pixleys
Dover, NH
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I am a machine designer living in Dover, NH. I happen to be on shutdown this week and spent some time thinking about the lousy seals that all manufacturers use for their tent ends on hybrid TTs. Actually the seals are OK its the surfaces they mate to that are far too irregular to give the seal a chance to work. Then there's the issue (with Rockwood at least) of putting poorly installed screw heads right under the sealing surface. This is a two part fix and it will stand up to a hurricane. First put caulk (white silicone) on your finger and fill every screw head where the screw driver tip goes and under every screw head to completely fill any voids then wipe them off with your finger in the direction of the seal. I have attached a link to my photo gallery that shows everything I'm describing. Now go to home depot and for $7 get two 10' lengths of 2" SCH 40 PVC pipe. I spent a fair amount if time with my CAD program optimizing the pipe size and angle of cut to get the best water shedding effect. What I have done in essence is slice a chunk out of a 90" long PVC pipe so that it hangs from the gutter over the bunk end door. The chunk I removed is 1/4 or 90 degrees of the pipe (see photos). The effect this has is that all water now either goes into the gutter or off the front of the pipe without any chance of getting to the top horizontal seal. I don't care how careful you are at closing those ends, THEY WILL LEAK! The water on the top edge just doesn't go off either end it seeps past screw heads and irregularities in the paint and welds and ends up on top of the main inner seal where it finds its way to the tent material and bunk end where it rots the wood. We had a good rain storm last week but not anything serious. The next day I stood on a ladder and dried up the exterior water from the outer seal. My wife then opened the ends very slowly and there was plenty of water sitting on the big black inner seal and water that had made it to the tent itself (only on the front angled bunk). This is a three week old 2010 19' Roo. Supposedly with the best seal system currently available. My solution is to keep the damn rain away from that top seal, problem solved. I have found that the vertical side seals actually can work only of you make sure there isn't anything causing gaps that the seal can't adjust to (like screw heads). I am currently working on a tie-down system so I can travel with these in place because the wind driven rain while traveling is also an issue but I think I have a way to do it completely safely. More to follow. I hope this helps and cuts down on the thriving bunk-end replacement business ;-)
For all photos of this project...
Roo Water Mod Images
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edited 09/04/09 07:36am by pixleys *
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2010 Roo 19'
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soyboy
Frederick, Maryland
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Thats a bummer that you had to do this on a new trailer. I must say that (knock on wood) the tent ends have never leaked (open or closed)on our Jayco and we are in our 6th season with it. It's even been through 2 Nor'easters while at the beach. Seems like your's shouldn't be leaking either. You should not have to go through all of this with a new trailer. Good design job though.
,2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 Black EC D/A 4X4, REVOS Pwr. TT Mirrors, A.R.E. Cap, Equal-i-zer Hitch, Jordan Ultima
2003 Jayco Kiwi 23D, Carefree Awning, Trimetric, Hi spec Mod Wheels
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pixleys
Dover, NH
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My neighbor has a 17' 2009 Jayco. We poped his end open after the same storm and he had water. This problem is too hit or miss and needs to be addressed by the manufacturers once and for all.
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dlstewart01
Tennessee
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Your link to the pictures does not work for me??
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pixleys
Dover, NH
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Does the photo link work for anyone else? I think you need to set up a snapfish account.
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Gaffer222
Northwestern CT
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Looks like a good fix.
It would most likely not be an issue if they built it with a larger gutter above the door. See the pictures below of our Keystone setup. The gutter is larger and wraps down around the sides. The seals are also more recessed. Not saying I have not had some leaking issues but the leak causes were not in this area. If you look close you can see the soap bubbles from my DIY leak testing. I inserted a blower into a window and sealed the rest of the HTT and sprayed with soapy water. The results were scary. You can see more pics of problem areas in my webshots link in my signature. All my leaks have long since been fixed, no thanks to several tries by the dealer.
I Eternabonded everything on the roof, resealed the lights etc. I added a strip of seal on the bunks doors and behind the hinge where the bunk door makes contact. I have not towed in the rain for several years, just by luck, but it is not leaking when parked(open or shut). I also added some padding so the latch compresses the door seals more as the padding compresses over time.
BACK BUNK
* This post was
edited 09/03/09 02:59pm by Gaffer222 *
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 2005 EZ190 Keystone Zeppelin HTT
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Leaf-Peeper
Small Town, USA
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I’ve thought about installing some “RV Rainkap” over the front and rear bunks of our Roo. Problem is, it’s pretty expensive and is sold in longer lengths than needed to fit over the two bunk ends.
One Note: Earlier Roo’s & Shamrocks that have received the “field repair kit” have the new seal/trim added to the outer perimeter of the bunk door. Unfortunately, this new seal/trim has to cope with trying to seal on top of the white “round head” screws that secure the outer bunk frame to the camper. These screws protrude above the surface of the frame where the new outer seal/trim seats (not really a completely thorough fix). The later built 2009’s & 2010’s use new white “flat head” screws to secure the outer bunk frame to the camper. I replaced the screws on our ’08 Roo with the newer flat head screws (from Forrest River’s parts dept) so the seal/trim has a better chance of being able to do it's job. I hadn’t though that filling the drive slot of the screw with caulk would make much difference.
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Pictures of our '08 23ss Rockwood Roo & Our Mods on Webshots
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pixleys
Dover, NH
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I love that "RV Rainkap" stuff. I can only see one drawback. If it's raining while driving the Rainkap might tend to let the wind stuff the rain right up at the top of the seal. However a flap/hinged piece could be added and put in the down position for driving in the rain only, or even a rubber membrane attached with Velcro to the Rainkap and bunk end to keep the rain out? I'd love to get the dimensions of the Rainkap as far as angle and overall depth to see if it would stick out far enough and let the bunk end open.
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streamcamper
New York
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I reviewed the pics and I don't understand how you open and close the bunk with the rain shed attachment. Is it connected to the gutter or the door? Is it something you need to remove and put back into place when the bunk is closed? I have been thinking about modifying the gutter to enhance it's ability to shed water away from the bunk door so I am interested in how your mod works.
I too have nuisance water problems. I have an 08 Starcraft and water eventually works it's way past the seal. The seal looks like it has some porosity and will absorb water like a sponge. Once it's saturated, it allows water into the trailer. I had never noticed this until I removed the tent and saw evidence of water on the door... only a few drops during inclement weather, not enough to cause real harm, but never-the-less water was getting in. Afterward is when I noticed the seal on the bunk door would retain water. After a rain if you would press the seal, you would see water ooze out, but it doesn't take long to dry out which is probably why I never noticed.
I would bet many other trailers, especially Starcrafts, would have the same seal and have the same problem that goes mostly unnoticed.
Regards...
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pixleys
Dover, NH
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It actually just sits in the gutter and rests against the two vertical door seals.
This is strictly for storage between camping trips or through the winter months. Do not travel with these in place...THEY WILL FLY OFF!!! I have now modified mine so that it is completely secure for traveling as I found water getting in while traveling in the rain.
* This post was
edited 09/03/09 06:13pm by pixleys *
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