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Topic ClosedLeak Problem - Event Date: 20 Sep 2017

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MoPod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Calendar Event: Leak Problem
    Posted: 23 Sep 2017 at 10:02am
Remember if your slide does not have a cover and it is wet when you slide it in, you can find strange puddles on the counter top by the frig and also on your bed.  

Bill & Nancy
2015 RPod 179
Previously 2010 RPod 176
2014 Explorer Sport
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Tibof View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2017 at 6:59pm
Update;: here's what I found.  The problem was/is the spoiler as nearly as can be determined.  It fits so poorly that it can't really be caulked.  The top and bottom fit ok, but the sides don't conform to the roof (or tend to pull away from the roof along the vertical sides).  The resulting gap is really too large to confidently fill with silicone caulk, for it will pull away from the roof.  Apparently, the spoiler is mounted in putty tape, but that does not work well due to the fact that the sides of the spoiler have only three screws, counting the ones at the top and bottom — and it can't be uniformly snugged down against the tape,  The middle screw pulls the middle of the side side down, but a gap emerges above and below it.  And there is nothing for an additional screw to bite into.  I considered using Dicor, but the self leveling would likely run off, and I didn't have access to the Dicor for vertical surfaces.  That might work, but I finally settled on Eternabond tape.  Taped just the sides and top after a thorough cleaning with naptha.  then tested things with lots of water.  Now seems nice and dry.  While I am pleased with the results of the repair, I am more than a little displeased with the fact it was necessary.  In my view, the spoiler installation by Forest River is a total disgrace (and they have to know it), for unless things have changed since 2015, you are going to have a leak!  What's more, properly sealing the spoiler is not a matter of returning it to factory specs, for the factory and the spoiler design are the problem.  Backin15 and Lostagain above tell the story.  This is not a minor issue, for it is clearly factory related and should initiate a recall.  Such leaks can cause major damage in the rPod.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 12:21pm
A bit of googling "rPod Spoiler Problem" reveals that the leaking spoiler has been an issue from the outset when rear lighting was required by the NHTSC.  The spoiler with some small lights was the answer.  But the spoiler warps and pulls away from the roof/caulking.  There should be a Forest River fix for any leak/damage that results or a class action suit.  The FR requirement that you check seals every 90 days is bogus nonsense designed to absolve FR.
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Keith-N-Dar View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post 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.  
Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers)
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post 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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Fred & Maria Kearney
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Subzilla View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 1:08pm
Great....now something else I need to check when I get home....

Mark
Concord, NC
2017 RP 179 "Podzilla"
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DavMar View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2017 at 2:22pm
Originally posted by Subzilla

Great....now something else I need to check when I get home....



Ah don't sweat it unless you have a leaky Pod! Wink
Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
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Direct Link To This Post 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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lostagain View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post 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.
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post 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.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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