Roof vents leak...

[SLVRSRFR]

Greetings from sunny muggy Florida!
As we all know; Florida rains every day in the summer. Joy. I am currently full timing in my 31' 1974 Soveriegn. For obvious reasons I have noticed a small problem. The lights in my dining room and bathroom are filling with water. They are the big rectangular 12volt lights with ventalation. I believe the water is entering through a bad seal.
My goal is to take the assembly apart nd remove the old seal with a razor etc. then use some good old #III silicone. I hope this will resovle the problem and prevent further water damage. however the people here on A/Sforums may have some better suggetions on tackling the problem.

[SLVRSRFR]

Thank you in advance!

[davidz71]

The vent fans on my '77 Excella 500 31' had foam rubber seals on the inside of the vent hood. They were all shot, I replaced them but no water ever leaked into the interior prior to the seals being replaced. I'd say you may also have Vulkem that has cracked, chipped or fallen off on the outside of the trailer around the vent. It may be time to scrape it off and recaulk with Vulkem, Trempro or Sikaflex.

[mello mike]

Don't ever use silicone on the exterior of an airstream. Use Vulkem.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by SLVRSRFR

Greetings from sunny muggy Florida!
As we all know; Florida rains every day in the summer. Joy. I am currently full timing in my 31' 1974 Soveriegn. For obvious reasons I have noticed a small problem. The lights in my dining room and bathroom are filling with water. They are the big rectangular 12volt lights with ventalation. I believe the water is entering through a bad seal.
My goal is to take the assembly apart nd remove the old seal with a razor etc. then use some good old #III silicone. I hope this will resovle the problem and prevent further water damage. however the people here on A/Sforums may have some better suggetions on tackling the problem.

There are two sources of leaks from your vent covers.

The first is probably the gasket is shot.

The second is if your vents are metal and have a plastic center piece, that plastic in time fails. Or if your vent covers are all plastic, they could be cracked.

You might also check your window and entrance door gaskets as well as the access compartment door gaskets. If they are the originals, most of them will leak especially when you tow or are in a driving rain.

Plus, the # 1 hidden gasket that fails, since it only lasts 5 years or so, is the sewer vent pipe gaskets. You will have to remove one of those covers to check it out.

Andy

[SLVRSRFR]

Thank you for the advice guys. Vulkem got it... No silicone. Good thing I asked. What can I say... Im a nOOb. Be safe out there!

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by mello mike

Don't ever use silicone on the exterior of an airstream. Use Vulkem.

I have used some silicon. Should I get it off?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by moosetags

I have used some silicon. Should I get it off?

Faster than yesterday.

The sun will make the silicon sealer release. That created a chemical barrier, that must be chemically cleaned so that you can use the correct sealer.

Never, ever, use silicone sealer on the outside.

Andy

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Faster than yesterday.

The sun will make the silicon sealer release. That created a chemical barrier, that must be chemically cleaned so that you can use the correct sealer.

Never, ever, use silicone sealer on the outside.

Andy

Hi Andy,

Yes, I have silicone on my 67. In my defense, it was in the mid-80s, no forums for advice. I've been very lucky so far, but could you expand on the chemical cleaning after removing the silicone? I will fix it correctly.

Vaughan

[rreeves]

Can you use eternabond products on Airstreams (i.e., their tape etc)?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by SLVRSRFR

Greetings from sunny muggy Florida!
As we all know; Florida rains every day in the summer. Joy. I am currently full timing in my 31' 1974 Soveriegn. For obvious reasons I have noticed a small problem. The lights in my dining room and bathroom are filling with water. They are the big rectangular 12volt lights with ventalation. I believe the water is entering through a bad seal.
My goal is to take the assembly apart nd remove the old seal with a razor etc. then use some good old #III silicone. I hope this will resovle the problem and prevent further water damage. however the people here on A/Sforums may have some better suggetions on tackling the problem.

This is what I found while cleaning the roof....CHECK THAT SEWER VENT!!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f456...ent-35651.html

[Fyrzowt]

My trailer had silicone on it from a previous PO. I removed it on Saturday using a product called "Indoor/Outdoor caulk remover" by 3M. It comes in a squeeze bottle and looks like white wood glue.
It seems to work by loosening the bond to the aluminum, the silicone stays intact. A plastic putty knife under the edges pulled it right up. Works great.
Dave