Water Leak From Roof Top AC

[DCKiefer]

Just wanted to mention this just in case anyone else has had this trouble. Last Saturday we drove through continous rain from NC to FL. During this drive I found water leaking in from the AC and it made a pretty big damp stop on the bed. The problem appears to have been that the AC unit was not snug enough against the roof.

 

I pulled out the installation instructions on the AC and found the bolts that hold the unit to the roof where not torqued to specs. Now before anyone from the factory says anything I realized I could not torque the bolts to the specs since it appeara it would put a lot of pressue on the inner and out shells. This could possibly cause some damage since there isn't a frame around the opening through the roof.

 

After seeing the problem and nowing I had to put more torque on the bolts inorder to compress the gasket between the AC unit and roof I did the following. I filled the gap between the inner and out shell to create and effective frame. I then torqued the bolts slowly until I was satisfied with the compression of the gasket. I still could not go to the manufactures specs, but I now believe I should have a water tight seal.

[astrocaster]

Thanks for the information. Which air conditioner do you have?

 

Steve

[DCKiefer]

Duo Therm.

[herm]

I have not experienced this problem, but I will definitely take a look at this since I have the same unit. Out of curiosity, what material did you use as a spacer?

 

Honestly, I would have guessed that the Polar Cub's would be more susceptible to leaks due to the fan opening on the top side of the cover, and that's one reason I opted to keep the Duo Therm.

 

Herm

[DCKiefer]

The spacer is a dense foam that I assume comes with the unit. I did not replace it, simply torqued down the unit to compress the spacer closer to the manufactures specs. The Duo Therm installation instructions say the spacer should be compressed to about a half inch thick. If you do this you must provide some firm material like plywood to fill the void between the inner and outer shell of the camper so you do not crack the fiberglass or gelcoat.