Water leaking from TV wire port in ceiling

[wolfdds]

After a heavy rain we have water leaking out of the port the TV wires come through? Has anyone had this problem? The attic is dry?? It seems to be coming from between the fiberglass layers. My initial guess was either the AC or the Oliver Sign. There is no leak around the AC unit directly in. The seal is completely dry and the Ollie sign seems fine. I have not had a chance to go onto the roof to investigate. 

Edited May 31 by wolfdds
Added content.

[topgun2]

Your guesses make for a good starting point.

I'd get up in the attic with a bunch of blue paper towels.  Take the panels on both sides of the attic down - you don't have to remove them or disconnect any of the wires.  Lay and/or tape the blue paper towels near/on the areas that you suspect (i.e. around the "Oliver" sign, around the hole into the main cabin, in the area of the rear view camera, as far as you can reach towards the a/c, etc.).  Go outside and give this area a good soak with the garden hose.  Go back inside to look for "dark" spots on the blue paper towels which will give you an indication as to where the leak is coming from.

Good luck!

Bill

[wolfdds]

I took the sides off in the attic. It is completely dry, even dusty. The only place that is even damp is right around the hole. I also took the inside cover off the AC. The inner seal is completely dry. I'm on the road and it's still raining, so I'll have to investigate on the roof more at home.

[topgun2]

OK - I'd lay those blue paper towels around the hole.  This will tell you which direction to look for the water flow.  That direction may (or may not) give you a better idea of where the water is coming from.

Bill

[wolfdds]

After returning home I was able to better investigate the water issue. Turns out the attic was not dry. It was wet underneath the white insulation layer. I was able to easily peal the the insulation up. The leak was coming from the Oliver Sign. The caulk had dried and cracked. It is actually amazing how much water could get in from that source. All things considered this was the best scenario for the source of the leak.  I was able to remove all the old caulk and re-caulk the sign.

Edited Tuesday at 05:55 PM by wolfdds
Typos

[John Dorrer]

On 5/31/2025 at 8:45 AM, wolfdds said:

After a heavy rain we have water leaking out of the port the TV wires come through? Has anyone had this problem? The attic is dry?? It seems to be coming from between the fiberglass layers. My initial guess was either the AC or the Oliver Sign. There is no leak around the AC unit directly in. The seal is completely dry and the Ollie sign seems fine. I have not had a chance to go onto the roof to investigate. 

 Cut out the sealant and recaulk it

 Not sure what sealant Oliver uses. Give them a call.

 

Install gutters over the sign and windows.

Edited Tuesday at 05:59 PM by John Dorrer
Updated Comment

[DavePhelps]

So the rear Oliver lense strikes again....

I would also check those marker lights. The one under the O of the Oliver sign especially. If it leaks, the water would run down its supply wire where it looks like it touches your TV cables. The water would then continue down that cable and into the cabin. All those wires up there with no drip loops designed in are are major pathway for water to travel to far off places. I had drips out my rear speaker from one of those marker lights....
Cheers,

Dave

   

[Mike and Carol]

My only leak has been the Oliver sign.  Cleaned and recaulked and problem solved maybe for another 6 or 7 years?  Mike

[SeaDawg]

We went overboard on the Oliver sign, but i think it's permanent  . Replacement lens, Butyl tape, mechanical fasteners, plus caulk. 5 years in, and good. 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4823-third-taillight-reinstall/?_rid=33

 

Edited yesterday at 01:12 AM by SeaDawg

[wolfdds]

All set. But you have to question the logic behind putting a hole in a solid fiberglass camper just to caulk a plexiglass sign into it!!

[topgun2]

2 minutes ago, wolfdds said:

But you have to question the logic behind putting a hole in a solid fiberglass camper just to caulk a plexiglass sign into it!!

There is a long storied history in this regard - much of which I don't know.  But, as with virtually all other "engineered" things in the Oliver even this is not as "simple" as it may seem.

Bill

[rich.dev]

48 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

There is a long storied history in this regard - much of which I don't know.  But, as with virtually all other "engineered" things in the Oliver even this is not as "simple" as it may seem.

 

Bill, the new (2024+) don’t have the fridge vent holes on the side anymore, so wondering why (with new molds anyway) couldn’t they leave out the Oliver sign hole, or maybe they have? 

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, rich.dev said:

Bill, the new (2024+) don’t have the fridge vent holes on the side anymore, so wondering why (with new molds anyway) couldn’t they leave out the Oliver sign hole, or maybe they have? 

Well - 

As with the fridge vents Oliver really doesn't HAVE to cut out these spaces to include the space for the sign hole.  In fact, when the new fridge was adopted Oliver simply didn't cut out that part of the outside hull and to help "cover" the now flat area they engineered a fold out table in that space.  So, that begs the question as to why Oliver has decided to continue with the "third brake light" Oliver sign.  All I can tell you is that there has only been one Oliver Travel Trailer that has come off the production line without that area  lighting up as an "Oliver" sign*.  That trailer is mine and when Mr. Oliver happen to see it on the production line he was not happy and ordered that every Oliver would have that sign that says it is an Oliver from then on.  I'd suggest that this shows how strongly Mr. Oliver felt about using that space for advertising exactly what brand of trailer was going down the road.

Bill

*note:  there are at least three Olivers other than my "Twist" that also do not say "Oliver" in that third brake light space.  But, in each of the other cases the owner had the Oliver lettering replaced with another name.  "Olivia" and "ILUVHER" are two of the others and I can't remember the third.

Edited 18 hours ago by topgun2
added detail

[bugeyedriver]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

Well - 

... All I can tell you is that there has only been one Oliver Travel Trailer that has come off the production line without that area  lighting up as an "Oliver" sign*.  That trailer is mine and when Mr. Oliver happen to see it on the production line he was not happy and ordered that every Oliver would have that sign that says it is an Oliver from then on. 

Bill

You REBELL !!

[Dennis and Melissa]

I don't have any leaks, but...

What caulk do y'all use for these sorts of things?

You see, I was washing my Ollie after a long trip.  The start of that trip was in Hohenwald for our first "annual maintenance".  Don't get me wrong.  I'm happy we had it done.  They did a number of things under warranty, and I learned a few more things, but.... 

Part of what they did was re-caulk everything.  And, while I was cleaning the roof, I got my first look at that part of their work.   Some of it is genuinely sloppy.  Maybe even useless.  And, of course, it's in places that are really hard to get to. 🤪

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

Part of what they did was re-caulk everything.  And, while I was cleaning the roof, I got my first look at that part of their work.   Some of it is genuinely sloppy.  Maybe even useless.  And, of course, it's in places that are really hard to get to. 🤪

I hate that! I still have it on my list to remove all the old caulk on our 10-year-old hull. Our hull went for OTT service in 2018 and 2020 according to receipts I have. They must have done all the messy caulk on top of caulk work, yes sloppy to say the least. What a shame on your only 1-year-old hull! There is no reason in the world they should have gone over yours. Caulk should last YEARS and caulk over caulk is never a good idea! Here is an example of the handywork of such an over-zealous artist! 😞

Picture is after travel on a dirt road which makes it show fully --