A clever RV rain gutter...

[flagmanruss]

As posted below, picked up the camper with it's new rubber roof, trim repairs, sealant & calk. One thing he did, per our request... he added rain gutters over the windows where the track had overflowed rain water into the interior. He pointed out that there IS a gutter along the roof edge. I'd never cleaned it out but you can be sure it will be on a regular basis. The added gutter... he called it a "Z" vinyl siding trim piece from house siding... used around doors... and forced it into the trailer siding lap joints. I think it's a '5/8" J molding'. It is very slick. I'm going to observe the operation but may add it to other compartments.

[Mopar1973Man]

:piwwp:I wanna see too...

[JAG1]

Yeah....:popcorn:

[hex0rz]

Hmm, don't forget these as well: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/rv-gutter-spouts-with-extensions-4pk/31564

[flagmanruss]

Being a well used older unit, the roof edge gutters came with the deflectors... visible in the first photo below. With the forward slope of the roof, I don't see how any water should be going over the side. It must pour down the front on the battery box & propane. The trailer came back with a fresh wash job... wondering how much I paid for that! LOL!!

I went out in the cold to get pictures for you. 20* with a stiff wind blowing... (What a hard bunch!!)

As you can see the siding seam is differing distances above the windows. The local building supply store wants $6 something for a long section of these "J" moldings. I think these are the pieces to cover the siding edges at doors.

[Mopar1973Man]

Since my roof is not leaking at the moment but I know the rubber needs to be treated I'm going to pick up the coating for the roof at a RV dealer in Boise, ID and deal with that first thing in the spring. I've only had 1 small leak in the slide roof at a corner joint where the old putty tape has lifted a bit. I carefully dung out the putty tape a bit and cleaned the area and silicone the joint never had another problem. Funny thing is all the RV sites hate silicone but love that putty tape. Then there is another sealant they love which I hate (can't remember the name) but the previous owner used it on my RV and man talk about a PITA to remove. Ughhh! You need a sharp razor blade in a gasket scrapper handle and very carefully take slices old sealant off. They use around all the clearance lights and it now dried up hard and cracking (possibly leaking?) no need to risk it shave it off and replace with either white or clear silicone. At least I can use a dull putty knife to take silicone up with out worrying about the fiberglass body with a sharp razor blade.(Rant over!)

[flagmanruss]

I plan to replace my clearance lights with LEDs... some day when my legs dare attempt a step ladder. (Can get up but my weak leg catches the step tread coming down making for a struggle. I really want to avoid having my feet stuck on the 6th step if I fall! If I can remember my leather moccasins have no tread, less likely to hang up!) Once I'm sure it's working, I'll seal with marine "Life Caulk". It's a rubbery compound... I found some 34 year old LC around the front door in the rental house & the wood failed before the caulk. I love applying silicone but I've found it failing to bond to other materials over time. I would not use it in a critical location... roof or boat bottom... There were warning on the Marine Silicon caulk not to use it under water.

- - - Updated - - -

** added pictures to the earlier post ** I froze my arse off getting those pictures! You guys drive a hard bargain.

[hex0rz]

Mike, are you speaking of the self-leveling lap sealant?

[Mopar1973Man]

** added pictures to the earlier post ** I froze my arse off getting those pictures! You guys drive a hard bargain.

Thanks Russ much appreciated. Darn... Problem is yours is a aluminum skinned and mine is fiberglassed. Neat gutters but I wonder if it will enter now at the joints that have been open up?

Mike, are you speaking of the self-leveling lap sealant?

I'm not sure what this white or cream color stuff is but its turned solid and now cracking. Worthless in my book if a sealant can't flex or stay flexible for a house body that is flexing all the time as it travels down the road. Hence why rubber roofs idea came to be.

[flagmanruss]

The aluminum skin has an inter-lapped joint there. Hopefully the water can't run uphill. Any wind would likely blow the water out the other end before it would go up. Any other gutter or deflector would require screw holes... the self stick stuff just fell right off... With the roof edge gutter cleared & these over window troughs... maybe we'll have less trouble with the track filing up & flooding inside.

[hex0rz]

Thanks Russ much appreciated. Darn... Problem is yours is a aluminum skinned and mine is fiberglassed. Neat gutters but I wonder if it will enter now at the joints that have been open up? I'm not sure what this white or cream color stuff is but its turned solid and now cracking. Worthless in my book if a sealant can't flex or stay flexible for a house body that is flexing all the time as it travels down the road. Hence why rubber roofs idea came to be.

Ahh, no. The self-leveling lap sealant is still flexible after curing. It does eventually lose some adhesion and cracks, but its quick and easy to repair. Take a look at this video about the product I'm talking about:

The aluminum skin has an inter-lapped joint there. Hopefully the water can't run uphill. Any wind would likely blow the water out the other end before it would go up. Any other gutter or deflector would require screw holes... the self stick stuff just fell right off... With the roof edge gutter cleared & these over window troughs... maybe we'll have less trouble with the track filing up & flooding inside.

Through the years of being a glazier, I've learned that there are a few things that can cause water to get into places that you would never think possible! Your biggest enemy will be through pressure differentials. Washing the trailer and more importantly going down the road at speeds can cause a negative pressure inside the trailer and if its raining while going down the road, the water can get sucked into the trailer of there is a source of vacuum. The other possibility is through the capillary effect. In that instance, water can actually travel UP. Here is a better explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_action So, as long as you can ensure proper steps to seal the area, you should be okay.

[flagmanruss]

We want to observe the window gutters the next time it rains... It seems the siding piece above has an h construction on the edge with about 1/2" of overlap without any caulk. The back mounting edge, forced into the siding seam, is longer than the front. I think it would be possible to blast water up into the seam with a high pressure stream... a good tip. I KNOW the windows would leak under that wash pressure... so hopefully no one is dumb enough to do that. Granted, the rig might be subjected to wind driven rain either stationary or at highway speeds. On the road, these lengthwise gutter strips should be self clearing... blowing any water toward the rear & out onto the siding. Sideways wind loads are possible when parked. Since the windows tracks were filling up, DEFINATELY, flooding into the interior... a problem both when in use & during storage... I think this is a valid attempt to remedy the situation & hopefully will succeed. We will be monitoring the results.

[YabbaDoo]

Since my roof is not leaking at the moment but I know the rubber needs to be treated I'm going to pick up the coating for the roof at a RV dealer in Boise, ID and deal with that first thing in the spring.

Block sealer works well, one of my Uncles Neighbors put it on his rig 3 yrs ago and hasn't leaked since... http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/21/21c027c2-5d5d-4cca-80da-6090fa206b38_300.jpg 90.00 for 5 gal Description:

Seal-Krete Heavy Duty Waterproofer is a water-based 25% solids, acrylic formula designed to stop water penetration into low density or porous vertical concrete and masonry services such as split-face or fluted concrete block. Seal-Krete Waterproofer provides a tough, flexible, breathable, film which prepares these surfaces for painting. It's also excellent for binding chalky surfaces on painted or bare vertical substrates including concrete blocks, tilt-ups, stucco, and aluminum siding. Added to paint, Seal-Krete Heavy Duty Waterproofer improves speed rate, increases coverage and extends paint life."

I carefully dung out the putty tape a bit and cleaned the area and silicone the joint never had another problem.

(Rant over!)

Ok that made me almost spit out my coffee:lmao: Thank you for that laugh:lmao:

[JAG1]

Those windows are designed so that any water that gets inside the window frame channel can drain out thru the small weep holes at the bottom. Owners are supposed to clean those weep holes each year to make sure the water does not overflow inside.Any leak coming in outside the frame channel is a window leak for sure and will rot the wood frame structure around it. I found two smaller windows on my RV that did not have the weep holes so I drilled my own. Wow, I was amazed how much water wanted outAre you sure the weep holes are draining like they should?BTW, thanks for the pics I hope you didn't loose fingers from frost bite

[flagmanruss]

Yes, I am aware of the window channel drains. As I've posted before, http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/6156-RV-windows-draining-tracks the water hits the moveable inside glass, runs down into the channel. There is a rubber deflector in the outside channel with an angled top but too much water gets past it in this old 2001 rig. I found the drain slots had open cell foam in them to keep bugs out, I suppose... plugged with years of road dirt. I removed the foam with a utility knife. It made little difference. I tried sliding a thin pry bar into the slots to open them more... and then the windows didn't want to move! So I backed off. I went outside & drilled additional drain holes into the window channel from the outside. The added drain holes solved some windows, like the push out emergency hatch in the front... along with electrical tape over the hinge... to deflect water draining down from entering in the first place. Emboldened, I drilled additional drain holes in the sliding windows... I think the added drains help but the incoming water can still exceed the drainage. Where we camped in a farmer's field last year... the tornado missed our camp by barely 1 mile... the ants enjoyed the improved access. I sprayed the trailer side with poison & placed a borax based bait / poison under the utility trailer parked next to us! After the tornado, the civil authorities, a crisis on their hands, wanted us out (some of the local participants houses were so badly damaged they had not home to go to). We had to take the very long detour as the roads were not yet reopened... trees down all over the roads & houses destroyed. Anyrate, I figured to use electrical tape over the drilled holes, but am able to poke it from the inside to remove if it rains. I am very hopeful that deflecting the water before it reaches the windows will put the water infiltrating the window channel back within design limits. It may very well be the root cause was water coming off the roof where it was not designed to. It may be the roof edge gutter that I didn't recognize from the ground, was obstructed & non-functional, again allowing water off the roof to run down the trailer sides. My wife has volunteered to go up on the roof & clean the edge gutters. Another possible root cause... since the moveable glass panel is very close to the drain slots... I wonder it there's supposed to be some sort of a cushion or guide in the track... if a guide wore letting the window settle slightly... allowing the bottom of the window to restrict the water flow to the drains underneath it... accumulating water in the track until it finally overflows. I realize this is speculation and frankly I'm not in favor of taking the windows apart to investigate... might make things a whole lot worse if it doesn't go back together.

[JAG1]

In the summer I'll use a small squirt gun to fill up those channels and then use a piece of tie wire to clear out the drains. This seems to wash and clear them out pretty well. It looks to me we got the same kind of windows. Makes me wonder why yours would be overwhelmed with water when I live in the NW soggy country. I only had a leak one time when algae grew into those drains. Once scrubbed it was no problemMy sliding window glass is against that fuzzy type weather striping on both sides, but, otherwise rest and slide on the bottom.

[flagmanruss]

As you can see with how long it's been since I first posted on this... I've been mystified for some time. I'm not sure what level is in the trailer... we use a bubble level on the kitchen floor & call it good... but at that point the water in the window channel runs forward behind the fixed panel. It will top the channel it the extreme front onto a built in table, hinged to the wall next to the kitchen. I have poured water into the channel with a cup... it seems to drain, just not fast enough.

[bcbigfoot]

I have used a molded stick on gutter several times over the past 8 years, works very well, bends to go around corners as well. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/eze-rv-gutter-system10-package-ultra-white/16962

[flagmanruss]

I bought some molded stick on gutter at the local RV place. I thought it would be useful. It didn't stick. I suspect it was old stock & adhesive was shot. When it ends up on the leaves (funny they stick to it!), it's no longer useful. I still have some. Maybe my prep was faulty. Shop guy tried my stuff too & couldn't get it to work. Too cold now but in warmer weather... with a heat gun to straighten it... It might work.

[JAG1]

Flagmanruss, I think you need bigger holes drilled for sure. I drill mine at an angle after started straight to help the draining. I have used a regular drill bit pushed sideways to make a bigger horizontal slot. It takes time so as to not break the bit and the direction of side pressure on the drill can be a bit awkward. After a while you can get a hold on it.