Opinions on water sealing my new trailer

[Nicko]

So, I am the proud new owner of a 1973 Trillium 1300. I found a small amount of water in a few different cargo areas and am going around the camper crossing off possible points of water entry. The trailer came with a diamond plated stone guard attached to the front lower portion of the body shell. It's mounted with two rows of 1/2 inch self-tapping screws (no sealant was used). I'm thinking this could be a possible point of water entry. Do you all think I should re-install this using small machine screws (or bolts) and nuts or are self-tapping screws the better choice? If I use bolts/nuts, I could also use rubber washers that sit against the fiberglass on the interior side? Or is the use of a sealant better? Perhaps Sikaflex 221 or 522? Not sure which one works best for this application. Anyhow, any opinions would be great. Thanks.

[Jon in AZ]

I think that could be at least part of your problem, yes. Screws should never have been used. Fiberglass is too thin. Stainless steel machine nuts and bolts are fine. You can also use aluminum rivets, which makes it a 1-person job. I'd use sealant over rubber washers, but I don't have a specific product recommendation. Don't use anything that says self-leveling on a vertical surface- it'll run.

[mosquito13]

Besides the poorly install, I would pull just to see what that is covering. Least that gives you the oportunity to fill the screw holes with fiberglass resign. Might consider 3M 5200 bead around diamond plate. That will make it a perminent mount , but will prevent water accumulating behind the plate. If you have access to a lift , be amazed at the amount of holes in the underside. If your new here the magnifying glass in banner is the search tool for the site. LOTS of post covering leaks and sealing .

[Fran in Ideeho]

Welcome and congrats on NTY rig (New To You).

In my experience, water intrusion is a trickster - water might show up in front, but actually be entering at the rear! . Once I learned of this procedure, I have had it performed every few years (I live in high desert, the sun is brutal on sealants). Find a place that does a “Bubble Test” - for lack of a better term. Essentially the ceiling fan is removed (if you have one) and a large powerful fan is attached there. Air is then forcefully blown INTO the rig, with all doors, windows, flaps, etc closed. Then soapy water is sprayed over the exterior in a grid pattern.

Anywhere bubbles appear, you have the opportunity for water intrusion.

Some folks have created their own DYI version of this by using an exterior stow door that opens to interior and some fancy tape jobs. You need a fan powerful enough. One person mentioned using a leaf blower - but it was high power.


Good luck, and Happy Trails,
Fran
Current: 2023 Bigfoot 17.5 FB

[C&G in FL]

Proflex is also a very good sealant, and unlike silicon, it will stick to a previous application of Proflex.

[computerspook]

Just remember as you try to fix this not to make it worse by sealing without a way to leak/vent.


It is very easy to get into sealing and do such a great job that the leaks are sealed inside. Always plan on a small amount of water to exit without damaging anything


The comment about leaks being far from where the water is found is valid. Yes that is a good place to start looking. But it is pretty common water to enter and then follow and inside path and then appear far from the real leak.

[Nicko]

Here's a follow up, I ended up spending some time in the camper over a few rainy days and actually found (witnessed) a few different leaks. On the front end, I ended up removing the diamond plate to see what I was dealing with and found that it was hiding a very rough shell surface and of course extra unnecessary screw holes. Looks like when the camper was re-finished they skipped that area and just threw diamond plate over it. I used PC-11 epoxy to seal up the unnecessary screw holes behind the diamond plate and also some more extra holes that were through the floor in the storage areas. I did leave four holes in what I believe to be the lowest points of the cargo areas that I want to apply mesh to as permanent drain holes. Then I remounted the diamond plate using the existing screws holes but instead of screws I used #8 stainless machine screws (essentially bolts), with stainless washers and nuts and also used sikaflex 221 to properly water seal those holes. I also found that an old propane heater vent coming out of the closet right beside the door was also leaking because it was secured using screws. For that I just replaced the screws with #8 machine screws, rubber bonded washers and nuts. The rubber bonded washers seem to be doing the trick.

The last thing I found leaking was the large bolts that secure the awning to the shell. I believe there are 6 of them in total. The bolt heads are all visible from the interior.
It looks like they were installed (pushed out) from the inside. I'm assuming this is not the norm. When it rained, each bolt would slow drip into the interior. It's possible that water is also leaking behind the ensolite from these bolts as well and into the cargo areas along the whole door side of the camper. I'm going to have the remove the new awning and see what kind of mess I'm dealing with up there. Haven't got to that yet.

[computerspook]

A friend and a garden hose can be a big help. On a dry day get the hose out and watch on the inside while you chose one of these areas and make a really giant "storm" over that area and see what happens.