Water in my Trillium 1300

[Darren Pettis]

Hi all

I have found that there is some water (about 6 oz) that pools in my bed areas around the bottom where the ensolite ends. I was wondering is anyone out there can tell me the probable source of a leak.
Can the belly band leak? The silicone around it looks very old and cracked. How about the windows?
Any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

[Booker B.]

Hi Darren,

Generally the most probably leak source would be your windows. Though occasionally the belly bands lead primarily it's the loss of a good seal on the windows.

It's a bit of work but you will probably want to unscrew the windows, place some Butyl Tape (available at any RV store) around the entire window (not the frame), reinstall the window and use stainless steel screws instead of the original rusty screws. Then even if the leak is still there you know for sure that the window's are nicely sealed for the future. Silicon is not a good seal for windows or belly bands - it cracks over time whereas Butyl Tape is a soft, flexible product designed for this role.

As a side note: one of our members with a Trillium mentioned that they had leaks from tiny holes in the front of the trailer where rocks had hit it.

[brendadave]

I'd put my money on the windows leaking...when our back windows leaked the water pooled on the bench like you indicated. I have now discovered that the belly band does leak at the front, but only driving on the highway in the rain, and only when it is a long trip, that water ends up under the front bench in the storage area.

First thing you should do in the spring is pull the two side windows and reseal them. Lots of people have posted info on how to do this including me.

[Roger C H]

I found you can get a surprising amount of water just from breathing. We learned to leave a window and the roof vent cracked a little overnight even on the coldest nights. Even then we can get enough moisture on the windows and ensolite to write your name, and about 1/4 inch of water in the window tracks.

[Larry C Hanson]

Hello,
Assuming the trailer got wet. I vote for the windows.... with any 30 year
old trailer... if the windows have hot been resealed they will probably leak.
Bought a Trillium 1300 about a year ago and removed and reinstalled all
the windows. The caulking was all dried and cracked and it would surely
have leaked if it had not been renewed. Was in some real rain up in Idaho
this summer and had not a drop of window leaks.

Good Luck, Larry H

[Randy Bishop]

I removed the windows and resealed them in both of my Trillium 4500's and still found a small amout of water in the back storage area's...removed the belly band on both sealed the crack all the way around the camper with fiber glass and installed a stick-on trim and fixed the problem, no more water..I posted picture's and a link just recently on the first one and just got done with the other one 3 day's ago...Here are some pictures

With the belly band removed.................




Another one it was real bad under there on both.......................




This one show's how bad the metal pieces that the belly band is attached to swells out and cause leaks... there was several spot's like this.........




Here's my 2 with the bands replaced with the car trim's.......wish I had took a picture after I fiberglassed the crack....




Here's my 4 egg's.... 2 Trillium's and 2 Scamps




Well i could ony get 3 in the picture



3 redone 1 remaining......

[Booker B.]

Great info and pictures Randy, still looking for a 4500 to have for our 2nd trailer =)

[Larry C Hanson]

Great post Randy. You went all the way with that belly band repair. Here, I was not so thorough and used an easier though not
as thorough method to seal the aluminum band around the trailer. I used clear acrylic gel from art supply store to seal the top
of the band to prevent water from running down under the band. Masking tape was used to make a neat job. I had to put on two coats
as some gaps were evident after the first application... gel ran down behind band a little. Larry H

[Randy Bishop]

When I done mine I ran a piece of duct tape on top and bottom then spread my fiberglass over the open joint, the duct tape helped to keep the filler thin and helped when it came to sanding, I used a small orbitial sander and the duct tape saved the gel coat from being sanded that I want to save..When I was done i removed the duct tape but had to go over it with goo gone to remove the adhesive left behind...hope this helps