Leak around Heki, considering the nuclear option....?

Bucket

Bucket

Joined
Apr 20, 2012
Posts
526
Likes collected
1,186
Location
Bristol, UK
Funster No
20,656
MH
Chausson Allegro 83
Exp
since Feb 2012
Time to share my problem.
For a couple of years I have been trying to fix this pesky leak. Basically I get a wet stain emanating from one corner of the roof light, towards the front drivers side where there's a natural slope.
I have tried everything including removing the Heki, treating what might have been micro cracks around the edge with Captain Tollys, sealing what might have been micro cracks in the nearby roof with gelcoat, then refitting with fresh sealant (Puraflex 40 as recommended). Still leaks.
Most recently I tried replacing all the rubber seals and adding a new fillet of seals all around the edge. Still leaks
Prior to my own efforts I paid someone over £700 who promised to fix it. He did a neat job of resealing the join between the cab and the hab sections but he went AWOL when I reported it didn't stop the leak.
I have been up on that roof countless times (on a ladder not literally standing up there). I am at a loss as to the issue or how to solve it since I cannot work out where the water is getting through.
I have found it helps to park with the rear a bit higher. I also have observed that the roof looks like it is marginally concave along that area, suggesting that the roof and/or the underside of the roof may have warped a little over time (It was built in 2007). It's possible that might lead to a slight puddling when it rains, which could then be seeping through?
If the latest theory is correct then the roof needs some more serious engineering to rectify the dip.
But of course it might not be that and doesn't explain where the water is getting in because the Heki (appears) to be watertight and the puddling isn't that deep anyway.
The roof timbers look to be still good, I make sure any ingress is allowed to dry and use a dehumidifier sometimes.
I promise you all I have spent many many hours looking and exploring where the water might get through, all to no avail.
So now I am consider one or both of the following:-
-Find a bodywork specialist (marine maybe?) who can strip off the outer roof and rebuild as new?
-Replace the Heki with a brand new one?

Has anyone else had a similar problem? Has anyone advice on how to find and commission the bodywork specialist?
If I replaced the Heki I can't seem to find one that has a crank to open and shut, they all now seem to just have a bar that you lever up and down. And of course experience to date is all that expence and trouble could still leave us with a damp ceiling.
 
BTW it's Chausson, we are very happy with it and hope to keep it until we or it finally expires.
 
We had a problem with our Rapido , same sort of thing it would pool on the roof , took it back to the dealer we bought it off but they couldn't get it to leak with a hosepipe.
Eventually removed the rooflight and resealed it with non setting mastic and sorted the problem.
 
KUSKUS said:
We had a problem with our Rapido , same sort of thing it would pool on the roof , took it back to the dealer we bought it off but they couldn't get it to leak with a hosepipe.
Eventually removed the rooflight and resealed it with non setting mastic and sorted the problem.
Click to expand...
Cor, I wish it was that easy. Tthere appears to be nothing wrong with the rooflight and a comprehensive overhaul and reseal didn't stop my leak. I do wonder if I should bite the bullet and just get a new one....?
 
Fitted a new Heki to the back of my Hymer using non setting mastic recently and I was a little bit concerned as I took out a remis rooflight that had seen better days and found holes but managed to seal it ok.
The non setting mastic is the best to use as it allows flex of the body , I have used Puraflex but only for sticking down solar panels.

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How deep is the water that pools?

We had a wind up heki and it leaked once but our van has a roof that causes a pool. It already had a broken internal part, so nothing that would cause, or assist a leak. I just threw money at it and fitted a new heki with a pop up version. Found it better designed and no leaks since. Still don’t understand where the water came from but I am happy it has never returned.
 
Bucket said:
Cor, I wish it was that easy. Tthere appears to be nothing wrong with the rooflight and a comprehensive overhaul and reseal didn't stop my leak. I do wonder if I should bite the bullet and just get a new one....?
Click to expand...
Kuskus may be available to sort it for you?:rolleyes:
 
try a leak detector dye in some water ( fluorescein, usually bright yellow) and see if it highlights where water getting in, you will be repairing it anyway and the stains will show the leak ( It does fade away in a few days) It will highlight any cracks or porous area
 
It depends how deep the pool of water is when we were in France we had a massive downpour never seen as much rain must have been an inch of water on the road so same on roof our rear roof light leaked but only because the water was so deep

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Landy Andy said:
How deep is the water that pools?

We had a wind up heki and it leaked once but our van has a roof that causes a pool. It already had a broken internal part, so nothing that would cause, or assist a leak. I just threw money at it and fitted a new heki with a pop up version. Found it better designed and no leaks since. Still don’t understand where the water came from but I am happy it has never returned.
Click to expand...
It's not particularly deep, I'd say about 1/4 inch max. Of course it could get a lot deeper during a downpour before it gets a chance to drain off?
It sounds like the pop-top version you fitted is all that's available now, I'm happy with the winding mechanism of our version but lets face it, if a new pop-top solved the problem it's money worth spending.
 
Bucket said:
It's not particularly deep, I'd say about 1/4 inch max. Of course it could get a lot deeper during a downpour before it gets a chance to drain off?
It sounds like the pop-top version you fitted is all that's available now, I'm happy with the winding mechanism of our version but lets face it, if a new pop-top solved the problem it's money worth spending.
Click to expand...
Yes. No one rates the wind up, which to be honest I prefer. Shopped around and there are some very differing prices. But there are different versions, at least three, as they have been updated, so won’t match what you are removing.
 
The Coops said:
try a leak detector dye in some water ( fluorescein, usually bright yellow) and see if it highlights where water getting in, you will be repairing it anyway and the stains will show the leak ( It does fade away in a few days) It will highlight any cracks or porous area
Click to expand...
Thats a sound idea. I've never used the stuff but understand the principle. What I am unsure about is how I will know where it's entering as the stain spreads from a known point inside and I can't see the actual ceiling as the rooflight is covering it? Do I just add small measures to tiny sections of the roof in turn?
 
I feel you pain as I have had leaks on both my large and small heki. The small one I ended up buying a new one and reselling with Puraflex 40 and no more leak. The rear one however is a pain and still leaks. I have rebuilt the roof support, removed damaged timbers etc etc.
my next attempt is to strengthen the beams from side to side and ensure there is no dips. The reason is I believe the supports are flexing and breaking the seals. I have tried Sika, Puraflex and W4 and every time they have leaked. I also brought a new roof light too.
Worth seeing if you roof flexes much, you might find the seal has just broken due to flexing and then when the water pools it finds the slightest of gaps. Mine is a similar age, 2006 Bessie.
Good luck in your quest 👍
 
if theres no damage to the heki it just needs to be removed cleaned and rebedded on mastic tape its about 90 minutes work white spirit will clean off the old sealant

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DJL220 said:
I feel you pain as I have had leaks on both my large and small heki. The small one I ended up buying a new one and reselling with Puraflex 40 and no more leak. The rear one however is a pain and still leaks. I have rebuilt the roof support, removed damaged timbers etc etc.
my next attempt is to strengthen the beams from side to side and ensure there is no dips. The reason is I believe the supports are flexing and breaking the seals. I have tried Sika, Puraflex and W4 and every time they have leaked. I also brought a new roof light too.
Worth seeing if you roof flexes much, you might find the seal has just broken due to flexing and then when the water pools it finds the slightest of gaps. Mine is a similar age, 2006 Bessie.
Good luck in your quest 👍
Click to expand...
I thought there would be a few others in the same boat (no pun intended). I only recently removed and resealed (with Puraflex 40) so assumed that would remain firm for a while at least? There's hardly any flexing if I put weight on the roof, as far as I can judge.
It sounds that like me you try different solutions find that doesn't work so chew over the problem until you think of another one. :unsure:
 
Thats the idea. ask at a plumbers merchants for water leak detector dye. It will show up any cracks or pin holes or damage on the roof.
Bucket said:
Thats a sound idea. I've never used the stuff but understand the principle. What I am unsure about is how I will know where it's entering as the stain spreads from a known point inside and I can't see the actual ceiling as the rooflight is covering it? Do I just add small measures to tiny sections of the roof in turn?
Click to expand...
 
Just to point out, the source of leaks can be very misleading. I fought with water dripping in though a roof light on a PVC. Turns out it was the high level tail light letting water in, water was running along the underside roof and then dropping in to the hab when it reached the roof light hole.

Similar issue with my house. Keep getting damp spots on a section of sloping ceiling in a bedroom. That section of roof has been retiled, sealed and repointed several times over the years. Definite source could never be found. Then, a year ago, the same guy came back again to fix it. Found a leak in a corner gully over 4m away. It was running pretty much horizontally along a cross support through the roof before it soaked down the back of some boarding.
 
Feel for you, been chasing a very similar leak in the same place as the OP for a couple of years. The guys who do my servicing found a crack and it went off to a "specialist" for the roof to be reinforced and repaired. Didn't stop it. They've had the rooflight off twice to clean and reseal - the last time they said it was fixed as no matter what they did they couldn't see any more water ingress. Two weeks later whilst on tour............... yep, drip drip drip! We've checked and resealed every other potential source, seams, cable entries, even took the solar panel off which they said might have been the problem when they found the fitters had not used stainless screws and they were rusty. I'd rather, of course, the panel had been just stuck down, but what's done is done.
The stupid thing is, it only happens when the van is perfectly level; any kind of fore or aft slope and it's okay.
But anyway, just about to go off to Scotland earlier in the year and the van was parked (level) on the drive, ready to go. Bit of light rain overnight and, yep, drip drip! So stuck my head up through the skylight to find a small puddle right in the corner where it was leaking. Strong words were used but I found some silicon waterproof sealant and spread it copiously around the area and where the base of the skylight meets the roof. And it stopped leaking! However I did notice a small crack in the gel coat (which I also covered in sealant) so, fingers crossed I've found it. Certainly no more leaks even with storm force rain whilst we were away.
Told "my man" and he said next time it was in he'd have another go at it but meanwhile it's all dried out nicely, clear damp check and no apparent damage to the wood either.

Incidentally, my guy did say he'd found cracks in rooflights before - however he'd thoroughly checked mine and it was okay. Just an idea for others with similar problems.
 
Guigsy said:
Just to point out, the source of leaks can be very misleading. I fought with water dripping in though a roof light on a PVC. Turns out it was the high level tail light letting water in, water was running along the underside roof and then dropping in to the hab when it reached the roof light hole.

Similar issue with my house. Keep getting damp spots on a section of sloping ceiling in a bedroom. That section of roof has been retiled, sealed and repointed several times over the years. Definite source could never be found. Then, a year ago, the same guy came back again to fix it. Found a leak in a corner gully over 4m away. It was running pretty much horizontally along a cross support through the roof before it soaked down the back of some boarding.
Click to expand...
Funny you say that. I have just resealed the TV aerial spigot, it's further back from the Heki and upslope about 2m away. So we're curious to see if that might be at least a contributing factor.....
I agree leaks can be very deceptive, this one certainly is proving elusive.

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TerryL said:
Feel for you, been chasing a very similar leak in the same place as the OP for a couple of years. The guys who do my servicing found a crack and it went off to a "specialist" for the roof to be reinforced and repaired. Didn't stop it. They've had the rooflight off twice to clean and reseal - the last time they said it was fixed as no matter what they did they couldn't see any more water ingress. Two weeks later whilst on tour............... yep, drip drip drip! We've checked and resealed every other potential source, seams, cable entries, even took the solar panel off which they said might have been the problem when they found the fitters had not used stainless screws and they were rusty. I'd rather, of course, the panel had been just stuck down, but what's done is done.
The stupid thing is, it only happens when the van is perfectly level; any kind of fore or aft slope and it's okay.
But anyway, just about to go off to Scotland earlier in the year and the van was parked (level) on the drive, ready to go. Bit of light rain overnight and, yep, drip drip! So stuck my head up through the skylight to find a small puddle right in the corner where it was leaking. Strong words were used but I found some silicon waterproof sealant and spread it copiously around the area and where the base of the skylight meets the roof. And it stopped leaking! However I did notice a small crack in the gel coat (which I also covered in sealant) so, fingers crossed I've found it. Certainly no more leaks even with storm force rain whilst we were away.
Told "my man" and he said next time it was in he'd have another go at it but meanwhile it's all dried out nicely, clear damp check and no apparent damage to the wood either.

Incidentally, my guy did say he'd found cracks in rooflights before - however he'd thoroughly checked mine and it was okay. Just an idea for others with similar problems.
Click to expand...
Your experience sounds identical to ours, including the level trigger. Did you use sealant to try and combat the puddle or just shore up the barrier to prevent it getting through?
 
Bucket said:
Time to share my problem.
For a couple of years I have been trying to fix this pesky leak. Basically I get a wet stain emanating from one corner of the roof light, towards the front drivers side where there's a natural slope.
I have tried everything including removing the Heki, treating what might have been micro cracks around the edge with Captain Tollys, sealing what might have been micro cracks in the nearby roof with gelcoat, then refitting with fresh sealant (Puraflex 40 as recommended). Still leaks.
Most recently I tried replacing all the rubber seals and adding a new fillet of seals all around the edge. Still leaks
Prior to my own efforts I paid someone over £700 who promised to fix it. He did a neat job of resealing the join between the cab and the hab sections but he went AWOL when I reported it didn't stop the leak.
I have been up on that roof countless times (on a ladder not literally standing up there). I am at a loss as to the issue or how to solve it since I cannot work out where the water is getting through.
I have found it helps to park with the rear a bit higher. I also have observed that the roof looks like it is marginally concave along that area, suggesting that the roof and/or the underside of the roof may have warped a little over time (It was built in 2007). It's possible that might lead to a slight puddling when it rains, which could then be seeping through?
If the latest theory is correct then the roof needs some more serious engineering to rectify the dip.
But of course it might not be that and doesn't explain where the water is getting in because the Heki (appears) to be watertight and the puddling isn't that deep anyway.
The roof timbers look to be still good, I make sure any ingress is allowed to dry and use a dehumidifier sometimes.
I promise you all I have spent many many hours looking and exploring where the water might get through, all to no avail.
So now I am consider one or both of the following:-
-Find a bodywork specialist (marine maybe?) who can strip off the outer roof and rebuild as new?
-Replace the Heki with a brand new one?

Has anyone else had a similar problem? Has anyone advice on how to find and commission the bodywork specialist?
If I replaced the Heki I can't seem to find one that has a crank to open and shut, they all now seem to just have a bar that you lever up and down. And of course experience to date is all that expence and trouble could still leave us with a damp ceiling.
Click to expand...

I feel for you as the past few weeks I have been trying to trace an intermittent leak near my large skylight.

As it only did it when it was standing with its rear down, I cleaned up everything, resealed and waited for the next rain.
When it came, so did the leak? I tried everything where the water was pooling on my Ducato's stupidly ridged roof with no success so finally investigated the sealant where it didn't pool and after removing all of that sealant, I found two obvious places, along the top of the sealant which looked a bit dodgy where water had been running off the step of the skylight housing and running between the plastic of the skylight and the sealant.

Renewed all the sealant and it has since rained without ingress so hoping, as it supposed to rain heavily over the next couple of days,
That it is all fixed??

PS. Have you tried putting good gaffer tape over all the joints/seals and if that works, removing them one by one? :unsure:

.
 
It may not be the Hekki that’s leaking. Assuming the van is a coachbuilt, it’s possible that the leak is somewhere else on the roof and the water is tracking underneath the fibreglass/ aluminium cladding and coming through to the underside of the Hekki, neatly bypassing all the seals around the roof light.
 
Garratt said:
It may not be the Hekki that’s leaking. Assuming the van is a coachbuilt, it’s possible that the leak is somewhere else on the roof and the water is tracking underneath the fibreglass/ aluminium cladding and coming through to the underside of the Hekki, neatly bypassing all the seals around the roof light.
Click to expand...
Yes that has recently occurred to us, and the notion reinforced by the post above from Guigsy.
As mentioned, just today I have reseated and sealed the aerial socket which has started to show stains, and had a damaged seal, would be wonderful if that fixed the bigger issue...
 
It is always recommended that all seals be inspected at least annually and where the look suspect reseal the entire area. A 2007 van, I would seal all the joints on the roof regardless of showing signs of deterioration

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TheBig1 said:
It is always recommended that all seals be inspected at least annually and where the look suspect reseal the entire area. A 2007 van, I would seal all the joints on the roof regardless of showing signs of deterioration
Click to expand...

That was the annoying thing, renewing ALL the sealant, on all the skylights (3) was a job scheduled for early next year!
Perhaps the van was just preparing/reminding me? :LOL:
 
TheBig1 said:
It is always recommended that all seals be inspected at least annually and where the look suspect reseal the entire area. A 2007 van, I would seal all the joints on the roof regardless of showing signs of deterioration
Click to expand...
Yeah, common sense really, and it's not as if I can't or won't, always happy to tinker around with the van and enjoy the satisfaction of making improvements. I was planning on resealing the bathroom and small fanlights next spring, They both look a bit suspect but so far haven't leaked. If there's a few dry days I will go for it. Cheers
 
Bucket said:
Your experience sounds identical to ours, including the level trigger. Did you use sealant to try and combat the puddle or just shore up the barrier to prevent it getting through?
Click to expand...
Really just to shore up the barrier until I can get it properly seen to. It was only ever meant to be temporary.

Garratt said:
It may not be the Hekki that’s leaking. Assuming the van is a coachbuilt, it’s possible that the leak is somewhere else on the roof and the water is tracking underneath the fibreglass/ aluminium cladding and coming through to the underside of the Hekki, neatly bypassing all the seals around the roof light.
Click to expand...
That's what I and my man thought, but he's now sealed up every possible thing it could be. Hopefully I found the culprit.
 
I have not read the other responses so may be repeating what others have said. The issue may be the release mould agent they spray on the Heki frame when making it. It leaves an invisible film that will not adhere to Sika Flex even when applying enough to cover the sealing surfaces. I had this problem and resolved it by using a bit of fine sand paper to clean both the motorhome roof contact area and the sealing face of the Heki. Then clean both surfaces with white spirit and allow to dry before applying Sika Flex. Job Done.

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