Leak

[mok]

It rained Sunday night, and we discovered a major leak. We collected about two ounces of water in a bowl in about 4 hours. The only changes to the roof were that I cleaned and the factory hooked up our satellite radio. I don’t for sure that this is where the leak is on the roof, but the water is coming through the seam on the inside above the right side dinette seat (2008 International 23 CCD). I need to try to fix it to get us through the winter, but don’t know what product to use. I checked the Airstream store for products to try to patch it with, but am at a loss as to which one to use.

[lynn]

Do you have a skylight? They can crack and leak.

[HowieE]

First I would look at the radio antenna on the roof since that was the last place worked on.

Keep in mind the leaks do not just transfer straight through directly below where the hole is. Water can travel several feet before coming through the inner skin.

[bobandcarla]

Is it still under warranty? I would bring it back to the dealer, they do a pressure test with soap to find leaks. I've had many and they are very hard to find with your eye, because like someome already said water can travel anywhere.......good luck and don't take the dealers word that it's ok

[Air-13800]

I have a 20 year old trailer, and it had a few leaks when it would rain.

I know this is going to sound like a joke, but I assure you it is not.

I found a product called --- Captain Tolly's creeping crack cure ---

I bought it at camping world; I think it was $8 / 4oz

It is a very thin water based sealant, looks like milk. You start at the top of the trailer, and place a drop on the seam, if the seam is tight at that point the liquid will run down the seam until it finds a crack, then it will disappear into the crack by capillary action, wait about an hour for it to harden, and repeat. When that crack is full of sealant, the liquid will run down further, until it finds another crack, on my trailer it sealed hair line cracks I could not see. I went over every seam on my trailer with less than 1 bottle, END OF LEAKS!!!

You have to do it when the trailer skin is totally dry, so it may not help unless you get some dry weather for a few days. If it runs across the skin where you don’t want it just wipe it off with a damp cloth. Once cured it turns to a tough clear sealant that is waterproof.

I now try to go over the seams in the warm summer time, even if I have had no problems, this stuff is the only sealant I will use, it is far better to get the sealant into the space between the alum panels at a joint, than to use a thick sealant on the edge of the top panel to the face of the lower one.

It will seal cracks you cannot see, but the water seems to find them easily.

[TheCountess]

Hey Hey...Captain Tolley's is GREAT NEWS however, I could not find it on the Camping World website. I found it here: Capt. Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure It is an amazing old fashioned Hardware store on the net called JOHN MILLEN HARDWARE of out Wilmette, Illinois, (Since 1908)!! The website is a trip and I spoke to the owner on the phone...DELIGHTFUL. Got some on it's way!

[Steve & Susan]

Here is how I found the source of ours and how I fixed it....

Take the inside cowling off the fantastic fan, the skylight and the teevee antenna. This will expose the insulation between the outside skin and the inside skin.

CAREFULLY feel the insulation around each for wetness. The holes for these add-ons are not sanded and the cut aluminum edge can cut your fingers off. The place where you discovered the drip is not necessarily the place where the leak is - the water will run along a seam until it finds a gap and that can be for several feet. Luckily, or by design, the roof-top add-ons are all in the center roof-panel and not along the curved sides fo locating a leak shouldn't be too difficult, although there are stories of some who are still looking.

Our leak was in the skylight - they are made of Lexan which over time and exposure gets brittle. Wind from towing can cause cracks where the screws attach it to the mounting surface. Even a small crack can let in lots of water in a downpour.

We took the old one off, cleaned all of the old caulking and installed the new one. We used Vulkem caulk to seal everything. New ones are available from an AS dealer - about $100 for the big one, $80 for the smaller one.

Then, as a precaution, I took some self-leveling caulk and went over all of the other roof-top attachments and added a layer wherever the original looked worn or thin.

So far, no more leaks - but with the number of holes in the roof for add-ons (two skylights, two fantastic fans, the A/c, two tank vents, the fridge and the teevee antenna) and the fact that our AS is gonna be five years old, inspection and possible replacement of caulk is going to be number one on my list of regular maintenance items.

Also, yours is a 2008 and as was mentioned above - if it is still under warranty, get your dealer to take care of the problem.

Best of luck - be sure to post if you have any questions, suggestions or PICTURES!

[TheCountess]

OOOPPS...The website I thought I was copying is actually here:

https://johnmillenhardware.com There you can find Captain Tolley's and a lot of obscure products that you can't find anywhere else. I also ordered the Aluminum cleaner.