Drip, Drip and Crack

[jcanavera]

Just got back from an outing last week. Looks like the front skylight has sprung a very small leak. Air conditioner showed a small leak back in June at Moraine but hasn't dripped again. Back skylight had a small leak back when the trailer was under warranty and was repaired. Sort of disheartening.

I went up on the roof (actually stood) for the first time on Monday. That roof is strong at the rivet lines.....but that leaves some tricky footing if you need to do some work up there. I'm toying around with having the dealer fix this at this point. I can't find anything wrong with the skylight, but the leak is probably on the inner box area. Essentially the area that you can't get to because the outer cover extends over it. (Looks like you need to take the caulk off of the screw holes that cover the outer shell of the skylight, remove the screws and cover.) That would leave the inner section of the skylight and frame that fits into the opening. My guess is that is where the leak is since the caulking around the outside edge looks perfect. Dealer fix is to remove skylight and clean it all up and re-caulk. At least 1 hours labor at $100 per hour. I'm not sure about the AC unit. Seems in both cases the leaks showed up when the trailer was not dead level. Leaks were on the low side of the trailer which pretty much would occur if the water rolls from the high side against the curb of the skylight or air conditioner gasket and some caulking has failed.

While up there I noticed that almost all the screw holes on the A/C shroud have cracked in both directions. I felt good that this at least is still under warranty from Duo-Therm (3 years parts).......that was until I found out that shrouds are only warranted for 90 days (even on brand new units). Well another $100 down the tube. My guess is that if I don't replace it, it will become a flying missile on a future trip.

Jack

[Roadtoaster]

Jack, I just had a new 13,500 btu Penguin installed because I wanted to be cooler. My 11,000 unit just wasn't doing it. Noticed that the screws holding the cover on have a shoulder on them, I suppose this is to help with the cracking problem. Maybe Dometic will send you some with your new cover.

Greg

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ptrvr

Jack, I just had a new 13,500 btu Penguin installed because I wanted to be cooler. My 11,000 unit just wasn't doing it. Noticed that the screws holding the cover on have a shoulder on them, I suppose this is to help with the cracking problem. Maybe Dometic will send you some with your new cover.

Greg

Greg, that doesn't surprise me that you had to upgrade. The 13.5 Penguin didn't cut the mustard on my 27' Safari when the temps hit the mid 90's or above. That's why I upgraded the Classic at build time with the 15K unit. I've never regretted that change.

My dealer has a cover in stock. I called yesterday and he noted that they keep a supply of these on hand. Apparently the cracking is a well known problem. Interesting that this is the first time I've ever had this happen on any trailer.

I'm not sure what this shoulder is that you are describing. It will be interesting to see what the replacement cover is. I noticed that the 15K Penguins have a couple of different covers. Apparently Duo-Therm did a design change late in 2003. Silvertwinkie's Safari was built about 60 days after my Classic and his 15K shroud is different from mine.

Jack

[B25guy]

I developed a crack on the front/top part of the shroud, perhaps a low branch somewhere. When I took the shroud off to fix, I also noted the cracking around all the screw holes.

I riveted an aluminum flat bar on the inside leading edge to prevent any more wide-spread cracking (and potential projectile) and decided to use sheet metal screws that have rubber washers built into them (surplus from a hangar project ago).

Curious why the shroud cracked at the holes, I noticed the metal frame that the shroud attaches was noticeably bent up/in almost all the way around the perimeter. I unbent and straightened as best I could and after re-installing the shroud, the amount of flexing the shroud has to do to meet metal is very, very minimal.

I suspect the difference in shape from shroud to metal frame caused all the stress cracking.