sprung a leak..advice needed...

[DragonFire]

So we had a big storm here yesterday...hail, torrential rain, wind....

Checked the Grasshopper this morning and it's leaking around the hatch on one side. There is a boatload of silicone around the hatch on the outside. It's not a usual size hatch, either. What's the best way of fixing this problem? Get up there and start trying to remove all sealant, pull the hatch, put butyl under it and screw it back down?

It's going to rain again tomorrow and the next day. I can probably get plastic over it and seal it up for the coming storms, but I need to fix the problem.

[Mukilteo]

I'm a fan of the "Remove all the old sealant, pull the vent, clean it up real good check the condition of the wood framing. If okay, reaseal." method.
Now that being said, has anyone used Goop's RV Contact Adheaive? I see it for sale at Walmart in the RV section.

[DragonFire]

OK..the advice I got elsewhere was to get silicone remover, use a plastic putty knife and start getting that stuff off. Then pull the hatch, put down new butyl tape after cleaning the old off (what gets that stuff off? it's like tar!) then put a new strip down and re attach the hatch. If I break or crack that hatch I'm screwed..no camping for me. I am not sure there is a replacement made. It's an odd size.

I was told to let the butyl get warm in the sun a few days and then snug it down...but we are only having sun today. Not sure if I should just seal up with plastic until next weekend and hope for better weather...I'll certainly have more time to work on it.

[Mukilteo]

I've been waiting for warm, sunny, close to 60 degree days to get up on my van's roof to remove the luggage rack and the flimsy ladder at the back.
The ladder won't hold my weight, and the luggage rack is loose and useless.
Need a warm day for the sealant to cure properly. (And my body works better when it's warmer.)

[DragonFire]

I've got warmth now...but if I can get this done today, I'll put plastic over the hatch for the rest of the week until we have heat again to seal the hatch properly.

[DragonFire]

I've got the silicone off and have used the remover. Washed that off, now the trailer is in full sun with a fan going inside pointed at the ceiling...damp rid is in there..windows and doors open with wind blowing through...I have a sealer CW said to use instead of pulling the hatch, since it's vintage and I don't have a replacement (but now I have a part number and can hopefully get one...) so I'm trying to let her dry for a bit, then I'll seal. I successfully sealed the Aristocrat this way, so I'm hopeful it will work for this season until I can take the trailer to Vintage Camper Trailers and have it worked over in the fall/winter. I want it checked out and any repairs done, and insulated as much as can be. New vent.

SO...meanwhile someone cleaned the galley...and I'm ready to start stocking the melmac for the Dam. I'm hopeful this will actually happen..getting out in a vintage camper, I mean. It's been my dream for 7 years. I'm so close to it...just hope this repair holds!

[48Rob]

Anytime you have a leak, trying to clean the outside and smearing more sealer over the joint will just have you trying to seal the leak again soon...

The best way to correct any leak is to remove the mating parts, clean well, apply new putty, then seal the putty.
You're 95% there...don't back down now...
I'm not sure why you're worried about the "vintage" hatch?
If it is damaged from moisture, now is the time to find out, and if needed, make repairs.
Anything can be repaired, if it becomes so weak from rot that it falls, or flies off, repairs become much more complicated.
Edit;
I see you plan to have a shop go over the trailer and make repairs at the end of the season, that is a good plan!
Just try to keep it out of the rain if you can, a lot of damage can occur in one season if there is an unseen leak.

Rob

[DragonFire]

I don't have a replacement part for the hatch at this time, and if it is destroyed when taking it out, I have an unusable trailer with a hole in the roof in the rain. I've got a part number...so I'm going to try to find a new hatch for it.

[doug hodder]

Might be an idea to just get the dimensions on the opening and the thickness of the roof. It's not that old, I'm sure that there is something out there that will work for it. However, if you don't have any wiring up there to operate a powered unit...don't buy one, unless you want to surface mount wiring. It's entirely possible too that you could enlarge the opening, frame it in and install a larger one. Really difficult to help without some pics of exactly what you are dealing with or seeing it first hand. Doug

[DragonFire]

I found one that might work...but I'm not going to take out the existing one to measure the hole...cuz then I'm stuck with nothing there..

it's an escape hatch. It is about 14X20 1/2...that is approx the hole size from what I can tell from the inside..there is one that is 14 1/2 x 21 1/2. I'm thinking that one might work..but I need more time to have it open, and a backup plan if it doesn't work..

Looks like I won't be making the Dam after all

[DragonFire]

http://www.rvandvansurplus.com/escapehatches.asp?Vehicletype=RV#

the top one on the page looks like it might work...

[doug hodder]

OK....I didn't understand that it was an escape hatch...thought you were referring to a vent. So is it just mobbed with silicone where the ring attaches to the trailer roof, or is the hatch itself sealed? If it's an aluminum ring on the whole hatch, I'm sure it can be removed and resealed. If the hatch itself has a gasket in it, which I'd assume it does...is that in good shape or are there any tears or cracking in it? It's just going to take some time/pressure and maybe a little bit of a heat gun to get the old stuff to release so it can be removed and cleaned up and reinstalled. I wouldn't cut out the Dam just yet. Doug

[DragonFire]

dang..I just hate to tear this thing apart and leave it open during rainy season..but it looks like I may have to do just that..pull the hatch and measure..then wait for one to arrive unless Camping World can get me one off the shelf.

I found some nice ones with aluminum rather than plastic flanges..much better. Just don't know how big the actual cutout is..and there are so many hatches with slight changes in dimension. I just don't know how big the actual hole is compared to the opening of the hatch. Don't know how much wiggleroom I have there.

[DragonFire]

Doug..the main reason I didn't want to mess with removing the hatch without knowing if I can get a replacement is because it's plastic, not metal. It's going to come off in pieces for sure. So I want another one ready to go as I destroy this one pulling it off.

The mob of silicone is gone. There is old sealer which has cracked, and I can see the old plumber's tape down in there under the plastic flange. I don't know what the old sealer is, so I don't know what solvent might work...there is no way I can chisel it off.

[S. Heisley]

DragonFire, I'm with Doug's suggestions.

According to what I'm seeing, the weather reports for Sacramento, CA say no rain until Wednesday. You've already done the hard part of getting the silicone off. I wouldn't think it would be too much trouble to put in new butyl tape and screw the hatch back down, even if it is only temporary. Then, you'll know if your problem is from old butyl tape or something else. If there was a ton of silicone on it when you got it, it is very possible that the previous owner did that instead of replacing the old butyl tape. After all, not everyone is mechanically inclined nor is everyone inclined to do things right. You've had other days of rain before and, supposedly, this is the first time that it has given you a problem and, from what I understand, you've not done anything to cause the problem with that hatch; so, old buytl tape could be all it is. Anyway, I think you'll be a lot safer with that than just leaving it with nothing on it, when it starts raining on Wednesday.

Don't give up on your dream of going to the Dam gathering yet. You may solve your hatch leak problem or weather could be dry for the Dam gathering. It's too soon to tell. Most years, the rains stop around mid April. That's in about two weeks. The Dam gathering is still a month away.

Wishing you a dry camper!