Standing water on roof

[krilov]

After the first rain in my dolphin, I noticed that water pools on the roof. I can't imagine standing water is good for my roof. Any ideas on fixes (other than a cover or a squeegee) or is it not a big deal?

Thanks!

[Ron 'n Sue]

After the first rain in my dolphin, I noticed that water pools on the roof. I can't imagine standing water is good for my roof. Any ideas on fixes (other than a cover or a squeegee) or is it not a big deal?

Thanks!

Hi there!

Standing water, as long as it's not seeping through, is fine. It will eventually evaporate. We called Winnebago about the aluminum roof on our 1992 Warrior and they told us, "wax it", so we did and it seems to work fine.Pay attention to the edges where the sealant is to ensure no cracks appear. It's when the caulking is deteriorating that you need to repair them.

Suzanne & Ron

[Derek up North]

Is it parked for the Winter? Or even if not, park it on a bit of a slope when it rains. The roofs are generally (but not perfectly) flat with no crown built in, so if you park it on the level, you're bound to get puddles. If they form around any openings you'll probably, eventually, get leaks. Poor design (IMHO) from the start. Age, a heavy A/C and maybe a bit of wood rot from past leaks won't help.

[krilov]

It's not parked for the winter, it's parked outside my house while I transition into fulltiming. I'm parked level so that the fridge is level. Sure wish I could level the fridge from inside.

[Derek up North]

Well, we've already covered the fridge leveling question:-

http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3408&st=0&p=17998&hl=+level%20+comfortable&fromsearch=1entry17998

So I guess you've a few other options.

- Figure out how to get some pitch built into the roof;

- Try and seal the heck of of every joint, seam and hole where water accumulates;

- Camp in the desert.

Personally, I'd park it level enough to be 'comfortable' (and dry).

[toycoach]

I have the same problem on my 1986 Coachman and I just pull one side up on the leveling blocks to tilt the motorhome when I park it to run the water off.

[waiter]

I just ordered a set of those giant lego's. My goal, Try and find a spot that's level front to back, and best I can side to side. Use the lego's mainly for front to back. (In your case, you may want a little leaning side to side until you get the roof fixed.

As for the frig, I read in their documentation (Dometic) that there are two styles of heaters, a square one and a round one (The little chimney thing where the propane flame goes up) The Square ones are more sensitive to leveling than the round ones. Don't know how to quantify this, but there it is.

[Derek up North]

AFAIK, the 'square' ones are the older style (don't know model numbers, unfortunately) which are more sensitive to leveling. Apparently, in the 'old days' they used to supply a little Bulls-Eye level to use. The switch to 'round' apparently makes them less sensitive. Perhaps at the same time they discontinued supplying the 10 cent spirit level. I've yet to see a current Dometic Owners Manual that says anything beyond being 'comfortable'.

Norcold, on the other hand, does give real numbers. 3 & 6 degrees on a design that operates on the same principal as the Dometic, so I don't suppose there's a whole lot of difference in problems caused by being 'uncomfortable'. If you consider a typical wheelbase of 137", 3 degrees 'off' (side to side, which would be front to back for the M/H, since they're mounted sideways) would be like parking on a dead level slab and then raising the front or back by approximately 7". And 6 degrees (assuming the M/H is 80" wide) would be like jacking up one side over 8"! I haven't performed the experiment, but I'd assume this might be considered getting close to 'uncomfortable' (unless you're a mountain goat).

So, for me, I'll feel perfectly happy setting up camp where I'm 'comfortable' without feeling 'uncomfortable' about my fridge's well-being. And even, maybe, a bit 'uncomfortable' if I'm concerned about water pooling on the roof.

Manuals available here. Look up your model and see what it says.

http://www.gasrefrig...old_manuals.htm

http://www.gasrefrig...tic_manuals.htm

BTW, I haven't stumbled across anywhere that Dometic addresses the 'square' vs 'round' issue. Could you lead me there? Maybe Norcold always used a 'round' design and Dometic finally copied them?

[ClipperMan]

Newbie here - not a Toyota motorhome owner - yet.

(But looking for a Sunrader - currently own a 1975 American Clipper - restored - almost cherry - but gas prices have me ready to switch - and soon)

Anyways - water pooling on roof.

Clipper have the same issue - often in three different spots. Parking on an angle is good - but - you can't comfortably "use" the rig when it's on an angle, and many older fridge units need to be level when in use.

Here's my low tech, but effective solution:

1) Buy an 8-10 foot piece of clear plastic tubing, 3/16 inch inside diameter, 5/16 inch outside diameter, for every "pooling" zone on your roof (your local hardware store will have this stuff)

2) Cut one end of the tubing at an angle - say 45 degrees or less

3) Get a 2"x4" piece of wood 18 to 24 inches long for each piece of tubing

4) Get on the roof of your Toyota (or use a ladder) and lay the tubing down with the shorter side of your angle cut up, in the deepest part of where your water pools. Lay the 2x4 on top of it, so that the tubing runs the full length of the 2x4 and then....

5) Let the other 8 feet or so of the tubing hang over the side of the Toyota .

6) Gently siphon the water (by sucking a little on the end of the tube that is hanging of the side of the Clipper to start the siphon process) - and it will continue to drain the water off your roof until it is nearly gone.

Works great in rain to keep water off the low spots on your roof. With a litte experimentation, you'll find that if you run the tubing on the roof for 3 or 4 feet , and then let it hang down over the edge, often the siphoning process will start on its own - magic! (water physics/dynamics I don't quite understand - but it's amazing and nice to know when it's raining outside, no water is collecting on your roof)

Note: If you're in a spot where "stuff" falls on your roof (leaves, or other debris, etc.) - you may want to put a screen of sorts over the tubing to prevent it from clogging)

After the first rain in my dolphin, I noticed that water pools on the roof. I can't imagine standing water is good for my roof. Any ideas on fixes (other than a cover or a squeegee) or is it not a big deal?

Thanks!

[Bryan]

Krilov, Don't know if you came up with a solution yet but this is what I did http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3693

I had the same problem only took a few hours to fix. Best part is it didn't change anything cosmetically and you won't have to suck dirty rain water through a tube... YUK!