Trailers eventually leak water..

[rebar]

"In fact, many NEW campers and trailers leak right from the factory. Combine the water with wooden construction and your high dollar trailer is already rotting before you take possession."

This is what I was told years ago before I bought my first camper, so I decided is was important to have a trailer made from aluminum. I bought a used featherlite toyhauler which never leaked according to the owner, probably because he stored it inside..

I took possession of my used featherlite and on the way home it rains, and water dumps past the AC roof seal and soaks the entire trailer floor! This was a easy fix tightening the mounting screws, but was a precursor for what was to come and a hell of a way to start out the first day!

Sound familiar? The next day I encountered a leak from the front door which I fought for a long time. Turns out a small ding on the door was preventing it from closing tightly. And the bathroom roof vent, which leaked onto the WOOD nailer under the aluminum which rotted away also damaging the WOOD paneling covered with delaminating wall paper. Jeeze.. Now I'm tearing out rotten wood from a aluminum trailer. To make a long story shorter, pretty much every window and caulked exterior fitting leaked! It took many man hours to trace the leak and strip all the sealer off the roof and thank god they didn't used silicone. But the windows and smaller penetrations were all sealed with the dreaded silicone which most of us know cant be sealed again with new silicone over the old.. ALL the silicone had to be removed before resealing..

So where is my rant going? I sold my 24' featherlite toyhauler because I was overwhelmed with all the leaking. But I miss traveling in my toyhauler and want another shorter one for better maneuverability but I don't want to chase leaks forever again. I guess I just answered my own question. They all eventually leak and I don't want to chase leaks forever, so I guess I will rent a room next time I go "camping". Unless I can get my hands on a trailer which doesnt leak and made from materials which dont rot or fall apart when wet. I don't think this trailer exists unless I build it?

Rant over..

[GuitarPhotog]

My trailer, though not a cargo trailer, has never leaked, and if I have anything to say about it, it will never leak.

Now the reason, my trailer is an original all-aluminum teardrop built in 1948. It is held together with about a million aircraft-style (double sided) rivets. So there are no screws to come loose. There are no protrusions through the skin! This is why it has never leaked.

Anytime you make a hole in the skin, you have the potential for a leak. And, any medium you use to "leak proof" those holes will eventually fail due to age, and will leak.

The secret is to choose gasket and caulking materials that will hold up, prep all surfaces properly before installation, install correctly, and then maintain that material properly with annual inspections and repairs.

When you were "chasing leaks" what were you repairing them with? When the fan seal leaked, did you remove it, remove the old caulking, and then replace the caulking/sealant with a quality polyurethane material? Or did you just squirt some more caulk into the hole hoping it would seal this time?

My $0.02 worth
<Chas>

[rebar]

When you were "chasing leaks" what were you repairing them with? When the fan seal leaked, did you remove it, remove the old caulking, and then replace the caulking/sealant with a quality polyurethane material? Or did you just squirt some more caulk into the hole hoping it would seal this time?
My $0.02 worth
<Chas>

I removed the bath roof vent and removed the rotten nailers and replaced, cleaned all the silicone off, and then used butyl tape there and any place I could squeeze it. Places where I could not squeeze butyl, I used Geocel RV proflex.

Everyplace I re-caulked didn't leak again except a window I removed four times.. I think that leak came from a roof seam but not sure as that was my last straw and I sold it. That, and the fact a 24' camper is way to big for one or two people. But there are days I wish I would never have sold it..

[Jscwerve]

This is one of the reasons I bought a rivetless cargo trailer for my conversion. Also why I went with the doomed roof instead of flat.

It may leak one day, but I try to eliminate the possibility as much as I am able.

[rebar]

This is one of the reasons I bought a rivetless cargo trailer for my conversion. Also why I went with the doomed roof instead of flat.

It may leak one day, but I try to eliminate the possibility as much as I am able.

Thanks Jscwerve.. What brand trailer, and is the doomed roof one piece, or seams every 4' ? The featherlite had a one piece, but had low spots where water pooled on the caulked seam.

[working on it]

• No man-made structure is permanently impermeable to water, including the pyramids (unless they used Flex Seal, and that's unlikely). Houses eventually need repairs, as do trailers, which being mobile, are more prone to damage from exposure to the harsher conditions they endure (constant high-speed airflow, road shocks and vibrations), and their (necessarily) lighter construction.
• Factory-built trailers (especially cargo trailers, with their wide-open, un-braced interiors), are built of the lightest/cheapest materials the manufacturer can use (cost per unit goes down, profit goes up), built quickly (maintaining higher production rates for higher profit), and are not (usually) thoroughly tested for watertightness. Some are, like Airstreams and Winnebago, but you'll pay extra for those upper-echelon marques.
• I ran a receiving department for years, so I saw how all brands of the big freight trailers (semis hauling 53 foot, open trailers, usually) would start developing leaks after a few years, and a lot of miles. Road conditions, flexing of the frames, extreme weather variances...all worked the seams loose, sooner or later. Cargo would sometimes come in totally soaked, usually in the most dilapidated trailers. I also saw the same thing in my racing hobby; the racers with their cars in enclosed trailers would sometimes have leaks, and would trade in their older trailers for newer. I, being a poor boy, never had a high dollar car-hauler like that, so my car got a free car wash often, travelling to the drag strips!
• Many teardrop owners, buying trailers built by known-brand manufacturers, have had leaks when fresh from the factory, but not all. Just luck of the draw, I guess. But, so have owners of home-built trailers, too. But, when you're building your own trailer, you have only yourself to blame, for something built wrong or some detail missed. The quality and quantity of materials used in a home-built trailer are as important as in a factory-built one. And experience and speed in building.
• I built my squareback TTT of the strongest/heaviest material I could find locally, 3/4" pre-sanded, phenolic resin bonded plywood. I built it in a squared monocque form, with no curves or bends, so all joined pieces could be reinforced with bolted steel braces, angles (gusseted), and corners. Extra structural bracing was added by screwing and gluing oak boards around windows, doors, shelves, and A/C frame. The main sources of interior support are the vertical bulkhead between galley and cabin, and the vertical front wall, so sideways twist or torquing of the structure (which eventually happens with open-interior freight trailers), shouldn't occur with my trailer.
• Plywood will rot, if water penetrates and isn't removed quickly. That's why I chose plywood with waterproof phenolic resin as the bond between the plies...if water penetrates a surface ply, the phenolic resin will stop it there. To prevent the outer ply from water, I used several stages of "the mix", from 75%/25% thinner/polyurethane, to 50%/50%, to 25%/75%, to straight poly, then painting over all that with UV-resistant outdoor paints, formulated for silos and tractors, applying multiple coats. All joints and seams were sealed, inside and out, with Loctite PL Premium polyurethane adhesive, prior to any poly"mix" or paint. No manufacturer of a "normal" or affordably-priced trailer could profitably be expected to take all these steps (and time and money), that I did, over 20+ months of building time. Not having any prior experience made me go to extra lengths to ensure the integrity of my build; others could, and do, build their trailers faster, better, and more stylishly than I, but each person has varying levels or skills, experience, time, money, and design plans to use, and the finished results of each trailer build may vary, as well.
• Rant as you wish, I've been there, too. But, my own failings were to fault, not another's build. Through no fault of yours, the trailer leaked...don't give up, everything can be made to work, but never permanently.

[flboy]

At least the frame and roof does not rot away on a CTC. A cheap factory built trailer's wood frame, rubber roof and etc. rot's quick and then they are practically worthless. This is the main reason why I built my own out of a Cargo trailer. Even if it does develop a leak, it is not destroyed and the bones will still be good.

On my drive out to Texas last week, I saw what looked like a relatively new Class C motor home going down the road with the roof all raised up and distended. It looked like air was getting under the rubber roof up front... It just started to rain also. I hope that poor guy had warranty or insurance... I am sure it was destroyed and he was clueless that was happening as he drove. I'd never have a roof like that.

On the cargo trailer roof... you can easily see the seams and with annual check and maintenance as needed, you should never have a problem. It is metal so the only place to leak is at the seams and where the vents are. Same on all the other areas. Even if you do get a leak along a wall, it drains down the inside of the skin and out the bottom by the frame (that is why I did not seal mine off there like some do. I taped off the insulation on the inside to prevent any thermal bypass.. but I wanted an air exchange between the skin and foam insulation board... which is waterproof on the sides also.

So, you can get a leak and not be destroyed with a CTC... The key is to check everything about twice a year and replace caulk where needed. I can't imagine leaks along anything I installed with all the dicor tape underneath, silicone , etc.. I checked it all with a pressure sprayer before I put the insulation and inside panels back on.

However, nothing lasts forever... everything requires some maintenance.. take care of your stuff and it takes care of you.

[GuitarPhotog]

-snip-
So, you can get a leak and not be destroyed with a CTC... The key is to check everything about twice a year and replace caulk where needed. I can't imagine leaks along anything I installed with all the dicor tape underneath, silicone , etc.. I checked it all with a pressure sprayer before I put the insulation and inside panels back on.

However, nothing lasts forever... everything requires some maintenance.. take care of your stuff and it takes care of you.

Nothing lasts forever, except the silicone residue that cannot be removed from aluminum, and will prevent any other sealant from sealing properly. I hope when you said "... silicone, etc." you really meant that you used a polyurethane caulk, not a silicone caulk. If you used silicone, I pity the poor bastard who has to fix it when it breaks down because of UV exposure and leaks.

<Chas>

[Padilen]

I didn't snap pics of the trim and damage, at my moms. This is the bump out for the bed! The trim is (was) screwed underside just caulked on the edge that meets the wall. The caulk failed ! Floor is rotted back 4-6 inches. I do see this was going to happen but my mom was in denial.



So I removed the trim and gorilla taped the underside of floor. Then lapped that around to the wall. Covered the black gorilla tape with white duct tape, to match siding. I need to clean up trim and I'll caulk it and see if it will stick back on.. We'll see if it last the summer.

[McDave]

This is one of the reasons I bought a rivetless cargo trailer for my conversion. Also why I went with the doomed roof instead of flat.

It may leak one day, but I try to eliminate the possibility as much as I am able.

Thanks Jscwerve.. What brand trailer, and is the doomed roof one piece, or seams every 4' ? The featherlite had a one piece, but had low spots where water pooled on the caulked seam.

Well see, there's your problem. you bought a trailer with a doomed roof. What the heck did ya think was gonna happen? Next time check out the flat top style or even a domed roof. Just stay away from the ones with the doomed roof, no good can come of it. Geez..Kids these days.

McDave

[swoody126]

this discussion sure does support the philosophy behind the CLC Tear that is made from Marine ply encapsulated in epoxy/glass fiber :-)

sw

[rebar]

Well see, there's your problem. you bought a trailer with a doomed roof. What the heck did ya think was gonna happen? Geez..Kids these days.
McDave

Seriously though.. Do any trailer manufactures offer a domed seamless roof? Or a domed roof covered with rubber?

[Pinstriper]

We have a Camplite 14DBS. All aluminum. Frame, floor, roof, sides, cabinets are skinned in Adzel. Yes, the roof is a single continuous sheet of aluminum. The axles are steel. You can clean the interior with a pressure washer and a leer blower.

Sadly, the got acquired by Thor and nor the floors are a compressed fiber, the roof is the same but covered in rubber, and the cabinet faces are wood. Still aluminum frame and structure, but they are now heavier. They do/did make toy haulers.

Our trailer is a 15' box, 2600# dry, and 2 axles. That's right, 2. They now run 3500# dry and single axle, which doesn't make sense to me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[aggie79]

Hi Pinstriper,

I think I remember you from the old LivinLite owners forum before Thor took over and shut the forum down. The "old" CampLite products were really good (other than a few minor buy fixable QC issues.) I wished that I had had the means to purchase a CampLite "pre-Thor", but hope someday to try to build something similar with an ATC, FeatherLite, or Sundowner all-aluminum trailer as a base.

Take care,
Tom

[Pinstriper]

Hi Pinstriper,

I think I remember you from the old LivinLite owners forum before Thor took over and shut the forum down. The "old" CampLite products were really good (other than a few minor buy fixable QC issues.) I wished that I had had the means to purchase a CampLite "pre-Thor", but hope someday to try to build something similar with an ATC, FeatherLite, or Sundowner all-aluminum trailer as a base.

Take care,
Tom

Who would pretend to be me, that was not ?

That Silver Beetle is badass !

I'm still hammering this teardrop into shape. Bearings on the driver side were discolored, so I got to make an extra trip to HFT for the bearing/cup tool so's I could replace the cups and bearings together.

Spent today ripping out the old running lights which had some funky wiring issues (left side marker light would blink with the right side flasher, but the tail lights were correct. Weird. Anyway, I ran new wires and LED fixtures, but when I went to test....nothin'. I think Imma get rid of the frame ground and run a white wire down both sides and reevaluate. After that, I'm thinking the HFT connector is bogus, at which point I'll bite the bullet and wire in a 7-way, since I eventually want to charge from the tow vehicle.