Water leaking at top of main door frame

So my wife said she found a little bit of rusty water inside the TT, right inside the door. I noticed it was dripping down between the inner wall and the head pad above the door. Further inspection showed that water was dripping between the far wall plywood and the door frame. I would immediately think that the top of the door frame wasn't sealed anymore but it looks to be in great shape and sealed tight to the fiberglass. That leads me to think that it's the roof or where the awning is connected. There is an edge of the roof that looks suspect - but I was told to not really worry about that because there's butyl tape under the metal edge. It's right along the edge of the roof, where it wraps down to the fiberglass sides. There's a metal strip over the top of that, it looks like it was sealed with sealer but has popped out all the way around. No matter what, when I can get it to a dry place I think I should clean and seal that edge all the way around. Do you think it is what is leaking?

What's the smart way to go about this? Pull the door frame out?
Really makes me nervous about other places leaking as well behind the wall. How does one non-intrusively look? Is the only way to pull the inner wall panels?
Thanks for your insight and wisdom! This is a 2017 Heartland Mallard 24.5'

Thanks all!

Scott P
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
When someone tells me not to worry about something that's when I start worrying.
I would seal any area that looks suspicious and that includes the areas that you don't have to worry about.
Water has a way of getting in so do a good job caulking.

Peace
Dave
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
Water seeks the lowest point. Anything higher, left, right, or forward can be the source. This can be inches to many feet. Everything must be suspect and requires a very good inspection on you hands and knees with a pick to gently check the edge of all sealant. Just an eyeball check is not good enough to make sure that the sealant has good adhesion. I have found sealant that look good and not adhered at the edges half way through the seal using a pick. I am lucky that water did not get past any of my calking. No pressure or poking just gently following the edges of the sealant. The pick will slide under if it does not have good adhesion. Did this once in the spring and once in the fall before the winter. Don't use silicone to make seals. I does not adhere well and nothing else will because of the silicon residue.
 
I really appreciate the input! I was initially thinking of just tearing out the door to see what's going on but it seems removing the interior wall would reveal more and be less work. I see where there is a seam, it's covered with color and pattern matching tape. Is that tape available readily? Or is it a dealer only item?

As for the suspect roof edge, I need to get it dry before I can seal. I've been looking for indoor storage I could buy for a month but haven't found it yet.

Thanks
Scott
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
If you’re talking about recaulking the outer frame, get a plastic paint scraper and round the corners of the blade a little. Use that to remove the old caulk before applying new.


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sengli

Well-known member
When you do you caulking check, there are special RV types of caulk. Dicor makes some that is for horizontal surfaces, and then there is the type for vertical as well. Honestly unlike a new car, you need to keep after the caulking on the RV's often. I think the warranty states you need to check and re-caulk roof joints like very 6 months.

Water is your enemy.
 
It seems I have found the leak - so far so good. I smeared some dicor over the seam that is above the door and it stopped the leak. From what I can tell, these walls are fully laminated from fiberglass all the way through to the inner paneling. Glad I didn't try to pull the paneling out to see what was going on.

I think I will snug up the screws on the metal trim to roof membrane interface as well as re-caulk all the way round once it gets nice out - or I may just pull the metal trim from all around and re-butyl underneath.

Wish it was sealed right from the factory so I wouldn't have to do this. Many RV techs I have spoken to about it say it's not really common for it to leak there - butyl doesn't like to let water in.

Thanks
Scott P
 
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