Door Window Leak

[longhorn1]

My rear door window also has been leaking. I picked up clear silicone for windows. When I pulled inside frame, I found a very poor sealant application that appears to have been also to adhere the glass. The door core of expanded polystyrene was wet in 2 locations and brown from dirt washing in. I cleaned the window, and tried to get a wet towel down to remove dirt without popping the glass. Once dry I applied silicone to my finger and applied the sealant along the bottom the glass which forced it up between the glass and outside plastic frame. I also added a lot of sealant at each bottom corner. Keeping my fingers crossed. That polystyrene will soak up water and add weight to the camper. Everyone might want to pull the inside frame. I noticed the leaks after driving on dusty roads and then the rain caused the dirt to wash down inside the door, leaving dark water stains on the inside of the door below the window. The bead of sealant applied by the door manufacturer was 1/8"+/-, barley enough to hold the window in place and almost impossible to make the window watertight. jd

 

[longhorn1]

Here is a photo of the finished job.

 

[kmcintyre]

This is a pretty common problem and think your "fix" will be good to go. I think from all the bumping around, the glass slides/breaks the tabs holding it up. I fixed mine a few years ago and it's still in place.

I think I may have put something (piece of wood) in there to prop/hold the window up but that's because my tabs had broken (and I think I flipped the frame.

 

[2thdr]

Thanks for the update. Disappointing! What year is your camper?

 

[kmcintyre]

Thanks for the update. Disappointing! What year is your camper?

Not sure if that was directed to me or the original poster but mines a 2002 (I think) but the frames on these windows doesn't appear to have changed much over the years.

 

[longhorn1]

2014 Grandby. I'm wondering whether the door comes to FWC finished or whether it is made by FWC. Either way the lack of a watertight seal leaves a lot to be desired of. jd

 

[Bombsight]

2014 Grandby. I'm wondering whether the door comes to FWC finished or whether it is made by FWC. Either way the lack of a watertight seal leaves a lot to be desired of. jd

Either way, if we're going to lift FWC to high levels throughout our conversations here, maybe FWC can follow up on needed change in this case. How many preventative measures will I have to do to keep my camper in good shape? Personally, if I owned FWC, I'd have someone glued to this forum ... and once a production problem (unknown of) arises, I would make sure not ONE SINGLE camper went out like that again.

Thanks for the heads up, Longhorn!

 

[longhorn1]

Bombsight, your welcome. The weather was great by the way in Galveston. jd

 

[Old Crow]

FYI-- on the question of whether FWC makes the door---

I don't have any inside knowledge of how FWC does things but I believe they buy doors as assemblies and use manufacturer instructions like these to install them into their (FWC's) rough opening on the camper.

I found the instructions on the Dexter Door website (here) and only went there to look because the door on my 01 Hawk was manufactured by their predecessor (Philips).

I don't know who manufactures the current doors but I assume that manufacturer also provides a warranty on the door assembly similar to Dexter's current 2-year warranty on defects in materials and workmanship (see the last part of the installation manual for details).