14' Series Water ingress, front bed end. 14.44-4

[Prydey]

Opened up the bed end last week and discovered this. This is the roof of the canvas bed end,having just folded it out but not yet put the internal support pile in.

Some water pooling on the top of the bed end. Only saw it once I'd folded it out but it clearly got there whilst packed up.

Van hasn't been used for some time (about 9 months) and so there was no witness marks in any of the dust around the top hinge.

I mopped it up. Had some heavy rain in the following days. Checked it again on Thursday and it was still dry, so I thought perhaps it was just a heavy build up of condensation.

Travelled to Naracoorte on Friday, from Adelaide and had some heavy rain during the drive. Opened it up once we arrived at camp and found puddles of water again.

Hard to determine if the hinge is leaking as the van was all wet from the rain.

Checked it again the next morning and there was evidence of condensation under the hardlid and more pools of water on the roof of the canvas, having rained off and on during the night, but still no concrete evidence that the hinge is leaking.

No water is getting to the inside though.

Not sure if I have 2 separate issues or one cause. Water getting in when packed up, and water getting on the roof of the canvas when opened.

 

[Hylux]

Ironic i now have the same, never done it before. Last 2 months opened it twice and a good litre or 2. Its not getting inside,just sitting on the fold of the roof. The end top cnr rubbers are a little old but i also think its the seal where the hinge attachs to the van. Using the van in back yard at the moment as have all the family down for the weekend so when they go was going to run a bead of silicon across the hinge and see if that stops it. If so will fully remove and seal properly. Let me know what you find

 

[Drover]

Is the hinge a sail trak set up or a piano hinge, my rear ones I seem to recall was a sail trak set up, anyway I removed, resealed and used better screws as well..... I also ran a bead of silastic from end of hinge joint like a gutter on wall so water would flow away from the bed end cavity............

Might some ideas here as well.............https://expandasdownunder.com/threads/water-leak-from-middle-of-hard-lid-hinge.2735/page-2

 

[MDS69]

My 14.44-4 does it as well. haven’t got around to fixing it but suspect the hinge.

 

[Prydey]

Travelled down to Naracoorte for the weekend and got smashed by some pretty heavy rain on the way down. When unpacking, there was water pooled in on top of the canvas roof again but no obvious trails. Wasn't a lot and mopped it up with a cloth.

Had rain during the first night and got quite a lot of water pooling on the roof in each corner, but I think this may just be from the rain and wind. We don't have storm covers, just the shadecloth style privacy screens, so I don't think it was related to leaking somewhere.

Back home now and it was all dry but did have some showers go over this morning, one quite heavy, so thought I'd have a look and take some pics.









So no sign of any water getting in except for the top left corner. Perhaps those corner bits of foam need replacing.

Are these just pieces of appropriate foam glue on or are they actual moulded pieces that should be sourced from jayco?

 

[Drover]

That foam is just bog standard door seal, I do recall my 14.44 would get a bit of water trying to pool on the canvas when opened, I found it was sort of running in from the corners of the hard top, once I ran a bead of silastic from the edge of the lid gutter section the water would then flow away from the edge..... I did remove the lid and do a full reseal which stopped any leaks when closed but that was a rear lid.. I found the privacy screen when fitted so it was reasonable taught kept water and hail away form the canvas, I also adjusted the frame so canvas didn't flop about, was firm so no way water would pool and I waterproofed it yearly... can't recall what I used back then but now for canvas, coats etc I use Bondall multi surface waterproofer works very well..... can get 3 driza bone coats done for $30.

 

[Prydey]

Checked again this morning after more rain and found a small amount of water had got in and pooled on the roof of the canvas. Again, no real trail as to how it got there. The very nature of how it sits when folded means there should be some evidence somewhere, given its the front that is at the top when folded.

All I can see is a few drops around the foam in the corners. From checking over the last few days I think it very much depends on the direction of the water as to whether it gets in or not. Probably why more gets in while travelling as water is being forced upwards.

I'll replace the foam and continue to monitor. I'm 99% sure the hinge isn't leaking.

 

[Prydey]

I couldn't source the right size foam locally from bunnings or Clark rubber.

I gave up on that idea and decided to run a rubber seal, the same as what runs around the 3 edges of the hard lid, across the top of the opening on the van, extending past the corner.

Not a great pic, but you get the idea


Had some heavy rain since doing that on Friday and it's been completely dry. Not sure why jayco wouldn't run some sort of seal like that from factory.

Comes in a 3m roll from bunnings for about $10. 20mm x 20mm D seal, self adhesive.

 

[Drover]

Trim shop is usually the best place or autobarn etc but so long as it fits and the lid shuts without stress, keep an eye on it after a few runs as movement may chew some sections..... I travel with a bit of that concrete expansion foam rubber strip, be amazed how handy it is, cut to shape peel the paper backing off and it sticks like the proverbial.