Water Leak

[Shakedown St.]

Originally Posted by pconroy

Have you been on the roof? Our cap essentially slips onto/over the front. When I went up on the roof, I was surprised to see how poor the caulk job was.


The rust stained water makes me think.
The water must have been standing there long enough for rust to develop.
I'm not sure what parts in the chain would be unpainted and metal?


There are high-tech moisture detectors.
Maybe if you let it dry out 100% - bake in the sun for days.
Then carefully, slowly apply water from the hose...
Wait for the leak, see if the detector can sense the path???


Pour green food coloring in the water before you pour it over a spot?
See if you get green water out???

Seal up the window completely, add water - see if it still leaks?

Run the jacks up to really exacerbate the tilt to the leak side.
You're sure its coming from inside? [ Our AC drains that way and would look like a leak. ]



For every leak you can see I figure there are 5 you cannot so I'm just resigned to caulking and Eternabond-taping every frickin' seam I can find.

I was going to say the same thing regarding AC draining. Our 31fs drains exactly where the OP is seeing water dripping.

[Bobby B]

OP. Let me know how you make out. I have a Greyhawk 29 MV, and just discovered the same leak. Passenger side bottom seam. There is a pinhole in the caulk with a drip. If I push up on the underside of the fiberglass cap, I can hear a squish and water drips out of the pinhole.

[tom463219]

Upload a photo of exactly where it's leaking out.

[Bobby B]

Hopefully this works. First time posting a picture.

[rndsommer40]

That is exactly what I have. I can't push on it to hear any water squishing around it's too stiff. I took the cushions out of the top bunk and saw the luan plywood in mine is stapled down all over and screwed down under the plastic trim. If I tear it up I'm afraid I'll make a mess. I was hoping that it was just laying up there and I could pull it away to see if I had standing water. I think I'm bringing it in to the dealer to look at it being I only have it 9 months. I did have my wife run the hose on the bunk windshield to see if anything obvious was coming in and I didn't see anything. Does your 29MV have the cab over bunk windshield? If it does maybe that is the weak point described in an earlier reply to my post. I really wish I didn't have that window up there but all the Entegras have them.

[rndsommer40]

You can see the discoloration where the water runs down. It comes right off with some starbrite cleaner but I want dealer to see it

[rndsommer40]

Pic is sideways couldn't rotate it.

[Bobby B]

I don't have the front window, I do have one on the driver's side. I got in touch with the dealer today, and as soon as this COVID-19 crap gets over with, its going back to the dealer so they can repair it.

[rndsommer40]

Same here it's going back. I just don't want them to silicone the hole up and say it's fixed. I try to do what I can myself but if I'm tearing out wood in the bunk to find a leak I should have bought a 10 year old used RV. I think my dealer is open during the apocalypse but it's a 3 hour ride for me. Let me know how you make out and what they find. I'll go the same. Good luck.

[Drv]

Try to comeback and let us know what your dealer finds. It may help others sort out a similar issue.

[jack4540]

Originally Posted by Drv

Yes, my leak was from the large front cap window. I have the Entegra Accolade which is the same as the Seneca. If your unit is under warranty and you have a dealer you trust, have them take a look if you can. Getting it to the dealer under warranty will document the issue permanently and Jayco will be helpful resolving if dealer can not.
Given the various stay at home orders etc.. and the serious problems water can cause, I took to resealing myself. It was not an easy or quick repair. The biggest challenge I had was my rig is very tall and the engine bay blocks easy access to the center portion of window, so positioning a ladder was interesting.
In regards to adhesive and seal. The window in my unit had two different types or ways it was sealed. The window itself is adhered to the fiberglass with the automotive adhesive polymer. The the gap between the fiberglass and window on the outside is then sealed with a polyurethane product like Sikka Flex. The Sikka Flex is the first line of defense against water intrusion. Mine had shrank and pulled away from fiberglass allowing water in. I do not know if the factory used Sikka Flex 221, they would only say that is what they would use to reseal it in service center. Theoretically. the adhesive poly that is used to attached glass should have stopped the water intrusion, it did not. It was not applied uniformly and multiple failure points existed in mine.
Realistically, to repair 100% properly the whole window should be removed. New Automotive adhesive with no gaps or failure points should be applied, window laid back in, then outer poly seal done.

If I have problems again, I will add it to the punch list that I will have the factory fix at a later date.

How did you clean around the window ? I have a 2020 Accolade that the front cab window had to be replaced the glass company the dealer took it to botched the job. Plan on sealing around the window with sikaflex 221 .

[Drv]

I used a Linoleum "hook" knife, a snap blade utility knife and some painter's tape to mask off area around window to protect paint.

If you are going to under take the task either have an well lit shop or know that rain is not in the forecast for a couple days. It took me most of the day to carefully remove the old "sikka" and clean around glass. I then came back the next day and re-sealed.

If you have access to scaffold of some sort to span over engine bay in order to work on window it will probably go much faster then using a padded ladder on the side of cap. Then moving ladder in between tire and bumper to the front of cap. Then repeating on the other side.

I started with and mainly used Linoleum knife to cut sealant away from glass and fiberglass. Be VERY CAREFUL to not pry against glass in any way. You will chip it if your lucky or crack it if your not. Its tempered and brittle. I pressed the knife and twisted it against glass towards the end of the removal phase when I was tired and very small chip occurred. I felt better when I saw the factory had covered a much larger chip with sealant then the one I made!

The snap away utility knife comes in handy when you need a longer but thinner blade to do more detail cleaning. If your lucky some of the old sealant will not have cured properly and will pull out in chunks. Make sure you get as much if not all of the old sealant out while leaving the automotive adhesive alone and intact.

Read the instructions carefully for the Sikka Flex product in regards to surface prep and tooling. It does not play nice with certain chemicals and cleaners. You may find the gap is so large that you will have to make two sealing "passes" spread out over a few days time. Again, read instructions on Sikka flex in regards to laying another layer over first cured layer.
Before I begin resealing, I again used painter's masking tape to mask off area on fiberglass and glass I didn't want the sealant to cover when I tooled the SikkaFlex. I then promptly pulled off the tapw around newly sealed area to avoid tape and sealant becoming one as the sealant cured. I came back with a flat painter's razor to knock off any ridges left.
My feeling is poor application of too much product causes improper curing and thus the shrinking and leaking we see from factory.
Hope this helps, it was not an easy or quick process but one I had to undertake given the amount of water running into the front cap via the window.

[jack4540]

Originally Posted by Drv

I used a Linoleum "hook" knife, a snap blade utility knife and some painter's tape to mask off area around window to protect paint.

If you are going to under take the task either have an well lit shop or know that rain is not in the forecast for a couple days. It took me most of the day to carefully remove the old "sikka" and clean around glass. I then came back the next day and re-sealed.

If you have access to scaffold of some sort to span over engine bay in order to work on window it will probably go much faster then using a padded ladder on the side of cap. Then moving ladder in between tire and bumper to the front of cap. Then repeating on the other side.

I started with and mainly used Linoleum knife to cut sealant away from glass and fiberglass. Be VERY CAREFUL to not pry against glass in any way. You will chip it if your lucky or crack it if your not. Its tempered and brittle. I pressed the knife and twisted it against glass towards the end of the removal phase when I was tired and very small chip occurred. I felt better when I saw the factory had covered a much larger chip with sealant then the one I made!

The snap away utility knife comes in handy when you need a longer but thinner blade to do more detail cleaning. If your lucky some of the old sealant will not have cured properly and will pull out in chunks. Make sure you get as much if not all of the old sealant out while leaving the automotive adhesive alone and intact.

Read the instructions carefully for the Sikka Flex product in regards to surface prep and tooling. It does not play nice with certain chemicals and cleaners. You may find the gap is so large that you will have to make two sealing "passes" spread out over a few days time. Again, read instructions on Sikka flex in regards to laying another layer over first cured layer.
Before I begin resealing, I again used painter's masking tape to mask off area on fiberglass and glass I didn't want the sealant to cover when I tooled the SikkaFlex. I then promptly pulled off the tapw around newly sealed area to avoid tape and sealant becoming one as the sealant cured. I came back with a flat painter's razor to knock off any ridges left.
My feeling is poor application of too much product causes improper curing and thus the shrinking and leaking we see from factory.
Hope this helps, it was not an easy or quick process but one I had to undertake given the amount of water running into the front cap via the window.

It looks like they did not put any sealants on the window , just used the adhesive . I'll have to cut a little section of adhesive down below the window edge. I have used sikaflex 1a before the 221 should be close to the same . Thanks for the help

[Bobby B]

Just wanted to update people on my situation. I took my Greyhawk back to the dealer Friday the 5th, and just got a call today. It has to go back to Jayco to get repaired. They found a " significant" water leak in the cabover coming from the window, and the fiberglass cap. I'm not a happy camper right now. The earliest that can come and get it is October. So Petes rv put a band aid on it for now, and said that I can use it till Jayco picks it up.

[rndsommer40]

I have an appointment June 28th to diagnose and fix a similar leak. Will post the outcome after its done.

[GABob]

Hopefully they can find and correct it with not too much effort. I have the same unit as you do. It will be 2 years next month, and so far not a whole lot to complain about. I actually like that big windshield as it provides great light during the day and my daughter uses it to stargaze at night.

[rndsommer40]

I really wish I didn't have that big window. Its just another weak point that will eventually leak. Looks nice but that's about it. I do like the RV but I've had to fix alot of quality control issues myself. I have a list for them on the 28th that I want them to fix besides the leak. Seems like a bunch of little things falling apart at the start of this season. I'm afraid to say what didn't break because then it will.

[Drv]

The Big front cap window was/is a conundrum for me. Without the window my wife would have said no to our Accolade and any other Super C for that matter. She is not a big fan of the small front windshield when riding in the "house" of the unit.
I searched and searched the inter web for 2 years looking for complaints on leaks on the Seneca/Accolade and the gas based siblings. My searches yielded no such complaints about leaks, so I thought maybe Jayco/Entegra actually figured out a way for theses things not to leak around cap windshield.
That appears not to be the case. I'm afraid there are more units that leak from these front cap windshields and people will not find out until its too late. Luckily ours leaked so bad that water was dripping into coach in multiple spots on our return trip from dealer pick up. It was very obvious. The silent, potentially non visible leaks others are having are slowly wreaking havoc on the top bunk area. My suggestion to anyone having a unit with a front cap window is to check externally for sealant pulling away from fiberglass cap or glass. Then check internally after a rain storm to see if water is dripping in.
Jayco/Entegra will take care of the issue and you as a customer if you are in warranty. The factory repair people are GREAT!! but you have to know about the potential issue and have it caught under warranty.
I should probably touch on the fact that I do think the engineers created a window that will not leak, but like many things RV related, the actual builders of the units rush to complete the job in front of them and take shortcuts, causing the voids in the adhesive poly I have. Poor prep/application caused the external sikka or sikka like sealant not to cure and seal properly.
Best of luck to those above still working to resolve your leaks. If you are headed to the factory feel secure in the fact they WILL resolve it and any other issues you present under warranty.

[rndsommer40]

Good to hear about the dealer fixing it under the warranty. Taking it in on June 29th under warranty. I assumed the build quality was lacking when I found the unopened bottle of beer in the couch slide.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by rndsommer40

Good to hear about the dealer fixing it under the warranty. Taking it in on June 29th under warranty. I assumed the build quality was lacking when I found the unopened bottle of beer in the couch slide.

That was a bonus! In reality, it could have been the transporter. What I was told my our Dealer, the transporter has access to the campers, and have permission to sleep in them during transport.