Community Forums

VanDiemen23 · 02-07-2016, 12:03 PM

Since I moved from the desert to this swamp called North Carolina I've been chasing leaks. I dug all of the old sealant out from the "bucket" that the girard awning is recessed into and re-sealed, including sealing the rivet heads and the flashing. However, after the last two week's torrential downpours I went out to check on the coach and found water getting in through the bolts that hold the awning to the side of the coach. Those bolts were a bit rusty but with cheap bolts it doesn't take much moisture to cause rust, and this coach sat for 11 years in Eureka, CA before I bought it.

Has anyone worked this problem before? Where does the leak path start and how does it get to the bolts? The awning itself retracts well, not to say that some water won't get inside the cover, but I wouldn't expect enough to get on bolt threads and leak - and I mean it's a pretty big leak.

I suspect that all of the bolted connections are leaking and running across various members in the walls, which is why some of the brown glue runs out on the outside of the coach every now and then.

RV Wizard · 02-08-2016, 05:42 AM

The proper way to fix these kind of leaks is to pull the assembly completely out, clean and seal with butyl tape on the back side and a premium sealant on exterior seams and fastener heads.

VanDiemen23 · 02-08-2016, 07:48 PM

oh that's gonna suck!

TQ60 · 02-10-2016, 08:02 AM

What he said...

Photos help.

Regarding bolts...Take a sample to a real hardware store or fastener distributor and get suitable stainless steel.

Box store stuff may be some brittle type that also will be very expensive as they sell those by bolt where distributor sells by pound or box and can insure good material.

Marine supply maybe too.

Eternabond may be a short term option or maybe lesser stuff that can be removed that could be taped over a rail to block water but as stated only temporary to REDUCE leaked until you can tear it down to fully repair.

If you see rusted fasteners then water is getting there and if like many other things the manufacturer likely used the finest hardware that very little money can buy and used almost enough of them to hold it but not enough to hold it well resulting in it being able to move a bit allowing water paths.

You may need to add additional fasteners but for that seek advise of manufacturer of awning as well as folks here that maintain them such as rv wizard.

VanDiemen23 · 02-11-2016, 05:14 PM

Well that's why I was trying to find the leak path. The awning sits in a "bucket' recessed in the side of the coach and hung on 3 brackets. The brackets are attached via those bolts. The awning is placed on the brackets inside the "bucket" and then the gaps are completely sealed with silicone.

When I dug the old stuff out there was mold on the back side of the silicone, but it was leaking and so that didn't strike me as odd. What strikes me as odd is COMPLETELY sealing the gaps with new silicone, and sealing the flashing with marine urethane, even the holes in the rivet heads, and its still leaking through the bolts. I rolled the awning out today and the canvas was dry. You'd think the canvas would be wet. You can't see the bolts or brackets when the awning is in place.

So I know the bolts are the end of the leak path, it's just not clear where the leak path starts. It is clear though that this is the source of the glue that's been coming out from under the sidewalls.

Actually, had they been stainless bolts I might not have noticed where the water was coming in!

Right now, I could maybe take each nut and washer off and use a hypodermic to inject sealant against the inside surface of the outside wall, and then use a thread sealant and put the washer and nut back on, but then if I got a leak it would go straight into the wall.

TQ60 · 02-11-2016, 09:07 PM

Photos will help.

If the bracket is mounted with bolts and bracket can be removed without using solvents to cut sealer then carefully pry one off.

The water path may be from bottom edge wicking up as wild does odd things.