My fiver developed a small water leak into the forward closet. This leak will probably be hard to find. This is a job for SealTech, a diagnostic test I had read about, which involves increasing air pressure inside the rig while swabbing the outside with a liquid that bubbles at leak sites?similar to finding a leak in a tire. I went online to the SealTech service locations site http://www.rvleaks.com/locations.htm The first service center I tried reported no leaks found on roof, one leak over a kitchen window at the rear of the rig. ?Roof membrane is thin?absorbing water rather than repelling.? The proposed solution was to remove the existing membrane and replace it with a new one. It would take 2 to 4 weeks to schedule the job and the rig would be in the shop for a week?at a cost of about $4,000! The four year old rig had a 12 year roof membrane warranty, so I sent photos and recommendations to the membrane manufacturer; the roof warranty manager said the conclusion and recommendation was nonsense, suggested that I try any other service center. I searched for and found another SealTech service center, Tacoma RV Center. Their SealTech technician found 8 leaks around the windows, 2 leaks on the upper front cap, and 14 leaks on the roof?recommended and performed a $600 roof seal using ?lap seal?. The leak was still present during the next rain. Without additional charge, Tacoma RV Center performed another SealTech test and sealed a few more leak sites near the leak?successful this time. They also corrected a Dometic refrigerator design failure; a thin plastic drain tube that became brittle and broke in less than 4 years. The refrigerator had to be removed to replace the brittle tubing with tough flexible tubing similar to a water hose that looks like it will last forever. The two service managers I worked with were excellent, watching and listening carefully as I showed them the problems?then frequently supervising the repairs as they were being done. The waiting area has TV, freshly popped popcorn, vending machines, and comfortable chairs. I was very pleased with my entire experience at Tacoma RV.
5th Wheel Trailer
Posted: 2011-06-29 00:00:00
My fiver developed a small water leak into the forward closet. This leak will probably be hard to find. This is a job for SealTech, a diagnostic test I had read about, which involves increasing air pressure inside the rig while swabbing the outside with a liquid that bubbles at leak sites?similar to finding a leak in a tire. I went online to the SealTech service locations site http://www.rvleaks.com/locations.htm The first service center I tried reported no leaks found on roof, one leak over a kitchen window at the rear of the rig. ?Roof membrane is thin?absorbing water rather than repelling.? The proposed solution was to remove the existing membrane and replace it with a new one. It would take 2 to 4 weeks to schedule the job and the rig would be in the shop for a week?at a cost of about $4,000! The four year old rig had a 12 year roof membrane warranty, so I sent photos and recommendations to the membrane manufacturer; the roof warranty manager said the conclusion and recommendation was nonsense, suggested that I try any other service center. I searched for and found another SealTech service center, Tacoma RV Center. Their SealTech technician found 8 leaks around the windows, 2 leaks on the upper front cap, and 14 leaks on the roof?recommended and performed a $600 roof seal using ?lap seal?. The leak was still present during the next rain. Without additional charge, Tacoma RV Center performed another SealTech test and sealed a few more leak sites near the leak?successful this time. They also corrected a Dometic refrigerator design failure; a thin plastic drain tube that became brittle and broke in less than 4 years. The refrigerator had to be removed to replace the brittle tubing with tough flexible tubing similar to a water hose that looks like it will last forever. The two service managers I worked with were excellent, watching and listening carefully as I showed them the problems?then frequently supervising the repairs as they were being done. The waiting area has TV, freshly popped popcorn, vending machines, and comfortable chairs. I was very pleased with my entire experience at Tacoma RV.