June 2018 trip problems

[Jollyrogers]

So had our 2015 Hawk off the Ram 2500 since our last trip in October. We had a trip planned for this June, and to be honest I didn’t prepare. We loaded the weekend before the trip and did our tank clean and charging ritual. I failed to check some things but found others.

First problem, house batteries. I have 2x 12v Exides, and they were not managing more than one night on a full charge just running my fridge at 1.5 -2. I took them to batteries+ since they also listed some Duracell AGM series 24 as in stock. Batteries load tested @50%, but they didn’t have any decent AGM OR 6v batteries in stock. I spent all day locating something in stock I could use and ended up at a Bass Pro buying their branded $$$ marine AGMs :-(. But at least they are working and handling my fridge load for a few days. Seems my batts aren’t charging off my truck when running either, so I am having to run my genset (honda 1k) daily to top batts off when I don’t have another power source. Guess I get to troubleshoot that when I get home and thinking of dropping the truck hookup and adding solar.

Secondly, hot water tank won’t fire. Now I broke out the 1/4 bits and pulled it apart to clean. Nope. Cleaned the terminals and in fact the thermal was nasty. Nope. I pulled the meter out and checked for power when switched on by pulling the plug on the board. NOTHING? Back to the switch and find a terminal just hanging. Plugged back in and works great again. Check the switch if you never get a light at it... lesson learned.

Third and fourth problem: Man it’s been raining, and I’ve discovered leaks [emoji35]First my rear door window is leaking and it seems to be when I’m driving in the rain. I know I can probably pull the window frame, but it’s stupid square bit screws/bolts, and two I’m afraid to on the road cause I could make it worse. Anyone have this issue and fixed? I’d be interested in how. And finally (so far) we have discovered leaking in through the front marker lights. I don’t even use them and wish they weren’t there. I disconnected because the wiring created a problem were my trucks rear marker light was on all the time. And now I have a leak by my bed. Again worse if driving in the rain. So, best way for a temp fix??? and permanent? Again a little hesitant to break it apart on the road due to fear of worsening or breaking something, but looking for advice.

Hindsight after having camper for 5 years. Wish I had gone shell with heat/stove, rollover and called it a day. I could carry a powered cooler and water. All the amenities we have are nice, but totally unneeded, and don’t get used much if we go to a campground, which we usually do every 3rd day to shower and fill tank.

 

[kmcintyre]

Those rear windows can slip off their tabs inside the frame. It's a wierd design which you'll notice if you take it apart. Not too bad but I noticed it one day when it had slipped about 1" down and there was a large gap at the top of the glass and the frame. It could have just slipped off the tabs inside the frame (you have to unscrew the frame) or in my case, the plastic tabs actually broke. I flipped the frame 180 degrees to the tabs on the top are now the bottom (which keeps the glass from sliding down). I resealed everything and it's been working fine for many years and tens of thousands of miles on some rougher roads.

 

[kmcintyre]

I forgot to add, if you search around on this forum, there's a longer discussion of this window issue/fix.

 

[Jollyrogers]

Thanks guys for the replies. It’s kinda hard to search this forum on my phone with tapatalk due to the flood prevention. Anyways, we stopped at our uncles in Tennessee and we took a closer look. The rear window lower caulking is cracked and he has the square bits to pull the window and we are going to reseal it today. With his help hopefully we don’t drop the window. Gonna silicon the markers from the inside the cab over and on outside of lights for a temp fix until I get home. Will search again for the rear window fix and hopefully some pics so I know what to expect. Biggest fear is dropping the glass.

 

[patrkbukly]

Gonna silicon the markets from the inside the cab over and on outside of lights for a temp fix until I get home.

For the record I did this when mine began leaking and I consider it a permanent fix.

 

[Jollyrogers]

Did the door window and found the front center marker silicon broken up by the bed. Fixed the leaks I think!

 

[Jollyrogers]

 

[Jollyrogers]

Plus is Uncle had an extra square bit drive the exact size and gave it to me since the camper is full of them. I need to replace the ones around the roof due to corrosion. Recommendations on what to use and where to get them? FWC offered me some replacement, but they never followed through.