Hawk Leaks

[Scotten]

This summer I bought a well used 2001 Hawk. Been working on mods, i.e. to fit my truck and some interior mods I have now found out I have roof leaks. I was out of town in November and it rained quite a bit (Southern California) while I was gone. Stored outside with top down. When I raised the top I was surprised to see a lot of water pooling inside at the front passenger side at the upper bed.

I went ahead and cleaned all of the sealant at the exterior seal around the front area and on the side a bit. Today, more rain and still water inside. I was thinking of a few areas. One was the solar cable entry box or "gland". I removed it today and all was dry under the unit and it appeared the cables were not allowing water to enter. I re-sealed it and now am wondering where else it could be leaking from:


The 2" velcro is wet at the front corner from the side of the camper about 6-8 inches and then across the front maybe 18" on the passenger side. I have solar and I took the screws out that mount to the roof, squeezed some caulking in there and resealed. I also put caulking around the screws at the front of the rood (not all, just the front.


As stated above, I also removed previous loose caulking and replaced with Silaprene.

Any thoughts? I know water issues are the hardest to find. My camper is stored on a dolly I made and it's slanted a bit down hill so the water could travel but it seems I'd see evidence if it started toward the rear.

 

[Vic Harder]

Sorry to hear about the leaks, they are very hard to track down! Luckily, I’ve not had roof leaks. However, the windows…..

Don‘t discount the windows as a potential water intrusion point, even with the top down. Water can get onto the vinyl and through the Velcro, and thus inside.

 

[fish more]

Any water stains on headliner material? Water can leak at the screw down points on the roof skin. I had a small leak from a few, then I resealed all the roof screws.

 

[Scotten]

I had the water enter 2 times. Once with top down and the next storm I left it up. I finally realized (duh) that the water may leak down into a 1'x1" tube and then transfer down that tube till it exits. It could also just drip where it may exit from a screw hole, etc. This one is pretty specific to the front driver and especially passenger corner.

After looking at some other posts I went ahead and cleaned the top and removed the solar panel to work on the mounts there too. I found silicone under other sealants on the screw heads so i removed the screws and cleaned around each one. I think the silicone is not proper so I worked on each one to remove it and then resealed it with a screw, bonded neoprene washer and Silaprene sealant.

I also went around and dabbed Silaprene on all of the screws holding the top trim. I also cleaned and then added some sealant around the vent. I could see a little line that opened up if I put a little pressure on it so I sealed it.

We have a storm coming here this week. Another test. Hope I stay dry. If not I'm going to be pretty irritated. I had some pics but need to save the files smaller to add here. Will do when I have time.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Beach]

I had a leak at the same location but while driving in rain. The black rubber weather seal that wraps around the front and back a few feet on each side had collapsed from age. I installed a piece of small dia. vacuum line into the hollow of the weather seal to restore its shape. Have not had a problem since.