Rosehill
Central West Texas
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Joined: 05/29/2007
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I have been fighting a persistent roof leak for quite some time. Not only persistent, but also well hidden. I was SURE it was the air conditioner, but after installing a new gasket, the leak was still there. During heavy rains, I would have water dripping out of the overhead light in the bathroom. I tried pressurizing the tt with no luck, I couldn't get any bubbles.
Going on the assumption that water runs downhill, it was logical that the leak had to be above, or on the same level with the light. So I decided that what was needed was air pressure in the space between the ceiling and the roof of the tt. After scratching my head, here's what I did.
I removed the bathroom light from the ceiling and drilled a small hole just the right size to wedge the nozzle from my small shop vac into. I then unscrewed and lowered all the other lights in the tt, and used duct tape to seal the holes where the wires came out. I also removed the air conditioning cover and used duct tape to seal the hole where the wiring came out, and around the edges where air could escape.
I then fired up the shopvac and slathered the roof with soapy water. Every seam and penetration. AND THERE IT WAS. It was leaking around the vent cap for the black tank vent.
I removed the old caulking and unscrewed the ventcap. And it was confirmed that this was my leak. There was water under the base of the ventcap and the insulation was damp from my soapy water. It's now sealed off nice and tight. Another leak defeated.
I also used this same method (since I already had the hole), to check all my cleareance lights as well. Found one blowing bubbles, it's fixed as well.
Just another idea to try if you have a roof leak that refuses to be located.
The old tt is dry once again........until something else starts leaking.
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downtheroad
Puget Sound
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There you go....smarter than the average leak.
Nice job...
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wthibeaux
DeKalb, TX
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Very smart! Great post.
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btd35
Spokane, WA
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Thank you for sharing that! I'm sure down the road I may need that information. Great idea, and congratulations!
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05,Grand Junction 35TMS
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sdavis622
Puyallup, WA
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Sweet, good find!
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camping man
Central Fla.
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Joined: 09/01/2001
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I pressurized my RV with my leaf blower to find the leaking screw on my awning track.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Rosehill wrote:AND THERE IT WAS. It was leaking around the vent cap for the black tank vent.
I removed the old caulking and unscrewed the ventcap. And it was confirmed that this was my leak. There was water under the base of the ventcap and the insulation was damp from my soapy water. It's now sealed off nice and tight. Another leak defeated.
Just curious now with hindsight, could the leak have been found with a closer visual inspection? Was the caulk perfect and just not atttached to the vent?
Great work BTW
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sonicsix
Jemison, AL
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LOL, I was expecting this to be a mouse thread. But good job of finding that leak.
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Rosehill
Central West Texas
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Joined: 05/29/2007
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sonicsix wrote:LOL, I was expecting this to be a mouse thread. But good job of finding that leak.
Wish it had been a mouse, might have been easier to find. Or to just install a cat.
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Rosehill
Central West Texas
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smkettner wrote:Rosehill wrote:AND THERE IT WAS. It was leaking around the vent cap for the black tank vent.
I removed the old caulking and unscrewed the ventcap. And it was confirmed that this was my leak. There was water under the base of the ventcap and the insulation was damp from my soapy water. It's now sealed off nice and tight. Another leak defeated.
Just curious now with hindsight, could the leak have been found with a closer visual inspection? Was the caulk perfect and just not atttached to the vent?
Great work BTW
Even with hindsight, I would not have found it. I had done a very close visual inspection (more than once) and never found this leak. The caulk was attached to the vent cover, and even when I poked at it, appeared to be well attached to the roof. But when I found the leak and got after it with a putty knife, I found water under the base of the vent cap. What appears to have happened was that the water was running from the top of the cap down the side, and around the little leg that holds the cap on (mine is a plastic two part cover....a ring that goes around the bottom and a top that has three little plastic legs that screw down. Basically, the leak was behind one of those little plastic legs, where no human could have seen it. Hidden or not, it blew bubbles, otherwise I would probably still be hunting it.
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