Leaky Airstream

[Crawdad]

I recently purchased a 1998 30 foot classic and it leaks water around the curved windows in the front of the trailer. I have been told by a very reliable source that the water is likely coming in from the top of the trailer. I just found out that some of the front top segments have been replaced on my trailer(before I bought it) and I did not know it. They used olympic rivets which I am told are not really waterproof. I have been advised to put silicone sealant on each of the rivets in an effort to seal them off. Have any of you had any experience with this kind of deal? Thanks for your feedback.

Rudy

[Moonstruck]

Hi Rudy,
thought about this! Think it might look messy putting silicone sealant on the rivets. I'd go for applying super glue around the rivets to seal them.
Marc

[The Flintstones]

From what I have read one should never use silicone ever.. super glue may work or maybe Parbond as it is thinner and has the ability to seep into the area to be sealed. Good luck
James

[azflycaster]

I would use Acryl-R, it is the recomended seam sealer from airstream. It will seep into and seal the leaks. If properly installed the Olynpic Rivets should not leak.
http://[IMG]http://store.airstre....jpg[/IMG]

[Kevbo10]

Originally Posted by Crawdad

I recently purchased a 1998 30 foot classic and it leaks water around the curved windows

\\ MASSIVE SNIP //

Thanks for your feedback.

Rudy

mr rudy,

the windows are "radiused", not curved or round...

look at the roof vent(s) first...

and

Acryl-R is the ONLY thing i'd use...

just sayin,

kevin

[lewster]

Yep!

You guys got the picture!!!!!

Acryl-R is what the factory (and yours truly) use to seal and re-seal the seams of the Airstreams. Great stuff, and with a little practice, you can get yourself in a Zen-like state and apply the stuff and never see where you did it!

As far as the Olympic rivets go, they should be waterproof as Richard said, but if you suspect them, a little shot of the Acryl-R will actually soak into the seam and give you further protection.

[SteveH]

Where can a person buy Acryl-R?

[Crawdad]

Truthfully, the water shows up on the bottom of the radiused windows inside the trailer. I wondering if ther water is coming in where the metal frame and the glasss come together. Maybe I should try caulking with Acryl-r on the outside where the glass and the metal frame come together.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Where can a person buy Acryl-R?

You can get it direct from the factory, or any well stocked Airstream dealer.

[huskyfan]

We have a 25' Safari. It has leaked in the front window, rear escape window and door from the beginning. Jackson Center reset the door and fix that problem. They also replaced the rear window. It still leaks. The dealer fixed it too. It still leaks. The front window has been fixed by the dealer and Jackson Center. It still leaks.
Have heard the mantra - "its an airstream, of course it leaks" Is this true?? Do they all leak??

[53flyingcloud]

Originally Posted by huskyfan

We have a 25' Safari. It has leaked in the front window, rear escape window and door from the beginning. Jackson Center reset the door and fix that problem. They also replaced the rear window. It still leaks. The dealer fixed it too. It still leaks. The front window has been fixed by the dealer and Jackson Center. It still leaks.
Have heard the mantra - "its an airstream, of course it leaks" Is this true?? Do they all leak??

They all have the tendencies to leak, given time...
It's called, "Internal Water Therapy"...

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Crawdad

I recently purchased a 1998 30 foot classic and it leaks water around the curved windows in the front of the trailer. I have been told by a very reliable source that the water is likely coming in from the top of the trailer. I just found out that some of the front top segments have been replaced on my trailer(before I bought it) and I did not know it. They used olympic rivets which I am told are not really waterproof. I have been advised to put silicone sealant on each of the rivets in an effort to seal them off. Have any of you had any experience with this kind of deal? Thanks for your feedback.Rudy

If you plan on keeping the trailer for a long time, then I would suggest that you use a long term fix to correct the leaks.

There is nothing wrong with using "olympic rivets" as long as they are used correctly.

You can drill out the rivets that were installed, and replace them correctly.

With the seams open, you can inject vulkem sealer.

Next, put a small circle of vulkem under the head of each rivet, insert it and pull it.

If you replaced all the rivets on the 3 segments on the front top of the trailer, it would take about 5 to 6 hours, from start to finish.

Materials costs are minor. Three hundred olympic rivets are $60.00, Two tubes of vulkem sealer. $20.00.

Shaving the rivets can be done several ways.

Should you take the permanent fix approach, that front end will never leak again.

Most importantly, if the fix is done correctly, it would take an expert to notice it.

Installing "any" sealer over the tops of the rivets will make the trailer look unsightly.

Further, if the rivets leak, then I would bet that a sealer was never put within the seams. Therefore in order to do that, you would still have to remove all the rivets.

Andy