Leaking roof light rapido 9048df

[bnb080]

Yesterday I went to the storage compound to check on my motorhome as I hadn't been over for a month, anyway imagine my horror when I entered the van to find water dripping from the roof light the carpet was soaking wet aswell as the dogs bed. I decided to bring the van home to see what's going on. Anyway Mrs B put the carpet cleaner over the mat and managed to remove approx 2 litres of water. I closed the blind and that was absolutely soaking wet. We have just had a spell of lovely sunny weather. Imagine my surprise when after a night of heavy rain the van was bone dry. I am baffled the roof light was supposedly repaired by the dealer I bought it from although that took 3 attempts any ideas what could be going on.

 

[Northernraider]

You have a leaky skylight . Don't be fooled by a dry day . It most likely needs removed and resealed or the next heavy rain it will leak again

 

[Guigsy]

We had an annoying leak. Even small changes in level of the van would determine whether the water would come in.

 

[Just smiffy]

Yep, my guess is also van levelling… the only way to be sure is take the vent out, clean up and refit with new sealing, relatively easy to do..

 

[bnb080]

You have a leaky skylight . Don't be fooled by a dry day . It most likely needs removed and resealed or the next heavy rain it will leak again

The problem is it has been removed and resealed the last time was in March. Until now the van was dry. I've got it booked in but the earliest availability is 4 weeks off.

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[bnb080]

You have a leaky skylight . Don't be fooled by a dry day . It most likely needs removed and resealed or the next heavy rain it will leak again

The problem is it has been removed and resealed the last time was in March. Until now the van was dry. I've got it booked in but the earliest availability is 4 weeks off

Yep, my guess is also van levelling… the only way to be sure is take the vent out, clean up and refit with new sealing, relatively easy to do..

Funnily enough when I last put the van in storage I was moved onto another pitch so the level would be different but as I said previously the vent was taken out and resealed.

 

[Guigsy]

With our last panel van, water was dribbling down from the roof light on to the rear bed. Eventually I discovered it was leaking in though the high level brake light, seeping along the inside of the roof and entering the hab via the roof vent hole. Which is why level mattered so much. The source of leaks isn't always obvious.

 

[Just smiffy]

The problem is it has been removed and resealed the last time was in March. Until now the van was dry. I've got it booked in but the earliest availability is 4 weeks off

Funnily enough when I last put the van in storage I was moved onto another pitch so the level would be different but as I said previously the vent was taken out and resealed.

That’s the mistake you are making, getting a dealer to fix it…

 

[Larrynwin]

A perfectly flat roof when parked so it is perfectly horizontal can lead to pooling of water which will soon find a crack in the sealant.
I found that with my last Hymer which was some 12 years old where the sealant around the large roof vent had deteriorated with age and leaked but easily fixed. Perhaps time to check the one I have now
My previous RV roofs were convex side to side so we’re unlikely to suffer from the same problem.

 

[Northernraider]

The problem is it has been removed and resealed the last time was in March. Until now the van was dry. I've got it booked in but the earliest availability is 4 weeks off.

Have you been up a ladder and had a look yourself?

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[Northernraider]

The problem is it has been removed and resealed the last time was in March. Until now the van was dry. I've got it booked in but the earliest availability is 4 weeks off

Funnily enough when I last put the van in storage I was moved onto another pitch so the level would be different but as I said previously the vent was taken out and resealed.

It shouldn't matter how level it is if it's sealed properly. If it's a heki style vent there's a 25mm edge all the way around it ...water would never be deep enough on the roof to come over that ledge so it has to be coming in through the seal between vent and roof . Mastic on a roll is best for roofvents in my opinion but both surfaces need to be properly clean and then tightened down properly with the screws.

 

[Northernraider]

With our last panel van, water was dribbling down from the roof light on to the rear bed. Eventually I discovered it was leaking in though the high level brake light, seeping along the inside of the roof and entering the hab via the roof vent hole. Which is why level mattered so much. The source of leaks isn't always obvious.

Had it been a panel van I'd have suggested it might not be the vent but I'm sure that model motorhome has the non wood constructed foam filled so it shouldn't allow water to pass through it to travel. It's more than likely the dealer hasn't sealed it properly. Probably just added sealant round the outside.

 

[bnb080]

Have you been up a ladder and had a look yourself?

Unfortunately not just had surgery so no ladders for a few weeks. The motorhome repair place where I've booked it in next month are going to take a look next week to assess where it's coming from. I did check the repair back in March and it did appear to be well sealed.

 

[bnb080]

That’s the mistake you are making, getting a dealer to fix it…

It was still under warranty so seemed the sensible thing to do hopefully I will learn from mistakes

 

[Basa]

We had a leak on the Heiki roof light, when I looked there were several cracks in the plastic top moulding. When the engineer removed the old unit it had cracked completely in half!
had to buy a complete new roof unit as it was cheaper than buying just the top plastic moulding and taking into account the time it would take to change over all the parts. Crazy prices

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[Just smiffy]

It was still under warranty so seemed the sensible thing to do hopefully I will learn from mistakes

I said it in jest but there is truth in it…

I see your not able to get up there at the moment but if you can or know someone who is fairly diy confident it really is simple to take the unit out and clean off and reseal… it wouldn’t surprise me and others here that when it was “fixed “ before they just put some silicone around the edge…

 

[BARNEY 2019]

With our last panel van, water was dribbling down from the roof light on to the rear bed. Eventually I discovered it was leaking in though the high level brake light, seeping along the inside of the roof and entering the hab via the roof vent hole. Which is why level mattered so much. The source of leaks isn't always obvious.

Not just level but the wind if it's blowing a Gail well it will find a split ? Bad sealing joints

 

[bnb080]

I said it in jest but there is truth in it…

I see your not able to get up there at the moment but if you can or know someone who is fairly diy confident it really is simple to take the unit out and clean off and reseal… it wouldn’t surprise me and others here that when it was “fixed “ before they just put some silicone around the edge…

I said it in jest but there is truth in it…

I see your not able to get up there at the moment but if you can or know someone who is fairly diy confident it really is simple to take the unit out and clean off and reseal… it wouldn’t surprise me and others here that when it was “fixed “ before they just put some silicone around the edge…

I am a diy disaster zone and wouldn't really be confident taking it out. I have put ramps under the back wheels so hopefully rain will run off rather than puddle until it gets inspected by the repairer on Wednesday. It's all dry inside now but there is a slight smell I have the windows all slightly open at the moment and put a heater on for a couple of hours, would this help keep the smell at bay.

 

[Bucket]

I feel for you, as will others on here as this is far from a rare issue.
In fact I'm dealing with the same problem right now. I posted about it a few weeks ago, you might find some of that thread helpful....

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

I still haven't solved it and currently the MH is covered as I slowly dehumidify and possibly wait till the spring and good weather.
Having now discovered the leak from the TV aerial hole there's a possibility it's been coming from there and tracking towards the front. I'm not 100% convinced but still got to sort that anyway. My current plan is to dry and repair then refix the TV aerial (I have a new socket and mounting). Then see if that solves the matter. If not I'm willing to reseal the Heki one more time and if that fails invest in a new one.
It's a marathon not a sprint.
Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[Roger J Holman]

Sealing rooflights and vents is not a black art, although some people (dealers, etc.) can portray it as such. The basic problem is that, at manufacture, the builders simply add a strip of self adhesive 'sealant' to the bottom of the vent/window, and hold it in place with self tapping screws. Once a leak, however small has started, it will never be cured with a squirt of silicon around the outside. There is only one way to do the job; properly.

All the roof vents and windows I have ever encountered have been secured by self tapping screws. The first thing to do is to locate and remove them carefully. Then, using a narrow putty knife, or even better, two putty knives, carefully work around the base of the fitment, gently prising the fitment upwards. Care is necessary as plastic fitments on a van roof are invariably attacked by UV, and become brittle, and are liable to crack and split. Assuming all goes well and the fitment is removed in one piece, the mating surfaces need to be cleaned of old sealant; scraping gently will normally remove most of this, the final traces can nomally be removed with white spirit and copious amounts of paper towel, or the best pillow cases! Do not be tempted to use acetone unless you wish to remove the paintwrk as well!

Once clear of old sealant, reinstalation is perfectly straight forward, but use a tube of good quality silicon sealant, squeeze and adequate bead all around the surfaces to be joined, place the fitment back in place (match the screw holes up) and refit the screws, DO NOT tighten at this stage, only just 'nip'them up until the silicon sealant can be seen to be squeezed out. Stop at this point and go for lunch.

On your return, the silicon should have started to cure, and become slightly more resiliant. Tighten the screws a bit more, taking care not to over tighten and strip the threads. On completion, sharpen a pencil sized stick to a sharp chisel point and run it around the edge of the fitment, this will have the effect of cutting the protruding sealant, (without damaging the paintwork, )which can then be lifted off. Excess sealant will respond to white spirit and cloths.

It is important not to over tighten the fastenings; two things can happen. 1. Over tightened fastenings can strip the threads in the vehicle skin, be it ally or GRP. 2. Overtightened fastenings can squeeze all the sealant out of the joint, putting you back where you started.

Our Rapido holds a good amount of water on the roof if it rains. The puddles crash over the side when moving off, which is embarassing if the drivers window is open. I overcame this quite easily by building a pair of ramps out of some 2 x 4, about 2ft long and about 4 inches high. The van is reversed up onto them at the end of every trip, and the rain dutifully runs off over the front.

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[Just smiffy]

would this help keep the smell at bay.

Smells of what..? Not rotten eggs I hope.. but if it’s a damp smell then the heater will help and bit of fabreeze might help…

 

[Just smiffy]

Sealing rooflights and vents is not a black art, although some people (dealers, etc.) can portray it as such. The basic problem is that, at manufacture, the builders simply add a strip of self adhesive 'sealant' to the bottom of the vent/window, and hold it in place with self tapping screws. Once a leak, however small has started, it will never be cured with a squirt of silicon around the outside. There is only one way to do the job; properly.

All the roof vents and windows I have ever encountered have been secured by self tapping screws. The first thing to do is to locate and remove them carefully. Then, using a narrow putty knife, or even better, two putty knives, carefully work around the base of the fitment, gently prising the fitment upwards. Care is necessary as plastic fitments on a van roof are invariably attacked by UV, and become brittle, and are liable to crack and split. Assuming all goes well and the fitment is removed in one piece, the mating surfaces need to be cleaned of old sealant; scraping gently will normally remove most of this, the final traces can nomally be removed with white spirit and copious amounts of paper towel, or the best pillow cases! Do not be tempted to use acetone unless you wish to remove the paintwrk as well!

Once clear of old sealant, reinstalation is perfectly straight forward, but use a tube of good quality silicon sealant, squeeze and adequate bead all around the surfaces to be joined, place the fitment back in place (match the screw holes up) and refit the screws, DO NOT tighten at this stage, only just 'nip'them up until the silicon sealant can be seen to be squeezed out. Stop at this point and go for lunch.

On your return, the silicon should have started to cure, and become slightly more resiliant. Tighten the screws a bit more, taking care not to over tighten and strip the threads. On completion, sharpen a pencil sized stick to a sharp chisel point and run it around the edge of the fitment, this will have the effect of cutting the protruding sealant, (without damaging the paintwork, )which can then be lifted off. Excess sealant will respond to white spirit and cloths.

It is important not to over tighten the fastenings; two things can happen. 1. Over tightened fastenings can strip the threads in the vehicle skin, be it ally or GRP. 2. Overtightened fastenings can squeeze all the sealant out of the joint, putting you back where you started.

Our Rapido holds a good amount of water on the roof if it rains. The puddles crash over the side when moving off, which is embarassing if the drivers window is open. I overcame this quite easily by building a pair of ramps out of some 2 x 4, about 2ft long and about 4 inches high. The van is reversed up onto them at the end of every trip, and the rain dutifully runs off over the front.

Silicone is definitely not the one to use on motorhomes, non setting mastic/adhesive is much better….

 

[steve 6644]

Hi bnb080, we have a 9048 DF as well and had a right job sorting out a leak at the front end. First the vent over the bed was removed cleaned and resealed. It still leaked, we had the main Heki taken out and resealed, it still leaked. We had the whole of the top joint raked out and re sealed, it still leaked! Had the radio aerial removed tightened and resealed, It still bloody leaked! Even though the aerial had been re sealed, apparently, the water was travelling down the stem and the internals of the antenna!! If it wasn’t for the fact that I trust our guy implicitly I would never have believed it. So, had all the over cab cover trim etc out again and this time had the aerial replaced completely with a new one and that has stopped it. The good news is I could not see anything that could rot in the roof construction when the heki was out, that was most re assuring.

My advice would be to get that aerial replaced with a new one, re seal the top joint of the roof especially the screw holes and think about resealing the small over bed skylight as well.

About £15.00 for an aerial plus £2/300.00 for the labour should see it done.

Hope that helps mate, they are a great van when they are sorted out properly.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Me too with a 9048DF 2016.
Up in Scotland we had a leak with the water coming in around the area of the winder handle for the big skylight.
Being Scotland it was very wet and windy.
Took it back to the dealer.
Hose pipe on it and "no fault found".
We will be chasing it up.
Interesting about the radio aerial.

 

[bnb080]

Hi bnb080, we have a 9048 DF as well and had a right job sorting out a leak at the front end. First the vent over the bed was removed cleaned and resealed. It still leaked, we had the main Heki taken out and resealed, it still leaked. We had the whole of the top joint raked out and re sealed, it still leaked! Had the radio aerial removed tightened and resealed, It still bloody leaked! Even though the aerial had been re sealed, apparently, the water was travelling down the stem and the internals of the antenna!! If it wasn’t for the fact that I trust our guy implicitly I would never have believed it. So, had all the over cab cover trim etc out again and this time had the aerial replaced completely with a new one and that has stopped it. The good news is I could not see anything that could rot in the roof construction when the heki was out, that was most re assuring.

My advice would be to get that aerial replaced with a new one, re seal the top joint of the roof especially the screw holes and think about resealing the small over bed skylight as well.

About £15.00 for an aerial plus £2/300.00 for the labour should see it done.

Hope that helps mate, they are a great van when they are sorted out properly.

Thanks for your reply, I thought the radio aerial was in the wing mirror do you
mean the status aerial?

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[mitzimad]

Sealing rooflights and vents is not a black art, although some people (dealers, etc.) can portray it as such. The basic problem is that, at manufacture, the builders simply add a strip of self adhesive 'sealant' to the bottom of the vent/window, and hold it in place with self tapping screws. Once a leak, however small has started, it will never be cured with a squirt of silicon around the outside. There is only one way to do the job; properly.

All the roof vents and windows I have ever encountered have been secured by self tapping screws. The first thing to do is to locate and remove them carefully. Then, using a narrow putty knife, or even better, two putty knives, carefully work around the base of the fitment, gently prising the fitment upwards. Care is necessary as plastic fitments on a van roof are invariably attacked by UV, and become brittle, and are liable to crack and split. Assuming all goes well and the fitment is removed in one piece, the mating surfaces need to be cleaned of old sealant; scraping gently will normally remove most of this, the final traces can nomally be removed with white spirit and copious amounts of paper towel, or the best pillow cases! Do not be tempted to use acetone unless you wish to remove the paintwrk as well!

Once clear of old sealant, reinstalation is perfectly straight forward, but use a tube of good quality silicon sealant, squeeze and adequate bead all around the surfaces to be joined, place the fitment back in place (match the screw holes up) and refit the screws, DO NOT tighten at this stage, only just 'nip'them up until the silicon sealant can be seen to be squeezed out. Stop at this point and go for lunch.

On your return, the silicon should have started to cure, and become slightly more resiliant. Tighten the screws a bit more, taking care not to over tighten and strip the threads. On completion, sharpen a pencil sized stick to a sharp chisel point and run it around the edge of the fitment, this will have the effect of cutting the protruding sealant, (without damaging the paintwork, )which can then be lifted off. Excess sealant will respond to white spirit and cloths.

It is important not to over tighten the fastenings; two things can happen. 1. Over tightened fastenings can strip the threads in the vehicle skin, be it ally or GRP. 2. Overtightened fastenings can squeeze all the sealant out of the joint, putting you back where you started.

Our Rapido holds a good amount of water on the roof if it rains. The puddles crash over the side when moving off, which is embarassing if the drivers window is open. I overcame this quite easily by building a pair of ramps out of some 2 x 4, about 2ft long and about 4 inches high. The van is reversed up onto them at the end of every trip, and the rain dutifully runs off over the front.

silicon is not the right thing to use its acidic and will attack an aluminium roof . Butyl mastic tape is the best most roof lights work on the sandwich system where the two halves clamp onto the roof

 

[NoName]

Yep, my guess is also van levelling… the only way to be sure is take the vent out, clean up and refit with new sealing, relatively easy to do..

I found that after 4 1/2 months touring Europe & Turkey when the temperature exceeded 40 degrees for a lot of the time, the mastic dried out and cracked around a roof vent and front roof light. Diagnosed by my local independent motorhome repair workshop who removed both and re sealed using a non setting mastic. Unbeknown to me, and only discovered when I came to sell the Moho,it also caused a leak between roof and wall at the rear, resulting in a damp wall in the garage. Dealership that bought it reduced their offer by £2,000 but I still got almost what I paid for it in 2019. Why do manufacturers not use non setting mastic?

 

[Larrynwin]

I use Dicor lap sealant which doesn’t set hard and is used on RV roofs .

 

[Northernraider]

Silicone is definitely not the one to use on motorhomes, non setting mastic/adhesive is much better….

I agree , I would never use silicon , I also prefer to use the mastic on a roll for skylights ...it is less likely to all squeeze out when the screws are tightened.

Mastic on a roll around the edge of the hole making sure to cut it so there's no gaps at the joins ,refitt the dome and tighten it immediately. For good measure you can also then put a thin strip around the edge if desired but be fine without it.

 

[steve 6644]

Thanks for your reply, I thought the radio aerial was in the wing mirror do you
mean the status aerial?

Hi, on ours (2008) the aerial is above the cab in the centre and is simply for the radio as far as I know. It's a bog standard antena type that I was told is the actual one that came with the original Ducato cab.
I think a hose test would be a good idea for you to try here, bombard every potential leak point.

Another leak problem we had was from the actual acrylic windows. In extreme rain and wind we would get a dribble of water coming into the van. Eventually sussed it was being blown up and under the window seals on the wind side. I treated all the window rubbers with this stuff ...
'Liquid moly 1538 rubber treatment' and had no trouble since, and I did stress test them all afterwards with a hose.

​

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