Radio
05-24-2018, 06:29 PM
I have been searching, in vain, for several months for an intermittent leak along the rear wall of my 2009 Rockwood 8280SS 5th wheel. The water would pool on the floor of a small compartment under the pantry.
I had prior trouble with leaks around the seam between the roof and rear end cap and maybe the refrigerator vent. There was always water in the camper after a good rain. After a liberal application of Dicor roof tape (similar to eternabond) to all of that area that leakage stopped. All except this little dribble under the pantry.
After ruling out the roof, I started looking at side wall holes around tail lights and shore power connections. All the caulk/sealant between the connector, taillights and the body of the coach looked good. I'm stumped.
Then I noticed the left taillight had water in it.
The taillight assembly has 3 parts. An angled base that was well sealed to the coach body. Then the panel the bayonet lamp base is mounted to, WITH NO SEALANT OR GASKET BETWEEN THE TWO and then the lens, AGAIN, NO SEALANT OR GASKET.
The reason the leak was intermittent is because the lens needed to fill to a certain point before overflowing into the coach.
So I pulled the taillights apart and cleaned out all the crud. Then I drilled two tiny weep holes in the bottom of each lens, one in each lower corner. Then I ran two beads of sealant: one for the gap between the base and the lamp base panel and another for the gap between the lens and the base, I ran the bead on top of the assembly being careful not to glue the lens to the base. If I need to change the bulb I can remove the sealant with a razor blade to get the lens off.
It's supposed to rain like crazy tonight and all weekend. That will be a good test.
I had prior trouble with leaks around the seam between the roof and rear end cap and maybe the refrigerator vent. There was always water in the camper after a good rain. After a liberal application of Dicor roof tape (similar to eternabond) to all of that area that leakage stopped. All except this little dribble under the pantry.
After ruling out the roof, I started looking at side wall holes around tail lights and shore power connections. All the caulk/sealant between the connector, taillights and the body of the coach looked good. I'm stumped.
Then I noticed the left taillight had water in it.
The taillight assembly has 3 parts. An angled base that was well sealed to the coach body. Then the panel the bayonet lamp base is mounted to, WITH NO SEALANT OR GASKET BETWEEN THE TWO and then the lens, AGAIN, NO SEALANT OR GASKET.
The reason the leak was intermittent is because the lens needed to fill to a certain point before overflowing into the coach.
So I pulled the taillights apart and cleaned out all the crud. Then I drilled two tiny weep holes in the bottom of each lens, one in each lower corner. Then I ran two beads of sealant: one for the gap between the base and the lamp base panel and another for the gap between the lens and the base, I ran the bead on top of the assembly being careful not to glue the lens to the base. If I need to change the bulb I can remove the sealant with a razor blade to get the lens off.
It's supposed to rain like crazy tonight and all weekend. That will be a good test.