Water under vinyl screw cover

[wlk]

We are going on our 1st trip on Wed after the wife gets out of school for summer celebration. I decided to seal the gutters on the awning side as it leaks a lot under it. Both gutters have seams about halfway down each side. I got to cleaning the driver's side gutters and I found a lot of water under the vinyl screw covers. There was a lot of water on the awning side under the cover; soaked 5 paper towels plus wiped dry with a rag. Not too bad on the driver's side, mainly condensation like. Some screw heads that were really driven in far and had some water ponding, just sealing over them. About 6 screws were not all the way in either.

I believe the cause was on each side, one screw that goes threw the vinyl cover to hold in place at the ends. 1 screw on each side was not sealed overtop of the screw head. I am partially loosening the screw, putting some sealant underneath the screw head and hand tightening back down. I have the driver's side done, put back together and will do the awning side tomorrow as I wanted it to really dry overnight.

Sorry the pics are not the greatest but for reference. 1 side took about 45 minutes.

Kinda bummed about this but an ounce of prevention is worth it hopefully. I may just do this to any screw I find that doesn't have a gasket or some sealing along the walls while I am at it.

^ ~6 screws were found this way or worse.

water

^ awning leak

 

[Wayne]

There are rubber coated flat washers that seal grain bin bolts. I can imagine there is something similar for roofing screws, which would be similar in size to the screws pictured.

[Edit] something like these: https://a.co/d/gcZnxnt

 

[MSCH]

WLK, I think they are all put together like that, no matter who you buy them from.
I don't know if I've ever seen that sort of thing where it was sealed..
just the typical halfass method of construction most RV's have.
not a bad idea to go around the whole vehicle with a screwdriver when you get a chance
and tighten every exterior screw you can find..

 

[wlk]

There are rubber coated flat washers that seal grain bin bolt. I can imagine there is something similar for roofing screws, which would be similar in size to the screws pictured.

[Edit] something like these: https://a.co/d/gcZnxnt

Those are nice but I sealed everything and got her back together before I saw this. May have to get some for the future as these would seal better if I have to replace them.

 

[wlk]

WLK, I think they are all put together like that, no matter who you buy them from.
I don't know if I've ever seen that sort of thing where it was sealed..
just the typical halfass method of construction most RV's have.
not a bad idea to go around the whole vehicle with a screwdriver when you get a chance
and tighten every exterior screw you can find..

Yep shoddy as time is money but like you said ,they all are about the same. While at the front some of the factory sealant had pulled up from the roof already. I cut away the dried up stuff that had separated and resealed it all. Can't believe this would happen so soon after being built in November. Hopefully it stays sealed for a while.

 

[MSCH]

Yep shoddy as time is money but like you said ,they all are about the same. While at the front some of the factory sealant had pulled up from the roof already. I cut away the dried up stuff that had separated and resealed it all. Can't believe this would happen so soon after being built in November. Hopefully it stays sealed for a while.

probably a dab of clear silicone RTC on each screw head would be easiest..

 

[wlk]

probably a dab of clear silicone RTC on each screw head would be easiest..

Yep, I loosened every screw down each side of the roof, put clear sealant behind the heads, and hand-tightened each one. Now to do the rest along the walls when we get home.
On a bright note, the truck pulled the new camper great. She's much heavier than the old one and starts out at 7600 lbs dry. I'd say loaded she is ~8500lbs, plus the 3 dogs, the wife, and I'd guess 200lbs of firewood in the bed. You could tell it was back there but the old dually did fine. We took it easy at 55-60mph on the highway and speed limits on the back roads. Now, to see what MPGs she got tomorrow, I know I'm gonna cry, but I'm hoping for 5-6mpg. Anything more and I would be tickled pink with.

 

[MSCH]

Yep, I loosened every screw down each side of the roof, put clear sealant behind the heads, and hand-tightened each one. Now to do the rest along the walls when we get home.
On a bright note, the truck pulled the new camper great. She's much heavier than the old one and starts out at 7600 lbs dry. I'd say loaded she is ~8500lbs, plus the 3 dogs, the wife, and I'd guess 200lbs of firewood in the bed. You could tell it was back there but the old dually did fine. We took it easy at 55-60mph on the highway and speed limits on the back roads. Now, to see what MPGs she got tomorrow, I know I'm gonna cry, but I'm hoping for 5-6mpg. Anything more and I would be tickled pink with.

those older big block powered 1 tons don't lose as much MPG's when loaded as you think they do.
back in the day the 454 powered 3500 we had got about 7-8 pulling heavy loads, which was only a bit worse than it did when unloaded.

 

[wlk]

those older big block powered 1 tons don't lose as much MPG's when loaded as you think they do.
back in the day the 454 powered 3500 we had got about 7-8 pulling heavy loads, which was only a bit worse than it did when unloaded.

Well the verdict is in, not great but she got 5.21mpg's which is what I get around town on a lot of short trips. Worse than I hoped for but this is a heavy camper and we did a lot of hills and a couple mountains. With the last camper, I think i got 7mpgs on a short tow but she only weighed roughly 5k lbs. Can't complain too much for a 31 year old bb truck.
My old Expedition got 8mpgs ave with the old camper, and as low as 6mpgs. Meh.

 

[MSCH]

Well the verdict is in, not great but she got 5.21mpg's which is what I get around town on a lot of short trips. Worse than I hoped for but this is a heavy camper and we did a lot of hills and a couple mountains. With the last camper, I think i got 7mpgs on a short tow but she only weighed roughly 5k lbs. Can't complain too much for a 31 year old bb truck.
My old Expedition got 8mpgs ave with the old camper, and as low as 6mpgs. Meh.

ultimately, unless you are driving thousands of miles at a time with the trailer, it is paid for and does the job.
even the modern turbo diesel trucks only get about 10 pulling a heavy load so it isn't like it would be rainbow farts
and unicorns if you had a turbo diesel.. and gasoline is in some ways more convenient.

 

[wlk]

It

ultimately, unless you are driving thousands of miles at a time with the trailer, it is paid for and does the job.
even the modern turbo diesel trucks only get about 10 pulling a heavy load so it isn't like it would be rainbow farts
and unicorns if you had a turbo diesel.. and gasoline is in some ways more convenient.

It definitely is more convenient for me as i know squat of diesel and can do a pretty good job at shade treeing a gas motor.

 

[wlk]

Filled up the truck the other day after parking her when we got back. Had a little improvement which surprised me as we had to climb a mountain from a dead stop. The old 460 was screaming around 4k rpm's at 25mph up it.
6.76mpg's! Ill take it.

Got all my screw heads sealed up today. Some had some corrosion behind them, so glad I did it.