Well, I took my first camping trip this weekend!! It was great... except for the cold, rain, wind, leaking trailer roof & no heat!! Jeesh!! What an experience... That was Saturday... but Sunday was WONDERFUL!! We had wonderful weather for riding.
But my question is, how do I seal up a roof that you can't SEE the holes?? I'm sure I would have to do the entire roof, but with what???
Posted 2005-04-04 12:51 PM (#23403 - in reply to #23401) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 500 Location: West TN
We would always use a clear caulking and make sure we had a nice bead that covered the entire seam. I would also check around the windows to make sure that water isn't getting into your trailer there. We used to have several problems with windows when we bought metal trailers in the past. We have gone to higher priced aluminum trailers and have not had any problems. In some cases on our trailers that had a tendency to leak, we would go and run our finger over the seam to make sure we had it sealed off. If you are having problems with your windows, we discovered that removing them and caulking from the inside of the seam in addition to sealing the outside helped with many of our problems. Good luck, I know how aggravating it is to wake and discover water has invaded your trailer.
Posted 2005-04-04 12:59 PM (#23406 - in reply to #23403) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
How about when you can't figure out where the leak is? I am about ready to just rip off the entire roof. Is there a paint on sealant that you can use to cover the whole roof? I've checked all the seams, looked for pin holes in the roof and the only other thing I can think of is maybe condensation because of the difference between day and night temps. 85 during the day and then 50 at night. I know the fiberglass/steel seam on the nose is leaking when it rains, but there are drip marks comming from inside a couple of the square tube roof supports. How would water get inside there? The roof is on top of the support. No screws, just spot welded. Any ideas for that one?
Posted 2005-04-04 1:44 PM (#23413 - in reply to #23401) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 500 Location: West TN
I know the feeling of not knowing where the leak is. We ended up sealing every single joint and seam on our horse trailer. We would take a water hose and run it over the roof to get a general idea as to where it was originated from. Then we would lay down the caulking and in some cases smooth it over to make a seal over the entire area. This took several attempts of trial and error. Just when we thought we had one leak fixed, another was sure to appear and the process started all over again. All in all, I estimate we used roughly four tubes of caulking on the LQ part of our trailer. However, we removed the windows and sealed every part from the inside and outside.
Posted 2005-04-04 1:56 PM (#23414 - in reply to #23401) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Veteran
Posts: 141 Location: Helena, Ohio
The windows on my trailer are pop-riveted in, is that the norm?? This is my first gooseneck trailer with Primitive LQ & I'm not sure what the normal is! IT is SOOOOOoooo frustrating! I will have to start with the hose thing to see what is going on. What type of caulk did you use?? Just like bathroom caulk??
Posted 2005-04-04 3:29 PM (#23420 - in reply to #23414) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Veteran
Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
I just caulked the roof on mine and used a self levelling exterior caulking made for RV's. Got it at the RV store. I wanted something UV resistant, 'cause my trailer has to sit out in the elements.
While carefully scraping out all the seams as part of the prep work, I noticed a small hole in the old caulking inconspicuously located under one of the lights - that was definitely where my roof was leaking. I had to take off the light to get that caulking removed and replaced properly.
Posted 2005-04-05 12:47 PM (#23460 - in reply to #23401) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Member
Posts: 8
Location: Frazee,MN
I had a trailer that leaked like crazy. I went to my local hardware store and got roof sealant like they use on trailer houses. It is white or silver and reflects the suns rays making your trailer cooler also. I just used a roller, got on the roof and rolled it on. Sealed it right up, never had any problems after that. You made need to reapply every couple of years or so, but beats the cost of a new trailer. Good luck to you.
Posted 2005-04-09 12:43 AM (#23601 - in reply to #23401) Subject: RE: Leaking Roof??
Member
Posts: 39 Location: Covington, Louisiana
You might want to check out the Eternabond tape made for repairing and sealing leaks in trailer roofs. I've just gotten some and haven't gotten it on but it has had a lot of positive reviews on the RV boards. It's a bit pricey but worth it. I've got an old Hale gooseneck with a metal roof made of overlapped sheets and have had a time stopping leaks. This looks a lot better and easier than trying to run caulk on seams or mopping thick rubber paint on them.
Leaking Roof??
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