We just purchased a Vintage 1979 Minnie Winnie, and it rained the same weekend. The rain is dripping in the vent above the bunk and we are beside ourselves. We were told the roof had just been resealed earlier this year and didn't get up there to take a look. We don't even know where to start. Obviously on the roof, we are afraid to look above the ceiling, but I am sure there will be damage. We are on a very tight budget this was just going to be a fun little RV to take to local lakes to camp with our grandkids. Please be kind and helpful. We already know we should have checked the roof and known it was leaking.
1979 Minnie Winnie Front Roof Vent Leak Repair
- Thread starter msuter99
- Start date
Thread Summary
Original Member Title: 1979 Minnie Winnie - Roof Repair around Front Vent above Sleeper
This AI-generated summary may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the full thread for complete details.
A new owner of a vintage 1979 Minnie Winnie reported rain dripping through the vent above the bunk shortly after purchase, despite being told the roof had recently been resealed. Members suggested first getting safe access to the roof, such as using a scaffold or stable work platform, then inspecting the roof vent, old sealant, screw heads, possible cracks in the plastic vent, and any visible roof damage.
Several members emphasized that RV roof sealing is ongoing maintenance and that simply...
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Several members emphasized that RV roof sealing is ongoing maintenance and that simply...
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bcoldpro
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2021
- Posts
- 358
Are you capable of building yourself a scaffold to get up top and take a good look at the roof vent caulking? I too had roof issues and built myself a wooden scaffold that served as a working platform. Hopefully all you need is a good heavy bead of self leveling caulk around the pop up vent-maybe the plastic roof pop up is cracked and needs to be replaced?. A scaffold will allow you to also take a good look to see if there is any other roof damage. My scaffold sets across the hood of the engine at about 5' high. It's worth the effort. Good luck
Morich
Senior Member
I am gradually forcing myself to adapt what I do. One of my thoughts is that when I can no longer trust myself to get on or around the roof to reseal, I may not be "qualified" to own an RV. Sealing the topside is a constant in my experience as there are so many holes there. Everything that sticks up through the top or sides or has an edge, should be checked and confirmed as being sealed. Lights, vents, pipes, and antenna are all potential leaks that need to be checked often as a single drive under a small tree limb can change the seal on things. Every single one of those lights across the top and sides has an opening to let water in if the sealing is not in good shape!
One of the bigger mistakes I see on sealing is just stacking more on top of old that is no longer any good as a seal. If the first layer is leaking, there is little point in putting a second on the old weather worn pile!
What to use is a frequent question with many ideas. I have moved to treating RV much the same as when I had aqariums to seal. It is not so much what but how, in my thinking.
That leaves me using the cheaper normal silicone I have on hand as I find it works very well and is easy to learn to apply. Alex Plus is my favorite. The biggest issues is getting the old off and cleaning the surface of ANY residue. It has to have a CLEAN surface to stick to and stay!
I scrape it with a multi-tool and clean with rubbing alcohol, before resealing!
One of the bigger mistakes I see on sealing is just stacking more on top of old that is no longer any good as a seal. If the first layer is leaking, there is little point in putting a second on the old weather worn pile!
What to use is a frequent question with many ideas. I have moved to treating RV much the same as when I had aqariums to seal. It is not so much what but how, in my thinking.
That leaves me using the cheaper normal silicone I have on hand as I find it works very well and is easy to learn to apply. Alex Plus is my favorite. The biggest issues is getting the old off and cleaning the surface of ANY residue. It has to have a CLEAN surface to stick to and stay!
I scrape it with a multi-tool and clean with rubbing alcohol, before resealing!
Last edited:
Morich
Senior Member
Scrap only if very damaged! I started in RV with the sort that was almost junk level and found it just was not practical to replace things like vents if they could be patched! But then it does take a bit to learn to sort carefully before spending money we don't have!
When faced with a vent that leaks, I would look at the condition of the vent and decide if it is too weathered to expect it to last if I repair it. One way to get some info is to pull the inner liner/trim inside to get a better look at where water may show up inside. When water runs in, it tends to leave some traces of water stains or color. Understanding how the roof is made up is good as there are different ways to build an RV roof and they may each need a bit different repair or sealing trick.
Fiberglass tends to be easier than metal and I "think" you may be into the fiberglass era? My path would be to pull the inside trim off as a way to get a better look, as well as checking from the outside. Water marks or color may let you spot an exact point where the caulk is not doing the job. But if looking from the outside, look for signs like cracks or visibe gaps. Depending on who and how any repairs have been done, you may spot a big glob of some kind and it may be obvious it has broken loose from the main roof.
My methods are almost certain to be in conflict with what others do, so just consider this what I do, not the only way!!!
My likely move would be to do some extra work as a way to let me rest easier before it needs it again! I finding doing it right once suits me better than doing it over sooner! One reason I prefer the cheap and easy standard silicone is that I can do it without the concern of spending much more and I find it lasts far better with less effort if I go a few extra to do it to what I feel works best.
One way to help feel it will last is to do more work now to have "layers" of defense. Not more caulk in one place to build a stack where if one point breaks loose or fails, water gets in, but an outside seal which tends to weather as well as an inside seal that is out of the sun and weather. At things like lights, I may also plug the hole around the wires that go through the roof!
Try to think like a raindrop is a good plan!
On a roof vent, if it looks like the water is getting in there, I likely would pull the whole thing out of the roof, put caulk all around the hole, before putting it back. That means the caulk with get spread and mashed to fit any lumps or differences in the joints between the vent and roof as you screw it back down. This will be out of sight and more of the cheap stuff that works easier is my plan. Then when the vent is in place, I add a thin line of caulk at the meeting edge and use a finger to wipe it down smooth. Not too much pressure but just enough to make it look semi-nice without forming any sort of dip or hollow where rain might catch and stay long enough to find a way in!
One good way to cause a problem is leaving a big ridge so caulk that lets water stand long enough to figure how to get in. You want the end job to make water move away, not stand and think about it too long!
But before doing the new caulk, there are a few big things to know about silicone. It sticks very well to CLEAN things! But it WILL not stick to dirty things or old caulk!
So I have gone to using an oscillatilling tool as a way to save time and effort as well as avoid damage I might do.
This is good for me, but lots of personal choice there!
For lots of home use but for RV and caulk, it lets me use a thin scaper blade with no teeth to get down against the surface where I can get the old caulk off in a hurry without gouging the roof! I find I can actually go deep enough to scrape the algea off without taking the paint off!
Then I scrub it really good with rubbing alcohol to get it CLEAN. Caulk will stick to dirt but if the dirt comes off the roof, you wasted your time!
Don't forget to seal any exposed screw heads that are left showing!
On older RV, I fight long and hard before replacing things that may not look the best but if the RV is not going to be a long term item, I save the money when possible. Just my nature!
But I also have tons of time to waste on some project or another!
When faced with a vent that leaks, I would look at the condition of the vent and decide if it is too weathered to expect it to last if I repair it. One way to get some info is to pull the inner liner/trim inside to get a better look at where water may show up inside. When water runs in, it tends to leave some traces of water stains or color. Understanding how the roof is made up is good as there are different ways to build an RV roof and they may each need a bit different repair or sealing trick.
Fiberglass tends to be easier than metal and I "think" you may be into the fiberglass era? My path would be to pull the inside trim off as a way to get a better look, as well as checking from the outside. Water marks or color may let you spot an exact point where the caulk is not doing the job. But if looking from the outside, look for signs like cracks or visibe gaps. Depending on who and how any repairs have been done, you may spot a big glob of some kind and it may be obvious it has broken loose from the main roof.
My methods are almost certain to be in conflict with what others do, so just consider this what I do, not the only way!!!
My likely move would be to do some extra work as a way to let me rest easier before it needs it again! I finding doing it right once suits me better than doing it over sooner! One reason I prefer the cheap and easy standard silicone is that I can do it without the concern of spending much more and I find it lasts far better with less effort if I go a few extra to do it to what I feel works best.
One way to help feel it will last is to do more work now to have "layers" of defense. Not more caulk in one place to build a stack where if one point breaks loose or fails, water gets in, but an outside seal which tends to weather as well as an inside seal that is out of the sun and weather. At things like lights, I may also plug the hole around the wires that go through the roof!
Try to think like a raindrop is a good plan!
On a roof vent, if it looks like the water is getting in there, I likely would pull the whole thing out of the roof, put caulk all around the hole, before putting it back. That means the caulk with get spread and mashed to fit any lumps or differences in the joints between the vent and roof as you screw it back down. This will be out of sight and more of the cheap stuff that works easier is my plan. Then when the vent is in place, I add a thin line of caulk at the meeting edge and use a finger to wipe it down smooth. Not too much pressure but just enough to make it look semi-nice without forming any sort of dip or hollow where rain might catch and stay long enough to find a way in!
One good way to cause a problem is leaving a big ridge so caulk that lets water stand long enough to figure how to get in. You want the end job to make water move away, not stand and think about it too long!
But before doing the new caulk, there are a few big things to know about silicone. It sticks very well to CLEAN things! But it WILL not stick to dirty things or old caulk!
So I have gone to using an oscillatilling tool as a way to save time and effort as well as avoid damage I might do.
This is good for me, but lots of personal choice there!
For lots of home use but for RV and caulk, it lets me use a thin scaper blade with no teeth to get down against the surface where I can get the old caulk off in a hurry without gouging the roof! I find I can actually go deep enough to scrape the algea off without taking the paint off!
Then I scrub it really good with rubbing alcohol to get it CLEAN. Caulk will stick to dirt but if the dirt comes off the roof, you wasted your time!
Don't forget to seal any exposed screw heads that are left showing!
On older RV, I fight long and hard before replacing things that may not look the best but if the RV is not going to be a long term item, I save the money when possible. Just my nature!
But I also have tons of time to waste on some project or another!
Last edited:
RV_Lee
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2021
- Posts
- 1,060
Just pay attention to the remove and replace sealant parts around the roof vent, this is what you probably need to do. If the vent itself is damaged and leaking, the whole video will be valuable
RayIN
Senior Member
If the roof in sunk-in around the roof vent, but the rafters are still solid, that can be solved. It's kinda involved so I'll explain in detail if you need that kind of repair.
MadMaxWinny
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2020
- Posts
- 214
The important thing to take from this is that just scraping old sealant away and applying new caulk won't usually work. The best repair is to remove the vent, clean up and wipe down with a solvent, and reinstall with new caulk. If removing the vent is not possible, dig out as much of the old caulk as possible and clean completely with the solvent (isopropyl alcohol works well) before recaulking. The solvent removes organics which are left over from the leak. Silicone is a hard NO, unless that is what was used originally.
Morich
Senior Member
I've never really found a problem with simple silicone!
I came into sealing RV after a bunch of experience using silicone on houses when there was no interest to explain it was not good. But I had already been using it for 10-15 years, so I tend to not pay much attention to the advice but more attention to how I use it!
If you have sealed aquariums, it is much the same methods but far less pressure on the leaks!
I've long forgotten what the complaints are on silicone as I find it cheap and easy to find, easy to use or remove. The one thing that many miss is that the surface has to be CLEAN! That doesn't mean just look clean but totally clean of residue from the old and that is what the rubbing alcohol does. The secret to silicone is that new will not stick to old, so we have to work to get ALL the old off before we go back. Much like sealing an aquarium! RV pros are not known for being big on using care on details!
Maybe the real reason for pros to talk down silicone is that their product sells for at least twice the price of siliconeand it takes much longer to work it?
But talking about silicone is somewhat like religion? I don't tell them what to do--as long as they don't tell me what to do!
I came into sealing RV after a bunch of experience using silicone on houses when there was no interest to explain it was not good. But I had already been using it for 10-15 years, so I tend to not pay much attention to the advice but more attention to how I use it!
If you have sealed aquariums, it is much the same methods but far less pressure on the leaks!
I've long forgotten what the complaints are on silicone as I find it cheap and easy to find, easy to use or remove. The one thing that many miss is that the surface has to be CLEAN! That doesn't mean just look clean but totally clean of residue from the old and that is what the rubbing alcohol does. The secret to silicone is that new will not stick to old, so we have to work to get ALL the old off before we go back. Much like sealing an aquarium! RV pros are not known for being big on using care on details!
Maybe the real reason for pros to talk down silicone is that their product sells for at least twice the price of siliconeand it takes much longer to work it?
But talking about silicone is somewhat like religion? I don't tell them what to do--as long as they don't tell me what to do!
Bobn1957
1996 Itasca 29Q
Take the inner cover off, you will be able to see the insulation and framework!
Morich
Senior Member
Old word to keep in mind when dealing with water? Try to "think like a rain drop"!
A biggie is trying to avoid making any type of dip or hollow where water tends to pool and stay long enough to find a way inside!
I try to end with a thin layer that slopes away from any item I'm sealing as water has less time to figure out how to go places I don't want. I want it off the roof and away from openings ASAP! Cleaning super clean as a first move is critical because the seal will not last if it can just pull dirt, etc. off and slide under!
While doing the roof, it is often good practice to look at any lights like the front clearance lights as they are a common leak as water that would normally run down and away may get blown in different directions when in the wind as we drive!
A biggie is trying to avoid making any type of dip or hollow where water tends to pool and stay long enough to find a way inside!
I try to end with a thin layer that slopes away from any item I'm sealing as water has less time to figure out how to go places I don't want. I want it off the roof and away from openings ASAP! Cleaning super clean as a first move is critical because the seal will not last if it can just pull dirt, etc. off and slide under!
While doing the roof, it is often good practice to look at any lights like the front clearance lights as they are a common leak as water that would normally run down and away may get blown in different directions when in the wind as we drive!
Bobn1957
1996 Itasca 29Q
Use mastic to mount the new vent and self-levelling sealant over the screws and perimeter!
Morich
Senior Member
Let me think about that for a while?
But I need to warn you on some things. I can't work if it takes a ladder, I can't work if I have to stand up or lay down. And I get nervous if I have to sit still for very long.
Other than that I'm looking for the best job I can get, but I'm having a terrible time finding one!
But I need to warn you on some things. I can't work if it takes a ladder, I can't work if I have to stand up or lay down. And I get nervous if I have to sit still for very long.
Other than that I'm looking for the best job I can get, but I'm having a terrible time finding one!
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