaust fan, along with one in the front, are dead and need to be replaced. I will start practicing my roofing skills there.
My shopping list so far consists:
Exhaust fans
Skylight
alcohol or mineral spirits for cleaning
Screw driver or drill
polyurethane for caulking
Enternabond tape
butyl tape?

Again, what should do with the old caulking?

Thanks again and you guys are really helpful!
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:03 PM   #13
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Looks like a good plan, butyl tape really isn't tape, more of a ribbon of plumbers putty. It goes between the fan flange and roof and gets squished down when tightening screws.
Plastic putty knife and patience to remove the old sealant. Concentrate on the lip where the fan housing ends at the roof. No need to struggle removing sealant on the lip, it'll come up with the fan. Under the fan is likely butyl tape which removes easily. Then work outward to remove other leftover sealant.
When you cover with the eternabond lap it from back to front. So rear piece first, then sides, then front. Make sure you give sealant a couple warm days to cure before covering with the tape.

Get rid of the fart fan, they move basically no air.

I like the maxxair fans.for about $180 you can get one with pretty much all the bells and whistles.

Maybe put a bead of sealant around the skylight where the eternabond meets the dome.

If you get energetic, headlight restorer polish should clean up that skylight.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:13 PM   #14
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2003 26' Land Yacht 26
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Also, would a good old bottle of vodka do the job for rubbing alcohol? RV life seems to be all about functioning on minimal material stuff. It appears to be wiser to purchase multi use items.
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Old 09-21-2017, 06:17 AM   #15
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Alcohol cleaner is cheap. $2 just get what you need
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Old 09-21-2017, 10:53 PM   #16
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Rubbing alcohol is "Three-carbon" alcohol, ("isopropyl) at about 70%. It is a better 'oil-friendly' solvent compared to Vodka which is "Two-carbon" alcohol ("Ethanol") at about 40%, so much more like water, and less oil-friendly. It could work, but why try, when the better stuff is available at most drug stores, and many grocery markets.
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Old 09-22-2017, 07:14 AM   #17
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Hi

The other issue with rubbing alcohol is that some of it is "improved". Why they do this baffles me, but they add a bit of this or that. The lanolin or whatever does not improve its solvent properties. It might make your skin happier.

Stick with the dirt cheap tin can from Home Depot or Lowes.

Bob
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