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Old 04-30-2019, 05:26 PM   #1
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Soggy roof

I bought my 2014 Sightseer last fall. It was in indoor storage all winter. Today I was getting it ready for our first trip this year. It's been raining heavily for a few days. I noticed water on the floor of the shower. Further investigation revealed dripping from the screw caps on the inside of the shower skylight. I popped the caps off and found several screws so rusted they no longer had screwdriver slots. The remaining screws would only spin when trying to remove. I went up on the roof and found an excessive amount of caulk globbed around the skylight as well as a caulked crack in the skylight. Pushing on the roof between the skylight and the wall I found it to be soft. Obviously this leak has been going on far a long time. Has anyone experienced this, and if so, what was the cost of repair?
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Old 05-01-2019, 04:43 PM   #2
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I bought my 2002 Itasca in Nov 2017 and had a major skylight leak due to a crack in the skylight. The good news is that your roof is made of foam sandwiched between two layers of 1/8" plywood with a sheet of fiberglass on the top. The plywood is likely to be the only part that has been damaged by the water. The fiberglass and foam should be fine.

I ended up replacing the outer skylight plus a couple of square feet of the 1/8" plywood on the ceiling and some around the top edge of the skylight.

On the top, the plywood between the foam and fiberglass had delaminated and pulled out in pieces. I slathered construction adhesive on the new pieces, slipped them in place and clamped everything until the adhesive dried.

My ceiling had a fabric headliner both inside and outside the shower. I didn't like it so I removed it (the adhesive was water soluble). Once I'd done that, the damaged plywood just peeled off. I used a spray contact cement to adhere the new plywood to the foam. I then replaced the entire ceiling with fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) wall paneling available at Lowes or Home Depot. If you didn't want to replace the whole ceiling, you could just do the shower (the FRP panels are only about $35 and are available in white or tan.

I ordered an exact replacement skylight which was pushing $300 but an exact replacement isn't necessary. You can use any replacement that's big enough to cover the opening. Your inner skylight will conceal any mismatch. Clearly, this won't be an issue if your existing skylight is intact. And use SS screws to re-mount everything plus "countersunk finishing washers" on the inner skylight:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...2731/202706392

After mounting the new top skylight with Manus 75 AM (cross references to Winnebago's part # for the specified sealant), I applied Eternabond tape around the flange of the new skylight to prevent future leaks.

Note that, if your skylight leaked, it's likely that your other fittings and vents need to be re-sealed along with your roof edges. There are a lot of postings on this forum about this. I personally am a big fan of Eternabond tape.

Aside from the skylight itself, my cost was minimal but it took me a long time working by myself. Depending on the extent of the damage it could be an expensive repair if you don't DIY.

PM me if you'd like to discuss this further and we can set up a phone conversation.
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Old 05-01-2019, 05:11 PM   #3
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I bought my 2002 Itasca in Nov 2017 and had a major skylight leak due to a crack in the skylight. The good news is that your roof is made of foam sandwiched between two layers of 1/8" plywood with a sheet of fiberglass on the top. The plywood is likely to be the only part that has been damaged by the water. The fiberglass and foam should be fine.

I ended up replacing the outer skylight plus a couple of square feet of the 1/8" plywood on the ceiling and some around the top edge of the skylight.

On the top, the plywood between the foam and fiberglass had delaminated and pulled out in pieces. I slathered construction adhesive on the new pieces, slipped them in place and clamped everything until the adhesive dried.

My ceiling had a fabric headliner both inside and outside the shower. I didn't like it so I removed it (the adhesive was water soluble). Once I'd done that, the damaged plywood just peeled off. I used a spray contact cement to adhere the new plywood to the foam. I then replaced the entire ceiling with fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) wall paneling available at Lowes or Home Depot. If you didn't want to replace the whole ceiling, you could just do the shower (the FRP panels are only about $35 and are available in white or tan.

I ordered an exact replacement skylight which was pushing $300 but an exact replacement isn't necessary. You can use any replacement that's big enough to cover the opening. Your inner skylight will conceal any mismatch. Clearly, this won't be an issue if your existing skylight is intact. And use SS screws to re-mount everything plus "countersunk finishing washers" on the inner skylight:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...2731/202706392

After mounting the new top skylight with Manus 75 AM (cross references to Winnebago's part # for the specified sealant), I applied Eternabond tape around the flange of the new skylight to prevent future leaks.

Note that, if your skylight leaked, it's likely that your other fittings and vents need to be re-sealed along with your roof edges. There are a lot of postings on this forum about this. I personally am a big fan of Eternabond tape.

Aside from the skylight itself, my cost was minimal but it took me a long time working by myself. Depending on the extent of the damage it could be an expensive repair if you don't DIY.

PM me if you'd like to discuss this further and we can set up a phone conversation.
Wow! Thanks, Bob. Your information will allow me to sleep tonight. I had images of the roof coming off to repair the damage and thousands of dollars out of my pocket. I found a 6 inch crack next to another crack someone had squeezed caulk into. I taped the crack for now. I'm pretty handy, having done a gut and remodel on our home, but I know nothing about RV interiors. I already had an appointment to have the entire MH checked out and they are going to order a skylight and check all the seal and seams on the roof. I will PM you to discuss the interior repair. I am a little surprised a 4 year old MH had this kind of damage. The previous owner must not have done much maintenance.
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Old 05-01-2019, 07:06 PM   #4
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The previous owner must not have done much maintenance.
This is more common than we'd like to think. Most leak problems are due to poor routine maintenance or letting something go too long.

If you can gut and remodel a home, this repair is well within your skill set.

I forgot to mention, make sure you open everything up and that it's all bone-dry before repairing it. I put a fan in the bathroom and aimed it up at the skylight.
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Old 05-01-2019, 07:24 PM   #5
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Thanks again, Bob. I'll talk with you soon.
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Old 05-08-2019, 12:46 AM   #6
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I had the exact same dirty water in the shower and rusty screws on my 2014 Sunstar. The caulk technician at the factory had not leaned over enough to correctly caulk the outboard side of the skylight.

The 1/8 luan plywood practically melts when it sees water. In my case, I was able to slit the vinyl headliner and peel it back carefully so I could reuse it. This allowed me to replace the ceiling luan as far back as needed. The slit can be later covered with another plastic trim piece matching what is already there. I found replacement headliner impossible to source locally or online, so I saved mine.

The upper luan sheet is hopefully is okay. The roofs are a little spongy even when new, so I don't think sponginess is a good indicator of rot. You have to peel stuff back and look. Because it is that foam sandwich and aluminum construction, I don't think the luan really provides much stiffness anyway.

I replaced the luan with 1/8 plastic panel to better hold the screws. Lots of glue as well.

This repair took a week or so and was very fussy to get it to look okay cosmetically.

I'm also big on the eternabond tape, and I won't use Dicor leveling stuff anymore.

It's very concerning and annoying when it happens, but it can be fixed for very little money if you do the work.

I am also open to a PM and emails or phone calls as you sort this out!

Best of luck.
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Old 05-08-2019, 05:55 AM   #7
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Thanks, danhannah and BobC. I'm getting an estimate on the skylight and damage repair in 2 weeks. My wife wants me to have a professional look at it. I have a hip issue and getting up on the roof is difficult for me. I will have the entire roof checked. I noticed the previous owner replaced one of the red running lights on the roof in the rear and just globbed caulk all around it. The bulb is burned out and I can't get the cover off due to the caulk mess. How can someone pay that much for a vehicle and not take care of it?
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Old 05-09-2019, 07:19 AM   #8
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This is a great reminder for everyone to get up on the roof and inspect several times a year to check seals and damage. For those of us with issues who can't or shouldn't be on the roof either another knowledgeable friend to check and correct or a service center to check is mandatory. Many dealers if you bought from them will inspect for free. Others a minimal charge. Either way it's time and money well spent.
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Old 05-10-2019, 02:40 AM   #9
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Bob C and others: This is a rather fortuitous posting. I have my sealants checked twice a year. I do one of them and the dealer does the other. Luckily, so far I haven't discovered any leaks and hope to keep it that way.

However, this year's dealer inspection revealed that there's lot to reseal and the dealer recommended two different sealants. Manus Bond (no number mentioned) for the front and rear roof seam which I'm assuming means the left to right sealant on the caps.
For the roof radius, again, I'm assuming where the roof radius meets the side walls, they recommended a product called Stone Mason. There are many other areas as well which when I checked do appear to have tiny cracks in the sealants around windows, doors, etc.
Having never done any rv resealing except for spot sealing, does one need to remove the old sealant or, if it's not loose but just cracked, seal over top of it?
Last, for now please explain how/why/where one uses the Eternabond tape. If there is a better less expensive, longer lasting repair/fix, I'm always interested. I haven't started the repairs yet so I'd like to line up the ducks ahead of time. Thanks!
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Old 05-10-2019, 01:45 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Upinsmoke View Post
Bob C and others: This is a rather fortuitous posting. I have my sealants checked twice a year. I do one of them and the dealer does the other. Luckily, so far I haven't discovered any leaks and hope to keep it that way.

However, this year's dealer inspection revealed that there's lot to reseal and the dealer recommended two different sealants. Manus Bond (no number mentioned) for the front and rear roof seam which I'm assuming means the left to right sealant on the caps.
For the roof radius, again, I'm assuming where the roof radius meets the side walls, they recommended a product called Stone Mason. There are many other areas as well which when I checked do appear to have tiny cracks in the sealants around windows, doors, etc.
Having never done any rv resealing except for spot sealing, does one need to remove the old sealant or, if it's not loose but just cracked, seal over top of it?
Last, for now please explain how/why/where one uses the Eternabond tape. If there is a better less expensive, longer lasting repair/fix, I'm always interested. I haven't started the repairs yet so I'd like to line up the ducks ahead of time. Thanks!
You should use Eternabond anywhere you might have water intrusion and where it will seal well based on the manufacturers ad copy. Why we use it is because even in the harshest conditions of weather, sun, or wind, you seldom have to do anything to it once properly applied. I have used it around anywhere there's a hole in the roof with caulking around it, but also over skylight cracks, etc. I use a heat gun to soften the old caulking and peel it off the roof before applying the Ebond.

I used it on the front & rear end caps seams on both my Class A's and except for some minor rework one time due to bad weather the first time I applied it, seldom had to revisit the work. And usually then only for correcting my application errors.

I also used it to attach the edge of my fiberglass roof to the sidewalls to help prevent the problem of the roof tearing off when the caulking along the edges gives out. With Winnebago's fiber roof on most models you're suppose to check and reseal the edges every 6 months. After two years my Ebond application is still holding so no maintenance.

Here's my blog articles about what I did on my roof, maybe there's some info you can use: Roof maintenance...
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Old 05-12-2019, 11:41 AM   #11
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inspection revealed that there's lot to reseal and the dealer recommended two different sealants. Manus Bond (no number mentioned) for the front and rear roof seam which I'm assuming means the left to right sealant on the caps.
Manus Bond 75 AM cross-references to the Winnebago part number 131264-03-01A which is specified for the end caps and other roof fittings. Also, here's the Stone Mason product which cross-references to part number 094401-04-000 for the roof edges.
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Old 06-11-2019, 07:55 AM   #12
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Old leak damage

Thanks for all the info about roof leak damage repair. I'm in the same situation with our 2014 Aspect that we bought in February. It looked clean and well maintained with only 17K miles. After a few months on the road the fabric in the shower ceiling started separating from the sidewall and little dry rot flakes appeared on the shower floor. We had spent a number of days in hard rain, but have never had any water leaking. Eventually the inner skylight started sagging on one side and after reading your posts decided to go in.

I think the previous owner replaced or resealed the skylight but just let the inside dry as we've had a hose up there and a few rains with no water visible inside. Only the inside plywood next to the fabric needs replaced and I was able to buy a yard of matching headliner fabric. Since I'm not removing a sealed skylight, I can't clamp the new wood in place for the adhesive to dry so I'm going to try a few 2x4s wedged in below to hold it in place.

Thanks again for posting your experience, this is our first RV and my anxiety level dropped significantly after reading your posts.
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Old 06-11-2019, 09:11 AM   #13
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Thanks for all the info about roof leak damage repair. I'm in the same situation with our 2014 Aspect that we bought in February. It looked clean and well maintained with only 17K miles. After a few months on the road the fabric in the shower ceiling started separating from the sidewall and little dry rot flakes appeared on the shower floor. We had spent a number of days in hard rain, but have never had any water leaking. Eventually the inner skylight started sagging on one side and after reading your posts decided to go in.

I think the previous owner replaced or resealed the skylight but just let the inside dry as we've had a hose up there and a few rains with no water visible inside. Only the inside plywood next to the fabric needs replaced and I was able to buy a yard of matching headliner fabric. Since I'm not removing a sealed skylight, I can't clamp the new wood in place for the adhesive to dry so I'm going to try a few 2x4s wedged in below to hold it in place.

Thanks again for posting your experience, this is our first RV and my anxiety level dropped significantly after reading your posts.
At a minimum I suggest removing your inner skylight cover, which isn't sealed, and check for leaks again. This will expose the raw edge of the skylight opening and allow for a better inspection. Leaks are sneaky and hard to find, even with a hose. And, just to be safe, I'd cover the edges of the mounting flange with Eternabond tape. I think the size of the skylight opening makes it especially vulnerable to leaks due to flexing.
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Old 06-11-2019, 10:16 AM   #14
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That's the first thing I did after reading your first post, sorry I wasn't clear about my progress. Only a small section of the upper/outer plywood is separated but still intact so I'll get some adhesive in there when I glue the newly cut inside plywood piece. It's also how I can see that they used white butyl tape for the flange seal and covered almost the whole outside with a black leveling sealant. There is also a little damage to the wall behind the top of the shower in that area that is small enough to not mess with. All points to significant leaking, and I've seen the YouTube videos of water dripping, but we've been in a week or 2 of hard rains and never seen any water inside. I was surprised when the roof sagged but we put on some miles in a few months. So I think they did a good job remounting a skylight and I'm left with the previously hidden damage.

Also have had to pull out the JB weld and buy a hinge kit to repair the fridge, found a replacement home theater player on eBay (hearing the speakers for the first time), and changed the oil removing a pz-173 filter that as far as I can tell is for a 2009-2012 v6 Ford escape. The joys of buying used.

Thanks again
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Old 06-12-2019, 10:56 AM   #15
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Andy,

Can you say where you got the headliner fabric? Does it have the foam backing? I couldn't find it anywhere. Thanks!
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Old 06-12-2019, 03:50 PM   #16
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Fabric

I ordered it through Lichtsinn. Have your VIN number handy. Our aspect is a 2014 and got lucky they had it in stock, correct color with the foam. A yard 50" wide was around $23, the shipping was over double the cost. I didn't ask the shipping cost when I ordered it over the phone, oh well.

Good luck.
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Old 06-26-2019, 05:39 PM   #17
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Found the crack

Had a strong storm with hail Monday evening and went out to the uncovered RV to find water dripping from a corner crack in the skylight, you called it. Stood with a towel for about 45 minutes to catch it so no damage to the new plywood I glued in a few days earlier and hadn't got to the fabric yet. Couldn't find a skylight locally so ordered one for $120 online. And that is the purpose of this post.

Ordered the skylight around noon yesterday from rvupgragestore.com and the dang thing showed up today via UPS around 6! Came with a tube of butyl caulk, shipping included a day later, don't know how they do it. So I have a new parts source. Glued new fabric in this morning. I may make it to a campsite by the 4th after all. Skylight made by SR Specialty Recreation.
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