2014 Trailrunner 25SLE Roof Leak

[Mjftw3]

Hi all,
Newbie here and I need some help. I purchased this travel trailer slightly used at about 3 months old. It was titled in the RV dealers name and rented a couple of times. Purchased in November 2014. It still smelled new! I noticed water getting into the pass through on both sides. I kept drying it and took it to the dealer. They told me that I must have stored it unlevel and that's why it leaked. After that, I have constantly battled moldy/musty smell. I clean it constantly but I can't get rid of the smell. I never really noticed any damage to the unit until recently when I was airing it out. I noticed that the flooring in both front passthroughs is getting soft, also in the cabin near both sides of the bed. I took it to Camping World and they were useless. They kept it for 9 days and still couldn't find the leak. They provided estimate to replace flooring at $3,200, not including the leak repair. Extended warranty would not cover. Insurance won't cover this either. I found a local guy with a repair shop. He said that my roof membrane was in terrible shape for a 2014. I cleaned this once with the rubber roof cleaner, but he said that the car wash brush that I used was too stiff, even though it doesn't appear to be stiff to me, and now the roof membrane is dried out and failing! After only one wash? He also said that the roof had silicone sealant on the roof transition and it should not have been used. This sealant is what he was saying would be possibly the cause of the leak. It is running down the cap flashing and into the front pass through. This guy seems to really know his stuff and I am confident that he knows what he is doing.

He is proposing putting on a new rolled roof at the cost of $2,200.
He also will repace the rotten wood for only $200.00.
I am just shocked that I ruined the roof after only one wash and that I am having such problems with a 2014 model. I would like to keep it, but I am just beside myself at the moment. I am a younger rv'er and I really enjoy the camper, but I am in a bit of a situation here. I don't have the immediate funds too fix the roof the way it should be fixed right now. I may get the flooring damage fixed and cover it with a tarp until I can get the funds together to pay for the whole roof repair. Anyone else have similar issues? Any Help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[danemayer]

hi Mjftw3,

Sorry to hear about the problems you're having. Sounds like you have a leak and some of the responses you've gotten were not very helpful.

If someone used silicone sealant on the roof, that begs the question of why - probably because they were trying to fix a leak. Also, RVs need an appropriate sealant - not the type used on homes or in bathrooms.

If the surface of the roof material has deteriorated, I doubt it's from your brush. Using the wrong cleaner can cause damage - and it could have been done by the same person who used silicone sealant.

Let me suggest you take a look at Dicor's Rudy's Roof Book on roof care. Here's a link.

Also, it sounds a bit unusual for a trailer to be titled to the dealer and used as a rental. You might want to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. See if they can shed any light on the history of this trailer prior to your purchase. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some history you don't know about.

 

[Mjftw3]

hi Mjftw3,

Sorry to hear about the problems you're having. Sounds like you have a leak and some of the responses you've gotten were not very helpful.

If someone used silicone sealant on the roof, that begs the question of why - probably because they were trying to fix a leak. Also, RVs need an appropriate sealant - not the type used on homes or in bathrooms.

If the surface of the roof material has deteriorated, I doubt it's from your brush. Using the wrong cleaner can cause damage - and it could have been done by the same person who used silicone sealant.

Let me suggest you take a look at Dicor's Rudy's Roof Book on roof care. Here's a link.

Also, it sounds a bit unusual for a trailer to be titled to the dealer and used as a rental. You might want to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. See if they can shed any light on the history of this trailer prior to your purchase. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some history you don't know about.

Thank you for your quick response. That's exactly what the repair shop said about the silicone. The shop called me today and said that the damage is much more extensive than originally thought. We are talking $8-9,000 range now because the floor joists are coneplly rotted out. I am just going to have to submit to insurance claim and go from there. I contacte heartland and they said that I am almost 3 years out of warranty. Oddly enough, the dealer I purchased from never changed the registration with heartland into my name. It's impossible to prove when it started leaking. Heartland saying that it is now a maintenance issue.

 

[danemayer]

Thank you for your quick response. That's exactly what the repair shop said about the silicone. The shop called me today and said that the damage is much more extensive than originally thought. We are talking $8-9,000 range now because the floor joists are coneplly rotted out. I am just going to have to submit to insurance claim and go from there. I contacte heartland and they said that I am almost 3 years out of warranty. Oddly enough, the dealer I purchased from never changed the registration with heartland into my name. It's impossible to prove when it started leaking. Heartland saying that it is now a maintenance issue.

In the RV industry, warranties are for the original purchaser. So if the dealer registered and titled it in their name, and used it as a rental unit, they're the first owner and they had the warranty coverage. You as the second owner have no warranty at all, unless the dealer provided you with their own local warranty. And the dealer apparently never changed the registration with Heartland because the purchase registration with Heartland is for the original owner - in this case, the dealer.

If the silicone was there at the time of your purchase, they obviously knew there was a leak, or perhaps some undisclosed damage, and didn't fix it correctly. And that's probably the start of the water damage you're now seeing. My guess is there's an undisclosed reason they purchased the unit to use as a rental and then sold it as a used unit after only 3 months.

 

[Bob&Patty]

I agree with Dan. I would go to your local DMV and do some research with you VIN#. Do you have a clear title...doesn't say "salvage" does i BTW, is the silicone repair at a factory installed seam or in an odd place? Normally, the roofs are all one piece front to rear and side to side and only have sealer at the front and rear and along the sides.

 

[JohnD]

We had a 2013 Heartland Trail Runner 22RK for 2 1/2 years . . .



Never had any leaks or water damage, however I would find water in the seals around the cubby doors when it rained or when snow would melt off of the roof.

I noticed that the rain gutters on both sides on the front would let water run down the sides of the trailer and they were directly above the cubby doors and the water would run over the top of the doors and then would get on the seals at the bottom of the cubby doors.

I started leaving the front a little high when leveling the trailer so that water would run off of the roof into the gutters and flow out of the back gutter spouts.

One other thing with ours . . .

When we purchased it in September of 2012 the dealer told us that there was a recall on our unit and that we needed to bring it back for warranty repair.

They said that the insulation under the top panels of aluminum of both outside side walls was 'defective' and that the panels, along with the insulation, needed to be replaced.

We dropped it off three weeks later as we were going to be out of town for two weeks and didn't need the trailer and they did the repair.

Our first travel trailer (a 1978 Coachman Cadet 24 that I nicknamed 'Trailer Trash') that was already 23 years old when we bought it and it had severe water damage all around it . . . inside and out!



I was always worried that one day it would just spontaniously implode!

But we did have a lot of fun with that old beast!