It's Raining, it's pouring, all the windows....

[KarenLukens]

are flooding :)  We live in a rain forest and tonight is the first heavy rain of the season... The big 1/2" drops are too much for the windows to handle and I think the weap holes are really over taxed because we have water coming in all of the windows for the first time. It looks like I will  now be adding rain gutters over all the windows very soon. The good news is that everything else in here is dry and there's no condensation anywhere. Yup... it's bad, really a lot of water is coming in with the huge drops coming down outside. This is the reason that there should be awnings over all of the windows. When the rain slows down and the weap holes can drain, the problem goes away, so tonight is the first night that I've actually needed awnings on both sides and that would have taken care of the problem on the side windows anyway... but the back window is still flooding...

 

Right now everything is soaked, the edge of the mattress on the street side is soaked, the sheets are wet about 6" in and it looks like I will be getting the big tarp out come day break. We are heading south today, so everything will be able to dry, but having to tarp Goldilocks wasn't part of the plan...

 

Any suggestions?

 

Reed

[Mike and Carol]

We’ve been in heavy rain before and didn’t have any leaks. My only suggestion is to keep the weep holes clear so the water can drain. If you’re living in a forest they probably get blocked pretty fast. I found that in heavy rain the awning doesn’t do too much, water runs down behind it.

 

I installed rain gutters on my windows last year but pulled them off when the ends came lose. It was my fault, I did all the right cleaning, did the install in warm weather, etc. the problem was that temperatures went from mid 80s to mid 30s overnight before they had set. So, then ends popped lose and flipped up. I will probably do it again, but will ensure there will be hot weather for a few days after!  I think they would help in your situation.  Mike

[KarenLukens]

The weird thing is that the rain is coming in the tops of the windows just as bad as the bottoms. I've never had rain come in above the windows before... Yea, the weap holes are over taxed and it's raining inside... Thumbnail sized drops always weed out the leaks, but the water is coming in the top of the windows. We have towels down and have now changed them out, they were ringing wet... The Dinette window where we have the Little House Customs awning above it is doing the best of all of them. Like I said though, there's no condensation on the walls but the metal window frames have water dripping inside all the way around...

[KarenLukens]

OK... The weap holes are still clear as they have been. The problem is that the water is leaking in - between the seals outside over the tops of the windows and the shell, then running down the inside of the window seal, behind the window frame itself, then pouring down the inside of the window and filling the inside window's base tray with water until it flows out over the inside corner of the window tray and onto the bed... Emphasis on flows... Not just drips... So I tarped over the rear half of the trailer up to the solar panels. Problem solved... But not fixed... It's supposed to stop raining tomorrow and then we will head south. The rain was so hard and non stop today that we decided to just sit it out and deal with the leaks and do our best to dry everything out, so out came Karen's blow drier and we are doing our best to get it dry before it starts molding... Lots of water came in but hopefully we have it handled...

 

The worst of course is the street side bed window.... Otherwise known as My Side... Lol. I have the awning out over the curb side and the Dinette window has it's own awning. The rear window was leaking but no where near as bad as the side, but either way, the whole back half is under the tarp now and things are drying out.

 

Here is a couple pics of the top inside window frame, I put the ceiling light in the picture for reference.

 

Lot's of water sitting there and you can't see out because of the tarp.

 

 

Definitely a head scratcher...

 

Reed

[bugeyedriver]

"We live in a rain forest"

 

Ever consider moving?    Just Kidding!!!!

 

OK, your weep holes are clear, that's good.  When was the last time (when it wasn't raining buckets outside) you slid your windows open wide and used compressed air and tweezers to blow out / pick out the seeds, pine needles, dirt, etc from your rubberized channel the window slides on?   I neglected this many years ago and was confounded as to why the water would slide over the bottom railing.  Well, the water did not have a clear pathway to get to the weepholes outside that I had already cleared with compressed air ... Duh!

 

No problems since.

 

On the other hand - I have no answer to the water coming in from the top. Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . . ..

[KarenLukens]

Thanks Pete :)

 

So... Yea we've been talking about a new air compressor even yesterday... Lol... This was the deciding factor, I mean this is the kind of thumbnail size drops that soak you before the door handle gets turned... You know :) I think that I'm going to enlarge the weap holes just a touch being that it doesn't happen under normal rainy conditions. We've had an extreme storm going over and it's that kind that soaks you as soon as you get outside. So we sat here today instead of trying to drive down the mountain like the log ride at Water World... I didn't really want that sinking feeling in our Ollie :)

 

[Try2Relax]

If it's coming in at the top of the window then I would be concerned about above the window and between the hulls. Awning mounts and the AC shroud, with how much wind you've talked about and your securing methods, I wonder if the mounts are compromised at all.

 

Also if it can't can't all run out the inside of the windows it will flow around the frame and gravity says it goes in the below the bed compartments....

[SeaDawg]

If you get a momentary break in the rain, try this. Jack the front, just a bit, and Jack the driver side just a bit.if that doesn't work, jack a bit more. Worked for us.

We often leave our trailer in storage. Little bits, not visible, plug the weep holes

When someday we meet around our campfire, I'll tell you the whole story of... Rain in my side of the bed, dog going crazy, poor Paul out in the sudden monsoon rain in the middle of the night. Mountain rain, in NC, remnants of a hurricane further south....

 

We laugh about it now, but it was really cold. Paul about froze making those adjustments.

My fault, really, because the weep holes looked clean from my height.. but, I'm pretty short... And, really,i didn't check them from above, or with a tooth pick plastic cleaner. I was tired. First night back, looked good, yada yada..

Later, we found that our solar panels shunted rainwater directly over the widow Wells. Adjusted the panels.cleaned the plugged weep holes. Done

 

We are also big believers in the RV gutters, applied properly.

Sherry

[SeaDawg]

In our 2008, we don't have weep holes in the rear window. We have to compensate with Jack adjustments in downpours

Sherry

[Try2Relax]

As for the weep holes, when I returned from the dusty desert, I removed all the windows (sliding part) screens and black track parts to completely clean the tracks and weep holes, I was amazed at how much crud/sand/silt they held. It all comes out pretty easily.

[SeaDawg]

I have to add a word here for the RV gutters strips. Applied properly, they really route water away from the window

I will have to look for a link, cause it's been a few years.

Position the tails away from the windows, and you are golden.

Sherry

 

PS. Happy Anniversary !!!!!

[geokeg]

Reed,

 

Have you been able to determine if the leaks are coming from around the window within the frame enclosure or from around the enclosure itself going into the trailer hull?  Thinking back of your early on postings and your discussion of extreme rough road conditions I am wondering if there are now some rough road induced voids in the sealing of the window and the hull.  If so, and that is the leak source then some good aluminum tape over the upper window enclosure to the hull might be a worthy band aid fix until things get sorted out.  Just a thought.  Good luck with your search and resolution.

 

george

[rideandfly]

Reed,

 

We had two window leaks in the Ollie.

 

First leak was top of dinette window last year.  Oliver resealed outdoor porch light fixture above window including hole where wire passes into the hull.

 

Another leak appeared at top of rear window, too. Decided to makes repairs at home this time.  Found water coming in around rear exterior Oliver sign/ LED housing above window. Appeared to be 3m 4000 marine sealant holding Oliver sign lens in place, took some time to remove old sealant.  Resealed with Starbrite white marine silicone. Did not want to use 3M 4000 sealant again, used something flexible and easy to remove.

 

Happy to report no leaks in either window after very heavy rains.

 

 

[Kayrae51]

So sorry to hear this....no fun at all! Your situation may be different from ours but it may be worth checking this out.

 

We had a fairly large amount of water entering along the bottom edge of 3 windows in our Clever Beast. We have the RV gutters and all of the weep holes were clear. Since it was 3 windows Clair thought it could be  coming from the roof air conditioner. We are less than 3 hrs from the factory and wanted to take the trailer over to get the fresh water tank fix done & have a few other minor issues addressed so Clair phoned Jason for an appointment. He was very pleased that Jason was pretty sure he knew where our leaking was coming from right away. He is sleeping right now and I didn’t go over for the service appointment but I’m pretty sure it was the clearance lights. I know the windows were fine. If it was something else I’ll let you know. The problem was easily corrected and we haven’t had any leaks since. I hope your problem is an easy fix too....Kathy

 

 

[KarenLukens]

Ahhh yes, the ol' rough road.... 4th street if I remember in Albuquerque New Mexico... It was like driving down a washboard... Lol. I've always hated that road, grrr just like I've always hated Karen's blow dryer... It blew and it blew and it blew until the smoke alarm went off over my head instantly deafening me for life :) Then Karen started screaming at me... "My blow drier, my blow drier" as I was trying to reset the smoke alarm... But that darn smoke alarm wouldn't shut up until I was finally able to open the window as Karen was still screaming at me... "It's on fire, you burned up my blow dryer, the smoke alarm won't go off (stupid she implied in her eyes with THAT look) with the trailer full of smoke..." Lol. Then I looked down and saw the flames in my hand and smiled... Finally... I had really needed to kill something today and there it was burning in my hands... The blow dryer was sitting there dead, innocently looking up at me thru the flames... I had done my job, the bed was dry and I was able to toss it out the window before the first drop of burning plastic hit the mattress... Life is good :) Peace has returned to the forest once again :) The rain has stopped and now we are sitting around the campfire outside created by the burning blow dryer keeping us warm and toasty roasting marshmallows over the black rubbery carcass of her once beloved blow dryer :)

 

Happy Anniversary Honey, I will be buying you Another Blow Dryer this year for Thanksgiving...

 

Love Reed

 

OK... Maybe I exaggerated a little...  It's still raining and the blow dryer is happily bubbling outside in the mud puddle... The smoke alarm finally turned itself off after I turned the fan on high and sucked out the smoke, but... The bed is dry :) and so am I :)

 

The End of a perfect day... :)

[Kayrae51]

Omg!! Think I wet myself laughing so hard!

 

All Smiles!...... Kathy

[Kayrae51]

Oops - sorry about double post.

 

Reed - A correction on my last night’s post. Clair says it was our porch lights that was causing our window leaks. Apparently  they were a new style and the wiring had been properly sealed but the screws were not. Hope this helps you.

[topgun2]

Double post corrected - Bill

[ScottyGS]

That is too funny!   If they ever remake "The Long Long Trailer" they need to add that scene.   Glad to hear you are dry and hope you can find the nearest Wal Mart quick to replace Karen's hair dryer.   I think she deserves the deluxe model.  :-).

 

scotty

 

 

[Windwalker]

We found that two of our windows were leaking at the top of the frame so all windows were removed and resealed problem solved upon inspection the leaking windows did not show any gaps at the top of the frame but the reseal did correct this issue. During window reseal i was able to switch the left with the raight rear for better airflow when sleeping as we sleep head forward (the windows on my 2015 were manufactured so that the could be used in either left or right location. Resealing the window frames will fix your problem and rain gutters will not be needed.

 

Marc

[KarenLukens]

We found that two of our windows were leaking at the top of the frame so all windows were removed and resealed problem solved upon inspection the leaking windows did not show any gaps at the top of the frame but the reseal did correct this issue. During window reseal i was able to switch the left with the raight rear for better airflow when sleeping as we sleep head forward (the windows on my 2015 were manufactured so that the could be used in either left or right location. Resealing the window frames will fix your problem and rain gutters will not be needed. Marc

 

Thanks Marc, I'm sure that's what's going on here... Did you go to Howenwald or have it done elsewhere? We already have another window problem that they are wanting to replace, so we can do it all at once under warranty. Jason told me today that they would find someone here for us.

 

Reed

[Windwalker]

Hi Reed I pulled the windows and resealed them myself our trailer is Hull 83 2015 twin bed, we also are enjoying the left and right sliding windows being switched to slide to the rear the cross flow ventilation is much better when using the fantastic fan. I would not install rain gutters as they are not needed, let me know if I can provide any more info.

 

Marc

[Raspy]

  Maybe I exaggerated a little…   The End of a perfect day…

 

Reed, remember my motto............"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt".

 

In other words,  I only exaggerate in the interest of truth.   ????

[KarenLukens]

Hi Reed I pulled the windows and resealed them myself our trailer is Hull 83 2015 twin bed, we also are enjoying the left and right sliding windows being switched to slide to the rear the cross flow ventilation is much better when using the fantastic fan. I would not install rain gutters as they are not needed, let me know if I can provide any more info. Marc

 

Thanks Marc :)

 

I prefer to do everything myself also and this shouldn't be a problem. I need to either rethread the lock on the street side or replace that window anyway. Jason told me that to his knowledge, nobody has ever tried taping up a size for stripped threads but that's what I've told him I will try first. Otherwise, they will send me a new window. With our heads to the back in our King size, the windows crack open at our faces which makes it nice for us. We thought about the twin model but we are both "Personal Touch" people and couldn't imagine sleeping apart, so we had the Liberty Delux, King model Casita also before we picked up our new Ollie this year :)

 

Reed

 

KarenLukens wrote:

Maybe I exaggerated a little… The End of a perfect day…

Reed, remember my motto…………”I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt”. In other words, I only exaggerate in the interest of truth.

 

Thanks John :)

 

Then there is... The rest of the story coming soon :)

 

Reed

[rideandfly]

OK… The rear window was leaking but no where near as bad as the side, but either way, the whole back half is under the tarp now and things are drying out.

 

Here's the leak we had with rear Oliver light fixture/sign above rear window.  The water traveled around exterior lens sealant into LED light fixture dripping between insulation & hull coming out at the top of the rear window. Removed and sealed rear Oliver sign/lens stopping leak where it entered hull: