Should I be concerned? Pictures of water damage outside

[marudnick]

The other day I noticed some water damage outside, behind the plumbing area and in front of the rear wheels. This is a 2019 Sunstar 29VE. Pictures below.

The damage seems to be at the bottom. I don't feel any sponginess higher up on the inside.

Suggestions?

[Morich]

While this is not a great big deal yet, it does show that needed work has not been done.
If you look at the edges of all this type trim, there should be a very fine line of seal showing at the edges. Not only those near the tire which are more prone to being wet but all along most of the panels where this type edge is used.

The spot you show does get water splash and more of it than higher up but the other spots should be sealed as they get wet when it rains.

For my purposes at this spot, I recommend filling the cap with caulk and then pressing it firmly back into place but since it has come loose once, I go a step further to try to make it stay.

An angle bracket of the right size can be pressed into the inside edge of the floating trim, then I like to add pop rivets to hold that first end firmly as I press the angle into the chassis part where I then add pop rivets to hold the angle and the whole together.

Harder to explain, perhaps, than do?

To get the holes for the pop rivets correct but still have the metal angle inside where it will mostly be out of sight, I first lay the angle along the outside, allow a tiny bit for the thickness of the trim and then mark and drill the holes for the eventual rivets to fit.
A bit of blind "windage" on the hole placement?
Tricky to get a drill in between the tire and the trim, so I have had to make do with other tools. Since the space is so low and metal so thin, a short nail like a roofing nail works for me to tap the start of the hole with a hammer and then ream it out to big enough with some other short tool. I have a short little mini scewdriver that is no longer good for anything other than punching holes!

What I am going for is to get something solid to hold the trim but also be out of sight as much as possible to hold down the repair showing when reselling the RV!
Good caulk sealing it all at edges as well as over the rivet heads!

[marudnick]

I will have to digest your detailed post. I may come back with questions on how to apply the repair. However, I to have one quick question. Does anything have to be done underneath the trim? Do I have to check for rot or anything else?

Thanks.

[Morich]

I would not as the real "fix" for that would be so radical that I'm in favor of waiting. Yes, you are likely to have some damage but it is not something I would want to remove the side to fix, but I would make sure that caulk was in any open space under the edge as a seal to keep any more water from going to that damaged spot.

As I see the problem, it is that the corner was not really strong and sealed well at best.
I find the two trim pieces were put on with adhesive and some form of sealer but the bottom end corner is not well sealed. That leaves any splash from the tires able to find that little 1/16 to 1/8 inch gap and set there to wick up into the layers behind. At some point it stops holding and gets worse!
Maybe slide under on the other wheels and see if there is anything to stop water on them?

Have you used a pop rivet gun at any point? They are pretty cheap tools to buy and have some real advantages when we can't get to the back side of things like this.
The pop rivet goes into the gun and you then stick the rivet into the hole, through both metal parts. As you squeeze the gun, it pulls the center of the rivet outwards and compresses the rivet to form a cap on the outside and a bulge on the inside. At some point the pulling gets too much and the center of the rivet breaks, POP! leaving the two parts squeezed tight together!

Don't have a finger between the tool handles when it pops!

They come in different length and width as well as different material but I like aluminum for RV as it doesn't rust and show so much.


If not used one before, it is not a high tech item but hard to explain on how it works!
This is one that might be easy to get and it comes with a variety of different rivets. The ad also shows how the rivets have a bulge that winds up inside and as it gets pulled tight enough, the center shaft breaks and leaves the circle laying pretty flat on the surface we see. I like it better than screw heads which stick up and tend to get loose. Since this is metal squeezed against metal it tends to stay tight.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HyperToug...ctedSellerId=0

Harbor Freight also comes cheaper but this has better pictures!!

[Ray,IN]

I would suspect a water entry point is much higher on the wheel-well trim than just at that point of damage.

[marudnick]

I may end up working on this when we return from our current trip in a month. Is there much risk in waiting a month to repair?

Related topic. I have never caulked the RV. I took a quick look and noticed another spot where there may be the beginnings of a problem. What is the recommended caulk and how often should I caulk? It looks like it’s a pretty small bead for caulking, just cover the seam. Any other tips on preventative care?

Thanks!

[marudnick]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I would suspect a water entry point is much higher on the wheel-well trim than just at that point of damage.

I plan to get underneath to have a better look at the problem. I want to check all the seams to make sure there isn’t another issue looming.

Thanks.

[Morich]

All things we do are prone to filtering due to personal choices!
What I do is not what may be "required" by others ideas!
But for my choice, I would not want to wait long to get it sealed as there is not a whole lot of wood in there to start. Likely the outer cover is laid on something like 1/8 inch ply of some sort and then foam and another of ply before getting to the inner layer.
The 1/8 ply is often pretty much gone after it gets wet for a time as you get back a few inches from where it is wet, the adhesive is still holding the "sandwich" together.

When I think of how much wind is going to hit that edge as we drive, I worry that the wind will catch the loose outer layer and may rip it back 6-8 inches before it rips it off!
At that point you move from a bit of pain to fix and into major damage as about the only true fix that doesn't look terrible is to replace a whole bunch and possibly not even practical!

Once an RV side begins to delaminate, it can be brutal!

But for trying to avoid future issues of the sort, there are as many ideas as there are people!
This is one post on the subject and I'm sure some of them are good, while others are totally suspect. what and how to replace caulk is a WIDE subject as you can tell from doing a search on caulk for RV.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/wha...be-503158.html

Part of the question is what the old caulk was as there are many which will not let the new stick without removing the old and treating the area with cleaners like mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol.
I use alcohol as I always have it and it seems to work for most places. My main use for resealing, other than RV, has been replacing panels on aquariums where the caulk of choice has always been silicone and silicone is one which will not stick for long over old silicone, so we have to clean it better than eating!

I suspect one of the larger failures, after not doing it, is just adding more and more!
If your new caulk looks like it has been redone, you may have too much!

But where, what parts, and when or how often is always different as the different parts wear and weather differently! Roof panels and things like vents weather far more than side panels but they are also a place where we can use the thicker stuff that does last and weather better as it is often out of sight!
I go thicker on top but want it as small as possible where we see it?

A subject that gets reams written on it but no real agreement for many.
For when to do it? I tend to look at these side strips and if I begin to see gaps where water looks like it might get in, I begin to think of redo!

This is the callout sheet listing the sealer Winnebago does when building:
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File.../000181968.pdf

I use a niffty new tool for speeding the removal of old. I love this oscillating tool for removal without doing the nicks and dings of a putty knife. It also goes much quicker, with less labor. I'm too old for spending a week working my hands and arms!

I was given a "high quality " one which I wore out quickly and replaced with this as I retired and did not plan to use it much and it has lasted far longer???
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tou...B&gclsrc=aw.ds


NOTE: I plan to quit most any day now!!

[marudnick]

Update. I was able to close up the pieces. See below for the results. I know that I need to securely attach the pieces and caulk.

You mentioned the pop rivet. Would that go on the side piece, going back to front or the bottom piece, both or neither?

[Morich]

My first preference is to make the repairs as hidden as possible so I would have tried fitting the angle inside before closing.

But that is not the handy way to go at this point so I might then move to putting the angle on the outside as the quicker easier way.


The trick to getting the pop rivets to work best is in the correct sizing of the rivet and hole drilled.
Since it will be a fairly thin (1/8 inch?)metal strap and we know the trim is thin, I might look at rivets that are 1/4 inch long and maybe 1/8 thick, then drill holes to fit them in of 1/8.
Once you have the holes marked and drilled, put the rivet in the end of the gun and press the rivet as far and solidly into the holes to get it and the two metal pieces all pressed together fully as you press in and begin to pump the handles of the tool.


It may be worthwhile to do a rivet or so for testing if you have any kind of metal scrap handy?

What you will see is the tool grips the long "stem" of the center of the rivet and as you press it all tightly together and move the gun handles, the tool pulls up on the center and that causes the inner side of the rivet head to bulge or mushroom to make a larger bump inside which can't pull out.
At some point that pulling without the top being able to come out becomes too much stress on the metal of the center shaft and it pops off.
That makes the metal trim and the angle really press hard together for a really tight fit!