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Old 06-05-2010, 01:16 AM   #1
Texas TC
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Default Check your roof vent caps!

Got to Austin Texas late Wednesday afternoon for my annual job of helping to setup the ROT (Republic of Texas) Biker Rally. When I arrived it was hot and humid. Pretty natural for the hill country. Late in the afternoon, a storm came in from the northwest and I was standing outside the Nova just in time to see the roof vent cap over the bathroom go flying across the parking lot. I caught up with it and found that it was literally rotten and had come apart at the edges. I hurried up the ladder before the rain came and covered the opening with a large 39 gallon trashbag and a whole roll of gorilla tape to keep out the 1.6 inches of rain that followed the 40-60 mph wind gusts.

The good news is, gorilla tape is awesome. It held the bag in place through the storm and I did not experience a drop of rain. Bad news is I sent one of the workers that lives south of here in San Antonio to Camping World he passes on the way home with what I had salvaged of the destroyed lid and it turns out there are about 6 different models of lids depending on how it connects to the housing. I did not have time to survey the engineering of this thing before the storm and have no idea which one to purchase. I told him to just get one and I would make it work until I could get the coach back to my dealer in Dallas to do a proper repair. 1 out of 6 chances it will be correct and I will do the repair while I am here working but I really do not like those odds.

Unfortunately, I will be down here until June 14 and there is a chance of rain several days between now and then. If I remove the sound fix I have now, I may only create a 14x14" hole in the roof for the rain to come in.

Ain't RVin' fun?

I will know to check the condition of this thing every year or so from now on.

On a side note, I had the A/C units cleaned and inspected before this trip and the blower motor quit on me tonight on the rear unit. Its hot down here so, camping by myself for the next week+, I am keeping the living room slide in and using the front unit only. It really made me appreciate the continuous duct work that is shared by both A/C's.



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Old 06-05-2010, 06:50 AM   #2
Georunner
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Thanks for the warning. I was just on my Nova's roof yesterday to check things. I also sealed the cap seam with Eterna Bond roof tape and should not have to mess with that seam again for a while. I was telling my wife that the workers put down a very thick layer of sealant around all the vents, and then walked on some of it.
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Old 06-05-2010, 01:48 PM   #3
mfa
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Are you talking just the movable "dome" that cranks up or do you mean the frame that's permanently attached to the roof?
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Old 06-05-2010, 07:57 PM   #4
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I was referring to the plastic or Plexiglas dome. The frame is well sealed and I have not had any issues with it. I store my coach at my house and it is not covered. I think the Texas sun just took it's toll on the fragile material. I think I will just plan on changing it out every couple of years since they are only $12-$24 each depending on the model that is required.

Another thought is to add one of those dome covers that allows you to open the vent when it is raining. Those seem to be made of a more substantial material and might help protect the dome from the sun.



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Old 06-05-2010, 09:55 PM   #5
Walldo
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I put max-air vent covers on ours with the hope that the sun would not destroy them as fast.... Only time will tell
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Old 06-06-2010, 06:41 PM   #6
PieEye
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I know what you mean about the various differnt models available. I went through it a while back but mine were ripped off by human hands. Little bastard tore them off (both bathrooms) and then dropped down through the hole to gain entry to the coach. Skinny little punks tore them all up. I wound up just replaceing the back one and managed to slavage the front with a new dome....but it took a few trips to campingworld to finally get the right one.
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Old 06-13-2010, 06:48 PM   #7
Texas TC
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The repair is now complete. The guys from San Antonio picked up a cover at Camping World that was, of course, the wrong one. I taped it on so that I could have better protection than I had with the trash bag cover I had made. A vendor at the rally that rents RV's to the bikers to stay in for the week brought me the right one, after I took the guide off my opening and gave it to them to get the right model and I installed it at about 6:30 this morning. The repair is very easy after you get the right part. The one they got me was a Heng's dome and guide part number 90110-C1.



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Old 06-13-2010, 07:07 PM   #8
mfa
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I was up on my roof yesterday for the first time in several months and discovered a broken fridge vent cover. This cover is about 26" long by 10" wide. It was cracked with a ~4 square-inch chunk missing. I doubt it was sun damage, since my rig is stored inside. I suspect it happened a few weeks ago when I wasn't paying attention and ran under some tree branches that were about 6 inches too low.

I covered the missing section and cracks with a piece of 4" eternabond tape. I ordered a replacement vent cover from Camping World. Not exactly the same shape, but they say it is a valid replacement for it. We'll see in a couple of weeks when I can get back up there and swap it out...

So I guess the lesson is -- get up on your roof every now and then and check things out.
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