gally hatch leak help

[the hunter]

so i was out work on my trailer and it was raining had the gally door open and noticed it was leaking at the hurracane hinge. from the hatch side when the hatch is open, its seam that the water fills the hinge then leaks in was thinking of covering the hinge with rubber any other ideas that wood be better or maybe this is comon and theres a quick easy fix
thanks for your help

[nrody]

I used a strip of used fire hose, split it lengthwise and used aluminum flat stock 1" wide x width of trailer along with butal tape (putty tape) and self taping screws to affix it. You may be able to get a length of hose from a local fire station that has some damaged hose around.

[CarlLaFong]

Is the hinge installed correctly? The closed side should be at the top. If it's backwards, it will fill with water and leak, especially when the hatch is open

[the hunter]

that cover was what i was thinking and as far as i can tell yes its in right i was also thinking of running a pice of weather striping along the bottem edge so it pinches to make a seal.. is this problem normal?

[working on it]

I used a strip of used fire hose, split it lengthwise and used aluminum flat stock 1" wide x width of trailer along with butal tape (putty tape) and self taping screws to affix it. You may be able to get a length of hose from a local fire station that has some damaged hose around.

I covered my hatch gap in much the same fashion as nrody. I read all of bobhenry's posts, and he showed a similar cover awhile back. I have a large gap to cover on mine, with no support for a flimsy (thin) rubber seal. At first I had a 1/8" thick piece of rubber, that I was going to use, but, after testing in the sun for a month (not mounted on the trailer), it was starting to calcify. I then scrounged some old conveyor belting from the trash at work (new, scrapped, being too short for their needs). It was not waterproof, having pinholes throughout, so I thoroughly covered it with spray-on bedliner. At 52" long, it gives me a 2" overhang on each side, to direct water away, and at 12" wide, it covers the large gap easily. It should last forever, since this material is made to flex. Here it is and here in close-up UPDATE: AFTER TESTING IT IN THE RAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME (9/28), IT FAILED! (but not badly). I waited until it was dry, and dark outside, to shine a light thru it...it still has some pinholes in it. I will recoat it, and light-test it again.

[grant whipp]

so i was out work on my trailer and it was raining had the gally door open and noticed it was leaking at the hurracane hinge. from the hatch side when the hatch is open, its seam that the water fills the hinge then leaks in ...

Is your hinge the old-style offset version or the newer-style 0-offset version? The problem you describe is fairly common with the old-style hinge, not so much so with the newer-style as there is a nice little "nesting pocket" that will keep most of the water out (under heavy rain, though, it can still leak a little).

Your idea of installing a strip of weather seal is an intriguing one that I had not thought of ... ...! You'd want to open the hatch and measure the gap between the horizontal flange of the hatch side hinge piece and that part of the "crown" that would be the "stop" that keeps the lid from going all the way over ... then get a strip of weather seal that has about 30% more thickness than that gap. The weather seal should be closed cell foam, too, not open cell.

Good Luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[Miriam C.]

I used a piece of pond liner. You can also try a strip of aluminum to divert the water.

[Nobody]

I think a lot of it depends on the radius of the curve where the hatch is hinged, the start angle of the hatch from the rest of the roof when the hatch is raised, & the location of the hinge on that radius. I have the non-offset 'Better Than Hurricane' hinge that I ordered from Grant in 2006 when I built my TD. My hinge is located fairly high on the radius but when open, my hatch sits at a 'start angle' of near 90 degrees to the slope of the roof. This causes a 'dam' effect during heavy rain as the water cannot drain off each side fast enough to prevent some water from 'curling' around through the hinge joint & entering my galley. I usually just clamp a 6x8' poly tarp on the hatch about 8" above the hinge & stretch it forward with bungees. That prevents water from reaching the hinge & getting into the galley. Only problem with that is I have to 'un-clamp' the tarp to lower the hatch at night or when leaving camp for whatever reason. I'm planning to obtain a strip of EPDM rubber roofing material (or perhaps some inner tube rubber) & install it similar to the fire hose that nrody used on his TD. I figure if I leave an inch or so at each end of the hinge it should prevent most water from entering through the hinge. I may even be able to remove the vinyl trim strip on the 'cabin' side of the hinge, place the edge of the EPDM under the slot, & by removing & re-installing the hinge attachment screws a few at a time, avoid having to drill additional holes in my roof to install an additional aluminum 'keeper' strip on the upper side. I'll still hafta install such a strip on the hatch side of course & maybe a thin one on the upper side to prevent screws from damaging the EPDM when they're tightened.

Hatch open




Water enters all across the length of the hinge when it this position. The 'deflectors' make no apparent difference whether tight against the ends of the hinge or slightly loose as shown. Pretty sure a 'shield' of some kind that will assist the water to 'run off' before it has a chance to enter the hinge will alleviate the problem...

[grant whipp]

The more I look at this problem, the more I'm convinced that a bit of weather seal that squeezes against the lip of the "crown" is the solution ... I think I'll do some experimentation ... ...! Stay tuned ...

CHEERS!

[Nobody]

Mike, I have little if any leakage when my hatch is closed. Unless we're just camped overnight I always have one of the First Up canopies over the hatch/galley portion of my TD. Problem is when it rains the water runs down the roof slope & usually 'pools' (at least some of it) at the hinge before it is able to run off either side of the TD. That allows it to 'curl' around thru the hurricane hinge mechanism & leak into the galley. My clamp/tarp arrangement does a good job of preventing that but it's clumsy & not very handy to use so I'm thinking seriously of adding some kind of 'shield' similar to nrody's solution. May hold off a little while to see if Grant's experiments confirm that a piece of strategically located weather strip will do the job. Would probably be an easier (I'm always for that ) solution...

[the hunter]

thanks for all your input , who is this grant guy and how do i contact him..

[grant whipp]

thanks for all your input , who is this grant guy and how do i contact him..

That would be me ... ...!

You can PM me here, send me an e-mail at [email protected] ... call me at 530-242-6452 weekdays from 10:00-12:00 and 2:00-4:30 and/or visit my websites by going to http://www.teardrops.net

Happy to help any way I can! As always ...

CHEERS!

[Roly Nelson]

All of my teardrops have a cheap, Home Depot piano hinge at the doors and galley hatch. They used to leak, but not any more. I simply raised the hatch lid, half way up, then squirted a liberal amont of clear silicone, called "Two-times-the stretch", smoothed it out with my finger, let is sit for about a week, while it cured, and Bingo, no more leaks. It stetches when you close it, and compresses when you open it, won't crack or peel off and has solved my leak problems forever. Good luck, and enjoy the cheap price of the material, I'm sold on it and encourage it's use, when ever possible.........It only costs about 12 bucks at the big box stores. Good luck.
Roly ~~

[Vedette]

Hi Roly
The Fall Brigade in Mulino Oregon would have been a great test for that product.
Now we know why it is so GREEN in Oregon!
Rain, Rain, Rain!!! Wow!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[grant whipp]

FYI ... preliminary tests look very promising for running a strip of Door Seal along the length of the horizontal flange on the hatch side hinge piece, where when opening, the seal is pressed along the length of the "crown" of the hinge, thereby sealing out any water intrusion with the lid up. I'm going to test another style of Door Seal, then figure out a way to water test to confirm my theory, and take some pictures. Stay tuned!

CHEERS!