Leak Problem - Event Date: 20 Sep 2017 |
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fwunder
Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676 |
Calendar Event: Leak Problem Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 7:17pm |
I'm just guessing that some folk's spoiler leaking problem may be due to a couple of different things.
One would be sealing the spoiler all the way around. Seems silly to me to caulk along the bottom of the spoiler. Let it weep and seal the top and sides as best you can. The other may be mistaking rear window leak or condensation. It's really pretty amazing how much condensation can form on rear window and look like a leak! Again, the rear window caulking should be concentrated on top and sides. Gravity works! Sometimes, I think we create problems where none existed. Just my 2 pennies on the subject. fred
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2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
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Tibof
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2017 Location: North Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 115 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 6:05pm |
That's encouraging. I am glad that you don't have the problem and hope that most others don't either. BTW, have you resealed things, especially the spoiler? In any case, our Pod has a factory installed spoiler, and I am not impressed. It corresponds to the warpage that others have described. This is not warpage of the entire spoiler but "warpage" on the vertical sides where the spoiler pulls away from the roof. On mine, the gap couldn't be seen until I started to pry up the caulk. It then became apparent that the caulk only seemed to be in place when actually it was not sticking to the roof. Removing it showed a large gap above and below the middle screw. I attempted to add another screw just between the bottom and the mid point screw to pull the spoiler down snug to the roof. But there is no framing for it to bite into.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter |
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Keith-N-Dar
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 5:46pm |
Our 2011 Pod is one of the first year the spoiler was installed at the factory. It is parked outside in our Wisconsin winters and we have had no leak problems with it.
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Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2630 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 5:27pm |
Now that the conversation has devolved WRT spoilers, perhaps folks would like to discuss vortex generators? I found this interesting site called "airtab".
Go about 1/3 the way down the page, and you will see what someone did with a Winnebago Winnie Drop 1780 (rough equivalent to an R-pod 178). They claim about a 20% improvement in fuel economy.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 4:31pm |
For the recall kit for the older Pods that had the clearance light recall (see the archives for details), they used a very flexible spoiler that seems to be some kind of vinyl plastic... squishy not rigid. On ours they put in about 30 screws to hold it down onto the roof and it did not sit snugly. Initially, I put some caulk in the holes where the spoiler lifted up from the roof, but later took it out and sealed the whole thing up with the roof tape product I mentioned earlier. So signs of it coming up and it's starting into the second winter.
As for a different spoiler material on the newer Pods, I haven't a clue as I only saw my neighbor's new Pod for few minutes before he hauled it away for storage and I was admiring other features. I still don't understand why they didn't put a simple 3 light fixture on the back on the new Pods. Less leak risk and I really doubt the spoiler does much with wind turbulence behind the trailer.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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Tibof
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2017 Location: North Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 115 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 3:46pm |
If you wait for a leak to develop, there is a reasonable chance that you will have serious interior wall damage, especially if your pod is stored outside for the winter and not covered. Caulking in cold temps is not recommended. As for the frequency of this problem, there is a possibility that something different has been done with the composition and installation of the spoiler. However, if nothing has changed, the warpage of the edges of the spoiler, causing it to pull away from its seal with the roof is more than likely. http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6196&title=spoiler-problems I don't know in any empirical sense how may are affected by this issue, but IMHO FR knows of it and should bear the responsibility of fixing it, regardless of the number affected, for it is a factory defect. I have not said that the problem is "universal", but clearly more than a few are affected (especially given that the spoiler material appears to be inclined to warp at the edges.) Dave, your Pod is a 2017, I am curious as to how the spoiler is attached. And is the spoiler plastic or fiberglass? Three screws down the side, including the ones at the top and bottom? Caulked around the outer edges?
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DavMar
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 2:22pm |
Ah don't sweat it unless you have a leaky Pod! |
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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Subzilla
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2017 Location: Concord, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 302 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 1:08pm |
Great....now something else I need to check when I get home....
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Mark
Concord, NC 2017 RP 179 "Podzilla" 2011 Silverado 1500 4X4 |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 12:57pm |
I think it would have been better to put a simple 3 light fixture on the back instead of the spoiler. I think FR avoided this fix for the recall because they didn't want to have to deal with how to hide the wires. Since the spoiler runs the width of the roof, it's easy to conceal the wires in the connection between the roof and the wall where there is seam sealer, a metal strip held on by screws, and a plastic bead to cover the screws. A simple 3 light fixture would have to have the wires passed between the roof and ceiling, a much more complicated job.
If I were to go through the recall again, I think I'd opt for doing it myself with after market materials and figure out a way to fish the wire from the side to the center of the back roof where I could bed a small light fixture in some sort of bedding compound like 3M 5200 caulk. I'd look for a fixture that could have the lights changed without removing the fixture. |
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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Keith-N-Dar
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447 |
Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 12:54pm |
While some have had problems with the spoiler leaking it is certainly not universal. I would be amazed if this issue, like most of the other issues that have caused some to discuss class action suits involved a significant number of units.
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Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
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