Disappearing Leak?

[Ritabago's Dad]

In the first year that I had my '92 Warrior, a heavy Florida downpour would send water leaking out of the roof A/C; a problem which which went away with a new roof unit. A tech working on my old roof unit said that I would need to Dicor some spots up there, including some rusted bolts along the sidewall seam.

Some time later, heavy rain would bring water in a trickle down the inside wall where the door between bathroom and galley slides out towards. That is, if you're standing facing the galley, you're facing the driver's side of the coach. The ceiling above the rear galley wall (right next to the stove top) had begun to bubble at some point, but in time - this leaking and bubbling stopped, even in heavy rain.

The latest leak is coming from the bathroom vent, this much I know, but it likewise hasn't happened for quite some time (and it's been all about the rain lately here in central Fla.) I've felt the flooring in these areas and nothing seems especially soft, so maybe I dodged a bullet there. Does this "moving" or "disappearing" leak activity seem strange or par for the course?

I'm ready to go at the seams with Dicor, but have been unsure about the bolts. Do I need to get new bolts in before I seal? Or just seal 'em up as they are?

On a related note - I have no attached ladder, which makes roof access difficult if I'm not at home. Any tips on how/where to get a replacement? Thanks for any help!

Best Wishes,

Bing

'92 Warrior

[Vanman]

On my 91 Toy I found all of the roof vents were leaking because the white plastic top parts all had cracks. Fixed with gorilla tape, am going to replace all of them soon.

[Ritabago's Dad]

I'm finding that just about everything in my rig is original, so it's probably time to just start swapping everything out (except for the stove and microwave.) I know my front vent is in bad shape because I can see the cracks. Don't know about the rear one yet - other than it's leaked a few times.

Went and got some Dicor today, caulk for the areas around the galley and bathroom sinks and have ordered some Dyco 20/20 for the extrusions. I've never done this before (well, I've repaired some caulk in the shower) so, I'm open to suggestions!

[5Toyota]

DICOR is a very good product a lot of times those plastic base vents develop hidden crakes on the base . i had one like no amount of dicor stoped it replaced whole vent . with a metal base vent for total replacement that is the way to go.if the bolts are not too rusty are tight dicor all

[waiter]

DARN LEAKS

Before you order roof vents, make sure you have correct size. I seem to recall the Winnebago had something different than the Dolphin. I think they were 14x14, but something about the corners?????

Here are a couple links that may give you some more ideas:

Leak from cracked plastic

Leak from cracked aluminum

Replace roof vents

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Maineah]

Bummer, leaks can drive you nuts often they run across the interior ceilling and drip out some place no where near the leak. The gasket on my A/C unit had a leak that drove me nuts because it leaked out by the cabinets I had resealed every thing else trying to fix it and it was the only thing left.

[Ritabago's Dad]

I'm still fairly new at this, so bear with me, but when I snipped the end of the Dicor tube and put it in the caulking gun, I couldn't get anything out whatsoever. After messing with the tube, the little membrane finally revealed itself but I lost the tube. Needless to say, I wasn't wasting a $10 tube, so I went ahead and did some patching on the roof. I've used caulk before - is it me or was that membrane supposed to break when I applied pressure? Was I supposed to puncture the membrane with a long poker or something? Anyway, the patching is done, but I want to re-do the seams and vent lid areas but I'll need a smaller bead for that. Your help is greatly appreciated.

The bigger issue is this: I removed my damaged front air vent lid and took it to Camping World Orlando to see about a fit. The lid was manufactured by Winnebago (you were right, John) and doesn't fit the current styles. They did have a full vent kit that would update the whole thing, but I don't have a leak up there and didn't want to be bothered with all of that, plus the cost. So I'm on the search for a replacement vent lid. Camping World Kissimmee (larger store) said they might actually have some of the older lids. I looked online and it was pretty slim pickin's. My Toy is a '92 WT321RB and putting that year and model out there brings back nothing on vent lids except for an old 2009 post about Winnebago not making them anymore, but keeping some on-hand for parts orders.

Going to Kissimmee today to see if they've got any that match what I've got. If not, I'll call Winnebago. If it's two strikes at that point, I'll bite the bullet and switch out the vent altogether. Here's hoping my patch job takes care of the occasional rear vent leak that I was getting.

[WME]

Yup use a poker on the membrane.

[Ritabago's Dad]

Thanks, WME. : )