JOMO
Florida
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Joined: 05/27/2008
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I posted the other day that we had a leak in our cab over. I found the leak around the front window. When you push on the window next to the seal you can see water bubbles. We took it to a glass place and wanted them to take the window out and reseal it. But the guy there said he would have to talk with the manager and see if they could work on an RV. He climbed in the bed and said he could see where the water was coming in, so he put some chalking/sealant around the window and said he didn't know if that would work or not but he thought so. He didn't charge for this, now my question is- it seems like it worked only he didn't go down for enough. Can we reseal from the inside or will that makes things worse? We're new to this rv stuff and we want to make sure we fix it correctly and not cause more problems. Thanks for any advice you can give us.
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John S
Chicago, IL
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Joined: 08/05/2001
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I doubt if you will be happy with this patch he did.
Seemed like when I had a similar problem they had to drill out some "weeping" holes to improve the drainage. Also can get some leakage through the overhead lights in the front if not sealed well. Most posts I have seen people have done what you started out to do. THey had the window removed and had it replaced with a good sealant. Not sure what they do gasket-wise. The outer gasket on my window is starting to pull away in one of the corners due to shrinkage. Figure I will have to have a new gasket installed in order to keep the front window from developing another leak. You may have better luck going to an RV dealer that handles repairs. Good Luck
John & Peg S.
99 Coachman Class C - 24ft
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Admiral
Lodi, Ohio
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Joined: 06/08/2003
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I'd say do it right and remove the window yourself. There should be screws on the inside about every 3 inches around the perimeter of the frame. Take them all out then pry out the window from the outside. remove the old putty and caulking and install new butyl putty tape on the inside of the window lip. You can buy this tape cheap from any rv dealer. Reinstall the window and the screws. Wait about 2 or 3 days to let the putty ooze out then cut it away with a razor knife and put a bead of non-silicone caulk around the outside of the window frame for insurance.
While you're at it, do the same with the clearance lights above the window. They are notorious leakers and will mock a window leak because the water runs down inside the wall then comes in the rv around the inside window frame.
All of the above is easier than it seems and should take a rookie about 3-4 hours with a gofer handing you stuff----it's time well spent.
BTW, caulking around the inside of the window frame will trap water inside the wall...then you're screwed. That can easily render your rv worthless when the whole front cabover rots out.
* This post was
edited 07/31/08 08:04pm by Admiral *
2004 Damon Daybreak 2960F
05 Honda Element LX
In a democracy two wolves and a sheep can vote on what to have for dinner.
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JOMO
Florida
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Thanks for the advice. I didn't think it was a good idea to just chalk the inside, I thought like you said it would trap the water in the walls. I printed out what you said and will show it to my DH in the morning and see if he thinks we can tackle it. We just didn't know enough about how to fix it. Thanks again.
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deansue1
Canton, Ohio
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Joined: 10/04/2001
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On my class C I had to order new rubber seal from the factory for around the window to stop my leak. I did not have to remove the window to do that. because I had tried just sealing it inside and out but it still leaked to the point it had done a lot of damage to the upper bunk walls during the winter. lucky you found it early I did not notice mine till I went to go some where and I got a shower of water down on me setting in the drivers seat.
trainman
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jorn
Twin Cities
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Sealing it from the inside just traps the water inside the walls. SCARY.
I agree with the replies that suggest you remove the window and reseal it properly.
2001 Coachmen Leprechaun 314SS (Acquired in July 2008)
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JOMO
Florida
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I gave my DH the reply I got from Admiral and we decided not to seal from the inside. We called several more glass shops and finally found one that replaces the front wind shields on RV's. We are suppose to take it to him on Monday, if he can replace a wind shield, that little window over the bed should be a cake walk. The other shop Lee and Cates wanted to seal from the inside and we almost let them, glad I talked to you guys first. Admiral gave us good directions for doing it ourselves but my DH is 69 and says he's not comfortable doing it, 20 years ago he would have had no problem. I'll let you know Monday how we come out.
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MikeMike
St.Petersburg,Florida
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Admiral hit on a good suggestion about the running lights,also pop the lens off and on most you will see the wires going through a slot in the lights body -seal it since most will let water in that way also.Do all sealing on your windows from the outside ,on windows with the glass set in a rubber channel type of gasket, make sure it dry and clean it good with a solvent such as goof off,gently lift the rubber away from the glass -a small flat screw driver works fine and use any small tapered rod inserted where you lifted the gasket(I used a tapered delrin rod)a knitting needle works too ,don't apply pressure on the glass!the idea is to apply sealer under the gasket to get a perfect glass to gasket seal on the side that has water and wind pressure not the inside.
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RobinHoodRV
Coast of Oregon
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Joined: 08/08/2003
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Admiral wrote:I'd say do it right and remove the window yourself. There should be screws on the inside about every 3 inches around the perimeter of the frame. Take them all out then pry out the window from the outside. remove the old putty and caulking and install new butyl putty tape on the inside of the window lip. You can buy this tape cheap from any rv dealer. Reinstall the window and the screws. Wait about 2 or 3 days to let the putty ooze out then cut it away with a razor knife and put a bead of non-silicone caulk around the outside of the window frame for insurance.
While you're at it, do the same with the clearance lights above the window. They are notorious leakers and will mock a window leak because the water runs down inside the wall then comes in the rv around the inside window frame....
While I agree with the Admiral there are a couple things I would do differently.
1) I don't recommend using a razor knife to trim butyl tape as you will probably score the siding. Instead I would use an instrument that isn't quite so sharp, like a philips screw driver or a pointed wooden dowel. Also, if you seal correctly with butyl tape you really don't need to seal with anything else. If you don't use anything else then make sure you bevel the butyl tape so water will run off the joint and not sit.
2) A good butyl tape doesn't ooze when it's trimmed so you should be able to add the final seal (if desired) immediately. The cheaper putty (mastic) tape will ooze a little so make sure you are actually getting butyl tape as many RV stores and hardware stores don't know the difference. Butyl tape is made from butyl rubber and is slightly firmer than putty tape and it's usually stickier.
-jc
78 Robin Hood 23' Class C
97 Geo Tracker Convertible 4x4
87 Jeep Comanche Chief 4x4
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