Repairing the cut corners

[DaveC1980]

Fixed a couple more issues on our 2021 Thor over the weekend, maybe this will help someone else out.

The overhead had started creaking pretty badly while driving; I had read that Thor skimped out on securing the cab to the overhead and decided to check it out. That turned out to be true, tere were an insufficient amount of screws and they were not tight. Additionally the sealant they used had mostly pushed out of where it was supposed to be and was not really doing anything. I resealed and reinstalled the screws; adding probably a dozen more to ensure a good seal.

While doing that I was very disapointed to find that there was a good 8-10 inches on either side of the cab to body join that I could see through; no sealant had been used at all. This was at the bit where the roof of the cab got really close to the overhead and my guess is they weren't motivated to get an extension for the sealant gun to get into that area but I think it explains why we would occasionally get bugs flying into the cab while driving.

Finally, we were never happy with the fact that a wire harness was draped over the top of the water heater. Granted the water heater was wrapped in insulation but that setup bothered me. We ended up getting some cable straps and securing the wire harness away from the heater.

It is disapointing to be finding so many cut corners in a vehicle that wasn't exactly cheap but it is an enjoyable project to work on and a big learning experience.

Dave

 

[ericmac450]

Fixed a couple more issues on our 2021 Thor over the weekend, maybe this will help someone else out.

The overhead had started creaking pretty badly while driving; I had read that Thor skimped out on securing the cab to the overhead and decided to check it out. That turned out to be true, tere were an insufficient amount of screws and they were not tight. Additionally the sealant they used had mostly pushed out of where it was supposed to be and was not really doing anything. I resealed and reinstalled the screws; adding probably a dozen more to ensure a good seal.

While doing that I was very disapointed to find that there was a good 8-10 inches on either side of the cab to body join that I could see through; no sealant had been used at all. This was at the bit where the roof of the cab got really close to the overhead and my guess is they weren't motivated to get an extension for the sealant gun to get into that area but I think it explains why we would occasionally get bugs flying into the cab while driving.

Finally, we were never happy with the fact that a wire harness was draped over the top of the water heater. Granted the water heater was wrapped in insulation but that setup bothered me. We ended up getting some cable straps and securing the wire harness away from the heater.

It is disapointing to be finding so many cut corners in a vehicle that wasn't exactly cheap but it is an enjoyable project to work on and a big learning experience.

Dave

That's great you are getting it fixed up, what type of motorhome do you have? Also, do you have any pictures of the repair you did to the cab?

I'm guessing you have a Class C, I've also got a 2021 Class C and guess I should probably take a look at mine as well.

 

[RetiredTorng]

Fixed a couple more issues on our 2021 Thor over the weekend, maybe this will help someone else out.

The overhead had started creaking pretty badly while driving; I had read that Thor skimped out on securing the cab to the overhead and decided to check it out. That turned out to be true, tere were an insufficient amount of screws and they were not tight. Additionally the sealant they used had mostly pushed out of where it was supposed to be and was not really doing anything. I resealed and reinstalled the screws; adding probably a dozen more to ensure a good seal.

While doing that I was very disapointed to find that there was a good 8-10 inches on either side of the cab to body join that I could see through; no sealant had been used at all. This was at the bit where the roof of the cab got really close to the overhead and my guess is they weren't motivated to get an extension for the sealant gun to get into that area but I think it explains why we would occasionally get bugs flying into the cab while driving.

Finally, we were never happy with the fact that a wire harness was draped over the top of the water heater. Granted the water heater was wrapped in insulation but that setup bothered me. We ended up getting some cable straps and securing the wire harness away from the heater.

It is disapointing to be finding so many cut corners in a vehicle that wasn't exactly cheap but it is an enjoyable project to work on and a big learning experience.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Good to know. Now I need to pay attention to those areas. Would also like to see a picture of the areas you fixed.

 

[DaveC1980]

That's great you are getting it fixed up, what type of motorhome do you have? Also, do you have any pictures of the repair you did to the cab?

I'm guessing you have a Class C, I've also got a 2021 Class C and guess I should probably take a look at mine as well.

Completely forgot to mention the RV, it's a 2021 Thor Coleman.

I didn't take any pictures during the repair unfortunately, I was busy trying not to get sealant everywhere. In the attached photo along where the red line is is where there was no sealant. Looking at it from the outside there was a sealant line going from the bottom of the cab to the top that stopped past a certain point on the roofline.

I'll add some better pictures later.

Dave

 

[DaveC1980]

Slightly better photos, and ones that show I still need to touch up a couple spots. The sealant from the factory basically went up to the drip rail, the entire curve of the roof was bare. From the inside, with the roof liner out, I could see straight through to the outside.

I have some extension tips coming in so I can get closer and I'm going to finish off the bits I couldn't easily get to. As it sits now it's worlds better than it was.
Dave

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

WOW... I need to check ours! Was the headliner hard to remove from the inside? Any pics?

 

[DaveC1980]

WOW... I need to check ours! Was the headliner hard to remove from the inside? Any pics?

No pictures unfortunately, but it wasn't that hard. I removed the cushions in the overhead, removed the seal strip around the cutout (it was self tapped to the aluminum channel, removed the sun visors, and the sun visor clips, then was able to work the headliner loose pretty easily.

Dave

 

[PreCambrian]

I just got back today from a 10 week, 8000 mile trip and I was going to post about my overhead starting to creak a lot and if there is anything that could be done about it. I haven't seen a post on this previously, this is the first one. I didn't realize that you could actually get at the cab to overhead seal to work on it.

Yes pictures would have been great. Does anyone have any links to a video regarding this procedure? I would like to look at and perhaps repair mine since it sounds like a pack of angry birds squeaking.

Does this cab to overhead seal have an official name? I will use that to search for a YouTube video.

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

No pictures unfortunately, but it wasn't that hard. I removed the cushions in the overhead, removed the seal strip around the cutout (it was self tapped to the aluminum channel, removed the sun visors, and the sun visor clips, then was able to work the headliner loose pretty easily.

Dave

Mine looks pretty sound from what I can see from outside, but I see what you mean about needing an extension to reach!

I wonder if it could be sealed from the inside with Geocel ProFlex?

 

[DaveC1980]

I just got back today from a 10 week, 8000 mile trip and I was going to post about my overhead starting to creak a lot and if there is anything that could be done about it. I haven't seen a post on this previously, this is the first one. I didn't realize that you could actually get at the cab to overhead seal to work on it.

Yes pictures would have been great. Does anyone have any links to a video regarding this procedure? I would like to look at and perhaps repair mine since it sounds like a pack of angry birds squeaking.

Does this cab to overhead seal have an official name? I will use that to search for a YouTube video.

I did a quick search, this looks to be a decent video covering the area in question.

Ours looked a bit different but was essentially the same.

Dave

 

[tuchmybuttercups]

Slightly better photos, and ones that show I still need to touch up a couple spots. The sealant from the factory basically went up to the drip rail, the entire curve of the roof was bare. From the inside, with the roof liner out, I could see straight through to the outside.

I have some extension tips coming in so I can get closer and I'm going to finish off the bits I couldn't easily get to. As it sits now it's worlds better than it was.
Dave

I looked at mine today. I saw a seal there but not sealant. Is sealant supposed to be along that length? Are you the original owner? Curious if this was a previous owner hack job.

Also, I have a seal between the top of the cab and the bottom of the cap (see third image). I don't think I saw one on yours?

 

[DaveC1980]

I looked at mine today. I saw a seal there but not sealant. Is sealant supposed to be along that length? Are you the original owner? Curious if this was a previous owner hack job.

Also, I have a seal between the top of the cab and the bottom of the cap (see third image). I don't think I saw one on yours?

First owner of the rig, it was an older one but had been in possession of dealerships the entire time.
On the second photo yours shows sealant from the drip rail up the roofline. Mine had no sealant showing at all, it was completely bare.
In the third picture mine does have the seal. The issues I found with mine was that there was supposed to be sealant between that seal and the roof of the cab; mine did not look like it had been installed very well and it had oozed out of position.

I honestly didn't think there would be much interest in this fix, if I had I would have documented things a lot better.

Dave

 

[ericmac450]

First owner of the rig, it was an older one but had been in possession of dealerships the entire time.
On the second photo yours shows sealant from the drip rail up the roofline. Mine had no sealant showing at all, it was completely bare.
In the third picture mine does have the seal. The issues I found with mine was that there was supposed to be sealant between that seal and the roof of the cab; mine did not look like it had been installed very well and it had oozed out of position.

I honestly didn't think there would be much interest in this fix, if I had I would have documented things a lot better.

Dave

More pictures would have been nice, but sometimes just bringing to light what could be an issue is enough. Thanks for posting this, I'm going to check mine pretty good. I found a gap this weekend between the floor of my van and the floor of the house. It's large enough to let wind and sound in. I'm going to get that fixed and also check this spot you mentioned as well!

 

[PreCambrian]

I did a quick search, this looks to be a decent video covering the area in question.

Ours looked a bit different but was essentially the same.

Dave

I finally am getting around to working on this cab to overhead seal issue on my RV. (I was on jury duty for a month after getting back from my 10 week RV trip). Thank you for posting this video.

Thor sure could have designed this better. Using flanged sheet metal screws (or even just washers) would help. Also the typical stripped screw problem (which is the most common fault that I have found on my rig). They need to use their clutch when bedding screws and perhaps even use a different type of anchor (maybe an expanding anchor).

Hopefully I will be able to fix the issue.

 

[PreCambrian]

I am going to reopen this post. My cab overhead started squeaking badly. So with the post as an inspiration I took down the headliner. All the screws on the driver's side of the cab overhead seal were gone (two of them were in the headliner). See first image. My question is "Does anyone know how the rounded plywood is held in place? There is a structural aluminum member (probably a square tube but it could be an angle) going fore/aft on each side (which you can see in the first photo) and then there is another structural aluminum member going athwartships (which can be seen in the second photo). I really doubt that Thor spent the money to bend a structural aluminum tube to a curve to fit the cutout in the cab. My concern is if I anchor the cab to the plywood, it will just pull out. This is a really poor design.

I also have the problem where one can see out the side of cab (see third photo, daylight too left of plywood and right of rear of cab).

The fourth photo shows how the cab has pulled down from the overhead and the big gap. The wavy thing is the flange of the seal which is stapled to the plywood and below that is the lip of the seal which should touch the top of the cab to seal. They also used a little bit of caulking on the inside.

I don't know why they didn't use a rectangular cutout (instead of the rounded corners) which could have been anchored better to the aluminum structural members.

 

[ghnl]

Our prior MH was a 2004 Thor Chateau (since sold). I rebuilt the overcab section due to the side windows leaking. Here are some pictures I saved from that job.

Pic one shows the stripped down cabover.
Pic two shows the aluminum framework in the cabover sides. The outer skin is fiberglass, the inner skin is thin plywood (not at all water resistant). In between was foam insulation. The sandwich was glued together (sparingly). The round areas for the window openings was made with solid wood blocking cut to shape.
Pic three shows the aluminum framework for the cabover 'floor'. Again a sandwich of fiberglass, styrofoam & plywood glued (barely) together.
Pic four shows the recovered 'floor' & front panels.

I do recall the the aluminum frame work was not solidly welded - just tacked together at the intersections. The strength is from the sandwich of inner & outer skins and foam insulation all glued together. What I saw appeared to be a lacy pattern of glue (I assume sprayed on). A solid layer of glue would seem to be a stronger assembly.

 

[PreCambrian]

Our prior MH was a 2004 Thor Chateau (since sold). I rebuilt the overcab section due to the side windows leaking. Here are some pictures I saved from that job.

Pic three shows the aluminum framework for the cabover 'floor'. Again a sandwich of fiberglass, styrofoam & plywood glued (barely) together.
.

Thanks. This really helps. The rounded plywood in the corners in picture three are what I was concerned about. I will anchor to the plywood but I will put anchors into the aluminum frame at each side with stronger anchors.

You have a lot more guts than I do. Your work was open heart surgery compared to me doing a hangnail trimming.

 

[DaveC1980]

Well, those are pretty much the photos that I would have taken if I had thought of it. I had about as many screws as you were showing although at the time I did mine they were only a little loose and not as backed off as yours were. Your third picture with the daylight showing is actually a bit better than mine was, I had nothing there at all. I used silicone outdoor caulk on the seal and to fill the gaps although I did learn that there were some other type of sealants that could do a better job. I may eventually clean up the area and redo it but after about 2000 miles on some not great roads everything is holding up pretty well.

Also, the roof support that was somewhat neatly cut off in yours looked like it had been hacked off with a dull butter knife in mine. Not a critical thing but still...

edit: I didn't bother with the wood at all, I screwed into the metal channel. I did notice that the factory screws it came with were a tad too long and when fully screwed in pushed up slightly on the floow structure. I ground off a section of the self tapping part of the screws that were left to prevent that, the other screws I used were slightly shorter to start with.

One thing that helped me out a bit was I picked up some extension nozzles for the caulk that helped get into the tighter spots. https://www.amazon.com/Klos-Kaulk-E...-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Dave

I am going to reopen this post. My cab overhead started squeaking badly. So with the post as an inspiration I took down the headliner. All the screws on the driver's side of the cab overhead seal were gone (two of them were in the headliner). See first image. My question is "Does anyone know how the rounded plywood is held in place? There is a structural aluminum member (probably a square tube but it could be an angle) going fore/aft on each side (which you can see in the first photo) and then there is another structural aluminum member going athwartships (which can be seen in the second photo). I really doubt that Thor spent the money to bend a structural aluminum tube to a curve to fit the cutout in the cab. My concern is if I anchor the cab to the plywood, it will just pull out. This is a really poor design.

I also have the problem where one can see out the side of cab (see third photo, daylight too left of plywood and right of rear of cab).

The fourth photo shows how the cab has pulled down from the overhead and the big gap. The wavy thing is the flange of the seal which is stapled to the plywood and below that is the lip of the seal which should touch the top of the cab to seal. They also used a little bit of caulking on the inside.

I don't know why they didn't use a rectangular cutout (instead of the rounded corners) which could have been anchored better to the aluminum structural members.

 

[ghnl]

You have a lot more guts than I do.

If it's already broke I can't make it broker.

Here it is all back together.

 

[PreCambrian]

edit: I didn't bother with the wood at all, I screwed into the metal channel. I did notice that the factory screws it came with were a tad too long and when fully screwed in pushed up slightly on the floow structure. I ground off a section of the self tapping part of the screws that were left to prevent that, the other screws I used were slightly shorter to start with.

One thing that helped me out a bit was I picked up some extension nozzles for the caulk that helped get into the tighter spots. https://www.amazon.com/Klos-Kaulk-E...-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Dave

If I screw into the aluminum channel in the area past the rounded plywood corners, I think that the screws will be on the other side of the seal (shown in photo 4, lower right) installed by the factory.

My brother-in-law (wife's sister's husband) is a caulking contractor and he uses tygon or poly tubing to make caulking extensions as long as he needs (he suggested this to access the top center of the windshield from the outside). Of course it doesn't come to a point so it might not be as pretty. For shorter lengths the extension nozzles that you linked look great.