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My fix for leaking roof around A/C


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When I bought my toy I noticed a leak around the coach air conditioner when it rained. The weight of the a/c made the roof sag enough that the rainwater would puddle around the gasket. I put a tarp over it while I researched on how to fix this problem. I found this site that had a pretty good idea- http://blog.rv.net/2...inking-rv-roof/ -Amazon shipped a new gasket to my house in about 2 days.I picked some 3/4" ply and got to work. When I removed the a/c I quickly realized that jamming a 3/4" piece of plywood between my metal roof and foam insulation would probably tear the metal as its pretty thin.

Not wanting to do more harm then good I decided to use 1/4" ply cut into strips (3"x12" for the front and sides and 3"x18" for the rear) and gradually build it up. My painters tool did a pretty job of making a purchase point between the layers (separating from the glue). I then proceeded to tap the strips in with a rubber mallet one at a time nice and easy like. This part took a little while cause I was being extra careful and was constantly checking with my four foot level to see how much further I needed to go.

Being sure that I no longer had a sag I applied the gasket to the a/c and carefully positioned it back in its home. This part required two people- one up top and one inside to get it aligned right. I think the hardest part was getting the bolts back in as the top and bottom of the a/c need to be lined up perfect to keep from cross threading the bolts. I took a few pics hopefully they can illustrate a little better then my words.

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Hi--what a great idea! Like you, we have the same problem with our 92 Itasca Spirit. Have had this problem with all three of our toyhomes over the years. Haven't yet solved the problem of the roof sag, but the leak problem was solved by doubling up on the gasketing. Read somewhere that using two AC gaskets, one on top of the other, would solve the leaking problem. Did this last summer and so far the leaking problem is gone (for now). Like your idea--do report back with future experience. Thanks!

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This is an interesting idea. I'm wondering how a 5ft long piece would work going fore and aft from the middle. Maybe eliminate a lot of the puddling I have from a flat roof.

Gotta think about this.

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Toybox, If the roof sag returns my next step will be remove the ceiling inside and use angle iron fore and aft (I like WME's terminology) of the a/c.

WME, that ain't a bad idea either, especially if you have puddling across the length of the roof. I would suggest you taper the end to be driven in to make it slide through easier. A palm sander should do the trick.

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  • 1 year later...

That is the best fix ever. That’s the only problem unresolved on my rig, I can now put my mind at ease knowing the solution. Winter is setting in here in Alaska so I’ll fix it next summer. Thanks so much.

John

Edited by Alaska
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