Water Problem around Rear Window

[randes]

I have developed a water leak on the RR corner of my 2008 3055RL Bighorn. When we have either a hard rain or a long rain, my floor in the corner of the trailer gets wet. I examined the roof area to see if I could see any places needing caulking between the rear cap and the rubber roof or around the gutter in the corner. Everything appeared ok including the caulking between the rear cap and the fiberglass siding.

I did find what appears to be a problem with the small vertical window between the Entertainment slide and the rear of the trailer. Initially I found the drain holes had clogged up beneath the window. Using compressed air and water I cleaned them out. However, when it rains more directly on the window, even though the water seems to be draining ok, water will apparently flow under the window and up over the divider between the window track into the screen track. There does not seem to be a drain for the screen track, so once it is full, the water then flows over and down the inside of the trailer wall wetting the floor.

If anyone has had any similar problems, I’d be interested in knowing what you did to solve the problem. We are in Tampa, FL and the rainy season is about to start and I need to get this problem fixed before any real damage occurs to the trailer.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Roy, I had the same problem, but cure was different. I never saw the water running in at the screen. I did see a water trail in the dust at the bottom of the window frame inside. I found that the outside window frame was not tight against the outside wall. I cleaned all the chalking off and resealed the top and all the way down the sides. We have had quite a bit of rain here and so far the carpet is dry. Maybe this will help.

 

[Bobby A]

We had a leak in the rear of the coach for months, always blamed it on the slide outs, had it looked at under warranty several times to no avail. We had to take the coach back to Indiana for a leno change so I asked one smart guy at the plant about the water leak. He found it wasn't the slide out it was the rear window. He took the window out and reworked everything and reinstalled it, its been fine for over a year now.

 

[randes]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replys. I had thought about removing the window just to see if anything jumped out at me. But because I wasn't sure what all was involved, I thought I would start first with this forum.

Have either of you taken your window out, or do you have any knowledge about what is involved? Are there any tricky things to watch out for? I'm sure the small window would not be nearly as difficult as the back window.

Roy

 

[Bob&Patty]

As far as I know, they a 2 piece window. Have to go look but I think the screws are on the inside. Take the screws out and the frame should seperate. There is a seal that is inside. I have not personally taken 1 out....just what I have read.

Take a look at the outside frame and make sure it is flush to the wall. Thats where my problem was.

 

[randes]

Thanks Bob,
I noticed that all of the screws are on the inside. Makes me wonder if there is some kind of seal inside there. It also looks as if the valance may have to be removed. The screws look like they may be hard to get to with the valance on. Do you know anything about how the valance is attached?

 

[cookie]

Look closely under the valance. You should see a screw or two that hold it in place. Sometimes the screws are tucked in the fabric and can be tricky to find. You can run something thin between the valance and the wall to help locate the position of the screw. You will need a square head driver.
There is a rubber gasket between the wall and outside frame of the window.

Peace
Dave

 

[randes]

Thank you so much. I always wondered how they were attached.

I think before I start taking the window apart, I will tape a piece of plastic over the window and then put the hose to it. If the water is getting in from around the window, then there should not be any water on the inside. If however, water still gets in, then , there will obviously be another source.

Two weeks ago I had ankle replacement surgery on my right ankle so I can't get around very well yet which is why I want to be as sure as I can be about where the problem lies before I take on the job. I spoke to a friend here today and he has some large pieces of clear plastic I can use. So perhaps I can test it in the next day or so.

As always, this forum is the best for solving problems.

Roy

 

[rpkeida]

Greetings from the Alaskan Wilderness! We had the same problem, resealed the small window, but the leak persisted. Found the source - a break in the caulking where the rear cap meets the sidewall in the area of that little drain spout up on the top corner of the roof line. The leak was very difficult to locate, and a big part of it was under that rubber trim strip that sets in the metal channel that runs along the entire length of the roof. Resealed that entire area, and no more leakage. Have not had a problem since. Good luck with the leak!!!

 

[Bob&Patty]

Roy, when you are able. The only way to find a water leak is persistance. Take a water hose with water turned on slightly and have someone inside. Start working you way up from the bottom on both sides. Remember....this is important. It may take awhile for the water to leak inside. Sometimes it has to "fill up a Spot" before it will run inside. Move the hose up slowly and hold it until you see the water intrusion. Mark that spot with tape....then inspect that area. You may have to remove the window to repair the problem. BTW. it has always amazed me how water gets where it does and from where.

 

[randes]

I have been on hold for several weeks. I had an ankle replacement on my right ankle. I am still on crutches until June 20th, but I think I have found the source of the problem. About two weeks ago I had a neighbor tape clear plastic over my window. The plastic went completely over the frame so the whole window was isolated. I had to wait until we had a good rain which was last week to see what happened. The floor stayed dry. So obviously water is getting in around the window. I was told by Heartland that the seal for the window was putty tape, I bought a roll and took out all the screws on the inside. The piece of trim came off easily, but the window is still tight. There are no screws on the outside so what is holding the window?

I'm wondering if it is the stickyness of the putty tape. If so, how do you get the window out? Is a special tool required? I don't want to take a chance on trying to pry it out and possibly break or crack the fiberglass siding. Any answers?

 

[JohnDar]

I have been on hold for several weeks. I had an ankle replacement on my right ankle. I am still on crutches until June 20th, but I think I have found the source of the problem. About two weeks ago I had a neighbor tape clear plastic over my window. The plastic went completely over the frame so the whole window was isolated. I had to wait until we had a good rain which was last week to see what happened. The floor stayed dry. So obviously water is getting in around the window. I was told by Heartland that the seal for the window was putty tape, I bought a roll and took out all the screws on the inside. The piece of trim came off easily, but the window is still tight. There are no screws on the outside so what is holding the window?

I'm wondering if it is the stickyness of the putty tape. If so, how do you get the window out? Is a special tool required? I don't want to take a chance on trying to pry it out and possibly break or crack the fiberglass siding. Any answers?

I'm not at our BH, so I can't check for sure, but aren't there some flat-head screws on the inside of the window frame that secure it to the wall frame around it?

 

[randes]

Hi John,
The only screws I found were the ones that hold the "trim/flange" on the inside to the window itself. I finally got through to the factory customer service and was told that it is the stickiness of the putty that is holding the window in place. In order to remove the window from the wall, they told me to buy a plastic putty knife and basically keep inserting it around the window, on the outside, untill I have broken or separated the putty that is in there now. Once the putty has been "split apart", the window should come out.

They then told me to use rubbing alcohol to clean all the old putty off the fiberglass and also on the flange around the outside of the window. When both surfaces have been cleaned, press a new roll of putty tape back on the flange and push the window back into the opening. Screw the trim/flange on the inside to pull the window tight against the side of the trailer. Finally using a plastic knife, carefully trim any putty showing on the outside off. Last, caulk across the top of the window on the outside and down around the top corners. An employee at camping world where I bought the putty said I should caulk around all four corners and on both sides and the top, but not the bottom. However, on my BH, only the top two corners and across the top of the window have been caucked, so I'll probably follow suit.

I went out and bought the plastic putty knife this afternoon, so I think I'll start in the morning on trying to split the old putty tape. I'll post my results as the job progresses. I may have to wait for some help, it's kind of hard to climb a step latter with a cast on one foot. Ha!

 

[Bob&Patty]

Roy, would not dispute what HL srvice told you...BUT...if the outside frame does not pull tight against the outside wall. You will have a leak again. That is where my leak was. They had only sealed the top and top corners. I had a gap on both sides almost to the bottom. After removing all the old sealer, I sealed the the frame across the top and down both sides. Had lots of rain after....no more leaks.

 

[randes]

Hi Bob & Patty,
I think I ended up pretty much the same as you. I got the plastic putty knife at Home Depot for 97 cents. I started at the bottom and was surprised at how easy the knife went up the window sides. In about 10 min, the window was ready to come out. One problem, I couldn't climb high enough with my cast to break the caulking at the top. Fortunately one of the workers here at the RV Park said to call him when I was ready to take the window out. I called and he came in about 5 minutes.

He laid the window on a picnic table so I could clean it up. Once the window was out, I had another surprise. There was no putty tape on the window. Instead, the window had a nice "ribbed" rubber seal glued to the underside of the flange on the window. If you click on this picture, you can see the detail better.

It was still very soft and plyable, so I just cleaned it up and left it in place. When the window was originally installed, it looked like some kind of weatherstripping was put on the fiberglass. You can see it on this picture if you click on it also.

In this closeup you can see the black around the window edge. It was very hard and the only way to get it off was by very carefully using a window scraper. This left a very smooth surface. After my friend got off work at 4pm, he came back and finished cleaning the fiberglass up high where I couldn't reach. We then put the window back in the frame and secured it with the 20 screws on the inside. Once that was finished, he caulked both sides and the top including the bottom corner radius'. Now all we have to do is wait for the next rain to see if our work did in fact fix the leak.

I have tried to put a lot of detail here to help anyone else with a similar problem. I would like to thank everyone that contributed to this thread as well as the Customer Service of Heartland, they offered a lot of information that really helpped me too.

What a great bunch of owners and company!!!

 

[Bob&Patty]

Roy, glad you got the window out and back in. Now, my burning question is...did it fit tight to the wall all the way around?? Make sure that your friend did not seal up the drain holes at the bottom of the window frame. Good luck with next rain and hope it stays dry. Let us know how it does.

 

[randes]

It seemed to tighten up on the outside as I put the screws in on the inside. We decided not to add anything to the rubber seal - just made sure the surface was good and smooth and clean. The bottom was only caulked around the radius of each corner. The horizontal part between the two corners was not caulked.

Both Heartland and Camping World told me the same thing about caulking both sides and the top. I have noticed that many of my windowa are only caulked across the two top corner radius' and the top, but not down the sides. Makes me wonder if I shoud recaulk all of my windows all the way around except across the bottom.

 

[cookie]

In your earlier post you said you had trouble getting the window out. I see that in picture #1 you finaly got the right tool. If it dont move, your hammer is too small.

NIce repair job and thanks for posting your procedure to help others.

Peace
Dave

 

[randes]

Thanks for the comment. I got a really good chuckle out of that thought! I didn't even think about the rubber mallot being in the picture.

I used the rubber mallot to tap the plastic putty knife instead of having to put a lot effort into pushing the putty knife along. Worked great!

Thanks again for your keen insight and comment. Roy

 

[ljsexton]

Thanks for your detailed description on how to remove the window. We also had a leak and hopefully, after removing the window and recalking, will have no further problems. Had no leak after running lots of water with the hose, just waiting for the next rain for the true test.

Tommy and Linda Sexton
Big Horn 3385 RL