Window replacement going wrong... any tips or suggestions?

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smock75

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Nov 5, 2016
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Recently renovated an '98 Dutchman Electra. It had a lot of damage around the windows and so we had to replace the walls and re-seal the windows... 6 in total. With the crazy rainstorm the past week or two, the walls are showing water coming in from the bottom corners of nearly each of the windows.

We removed one of the windows between rainstorms and the inside of the window hole appeared to be dry. This thing has an aluminum frame so it could have just dried and we couldn't tell.

Anyway, during the renovation we used two different materials on the windows: butyl tape and closed-foam gaskets (the kind you get from Home Depot/Lowes). It didn't matter what kind of seal was used, practically every window had some form of leakage. The worst was the front window (the one on the incline toward the hitch). Even after covering it with a tarp it still managed to leak...

One thing I didn't do with all of this was to re-seal the screws for the front window hinge... I just don't see how that'd cause this much water to get in. The rest of the fixes on the roof have held good (I used Lap sealant up there).

Anyway, should that closed foam gaskets be doing this? I used ones that were .75" wide and I'm thinking now that perhaps part of my issue was that maybe I didn't put enough butyl tape to account for the ridges/valleys in the siding.

Any hints? Is this something that happens a lot? What else can I try/look for? Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.
 
first thing it there is a slot cut out of the bottom of the window, this should not be sealed closed, its a drain, be sure you didnt put and windows in upside down.
Even though you used butyl tape you should have used a nice bead of high grade clear silicone on the top and both sides, you can do the bottom but be sure to leave a small space on each side of the bottom (about 1") so any water / moisture has somewhere to go.
On another note, not a big fan of butyl tape, I use silicone even on metal roof installs, I know its sealed 100% where with the tape its a huge guessing game.
 
Think twice about using silicon. Nothing will stick to it not even more silicon. It is also extremely hard to remove once it's dried.

Tom
 
x2 on the Just Say NO to silicone thing....

my thought too was the leak may be coming from the window track.... with it either being unintentionally sealed, plugged with shipping materials, installed incorrectly or upside down, etc....
 
Yeah, the slots are definitely not closed?my main guess is perhaps I didn't use enough Butyl tape and there are some gaps left. What about lap sealant?would that be OK?
 
3M 5200 Marine Sealant.  It works great as a bedding and does not leak, can be cut off and adheres to most surfaces.  I have used it to bed Wood, Steel, Fiberglass to steel etc.
 
The sides of the trailer are corrugated (peaks and valleys)?  That does indeed take a lot of butyl sealant and a lot of care to seal the numerous gaps.  If the window frame is against the wavy sides rather than a flat surface, you may be more successful using a caulking gun than trying to fill gaps with tape. Use a butyl caulk product, e.g. the type used for sealing rain gutters of mobile home windows and doors.

Silicone can be used around the outer edges as a final touch-up seal once the window is installed. It's not a good choice for under the edges of the window frames, though. Stick with butyl caulk for that - it's the premier product for metal-to-metal seals that move around and expand & contract a lot.

I didn't think that closed foam was waterproof, but I've not researched that thoroughly.
 
not knocking anyones abilities, but is there a reason you would choose silicone sealant? or even latex caulk? im new to the rv thing and currently updating and some restoration to a 89 class c. ive been in the marine and powersports industry for many years, so my thought is, if you can find something that requires less maintenance down the road, id use it.  i found and currently using osi quad max sealant to seal the windows and some of the corner pieces around the rv. this stuff is not latex based, so it can be harder to work with, but it seems to me the application is a permanent one. i had to replace the cab over area due to leakage and didnt want to have the same issue in a few years. my thought is, those windows and that area in the front of the cab are in a hurricane every time you drive in the rain, so why not make sure its sealed with something durable.
i look forward to the response and maybe someone can enlighten me on this.
thanks!
 
I like using Dap Side Winder. It's an advanced polymer and has a little longer working time that some other brands. It cleans up with mineral spirits just like latex does with water.

Tom
 
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