Elusive Bulkhead Leak!

OK...I give up! Last spring I bragged how I finally fixed the leaking trim at the pinbox issue. Well, after one of the driest falls on record, it rained quite heavily this weekend and guess what...the leak is back! Again leaking at the end of the metal trim next to the pinbox. After re-sealing the entire rig, all cap trim, eternabond on the top, removed vinyl insert and sealed the screw holes etc. etc. it still leaks. Seems to only channel down the inside of this trim. I have decided to let it rot off and replace with sheet metal!

This is going to bug me forever!! I just can't bring myself to look the other way and let it leak! I tried but its not my nature. Interesting change...the bulkhead cardboard sheet is not wet as it was last year! The water seems to be riding in the trim channel only and leaking at that last screw. The entire front cap molding has been re-caulked. The top has eternabond, the horizontal trim has been re-sealed as the running and position lights. I am mystified how water gets into this channel (molding). How are the metal trims for the roof line joined to the cap? Do they actually fit together so water could run from the roof trim into the cap trim or are they simply butted next to each other?

Could it be the plumbing for the wash machine? Just thinking..Don

Good thought but we don't use that plumbing (no washer). It also only sems to leak when it rains. I just went out and temporarilytaped the entire cap trim (all 360'). If it continues to leak that should eliminate the trim as a source. Then I will really be stuck as it would have to be wicking from roof or somewhere else close by. If it stops with the tape in place that means two things to me...1) I need to re-seal again and 2) perhaps there is enough pin flex to loosen the caulk although no visible signs of movement are apparent. The leak was stopped until we did our summer traveling!

Steve:
Get a tarp over the front end in storage during the rainy season and lower your stress.
Any way you can do the inside air pressurization and bubble solution test?

Best Regards,

This is a long shot but try spraying water on your front windows and see if that brings out the leak again.

wdk450's idea of pressurizing the inside and soap check outside may work. (properly sealed and placed 20" box fan in a window)

There are many RV dealers that can pressurize it and go around and spray all the outside seams etc with a soapy water mixture and look for air bubbles. I read about this somewhere. If I remember it costs about $150.00. Perhaps someone can come up with the name for this process and you can find a dealer that does this. It's really frustrating trying to find a leak..Good Luck, Don..Did a little searching and found this service is called Seal-Tech pressure testing. Googled it for the State of Washington and found several dealers there that offer the service..I'm sure there are dealers all over that do this if you are on the road..

I checked into the Seal Tech process last year...a shop just one mile down the road does this. It was a little more than I wanted to spend at the time and they also expressed the challenge of trying to pressurize the front cap and cargo area since it is so open and would be difficult to seal off. I may have to approach them again...looks like the only way I can find the leak! Came home today and it does look like less water is entering since I taped off the trim but still found some (could be residual). I will watch it closely the next few days...I can always count on in raining!

Bill...I think I might take that advice! I am the kind of guy that gets sick with worry when my toys are having issues! A tarp will help except during the windy days. This might also be a good way to determine if the water is wicking from some other area rather than leaking at the molding trim!

Thanks all for your support...I am sure you are getting tired of the leak rants!

So...as I continue to ponder this issue I was wondering...I don't seem to get much more than say 1/8 of a cup of water if that out the end of the molding. It has not rained in 24+ hours and was crystal clear this morning. Everything was soaking wet with condensation/dew and, low and behold, got a few drops of moisture out the molding. Do you think there is a possibility that this water is from condensation?

SJH said:

So...as I continue to ponder this issue I was wondering...I don't seem to get much more than say 1/8 of a cup of water if that out the end of the molding. It has not rained in 24+ hours and was crystal clear this morning. Everything was soaking wet with condensation/dew and, low and behold, got a few drops of moisture out the molding. Do you think there is a possibility that this water is from condensation?

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good theory, that doesn't require much follow up work. Maybe some recyclable desiccant stuck into the space???

Steve, I noticed I was having this same problem about 3-4 months ago. After a rain I saw a small amount of water dripping near the pinbox. Traced it back to that same moulding you are talking about

Because I am in the desert most of the time, where there isn't much rain, it kind of went on the back burner.

Then in the mean time I hit that tree and ended up having my entire roof replaced about 6 weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see if it is still doing it after the next rain falls. Trace

TandT said:

Steve, I noticed I was having this same problem about 3-4 months ago. After a rain I saw a small amount of water dripping near the pinbox. Traced it back to that same moulding you are talking about. Because I am in the desert most of the time, where there isn't much rain, it kind of went on the back burner. Then in the mean time I hit that tree and ended up having my entire roof replaced about 6 weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see if it is still doing it after the next rain falls. Trace

Click to expand...

Sorry you hit the tree but let me know if it still leaks! Can you put a hose and sprinkler on that new roof?

Steve, I think condensation is a good possibility. I too have a 3450 TS Big Country. This morning we had heavy frost and sure enough my molding was leaking water near the pinbox as the day wamed up. I haven't seen rain in a week so what else could it be? Actually my molding was leaking water on both sides at first but the door side dried up fairly quickly. I'll check it again after we get down to warmer weather. In the meantime I'll continue to ponder this issue also...................Dave

SJH said:

Sorry you hit the tree but let me know if it still leaks! Can you put a hose and sprinkler on that new roof?

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I don't know about the sprinkler , but I'll watch it after the next rain. Trace

SJH said:

So...as I continue to ponder this issue I was wondering...I don't seem to get much more than say 1/8 of a cup of water if that out the end of the molding. It has not rained in 24+ hours and was crystal clear this morning. Everything was soaking wet with condensation/dew and, low and behold, got a few drops of moisture out the molding. Do you think there is a possibility that this water is from condensation?

Click to expand...

Well Steve, this is what I 've observed the last couple days. We've had 3 nights in a row with temps in the mid 20's and heavy frost. All 3 days I found water leaking out of the same molding as yours during the day. Last night the temps warmed up to the low 40's but we had some rain. Guess what.....No Leaking. I have the same model Big Country as you. I have to conclude that my leak was from condensation and not from rain. I just don't know if there is a solution. The front cap is probably not insulated nor is it heated. I'm wondering if there is a way to ventilate the cap from the front closet.............Dave

Interesting. If condensation, is it possible that you've caulked too well?


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danemayer said:

Interesting. If condensation, is it possible that you've caulked too well?




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Click to expand...

Maybe you need a roof vent in the front cap.

stan53tt said:

Well Steve, this is what I 've observed the last couple days. We've had 3 nights in a row with temps in the mid 20's and heavy frost. All 3 days I found water leaking out of the same molding as yours during the day. Last night the temps warmed up to the low 40's but we had some rain. Guess what.....No Leaking. I have the same model Big Country as you. I have to conclude that my leak was from condensation and not from rain. I just don't know if there is a solution. The front cap is probably not insulated nor is it heated. I'm wondering if there is a way to ventilate the cap from the front closet.............Dave

Click to expand...

Interesting observation! Thanks for getting back to me. As soon as I am 100% on the condensation theory I will rest a bit easier. I do seem to get a bit more moisture when it rains. Currently the cardboard/filon? piece remains dry with water only showing in that channel molding. Last fall when it leaked that piece was quite wet.

If the moisture confines itself to the channel I guess there is little chance for additional damage it just irrates me! I also can't see inside the cap to be sure nothing sinister is occurring.

For those that mentioned "Seal-Tech"...I did contact our local dealer who has this machine. He was not to enthused about using it to find my leak. His words...the machine is a bear to use and we only have about a 50/50 chance of finding the leak. They have used it, saw no bubbles, but still had leaks. In other situations it worked fine. The front cap area will be very difficult to seal for the pressure test and they charge by the hour not by the job! I can see where this technology might work good for leaks that entire the interior of a coach but so far that is not the case with the cap. (knock on wood).

Thanks All! I will continue to monitor this issue and report if for nothing else than to vent and increase my number of posts

FYI It rained today and the trim piece leaked more water! This rules out condensation I believe so again, I am stumped!

I found that my Prowler dripped some water from the same location after a rain but not when I washed the trailer on a nice warm day, including scrubbing the roof. Upon close inspection of the molding on the roof, there were some air bubbles that revealed small holes when popped. I did hit a tree and put a couple of small holes in the roof, I patched them but also found a couple of areas where the tree scraped the edge of the roof and roughed up the rubber pretty bad from 2 to 3 feet long. After seeing those locations I will probably have the roof replaced so hopefully this will not be an issue going forward.