Re: [VAC] Leaks,,,, :(

[Deena P Marshall <dpmarshall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tim and Cindy,

We had the same problem with our Safari - I spent a couple of weeks
sealing seams and even then, I found another leak just recently.
(There's been so little rain here in Dallas that it's really been hard
to tell how good of a job I've done. Spraying it with the hose is not
the same thing). Leaking is a very common problem and I'm sure lots of
folks will share their experiences with you.

I used a putty knife to scrape the seams - although there really wasn't
anything there to scrape and then swabbed the seams with alcohol. I used
Vulkem to caulk - I would off-load it into a large plastic hypodermic
needle. It was the only way I could get the caulk right into the seam
and still look neat. I used a regular big bead of caulk around the vent
pipes, the roof vents, the top of the door and all the windows. (On the
vent pipes, I removed the caps, put waterproof foam on the bottom of the
cap, re-attached the cap and then caulked around it).  I may be leaving
something out here, but the basic message is everything has to be
caulked. I continued to have a leak by the door until I removed the old
weather stripping (which involved heavy duty adhesive remover) and
replaced it with new stuff (exact match with the old).

I'm probably making this sound worse than it is - it's kind of messy and
tedious and if you have a good airstream dealer around, it might not
cost that much to have someone else do it. It is amazing how water will
find a way - it will come in through pinprick size holes in caulk.

I'm happy to share the specifics my caulking adventures with you if you
have any questions.

Deena
62 Safari