This Leak will be the end of me (with pictures)

[trekerboy]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Running the AC, will not pressurize anything.

Also, I don't think running the 3 ceiling fans will create an adequate amount of pressure either.

The soapy solution must be very thin in order to work properly.

Andy

I was just running the A/C units fan, which moves a lot of air (much more than the 3 Fantastic Fans I have), but agree that it may not have been enough to generate the amount of pressure I needed. It seemed like it would work because the areas that I had taped-up (vents, etc...) were obviously areas where are was trying to escape (the plastic covering them blew up like a balloon) but the proof is in the pudding as they say, and no bubbles for me.

At any rate, thank you for your advice Andy. I'm taking it to someone who uses the "SealTech" method.

[cwf]

If you find an AC guy who can wire up a blower out of a residential "air handler" of at least 2 tons YOU WILL HAVE PLENTY OF AIR!

Also, with many leaks you need the "volume" AND pressure to show bubbles like Andy mentioned above.

[mddsmith]

This will sound weird, but please bear with me. This morning, my wife and I were sitting and taking a break during my battle with a clogged A/C condensation drain tube. The A/C was running. Suddenly we noticed a couple of drops of water running down the outside of the window that is just to the right of the door as you come in. There has not been any rain for many days. I went outside to check, and found that the outer skin above the window was completely dry. The water was coming out of the top of the window frame and then running down the glass! The only possible explanation I can think of is that the condensation is running across the the inside of the skin and down that side until it is stopped by the window.

I suspect you may be having a similar problem, but in your case the water is making it all the way down to the floor. I may be totally off base, but you might want to look into it.

Mike

[sgschwend]

It has been a month any news?
My vote or guess is an errant mounted awning bracket, then one in front of the door.

My trailer had three screw holes into the trailer, no bedding or sealant around the fasteners.

[J. Morgan]

I say the water is coming through the antenna mount.


Brevi tempore!

[trekerboy]

Everyone's advice has been invaluable and I am happy to report that I have found the location of the leak(s)! It turns out the leaks were located... somewhere on the outside of the AS Hehe.

I haven't had a chance to take our AS to the local shoppe that does the SealTech method, so until I do that and they tell where the leaks are this is my current method of preventing further leaks:



Winter is on its way here in Michigan, so I'll probably end up picking this up again in the spring.

Oh, and I'm aware the tarp will scuff-up the exterior as it rubs against it when the wind blows. The exterior is going to be polished next spring as well, so not too worried about scuffs at this point.

I'll report back in the spring! Thanks everyone!

[trekerboy]

Originally Posted by trekerboy

Everyone's advice has been invaluable and I am happy to report that I have found the location of the leak(s)! It turns out the leaks were located... somewhere on the outside of the AS Hehe.

I haven't had a chance to take our AS to the local shoppe that does the SealTech method, so until I do that and they tell where the leaks are this is my current method of preventing further leaks:

Attachment 251416

Winter is on its way here in Michigan, so I'll probably end up picking this up again in the spring.

Oh, and I'm aware the tarp will scuff-up the exterior as it rubs against it when the wind blows. The exterior is going to be polished next spring as well, so not too worried about scuffs at this point.

I'll report back in the spring! Thanks everyone!

UPDATE: Turns out, putting a tarp over our AS doesn't prevent water from getting in... I didn't think about this at the time I put the tarp over the AS, but as the snow fell and got heavy on top of the AS it made certain areas of the tarp taught/tight, which would be fine except for there are some pokey things sticking up from the roof (namely the antenna mount and some random components of the zipdee awning). So, the combination of heavy snow/ice and taught/tight tarp meant that holes developed in the tarp. Then, when it got warm, some of the snow melted and created pools of water on the roof behind the awning. The pools of water found their way to the holes that had developed and water got underneath the tarp. Fortunately I'm pretty sure I caught this happening on the 1st day water got inside the AS, but now I have to find some place to store the AS indoors for the remainder of the winter. Ugh.

So, lesson learned... tarp over Airstream for the winter will rip from heavy snow/ice and let water into whatever you were trying to cover up.

[Silver Burrito]

2 questions:

1.What is the best way to remove old caulk from an AS?
2.What kind of sealing material is best?

Thanks!
Silver Burrito

[johnmeto3]

Airstreams had one or two blue stripes painted along the sides.

[trekerboy]

An update on my leak saga...

I took our AS to get leak tested today at a local shoppe that does the SealTech method (pressurize inside, coat outside with soapy water and look for bubbles indicating leaks).

The test was more successful than my home grown method with leaf blowers and fans, unfortunately it was not successful enough to locate the leaks It identified some vertical seems where air was escaping (potential leaks) but not really in the area where the leaks were occurring.

Now I'm back to square one... I think my next step is going to be to seal every exterior seem and area around exterior hardware. I really wish I would have taken off the interior skin and sealed everything from the inside before I did the interior renovation, but it's too late now. Best chance at stopping the leak now is to seal from the outside.

Anyone got a favorite silicon sealer they like to use on their airstream? Recommendations welcome.

[Becky B.]

Do NOT use silicone....! Use this:

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-267.htm

and on rivets, use this:

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-099.htm

If it makes you feel better, I have a leak that only occurs while traveling in the rain. And boy does it leak! It's my front window & I've tried everything. I think I might put sealer inside the window when it's open & shut it, thereby making my own gasket. I may never get the window open again, but if it quits leaking, it'll be worth it. And yes, I sealed all the seams when I had the interior skins off!

[trekerboy]

Originally Posted by Becky B.

Do NOT use silicone....! Use this:

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-267.htm

and on rivets, use this:

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-099.htm

If it makes you feel better, I have a leak that only occurs while traveling in the rain. And boy does it leak! It's my front window & I've tried everything. I think I might put sealer inside the window when it's open & shut it, thereby making my own gasket. I may never get the window open again, but if it quits leaking, it'll be worth it. And yes, I sealed all the seams when I had the interior skins off!

Thank you so much for the suggestions! Just ordered a bunch of supplies, including the two products you recommended, from VTS.

When applying the sealant I've been told it's really important to make sure the area is clean... any recommendations on what to use to clean the area? Some sort of alcohol solution? Mineral Spirits?

[rugjenkins]

No alcohol. I use acetone and or carb cleaner that has no alcohol derivative.

[AirstreamPDX]

Originally Posted by rugjenkins

No alcohol. I use acetone and or carb cleaner that has no alcohol derivative.

I am sure this has been addressed, but why no alcohol? I have Acetone, but I save it for tough jobs like removing Vulkem etc.

[Siegmann]

Originally Posted by trekerboy

An update on my leak saga...

I took our AS to get leak tested today at a local shoppe that does the SealTech method (pressurize inside, coat outside with soapy water and look for bubbles indicating leaks).

The test was more successful than my home grown method with leaf blowers and fans, unfortunately it was not successful enough to locate the leaks It identified some vertical seems where air was escaping (potential leaks) but not really in the area where the leaks were occurring.

Now I'm back to square one... I think my next step is going to be to seal every exterior seem and area around exterior hardware. I really wish I would have taken off the interior skin and sealed everything from the inside before I did the interior renovation, but it's too late now. Best chance at stopping the leak now is to seal from the outside.

Anyone got a favorite silicon sealer they like to use on their airstream? Recommendations welcome.

I've never had the pressure leak test done, but I've found leaks that I suspect might not show up with that method. I wipe down the seam, rivet, etc with a soapy sponge (to "wet" the surface) and then use an eyedropper with water to see if it wicks it in. I've discovered water could wick in places where there was no visible gap. I generally do not find water damage inside from these leaks, unless they are beneath and in line with where water drains off an awning, door or window gutter. In those locations, a small bit of wicking can start to add up.

I re-read the beginning of the thread, and have one long-shot idea for the leak forward of the door.

You probably already caulked the awning brackets. Well, if you look at the bottom bracket of the main awning arm, there are three mounting screws, one is under where the awning arm pivots. You can only get to it by separating the two pieces of the arm, and removing the bottom pivoting portion (get someone to help hold the upper arm portion, it's under a great deal of spring tension and could do serious damage if it gets loose). On my rig, the two accessible mounting screws on either side had vulkem in the screw holes. The center one had nothing. Water runs right down to it from the awning mounting rail/gutter. It wicked in water real good under the screw head. You might want to check it out. Maybe I just had a one-off installer error, but you never know.

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by trekerboy

Thank you so much for the suggestions! Just ordered a bunch of supplies, including the two products you recommended, from VTS.



When applying the sealant I've been told it's really important to make sure the area is clean... any recommendations on what to use to clean the area? Some sort of alcohol solution? Mineral Spirits?

I use mineral spirits to clean thing up before sealing. Blue painters tape on either side of the seam & press in the tremco with your finger & you'll have a nice seam.

[rugjenkins]

The directions on the polyurethane caulks like sikaflex say not to use cleaners with alcohol. It messes with the bonding of the sealant. I spot clean small areas with acetone and use the carb cleaner for bigger areas. Hope this helps.

[Tbeck11931]

In my field of work (aircraft maintenance) we always use Acetone

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by Tbeck11931

In my field of work (aircraft maintenance) we always use Acetone

Would MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) work as a substitute for acetone?

[trekerboy]

Originally Posted by trekerboy

Thank you so much for the suggestions! Just ordered a bunch of supplies, including the two products you recommended, from VTS.

So we sealed every exterior seam and the leaking has finally stopped! Turns out the major leak was from the rear ceiling fan... and guess who installed the rear ceiling fan... (me). DOH! Ugh. Live and learn.

We had a big rain last night and no leaks except one or two drips from the AC (condensation perhaps?) and a few drops around a window gasket; nothing I can't handle.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice! Case closed!