Hatch Leaks

fpoole

fpoole

Junior Ranger
Donating Member
I'm noticing I'm getting water leaking into the top shelves in the kitchen area. Appears to be coming in from the top corners.

Before I try to dig into it extensively, all looks fine initially, just thought I'd check to avoid reinventing the wheel.

Water dripping in from the top corners with hatch closed, traveling in the rain. Also when opened with a canopy over it, maybe 6+inches forward of the hing.

Thoughts?? Thanks..

PS, believe I found the cause of leaking in the windows. The rubber seal would fold if I don't close the windows properly. Just slight 1 inch fold and needs to be pulled out flat and haven't had a problem since... knock on wood??

thanks.
 
I also had the hatch leak. It was more on the driver side than the passenger side. I took a good look at the seals and we noticed it needed a bit of caulking, which it turns out we used the wrong one (but it is working for now), so check on that. I also gave the gutters a good clean (we live on a gravel road and we have so much dust, pluse pine needles). One other thing we noticed is the hatch slides from side to side a bit (on the hinge), and that has made a difference. I get things lined up better now, and that helps too.
 
Cary vehemently denies that if my hatch is off center that it will cause leaking.

When the hatch is off center water leaks into the top shelves when the hatch is closed as well as open. Sometimes lots of it.

HOWEVER, when my hatch is centered with spacers on either side of the hinge to keep it centered, no water leaks onto the shelves or in the galley anywhere. None.

This is the way it has been for 3 years and 199 nights.

Hilditch
 
Hi Hilditch,

we are having trouble visualizing your spacers. We haven't had the issue yet but it would be great to see a picture if you have one. Thanks for the info.

--Stelena
 
Stelena, there is no way anybody could visualize what I did without seeing or hearing about it, and a pic won't help. There is a better way to do this than what I did but I'm waiting for it to be discovered and shared.

I took a rubber garden hose washer and cut it into thirds. I put one piece on each end of the hinge with the open side down and pushed them down. I then covered them with two small pieces of duct tape to hold them in place so you can't see the rubber pieces. A. It is really tacky. B. It looks like it would make it dam up and leak; but it dosen't. Instead it solved the problem on both sides. Go figure.

Hilditch
 
Hilditch said:
I took a rubber garden hose washer and cut it into thirds. I put one piece on each end of the hinge with the open side down and pushed them down. I then covered them with two small pieces of duct tape to hold them in place so you can't see the rubber pieces. A. It is really tacky. B. It looks like it would make it dam up and leak; but it dosen't. Instead it solved the problem on both sides. Go figure.

Hilditch
Click to expand...

Hilditch,

I read somewhere you were the "King of Duct Tape"... would it have been less tacky looking if you used silicone or an adhesive to secure the washers or wouldn't that have worked?
 
aj, you read wrong. This works. Start putting uck-n-yuck in the corners and you may very well divert the water the wrong way. Try it.

DSCN4925.jpg


Hilditch
 
Thanks Jenn, and the rest, will contact Craig for the right type of Chalk..
It hasn't done this before, so unless something was trowing the hatch off center, will stick with the chalking for now..

The "Pick_up briefing" could have been all day long and I still would have remembered only half of it.. heheh... Thank Gawd for the Forum..
thanks all.. will post results..
 
We used a bit of silicone, which is the wrong thing to use, as it doesn't adhere to the rubber. Mick put a bead of it so when the rubber is compressed, it squeezes against it, and it is holding right now. If we see things leaking, we will use the stuff recommended for rubber.
 
I think Cary used some Butyl caulk to fix our hatch seal at last years CICO. Still no leaks.
 
Cary also likes to use 'Sikaflex" caulking. If you see any gray caulking anywhere on your camper, it is Sikaflex. We had that leaking issue on our camper also and Cary was able to figure out how to fix it when we had our camper at the factory for some upgrades. I am not sure how he did it, I just know that it hasn't leaked from the corners of the hatch since. Maybe Cary will explain to us how he did it.
Charlie
 
Be careful not to make a mess with the Sikaflex. We use it sometimes to seal rooftop penetrations in the rain. It works good, but it has a habit of getting everywhere.
 
Evan,
It sure does have a habit of getting everywhere. I have used it as well at work, but I use NP-1 by Sonneborn most of the time.
Charlie
 
Cary recommended the SikaFlex Construction Sealant when I installed the Alcan cover this summer. It doesn't seem like it would be flexible enough for the hatch seals, but maybe one of the other Sika caulks would work for that. I'm sure Cary will help out once he sees the question here.
 
Ok, thanks all, I did send to note to them with this tread link.
If they don't post here I will just to clarify what is used and how to use it...
thanks..
 
Frank,

Seeing as Craig is the one who does all the warranty/repair work on the teardrops, he can tell you what you need to do.

I told him you were inquiring about a hatch leak, so he will post something later on this evening.

:cool:
 
We use Butyl caulk for sealing the end of the side hatch-gaskets near the hinge. We squirt a little into the end, and put a small blob on the end. When you push it on, push it tight to the hinge. Clean off some of the excess, but you need to leave a little behind for sealing. Make sure the caulk doesn't block the rain gutter area.

Sometimes you need to tighten the fit along the entire length. To do that, remove the entire gasket and pinch the gasket along the area that slides on to the aluminum rain gutter. Then re-install the gasket. The gasket should not need sealing along it's entire length.

To test the gasket and seal, OPEN the hatch and run a small stream of water onto the roof above the hinge. Increase the flow until it ALMOST starts to over-flow the gasket by the end of the hinge. It shouldn't leak unless the water over-flows the top of the gasket.

If it passes the "open test", close the hatch and test it closed. Again run a stream of water above the hinge so that it runs into the end of the hinge you are testing.

Before opening the hatch, shut off the water and let the water drain off for a couple minutes. If you open it too quickly, you may get a false leak from water that sneaks in when you open the hatch.

If it passes the test, close the hatch and try again with a spray pattern simulating a heavy rain. Don't blast the gasket directly with a strong stream. Normal driving and rain conditions will not create a blasting stream, so that is an unrealistic test. A good seal may still leak a little if you are washing the trailer with a pressure washer or spraying directly into the door or hatch sides. When we test, we spray water at the seal areas holding the sprayer about 2 feet away and spraying at about a 45 degree angle to the hatch or door. We spray from several different directions. (this simulates a strong blowing rain or rain while driving)

IF the hatch still leaks when closed, after re-sealing the gasket ends:
We have changed the way that we finish the hinge area of the hatch. I will try to post a few pictures showing the before and after of the modified area. Making the modification on older units that have developed a leak will usually fix the leak. If customers stop by the shop with their trailer, we will do the modification for them. Otherwise, I will create a set of instructions in case you want to try the modification yourself.

The modification takes a little time and patience but only requires a small file, so it should be within the ability of most people.
 
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