2015 Minnie Winne 27Q tail lites leaking

[WA1STH]

What is up with the tail light leaking issue?? I have been researching the issue and I find it has been going on for a looooooooooooooog time.. Why haven't Winnebago and other manufactures addressed this?????? First issue is they use steel screws instead of stainless. When the screws rot they loose their ability to hold. Also there is no wood backing plate to put the screws into, just the relatively thin skin. Second they rely on the light manufacturers gaskets. One would think by now they would use caulking with the gasket??? WE should not have to put up with crappy manufacturing practices. Come on guys "do it right". The only saving grace here is that after you dry it out you can access the inner skin from the storage bin. In my case I will dry it all out spray it with mold killer and install new LED lights correctly. I will put pieces of wood above and below the light hole and use stainless screws from the front and back to hold it in. I will use caulking WITH the gasket. I will then cut a "vent" in the back that will also be used for inspection. This issue has been going on way to long. Winnebago must read this stuff, if not they should. So Winnebago do not just read about it over and over FIX it.

[Morich]

Somewhere along the last 8-9 years folks have skipped over reading the owners manual about the sealing that needs to be done on RV!
Section 11 may be helpful!

It's like changing oil in a car or using the right gasoline, we have to follow the rules to get the best service!
We might all like the world to run our way, but I find it works better if I try to fit into the overall picture!

[Ray,IN]

Price point wins out over quality every time it seems, especially with RV's. back when high quality MH's were common, most people could not afford one; people complained so mfgrs.began cutting corners, You know the result.
This would revert to quality first if people would stop buying poorly built RV's.That raises the question; would you pay $10,000 more for your present RV if quality was first?

[Wmlunt]

Yes I would!

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Wmlunt

Yes I would!

I would too; but I suspect we are in a minority.

[Morich]

Quality and price are always open questions but when I look at what I see most doing, I don't see it the way most will answer!
Many say they would pay more but then when I look, they choice not to do that! There ARE many higher quality RV out there but most people do not buy them!

So that leaves me to think that folks do not often think too deeply about the question when it comes to pricing!
It is not just in the RV world where I see this but almost all of life. Is there even one single person who would like better RV, roads, schools or anything else?
But what happens when we are asked if we want to pay for those things?
Do we want bigger seats on airlines or do we buy the bargain and fuss about how crowded we are?
Do we fuss abut the highways being too crowded and then vote to spend more money for more highways? The folks I see are far more inclined to fuss about the highways and vote to cut the budget!

I'm all for bigger, finer, higher quality RV----as long as somebody else has to pay for it!
Meanwhile, I'm not going back to work until I get a LARGE increase in pay!

I see the CEO of Boeing gets 30 million a year, so I'm asking for at least half of that before I go back! So in the meantime, I pay less than the $250,000 to get a good RV!

[Ronzo]

No RV? Waiting for your raise, huh?

[JoeInOregon]

Yes, I would. In fact, I bought Winebego thinking I WAS buying quality but I encounter that same water leak, in a side marker light, where they had caulked above the light, but not around the wires entering the large hole in the side of the rig. When the lens got water in it, the water nicely drained into the skin. Delamination. Rot. Mold. Predictable. Preventable with a little more care during the build.

[Wmlunt]

I too thought WBGO was a higher quality purchase, after considerable research, but did have an immediate need.
Least initial cost is usually not the best value, IMHO.

[akeagle]

When we bought our 2016 Minnie Winnie in 2018, among the few things I found that needed attention was the caulking around the taillights. It didn't seem to be actually leaking, but I felt it was deteriorated enough that it could start leaking sooner rather than later. So, I dismounted the taillights, cleaned the old caulking from the lights and the mounting surfaces, reinstalled the lights, and recaulked with good quality silicone caulk. Here it is about 6 years later, and nary a leak and the caulk still looks good.