Leaks, leaks, and more leaks

[da_lizard]

We have a 69 Tradewind. We paid sometime to restore it, but that didn't go as planned.

The outside was acid washed and polished, but was not sealed.

That person is no longer in business.

There is no one in our immediate area that specializes in Airstreams or leaks. We have a company that really tries and has made some progress, but we still have some pesky leaks and just can't continue to pay $95 an hour for labor to keep trying.

Is there anywhere in the Georgia/South Carolina area that specializes in leaks?

Thanks,
Elizabeth and Tom

[aquinob]

Can't help you on the referral for a good tech down in GA, but I can make some suggestions on looking at where the leaks come from.

For starters an "acid wash" isn't going to seal anything up, and I'm not sure I know what it even entails. The panels all have a sealant in-between them and it is possible for that sealant (vulkem) to break down. There are also all the rivets on the roof and sides that are potential water entries, if you notice that any are loose, that would be a probable leak. The vents for the plumbing rely on a piece of rubber that deteriorates in a few years, once that rubber is gone, water can back up and leak down between the inner and outer skins.

The way to cure these leaks varies. If you were to pull off all the interior skins, it would be fairly easy to see where the water is coming from and seal it up from the back, but that would be a lot of work and money if you paid somebody to do it. There are some ways to seal all the seams from the outside. Acryl-R comes to mind. It is applied to all the standing seams on the outside. My guess is that you probably have to remove any remaining vulkem that is coming from the seams before you apply it. It could probably be dabbed over the rivets as well.

The method I chose to use involved painting the roof with a special compound. I used ceramiflex (no longer available) in order to reduce the heat in the Summer as well as seal up the top of the trailer. You can see what was involved here: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f478...lex-98479.html I also rebuilt the vents for the plumbing.

You can also have leaks up by the vents or the AC on the roof. The windows, door and the running lights are also potential spots for water to get in. There is no quick fix for any of it, but good maintenance done routinely should keep it down over time.

[da_lizard]

Thanks, we had been wondering and reading which is best to use where. We will definitely get the Acryl-R. Some areas we have had continuous problems are around the windows. We have replaced the seals and the guy has sealed them with one of the Trempro sealants. But we still have problems with water showing up inside the windows.

[cwf]

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure
CAPTAIN TOLLEYS Crack Cure Sealant, 2 OZ. | West Marine

The Acryl sealant is in a pump can. Careful application will allow it to "wick" a bit between aluminum sheets at their seam. It doesn't like to be flexed a lot.

My best success was to use Capt. Tolley's on all rivets. Keep putting until I t no longer wicks. If you have loose rivets you may need to replace. To test rivets for leaks... Use Signlady's approach. Use a small suction cup over the rivet. If it doesn't hold vacuum, it is leaking.

I also put Capt. Tolley's around window frames. Wait until you are sure it is dry. Then apply the sealant.

To find "leaks" you can pressurize the AS with a fan then put soapy water on exterior.

[da_lizard]

Okay, thanks will give that a try also!!

[nickclifford]

i have a heavy leak that comes through the window frame of sorts, yet when it's not raining and turn the hose on right above the window with water literally gushing it's clearly not entering via the frame around the window.
wondering if there is an obvious leak spot to anyone? must be working it's way through from above. I've just resealed around the original A/C and roof vents. Could water be working it's way through the a/c fan opening possibly ? or what about the awning rail that runs down the length of the trailer on that side? roof seams ?
both roof vents, the sewer and rear vent have been newly sealed up too.

any tips most appreciated

[nickclifford]

[QUOTE=nickclifford;1706212]i have a heavy leak that comes through the window frame of sorts, yet when it's not raining and turn the hose on right above the window with water literally gushing it's clearly not entering via the frame around the window.
wondering if there is an obvious leak spot to anyone? must be working it's way through from above. I've just resealed around the original A/C and roof vents. Could water be working it's way through the a/c fan opening possibly ? or what about the awning rail that runs down the length of the trailer on that side? roof seams ?
both roof vents, the sewer and rear vent have been newly sealed up too.

running the hose pipe again, thinking it's maybe coming through that roof rail area, not sure what's that is for, something for an awning possibly ? it's riveted but maybe some could be lose possibly ..
the coincidence is that the leak is only on the door side with water coming in through window frame area on the bedroom & kitchen window plus a slight leak on the side front window next to the door too. Yet the windows on the opposite side are all dry.

[Airtandem]

Is there anyone that does the pressure leak test near Davenport Iowa?
The FC has a leak near the front Fantastic. I have caulked (fantastic), but still leaks, also used Capt. Tully on all rivets. The leak seems to be next to the fan. ???

[labtopia]

I bought a '58 Caravanner & after a couple heavy long multi day rains found 3 leaks... I've been able to find & fix 2 of the 3. What's going on with my trailer is that at some time in the past there was a tree that fell on the front roof. Their solution was to goop the thing up with silicone! The 2 i fixed i scraped as far up i could w/o a latter (because it was raining for 2weeks and still going) & butyl taped it up. It worked for those. The 3rd is still leaking, i need to get higher & kill all that silicone all the way up and seal it.

leaks are a pain, but being a '58, i think it's out of warranty...

Keep fighting! I'm thinking i got lucky so far.

dave

[nickclifford]

i like the idea of a pressure test .. but in the mean time, i'm going to drape sections of the trailer with a plastic tarp during the next rain storm to eliminate areas and be able to focus on checking all rivets and seams where it would appear to be coming in from ... kinda rudimentary though! It's going to rain tomorrow here in CA again, so will be trying this idea out..! and yeah, my warranty has expired too !!
when you think about it though, these trailers are amazing, it's over 40 years old and only a couple of leaks, original floors were 95% good, just a couple of rotted out spots.

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by cwf

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure
CAPTAIN TOLLEYS Crack Cure Sealant, 2 OZ. | West Marine

The Acryl sealant is in a pump can. Careful application will allow it to "wick" a bit between aluminum sheets at their seam. It doesn't like to be flexed a lot.

My best success was to use Capt. Tolley's on all rivets. Keep putting until I t no longer wicks. If you have loose rivets you may need to replace. To test rivets for leaks... Use Signlady's approach. Use a small suction cup over the rivet. If it doesn't hold vacuum, it is leaking.

I also put Capt. Tolley's around window frames. Wait until you are sure it is dry. Then apply the sealant.

To find "leaks" you can pressurize the AS with a fan then put soapy water on exterior.

have you seen this test done before? how do they do that?

[sandgrubber]

I wondered the same. You can't pressurize with a fan unless you're blowing additional air in from somewhere. Maybe you could put a shop vac on 'blow' and hook it up to one of the vents (block the other vents). Alternatively, if you can get your hands on a big bottle of compressed air, you could just bring it inside and open the valve.

[Morgan guy]

We recently had our AS leak tested. They removed one of the roof vents and hooked a blower to a large tube attached to the vent. They then sprayed soapy water on the trailer and watched for bubbles to appear. They found several areas that I did not suspect.

[Miko38]

I cleaned the roof seams and applied eternabond tape. Seems to be holding up so far.
Mike

[Trailer]

The company who did our pressure test used the "pump/blower from a "Jumpy House." they didn't remove any vents as the rig they developed fit over the top of the roof vent with the vent open. The unit had soft material that made a good seal but I don't know what pressure in psi it accomplished. What it did accomplish was show us several leaks at joints and seams and windows. After the joints were sealed it still showed "bubbles" at the rear window. Still working on those leaks caused by poor workmanship on the part of the dealer, not Airstream. This is on a 2015 25'Flying Cloud FB.

[prairieschooner]

I found and cured a few leaks by using Duct Tape. I simply taped the area around the vents until I found the problem areas.
One of the leaks was where the vent was lifted and sealed with the new Vulkem that failed...I repaired it with Sikaflex.
Good Luck!