Is it time to punt?

[GLE2]

Just wondering what some of you might do in our situation. We really like our motorhome except for one major problem; a persistent leaking roof. In January 2011 we bought a new 2010 Jayco Insignia 40 CKFL class A diesel pusher. We believe it might have been on its way to be a Travel Surpreme Coach when Jayco bought them out and now go by Entegra Coach (EC). Our coach is actually labeled 'Insignia by Jayco' which creates lots of questions when we travel and is a great icebreaker. In December 2011 while traveling in the rain our roof leaked in several places. We took it to the service department at our dealership for repairs. The next rain it leaked again. Back to our service department and still leaked. On the third visit they discovered some defect with face cap radius where it meets roof. They wanted to put a new roof on but EC felt it was probably to complicated for the dealership and wanted it back at their facility for repair. EC arranged transportation from Florida to Indiana. We went up and drove it home without any problems, but didn't encounter any rain. The next rain the leaks continued. We noticed a pattern developing, the repairs would help temporarily until the coach was driven. It went back to EC a second time and the same outcome. EC sent mobile tech to our home and the repair would help until the first rain after we drove coach. Back to EC a third time and they put on a new roof. We got it back and leaking still continued. EC sent their mobile tech out to our home and more repairs were made. The tech and I were unable to make it leak using water hoses and sprinklers, so we felt pretty good about repair. A month later on a trip we got caught in a storm and leaking continued. There no rhyme or reason with leak locations sometimes in front, middle, back, right, left, light fixtures, speaker, wall outlet, skylight, vents or a/c's. To look at the roof and seals they look solid. No obvious voids or cracks. Sometimes it helps if I keep the coach drastically tilted to driver's rear. We are scheduled for another repair at Lazydays RV in Tampa, Florida at the end of the month. Anybody been there before I read mixed reviews, but we don't know where else to go. We have been diligent to keep up with our coach service and maintenance schedules, but we just can't figure out how or where water is getting through. I'm looking into having a company that does water restoration do evaluation for moisture damage. When it not raining our coach is great. We have not had any mechanical problems. Drives and handles great. My wife likes to drive it. We have the XCR Freightliner Custom Chassis, Cummins ISC 360 8.3L Turbocharged Diesel with Allison 3000 Transmission. We been coast to coast pulling wife's 2013 Honda CRV and averaged 10 MPG. I been told that pretty good by few people. Anyways, any helpful thoughts would be appreciated. God Bless, be safe out there. GLE

[dons2346]

You need to have a pro take a look at it. Watch this uTube to see the process of finding leaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDKaBEcMLQA

Lots of repair places use the SealTech Manufacturing USA | Industry Standard for RV Leak Detection system so find one and let them do the repair

[Deny]

Apparently, the manufacturer is still trying-but failing-. You might want to have them replace the coach-work your best deal & go for it.

If that won't work, get legal counsel & get satisfaction. All your money or some money back-

Anything you hire done (yourself) will cost you & void any obligation they have to you.

If you were out of warranty- I bet those spray on bedliner people could put you on a skin over the roof_The whole Roof-

Good Luck

[Gordon Dewald]

It has to be confusing and frustrating. Good thing is the manufacturer support.

Sometimes if the frustration is too high it may be worth moving on. But I would stick with the brand as they have stuck with you. Good support is priceless.

[99phantoms]

Anyone tried the RV Armor Roofing System?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vJb528pRNY

They say it's warranted against roof water leaks for the life of the RV.

[gemert]

I also recommend sealtech. It should find your leak. I this is going to sound obvious but have you looked at the running lights? I have had 2 RVs. A 5er that I owned for 15 years and now the Beaver. Both have had leaky running lights. Water sometimes shows up inside your coach 20 ft or more from where it got in at. I know obvious place to look that I'm sure you have looked but...?

[TomandGloria]

Agree with Seal Tech. I had that and they found my leak and repaired my leak. Would recommend you have that done and see where the intrusion is and they will be able to fix it.

[GLE2]

Found a company in Florida not to far for where I live. 'Never Leak RV Roofing' @ nvrlkrvroofing.net specializing in seamless roof installation.
Anybody know someone who used their services. Good reviews on Facebook.

[slowmachine]

I'm wary of doing things that can't be undone. I would rather be persistent at finding the source of the leak(s) and correcting them using the original design and materials. What you have now is a known quantity, and that probably has some value going forward.



Mike
2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40PBD
Freghtliner XC, CAT 3126B

[hal1phx]

I haven't seen any comments re slide tops and/or seals .... ???
Gotta be frustrating .... hope you get it resolved soon.

[Smitty77]

A couple of thoughts, and info sharing too!

1) Seal Tech can work for many. It did not help find our leak, which was three years of work to discover. (Windshield replaced, and it looks like the gasket was not properly set to the glass along one stretch of the top. Water would only drip over the dash area, but would come from multiple areas.) We suspect the Seal Tech put enough positive pressure on the windscreen, to form a tight enough seal to not detect the leak.

2) By now, I'd be real concerned about other damage material, wood rot, and possible mold.

3) Very positive that the company is working with you.

I'd suggest you keep working with the company, and ask them what they feel they should to help make you whole. If this was a 'turnover' coach, started under Travel Supreme, but completed as you mentioned as an Jayco - it's a hard spot for them to be in. Thins happen, and so far, Jayco EC has been working real hard to grow a reputation of having a superior coach.

Ask them to make the next suggestions on moving forward. Work your way up to the Customer Support Management level that has the authority to pull a solution together for you. I'd personally hold off on legal at this time. Jayco EC is working with you, so keep this open dialog going. You've mentioned your usage, so be realistic on being reasonable.

But one way or another, it's time to either run this one into a score (long term solution for this specific coach) - or - time to punt, and hopefully work with Jayco EC on moving into a different rig, at a fair and equitable cost.

Best of luck to you,
Smitty

[lanerd]

I've heard of sealing the door, windows, and other items and then filling the coach with some colored odorless smoke and then putting in a positive pressure. This, I assume, will tell you where the leak is by the smoke coming out.

Not sure if this is factual or not, nor do I know of anyone who have had it done, nor any company that does it.

Might want to google it or do a search here on irv2.

Good luck

Ron

[Possum]

We had a persistent leak in a friends motorhome we were trying to locate. Last resort time was pulling the clearance lights and resealing them. No more leaky roof problems.

[GLE2]

Thanks, yea we did that too, in fact, we also sealed all the clearance lights from the inside when the ceiling panels were down. If I ever need to change one, I'll half to cut it out.