Not just moisture but water?

[WarpathEngineering]

Here in Kentucky the weather is finally starting to turn for the better so I've started back on renovating my '99 Grandby. When I bought the camper back in October from a guy in Virginia I noticed a lot of moisture damage up front at the bed board. Thanks to Marty and Ben for all the advice up to this point! I also noticed when I picked it up that the front and rear hindged roof supports are delaminating and sagging to the point that they are not holding the roof up to the full height. Today brings a continuation or should I say an escalation of the same. When I got into the camper this morning after sitting around waiting for the snow and fridgid tempratures to subside I noticed water stains on the floor pack where the cabinets used to be. Water droplets had formed around the sideliner windows. When I raised the roof up, water ran out of the window openings, water filled the holes in the screening in some places and a layer of water was once again on the bed board. The front and rear folding supports where wet to the touch both in front and behind. Next came the headliner which was also wet, not damp to the touch. Since the headliner was incredibly dirty from the lack of care given in its previous life, I removed it to find a fair amount of mold covering 50% of the back of the headliner and the insulation that was so wet, some spots were still frozen in ice like a spounge! What is going on??????? By all appearances the roof is in dented but good shape. The screws are rusty but tight and need replacing before they stain (If buying new, I would pay extra for stainless steel hardware! hint hint). The underneath of the roof shows no sign of water staining but water droplets were present in places. The center roof seem appears to be tight from below and caulked from above. The side liner, apart from a few pin holes at folding areas is well attached and tight. All the different layers of the sideliner windows are present and apart form lying a little crooked when sealed up, fit good. When the top is down, with or without the clamps, I see no signs of a gap which would leave me to believe that rain water is blowing in under the flashing. My roof does have the four vents but from the inside it looks as if someone, I assume at the factory, filled the holes from the inside with expanding foam. Could this be the answer? Do you think that all this damage was caused by condensation? It seems a massive amount of water to me. And this doesn't bode well for the future either. Here in Kentucky, summer humidity can easily reach 75+% for weeks on end. I know that this sounds like a narrative but there is a question there somewhere. What do I do? Has anyone had this problem? How do I fix it? I'm at a loss!

 

[jimjxsn]

Living in Colorado, I don’t have a lot of experience with the kind of humidity your experience but I would start be trying to rule out leaking. Since you have it pulled apart, I think I would dry it out. Then put a sprinkler on top and sit inside with the roof down and see if water starts to come in.

I thought the vents were needed to help the roof pack dry out from condensation.

You definitely are going to get condensation on the inside of metal surfaces when there are temperature fluctuations. On mine, the snow on the roof turned to ice quickly, presumably as the camper warmed during the day.

You might also consider how it is stored. I bet it would stay dryer if stored open and protected from the elements. I know, I don’t have that option. Snow and ice buildup could sure start water flowing inside. With the snow we got here in Denver this winter, I was thinking that I might have a problem with snow on the roof for a month. I tried to keep it brushed off and didn’t seem to have a problem.

At the edge, my roof doesn’t seem to be a super tight seal when down so, I was thinking of getting a breathable cover to protect it from the elements. My 2000 Ranger originally came from the San Francisco area and shows signs of the higher humidity as well.

Good luck with your overhaul and keep us informed of what you discover!
Jim

 

[WarpathEngineering]

Yea, I would have thought that the vents would have been open too. I looked at it after I posted the last and I think what I'm seeing on the inside is where they drill the roof supports for the latteral bars. These holes aren't used so I guess they filled them. If they are meant to be filled, I wonder how the vents really work because the seal on top looks to be tight.

I'll try the sprinkler idea this week. I was going to use a hose but that has a tendency to drive the water in and not give you a good test.

I'm seriously thinking of using a ridgid insulation when I put the roof back together but I need Ben & Marty to weigh in on that one. I'm thinking that the ridgid insulation wouldn't soak up the condensation but may not let the roof breath like it should!

I don't have many options with storage. I have to choose between outside in the elements or outside in the elements. I have thought of a cover though but I don't think that would help with the condensation. Next year I think I'll just have to open it up during the winter when their not calling for snow.

The other thing I hadn't considered was ice dams. We had several severe ice storms here, one leaving about 1 1/2 inches of ice. The other thing was the snow would melt during the day but went into a deep freeze every night. Anthing that was snow the day before was now ice. At one time we had ice on our walk 3 inches thick. Salt and icemelt only made the problem worse.

 

[benburnett]

roof leak

It sounds like there is a leak somewhere in the roof. The vent holes should be open into the roof. If they are plugged with foam, someone put too much in the hole. We did put the foam in the tube though the vent hole but not to plug the hole. The foam was meant to plug the tube itself to prevent condensation from running into the front corners of the tube. The hole itself should be open to allow the condensation that will build in the roof to dissipate through the holes. For more information, feel free to give us a call anytime and we can go over it with you.
800-446-1003