Santino Dad,
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Water intrusion is very difficult to trace down. Standby for a fairly long post, but as brief as I can make it while making the important points.
Water intrusion? Been there done that twice-- first with our 99 WB Rialta and more recently with our 06 WB View 23H. Since we bought them both used at 13 years old each with about 75K miles, I was very meticulous when inspecting both vehicles inside and out. The most important things to us were a max two owner vehicle with a clear CARFAX and a complete maintenance records history. The other main interest was a weather-tight coach. We thought we had both but were surprised after a little ownership.... not with mechanical issues but water intrusion.
I only mention our Rialta because when I discovered water in the driver's side of the cab we took it to a local RV dealer and they tried to chase it down.... $400 later after a pressurized smoke test they threw their hands up in defeat. We took it to another big-box RV store and they did a "complete" roof reseal for $1000... still didn't fix it. They said the only other option was to consult an auto glass company since the leak might have been around the windshield somewhere. Turns out there was a pin-hole leak at the lower corner of the windshield which was resolved with a little rust converter in the lower frame corner and renewed mastic with the re-installation of the glass. Bottom line lesson learned: ~$2000 invested and problem eventually solved but water intrusion issues are vexing. Knowing what I do now and based on where the water intrusion manifested itself in the first place, I should have started with the windshield first. But where the water shows up can be far from the source of the leak.... Read on...
Fast forward to the summer of 2018. We bought our 06 View in the summer of 2017 and, again, no signs of water intrusion... no stains anywhere. Our View is not garaged or covered so is exposed to the elements. A few days after a tropical storm went through we moved the RV to the house to prep it for a trip and when I pulled it up on the curb a flood of water came down into the cab from behind the backup camera and along the A-pillar trim. At first I suspected a windshield leak again but there was no way it could have gotten water up where it came from.
A friend told me he had that problem in his pickup when the position lights on the front of the cab leaked. We removed all five and found that six screws had rusted away. Worse was that the fixtures were not well sealed and the holes for the wires were wide open. We sealed all that up (including the wire holes) with caulk (more on which one later) and replaced all screws with new stainless steel ones. Result? Some satisfaction but leak persisted... Argh! Water was still collecting in the fiberglass cabover cap after heavy rain and gushing out in the cab when we moved the vehicle.
While I was researching more possible issues I stumbled upon a forum post somewhere referring to a video by Lichtsinn Motors regarding roof cove maintenance. Here's a link:
I watched the whole video several times and it made a lot of sense. Of course our 06 View was well beyond the 10 year warranty but there was so much useful information in the video I was captured because it showed how water can intrude in one place and end up in another. If your cove sealant is compromised anywhere the water will travel down inside the cove and drain into the cabover cap (at least it did in ours).
Eventually I decided to tackle the cove maintenance regime and while up on the roof to do a complete roof reseal. It took my friend and I three 4-hour morning sessions here in Florida's summer to get the job done. ... and VOILA, problem solved! BTW, we do have a way to access the inside of the cabover cap to dry it out and ensure it would stay dry (I left a synthetic chamois in there as a tell tale) because I was concerned about mold.
So, If I were a betting man I'd wager you have a roof cove leak though I would not overlook the position lights or seals around any other seams or objects installed on the roof. Tips I would offer:
1. Remove all old caulk/sealant.... ALL!... and clean surfaces well with some sort of solvent designed for automotive paint prep. I would avoid any kind of thing like acetone that has any kind of slippery additive component.... the new sealant will likely not stick well, if at all..
2. Stay with sealants recommended/approved by Winnebago. From the video, I used Manus Bond 75-AM for the roof cove sealant. It is available widely on the internet. I bought three tubes and only used less than two for the roof cove seal job. It could also be used as a general purpose sealant when installing/reinstalling accessories like I did with the position lights on the front of the cabover cap and when I installed a venturi extractor over the black tank vent.
The other important subject which the Lichtsinn video addresses is self-leveling caulk. Some people swear by Dicor and I used it on our previous RV but after the caution in the video about mixing sealants-- no matter how well you clean the old sealant off-- we decided to use the Winnebago-recommended product, NuFlex 311. My friend and I removed ALL self-leveling caulk and meticulously cleaned all surfaces with automotive paint solvent cleaner.
While on the subject of self-leveling caulk, some people swear by Dicor and I had used some on my previous RV but as I said we decided to stay with Winnebago's recommended sealant/caulk to avoid any chances of the caulk not sticking well to the roof and accessory surfaces.
The video also mentioned butyl tape in response to a viewer's question. The most common one of these is Eternabond tape and comes in various widths. I used some on our previous coach but it is only suitable for straight flat seams as it does not lend itself well to curved applications. That said it may be suitable for your situation with the seam between the cabover cap and the fiberglass roof. It is only available in black and white plus you will see the tape once it is applied. This may be an issue for some who are concerned about the look of the coach roof. The same rules apply concerning prep of the surfaces. You will need some type of roller like that used for smoothing wallpaper seams. Take your time, roll it down well, and BEWARE, make sure it's where you want it because it is very sticky and a devil to remove if you make a mistake.
3. Never use a power washer nor allow any detailer to do it on your roof... the chances are they will cause compromises in your sealants. We had our 06 View professionally washed a little over a year ago. The tech used a proprietary cleaner with a pump garden sprayer then brushed it down with a soft brush on a pole. He then rinsed that off with clear water using a spray wand which didn't have any more pressure than that in the water hose. Worked great and no sealant problems after that.
4. The Litchtsinn video also showed some serious voids where the roof met the edge of the slideout awning... this is another place water can puddle and seep into the awning rail/gutter if the there is any compromise of the cove seal. We paid particular attention to this on our View and I also installed a rain shield which diverts water off the roof onto our Fiamma 45 awning. This helps keep some water out of the gutter and keeps it from flowing down the side of coach (black streaks?) whether the awing is deployed or not.
5. Your Winnebago one-piece fiberglass roof is warranted against manufacturer's defects for 10 years but it must be inspected every year. Your V/N is much newer than ours so probably has a few years left on that warranty. The inspection can be done DIY but must be documented. The mobile RV tech we use occasionally does a courtesy roof inspection whenever he comes over so I make sure he documents that even though our roof is well beyond the warranty period.
Conclusion: I'd wager that you have a roof cove seal leak and a cove seal reseal would likely solve the problem. If you've never had a complete inspection/reseal of your roof, I'd recommend it. A little work but cheap insurance especially if your coach is stored uncovered outdoors like ours in hot and/or dry environment.
I hope these ideas have helped. Good luck and let us know what you find. Thanks.
Paul and Chris Guzowski
06 View 23H in NW FL
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