Door Leak. Help!

[mello mike]

I've tried everything I can think of, but still I have a pesky leak in my 1972 Sovereign that I can't get rid of. I vulkem'd the trim over the door, caulked the two large screws at the bottom of the door frame, and installed new weather gasket material according the Inland Andy's parts list and directions. After a hard rain I have a wet floor on both sides of the door frame.

Does anybody have any other ideas?

[wahoonc]

Have you redone the kitchen vent stack? How about the stove vent, or awning rail? There are a couple of longitudal stringers that will allow water to travel along the length of the trailer before showing up. Also check the vista views and TV antenna too. These are some of the places I found leaks on my unit that were showing up in places away from where the water was actually getiing in. Do you have a deadbolt? That is another place that is prone to leak. Try starting with a hose down low then working your way up until you force a leak.

Aaron

[mello mike]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Have you redone the kitchen vent stack? How about the stove vent, or awning rail? Aaron

The kitchen vent stack? Is that the Aluminum housing for a tube or something right over the kitchen? What's the deal with this thing anyhow? Usually such fittings have a "roof" to deflect water but my Airstream doesn't. I stuck my finger in this vent stack and could only go down a couple inches though there appeared to be a shaft going down. This might be my problem.

The Stove Vent looks good, BTW.

[Tin Hut]

The open tube (vent) is normal. You should have one for kitchen, bath and toilet area as well. They are notorius leakers but not because of water going down the pipe but rather leaking in around it. Search on this forum for vent gasket & you'll find good info. You may need to replace the gaskets that slide over the pipe and cover the cut out on the roof. Also, if you have an awning you may need to scrape out the old caulk along the length of the attachment rail and recaulk. That leak could be coming from a distance away from the door and it's just finding a frame rib, stopping and running down to the floor. On my '67 I had several and got all but one of them solved

[wahoonc]

mellomike,
Sorry about that...should have been a little more detailed. You have plumbing stacks and the stacks have a rubber gasket and bug screen, they are all under the cover you see. One of my rubber gaskets was almost completely gone. When you install the new ones they are a very snug fit to the pipe and have sealant between them and the pipe. FWIW I also had a messed up screw in mine that was leaking....a factory defect from 1975...they had hit a rib putting the screw in and rather than drilling a proper pilot hole, they just glopped some more caulking on, it was leaking. The lifespan of Vulkem caulking is about 20 years, so if your unit is more than 20 years old I would seriously consider cleaning out all the old caulk you can find and resealing with the Vulkem and Parbond in the proper locations. It can be time consuming but I shouldn't have to do it but twice in my lifetime Also forgot to mention, look for loose or missing rivets on the outside of the shell, loose rivets typically will have a small black ring around them caused by the movement and oxidation of the aluminum dust. I several that where just flat out missing. At least one I suspect had never been installed. The awning rail is another primary suspect because it runs the length of the trailer and water can enter under the caulking and run quite a ways before gaining entry, again you will need to remove the old caulking and reseal with Vulkem.

Aaron