Leak above bunk

[SJD]

We were in a thunderstorm this weekend in Alabama & discovered a leak above the bunk over the cab on our 2017 37fs. The unit is a year old this month. I have emailed Jayco to see if they had any ideas of where it might be coming from but they did not have any ideas. They have approved warranty repair but thought if anyone else has had this issue. The leak surfaced at the intersection of the roof & front wall of the cap. Best I can tell the only places of where water could enter would be around clearance lights or where the roof meets cap. Any ideas or experience on the leak is appreciated.

[Robbbyr]

Several other Seneca owners have recently posted about discovering possible water intrusion through the front clearance lights. But due to location on our Senecas they certainly aren't an easy thing to inspect!

[pconroy]

Hopefully the dealer can do a pressure test w/ soapy water. Should show the leak quickly

[t18skyguy]

On my older rig, the plastic right in front of the bulb degraded from the heat of the bulb, and made a wide open hole. How I inspect it is I put two large ladders on both sides, then I bought a Werner expanding aluminum platform from the big box stores, then slide the platform through the higher rungs of the ladder. The platform is the kind the painters use.

[WaltW]

I recently had my Seneca worked on for leaks and one of the things they discovered was an incorrectly installed front AC plus leak at one of the seams...even though I had roofed checked annually for leaks!!!!

[javamon]

Originally Posted by SJD

We were in a thunderstorm this weekend in Alabama & discovered a leak above the bunk over the cab on our 2017 37fs. ...

Exactly where did the leak show itself? Would be helpful so we can keep an eye out. I was inspecting my roof several weeks ago and I'm definitely not impressed with the DICOR job that seals the connection between the cap and the main cabin. I definitely plan to redo it with Etnabond over the winter.

[SJD]

After I have returned home, I have had the opportunity to examine the roof. I believe that I have found the source of the leak. There seems to be a crack in the center clearance light about a quarter of an inch wide on the base. I have an appointment Monday morning for assessment to satisfy Jayco for warranty repair. I hope to find out then if I am correct. Javamon, to answer your question, the leak showed itself directly under this clearance light where the ceiling meets the wall.

[xmtraveler]

I have a 2017 Redhawk and I can say with absolute certainty that the overhead lamps on the Redhawk are El cheapo type. Out of the 5 lights I had lenses (plastic) crack on 3 of them. Fortunately the sealant around the wire that comes out of overhead was sealed with some type of cement otherwise the roof would have been leaking like a sieve. I would suspect that is the very first place to look. I replaced each of the lenses with new ones and then caulk around the phillip mounting screw. Putting pressure on the screw with certainly crack the cheap lens. It is also possible as you state the overhead caulking may not be sealing but check the lamp lens. In addition to that the foam gasket underneath each lens was melted by summer temps allowing water to stand inside lens. It is beyond me why Jayco would use such a cheap lens made in China instead of using a nice lamp such as found on the big rigs (18 wheelers) made of glass with a very nice gasket material and sturdy.

[javamon]

Originally Posted by xmtraveler

I have a 2017 Redhawk and I can say with absolute certainty that the overhead lamps on the Redhawk are El cheapo type. Out of the 5 lights I had lenses (plastic) crack on 3 of them. Fortunately the sealant around the wire that comes out of overhead was sealed with some type of cement otherwise the roof would have been leaking like a sieve. I would suspect that is the very first place to look. I replaced each of the lenses with new ones and then caulk around the phillip mounting screw. Putting pressure on the screw with certainly crack the cheap lens. It is also possible as you state the overhead caulking may not be sealing but check the lamp lens. In addition to that the foam gasket underneath each lens was melted by summer temps allowing water to stand inside lens. It is beyond me why Jayco would use such a cheap lens made in China instead of using a nice lamp such as found on the big rigs (18 wheelers) made of glass with a very nice gasket material and sturdy.

Could you share what replacements you used and where you purchased them? I may just go ahead and replace mine now if they turn out to be real cheap like your originals. Thanks.

[29BHS ECO]

I found the old caulk ( '09 19H) around the lights to be a source of a leak into the cabin. I bought a spray can of FLEXSEAL clear, sprayed around all the lights, put the hose right to them, no leaks

[xmtraveler]

Did an earlier post on this subject. I would not have known the overhead lights were so flimsy except once coming back home on a trip I notice one of the lens had come off or blown off somewhere on the road. After going on the roof I noticed that three of the lens covering the lights were cracked and the foam gasket in all of them had melted from the heat but no leak. My solution: I was able to purchase the identical lamps (5) on a card from a Harbor Freight for less than $13. The dealer want more than that for one (1) The Harbor Freight lights are flimsy (China made) but cheap just like Jayco. I decided to take each lens and reinforce underneath the phillips screw holding the lamp on with an epoxy I think JM or JW from home depot. Thus when you turn the phillip screw to make it snug the lens will not crack. I replaced the foam gasket with a tiny bead of silicon and a tiny bead of silicon around the screw just to be sure the lens do not leak. When you purchase from Harbor Freight you get a complete set (5) lamps with gaskets, bulbs the entire thing for less than $13. What a deal. So far over the last 6 mo. and travels to the west from east coast to Yellowstone and other areas and having traveled thru some blinding rain storms no problem. My unit is still under warranty but decided I would take care of this problem to my satisfaction. Initially I thought of replacing with the better lamps but after finding Harbor Freight lamps for just $13 and getting 5 complete lights equivalent to Jayco and probably from the same Chinese factory I decided, why not use these.

[cschiller]

Found the same on ine when looking at the source of condensation. Sealed exactly as you did, but may replace next time.

[SJD]

The issue with replacing total fixture is that on my Seneca the bases are sealed & then painted over. So total replacement means that you would ruin the integrity of the paint.

[Joe1mc]

After reading about leaks over the bunk, I had the opportunity today to investigate what my seam looks like on the roof of my unit. There are some spider cracks in the paint over the seam. So, instead of using the divorce sealant I opted to use Flex Seal, I have used Flex Seal before on my slides with a 100 percent success rate. I’m glad I took this oppprtubity to investigate, thanks forum for keeping me on top things.

[che57vy]

My 2009 Greyhawk, I replaced all the running lights with LED fixtures just in time a few were starting to melt others deteriorated.