Water leak discoverd-possible antenna area

Explorer03 · 10-13-2013, 12:08 PM

My wife, daughter and I went camping this weekend. It was pouring rain all night. We woke up to discover a water dripping onto the sofa from the ceiling above where the ceiling seam is covered by molding running the width of the trailer. I pulled off the molding strip hiding the seam and the ceiling was wet just to the left of where the antenna crank is. We packed up the campsite and headed for home (45mins).
Upon arriving at home I went up onto the roof to begin my inspection for the possible leak. I found no holes, rips or tears in the roof membrane. However what I did find was a 3 inch long fracture/fissure about 1/32 in width in the caulk about 1/2 inch up from the base the antenna. I figure the rain was landing on top of the antenna base and as is ran down over the side onto the roof it was leaking into the fissure. I applied some Dicor caulk and hope this was in fact the leak since I found no other possible areas to cause it.
I just inspected the entire roof and all caulked areas just two months ago after our Jun-Aug trip to NH and back. I guess the lesson learned here is to inspect the roof more often.

stjohneyre · 10-13-2013, 01:44 PM

Thanks for sharing.

oejeffrey · 10-13-2013, 05:52 PM

makes me want to go buy a ladder for sure

Jflyboym · 04-24-2017, 06:42 PM

That is ironic. My brand new 2016 264BHW has a leak in the EXACT same area! Saw it this past weekend while camping in heavy rain. I was not happy. I am taking it in to the dealer Monday. Thanks for your post. It kind of confirms that it's around the antenna. I don't have any cracks or lifting in the sealant but it's the closest penetration in the roof to the leak area.
It's pretty bad that we camped in a ratty tent for years in downpours, no lleaks I had a used Popup for three years camped in huge downpours no leaks. I buy a brand new camper and the darn thing LEAKS!!!

packerprogrammer · 05-06-2017, 03:04 PM

I have the same issue on my 2016 184BH. What did the dealer find on your 264BHW.

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Seann45 · 05-06-2017, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jflyboym

That is ironic. My brand new 2016 264BHW has a leak in the EXACT same area! Saw it this past weekend while camping in heavy rain. I was not happy. I am taking it in to the dealer Monday. Thanks for your post. It kind of confirms that it's around the antenna. I don't have any cracks or lifting in the sealant but it's the closest penetration in the roof to the leak area.
It's pretty bad that we camped in a ratty tent for years in downpours, no lleaks I had a used Popup for three years camped in huge downpours no leaks. I buy a brand new camper and the darn thing LEAKS!!!

IF you read the manual you will find roof leaks are not covered under warranty. It is an annual maintenance thing. Although your '16 is brand new it could have been sitting on the dealers lot since '15.. The dealer may decide to cover it under customer satisfaction but not Jayco..

packerprogrammer · 05-06-2017, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann45

IF you read the manual you will find roof leaks are not covered under warranty. It is an annual maintenance thing. Although your '16 is brand new it could have been sitting on the dealers lot since '15.. The dealer may decide to cover it under customer satisfaction but not Jayco..

Jayco may decide to stand by their product if there is a proven defect. If multiple campers of similar models have a leak in the same spot brand new, there may be an underlying issue. Worth investigating.

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Tunce the traveler · 05-06-2017, 05:03 PM

Now another thing you need to check is under the radio antenna mast. There's a screw on the side of the antenna mast, now remove it along with the mast and you'll see 1 screw that secures the base to the roof. Remove that screw and apply a dab of caulk in the hole, replace the screw and apply another dab of caulk on the screw head and your done with that leak hole.

Jflyboym · 07-26-2017, 06:54 PM

Sorry it's been a while but wanted to update this.
Yes I was aware of Jayco's warranty exclusion for caulk, however, my camper was ordered and delivered to the dealer for me and I picked up shortly after it was delivered so it did not sit on the lot. Yes it still was not covered. I know but I took the camper to the dealer and he put a dab of caulk on the antenna, charged me 30 bucks and sent me on my way. It was literally like that. The guy said bring it in and I'll take a quick look. I guess I should consider myself lucky judging from the service backlog horror stories I've heard about at these RV dealers. I'm sorry but I think they could have just taken care of that simple thing as a matter of customer service. They would have earned a loyal customer by giving me 2 cents worth of caulk and 5 minutes of their time after I just bought a brand new camper from them. I'm just not at all impressed with the whole RV dealer experience. I know many will say that's just how it is but that does not make it right.

Grumpy · 07-26-2017, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann45

. Although your '16 is brand new it could have been sitting on the dealers lot since '15.. The dealer may decide to cover it under customer satisfaction but not Jayco..

Warranty starts on the date of 1st retail sale. It could be a "new" 1st sale 2015 and it would still be covered by JAYCO.

Tunce the traveler · 07-26-2017, 07:38 PM

Don't hold your breath just yet but I believe the roof section of the antenna shaft at its base has an "O" ring that could be damaged and should be luberacated once a year. Now I could be wrong but I vaguely remember that during my PDI.

Tunce the traveler · 07-26-2017, 09:53 PM

Yes there is YouTube video on this " Wingard RV TV Antenna Maintenaince" and they suggest twice a year.

Tunce the traveler · 07-27-2017, 10:25 AM

Found this in my Winegard manual and this is the "O" that the service tech showed me during the PDI. Hope you all check this one out because this is a water leak area that is not visible and never checked till it's too late.

Jflyboym · 07-28-2017, 05:34 PM

It looks like the leak was where the wire entered the antenna grommet. He put some caulk on it. I has rained several times and no leak so I guess that was it. I guess there was not enough on it.

I have lubed and inspected the antenna per the instructions. I even bought a can of silicone oil for that reason. I have tried to be diligent in doing reccommended maintenance. I guess that is another source of aggravation. I manage a maintenance department in a large manufacturing facility so I take that stuff seriously. Despite that I still had issues. I just don't think RVs in general are very well built. I guess that's why they are light weight and affordable. I still like my camper but I question how long it will last.

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