[NW_Freedom]

Geocell Proflex for vertical surfaces, Dicor for horizontal. Proflex is a pretty amazing product- it can be reapplied on top of itself- unlike silicone which most RV owners know to NEVER use.

So a bead of proflex between side trim piece and van with proflexand the decor for the roof rack holes?

 

[bchetelat]

Have any of you ever tried to remove those black plastic side panels permanently and patching the attachment holes from the factory? I'm thinking about doing that and then having Line-X coat that whole bottom section. Sorry, this might constitute a separate question/thread.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Maybe I'm a little untrained or whatever here, but two of these that have rear wheel well leaks look to be in a part of the van where water would have a place to escape. In the 2021 video when she points the camera down i feel like i see daylight and the under side of the outer panel trim. While a leak isn't ideal here, wouldn't it be preferable for it to escape that way versus being trapped in a body cavity? Just trying to learn a bit around this.

Edit: now that i think about it, this makes sense why i saw water dripping where it did on our passenger van. That spot is exactly where the rear A/C unit goes and when it ran I'd see water dripping there, as well as when it rained I saw it coming out from there.

 

[foxharp]

We discovered water was getting to the lower wall cavities of our 2016 high roof last fall. We use those cavities for storage, so letting the water keep flowing through to a drain hole wasn't really optimal. In addition, we have shelving in front of the walls, making it hard to get to all of the trim attachment pins, to seal them. But I could get to quite a few. I also sealed all of the possible leak points on the roof, since it was easy.

I used spray talc (jock itch powder, I think) on the walls, after sealing the obvious ones, and checked it after the next bit storm. It was clear that water was coming in from a couple more, so I sealed those as well. But since I could reach them all, and this was clearly going to be a game of whack-a-leak, I decided to seal on the outside.

So this spring, when the temperatures got better, I ran a bead of caulk between the body and the black panels, all along each side of the van. I remembered not to seal the gas filler door shut. ;-) I'll keep checking the cubbies, but I suspect we'll be good from now on. Even if the caulk seal opens up a bit, as long as its not everywhere, and as long as it's not the whole gap, water probably won't make it to the pins anymore.

The caulk used (both on the pins, and outside) was Sikaflex 221. That's "gray". Might use black if I had to do it again. But it'll get dirty, soon, and won't stand out so much. I'm sure someone else could have done a neater job, but the van is now old enough (6 years) that I'm starting to not obsess about keeping it pristine anymore.

paul

 

[otr2425]

We discovered water was getting to the lower wall cavities of our 2016 high roof last fall. We use those cavities for storage, so letting the water keep flowing through to a drain hole wasn't really optimal. In addition, we have shelving in front of the walls, making it hard to get to all of the trim attachment pins, to seal them. But I could get to quite a few. I also sealed all of the possible leak points on the roof, since it was easy.

I used spray talc (jock itch powder, I think) on the walls, after sealing the obvious ones, and checked it after the next bit storm. It was clear that water was coming in from a couple more, so I sealed those as well. But since I could reach them all, and this was clearly going to be a game of whack-a-leak, I decided to seal on the outside.

So this spring, when the temperatures got better, I ran a bead of caulk between the body and the black panels, all along each side of the van. I remembered not to seal the gas filler door shut. ;-) I'll keep checking the cubbies, but I suspect we'll be good from now on. Even if the caulk seal opens up a bit, as long as its not everywhere, and as long as it's not the whole gap, water probably won't make it to the pins anymore.
View attachment 171703 View attachment 171704

The caulk used (both on the pins, and outside) was Sikaflex 221. That's "gray". Might use black if I had to do it again. But it'll get dirty, soon, and won't stand out so much. I'm sure someone else could have done a neater job, but the van is now old enough (6 years) that I'm starting to not obsess about keeping it pristine anymore.

paul

Did you apply caulk on the outside trim along the top edge only or around the entire perimeter of the trim pieces?

thanks

 

[foxharp]

Top edge only. Since the cavities got water in them during a driving storm while parked in the driveway, I'm hopeful this will be enough. We'll see, though!

 

[Michael Ophus]

Maybe I'm a little untrained or whatever here, but two of these that have rear wheel well leaks look to be in a part of the van where water would have a place to escape. In the 2021 video when she points the camera down i feel like i see daylight and the under side of the outer panel trim. While a leak isn't ideal here, wouldn't it be preferable for it to escape that way versus being trapped in a body cavity? Just trying to learn a bit around this.

Edit: now that i think about it, this makes sense why i saw water dripping where it did on our passenger van. That spot is exactly where the rear A/C unit goes and when it ran I'd see water dripping there, as well as when it rained I saw it coming out from there.

Many people stuff their walls full of insulation when building a camper and the insulation gets wet and becomes moldy, Black mold makes many people sick.
Any drain holes that may be in the van soon get clogged up from dust and possibly insulation fibers, For the most part there does not seem to be any drain holes in a transit. Water in the doors causes power window and power lock problems all the time, There are service bulletins for this.
Read the past forum threads on water leaking, Many have photo's. They are full of unhappy people.
I tried for three months to stop the water leaking into mine before I finally gave up, I do not have any insulation inside my transit walls and any water in them will just evaporate in our hot southern sun.

 

[carbonized]

If the leak is between two metal parts get to your nearest auto body supply store or order on line a product called "seam sealer" It is what is used at the factory for that very purpose. Some spot or stitch welded flange are not fully waterproof so they slap that stuff all over to make it so.

 

[Vanaroo]

I got curious as to what automotive "seam sealer" is made of. There were a lot of different ones and they weren't super up front about what they actually were. I did see one that said it was a one-part polyurethane. That led me to the following:

3M has a specific automotive "seam sealer" which is called 3M Urethane Seam Sealer. This looks like what I might choose for this purpose. (Though I'd study some of the documents at the link below -- they look pertinent and specific to automotive uses.)

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40066999/

 

[PNW_Camper]

For a factory defect, I'd go to the dealer if not too inconvenient. Otherwise a Urethane sealer like the one noted above, or 3M window weld is a good bet.

For the body panels, I went with the approach of paint brushing a nice layer of Flex Seal on every clip from the inside. I did not want to remove the body panels, and likely risk breaking clips or it not fitting as tight when you put it back. Before I insulated walls and doors, I sealed them all up with 2 coats. Flex Seal