Leaking rear windows

[CanyonWren]

Hi fellow Ollie owners,

My brand new Ollie (delivered in June) is leaking! When it rains, the rear window track is full of water (including inside the trailer). The two rear side windows also have this problem, although to a lesser extent. I've seen other threads about leaks in this area due to caulking issues around the rear Oliver sign and around the rear window, but the caulking is just fine on my trailer. And I've also seen threads about putting strips of plastic in the weep holes on the outside of the trailer/window frame to help the water drain, but the water isn't making there.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has had this same issue, and if so, how it got resolved? Are there other threads that might be helpful?

Thanks.

[SeaDawg]

I'm sorry for your troubles. 

Where are you camping?

First thing to check are the weepholes and tracks. Even a month or two, in heavy tree coverage, or dusty areas can clog them. In the North Carolina woods, I have to clean them every month or two, all summer 

Try adjusting your trailer just a bit high in the nose, and a bit high side to side, to send water away from windows 

Do install ez rv gutters as soon as practically possible. 

The 3rd tail might look fine, but could still be a culprit.  A paper towel jammed or taped under the light may tell you if it's the source. 

I'm sure others will have other ideas. Leaks are hard to trace. 

Do open a service ticket. 

[CanyonWren]

Thanks SeaDawg.

Not camping yet...airing the trailer out in Northern AZ, where we've been having epic monsoon rains. No trees on the property, and no debris or dirt in the weep holes. The water doesn't make it to the weep holes. That part of the frame is actually dry.

When you say "3rd Tail" do you mean the Oliver sign above the window? If so, do you access it behind the insulation in the rear upper cabinet? FWIW, I felt under there (between the Oliver sign and the top of the rear window) after a rain and it was dry. And really? Already leaking here at just 2 months old? On a $54K trailer? So disappointing.

Is installing the RV gutter to prevent leaks when the caulking fails, or something else? Is this a thing all owners need to do asap on purchase? Do you recommend around all windows, or just the ones that are malfunctioning?

Oliver tried to tell us that this was normal (which is part of my question, I guess...is this normal for other owners? If it is, they need to be clearer about that as part of the package). After a bit of frustration with the company over that point, it's now at our trusted RV repair shop for assessment. While we wait, we'd like to know if anyone else has run into similar issues in the past, and if so, whether/how it was resolved.

Thanks for helping troubleshoot here... 

 

 

 

[Frank C]

Can you clarify some details?  Are you just seeing water in the window track?  Or is water leaking down onto the mattresses, etc.?   The window tracks do get some water in them when it rains, but it normally drains out the weep holes and does not overflow the track into the interior of the trailer.  That's just an unfortunate effect of the design of the sliding windows.  Make sure your seals around the outside of the sliding window are properly in place, and make sure the end of the seal is butted up snuggly against the vertical center bar of the window to minimize the amount of water that can get past the seal.  The seal sometimes shifts in the track and creates a gap there.   See photo for an example of the gap if the seal is shifted away from the center bar.

[Mike and Carol]

If the windows are closed and it is raining you should not have water inside.  Some water in the window tracks is normal but it should not be past that.  SInce your trailer is new and you haven’t camped they window tracks should be clean.  As Frank says above, check your rubber seals.  They are fully removable (I take them out after every trip for cleaning).  Is the water just in the window tracks?  Mike

[SeaDawg]

21 hours ago, CanyonWren said:

The water doesn't make it to the weep holes. That part of the frame is actually dry.

 

When you say "3rd Tail" do you mean the Oliver sign above the window? If so, do you access it behind the insulation in the rear upper cabinet? FWIW, I felt under there (between the Oliver sign and the top of the rear window) after a rain and it was dry. And really? Already leaking here

Since water isn't even making it to the weepholes, you probably have a poorly sealed rooftop appliance, or possibly, three  poorly sealed windows. I doubt the latter,  though anything is possible.

My bet would be the first. Water can travel between the hulls, and make it seem that windows are leaking, but it may be a bubble in sealant of a rooftop appliance. Rain then can travel down the inside frames of the windows. Even a tiny bubble in sealant can create a trickle of water, in monsoon conditions.  Especially when wind driven. 

I  had a very tiny issue last month,  in my 2008, with a foot of water in 28 hours, here in western NorthCarolina. Our problem was our own, twofold. We removed an old kingdome on the rooftop , and didn't totally, completely seal the wire run. Just a pinhole. Also, had a tiny bit coming in from fridge vent, that I hadn't properly sealed. Again, a pinhole. But a ton of rain.

My favorite tools for troubleshooting are duct tape, and blue shop towels. Not just in the trailer, but boat and home, too. If I think I know where the leak is, I seal it with duct tape. Put down a blue shop towel. If it's  still wet, I guessed wrong. Work my way around, and up. .

I know your trailer is already at the dealership,  and this won't help. They'll figure it out. Might help you or someone else, in the future .

And, no, this is not the norm.

 

[GraniteStaters]

We definitely had a problem with the rear exit window right after I opened it up on our spring trip right before we got back home.  We were advised to check the caulking our our less than two year old trailer.  We spent much time documenting the issue for Oliver Service.  The water was leaking into the track behind the handle and filling and overtopping the screen channel.  We suspected the top right corner of the window as viewed from within the LEII.  Paula used paper towels stuffed into certain locations to identify the area of intrusion.  We naturally followed Oliver’s recommendation to caulk all the windows.  We still had the issue.  There is a seal on the exit window that should prevent water from entering the interior track.  There are also two mounting screws on the top of the window channel that secure the hinged window to the frame.  Those should be caulked as well.  Paula found two small shreds of plastic on the inner channel at the top of the window where the hinge is attached.  She removed these shreds.  We haven’t had any issues since except at the weep holes in the window channels that plague all the Oliver windows and require constant attention.  

[thirddoor]

We had water intruding from the top of the window frame on one of the bed side windows, turned out to be coming from the porch light.

Caulking around the housing was fine, but nothing on the screw holes. Sealed those up and that fixed the leak.

Surprising amount of water from such a small opening!

[skalywag]

thirddoor, It is indeed suprising!

After 4 years, I recently found rain water inside puddled at the rear curbside area. I checked the caulking around the rear emergency window and it seemed to be intact, but I over-coated it with a handy white caulk to see if it had any effect.  My question is what the recommended caulk is for this and the overhead "OLIVER" sign area?

BTW, I did just order 2 10' rolls of EZE RV gutter that I will apply next summer when it is warm.