Thor Forums

[Judge]

First..... roof vents, A/C units and anything else mounted on or into the roof should be and need to be waterproof. If you are getting water in around the vent when the vent hatch is closed, it is a problem and could be serious.

Here is the way it works.....

A hole is cut into the roof for the vent. The vent components are installed and then Dicor sealant is put around the vent mounting point and the roof membrane (see the picture below) to seal the area and make it water proof. The vent cover does not seal around the base. It mounts to the vent housing and just allows the vent hatch to be open in the rain.

RV roofs need to be inspected periodically (once or twice a year depending on climate) and the Dicor sealant checked for shrinking, cracking or peeling that could allow for water intrusion. You then clean suspect areas and add Dicor to maintain the sealing.

I do not use this approach.... when I buy a coach I clean the roof and the Dicor and then apply EternaBond tape on top of the Dicor and every seam, joint or moutning point on the roof. I make sure the EternaBond tape overlaps the Dicor with the roof membrane..... and the side of a vent (for example).

I never have to worry about regular roof maintenance after sealing everything with Eternabond..... other than cleaning the roof once a year.

If your vent hatch is closed and you get water in the coach from around the vent, then the Dicor is bad and not sealing properly. This means you now have water getting under the roof membrane and into the wood. If this is occuring regularly and the wood cannot dry out, it will rot and you will have bigger problems.

Now it could be as simple as you did not have the vent hatch completely closed and the wind and rain were heavy enough that it just got under the vent hatch. There could also be a crack in the vent hatch plastic but that should be visible from inside the coach. But if you are sure the vent hatch was completely closed and water is getting in during heavy rain and wind, you probably have a sealing problem.

You need to get on the roof and inspect it to see what is going on. At the very least you need to be adding some new Dicor or removing bad Dicor and puttng down a fresh coat. If you don't know what you are doing or what to look for, you may want to have the roof inspected by an RV expert to make sure you don't have any roof damage developing.

Regardless..... your coach is 4 years old and you don't know how well it was maintained before you bought it. You live in Mass. so your coach goes through freeze - thaw cycles. You need to be inspecting your roof twice a year and doing Dicor maintenance... unless you go the EternaBond tape route like I do.