Leaky roof and falling ceiling in my BT 5210

[Larryjb]

Greetings folks,
I am new here and bought a 2021 BT5210 last June first.
Most of the problems I have repaired however the latest, over the winter, are taking some effort.
Water was dripping from the light fixture closest to the AC unit. Also the ceiling panel are pulling loose due the staples holding the ceiling up are coming loose.
These staples were supposed to penetrate the metal roof trusses however 1/2 of the staples were unattached. My question is: did the sub-zero temps in January cause the failure??
Second, I pulled the vents on the ceiling AC and found the 4 compression bolts that hold the AC unit on the roof that compress the sealing gasket were finger tight. Obviously the technician that installed the AC unit did not torque the 4 bolts to the required 45 lbs torque.
Has anybody else had a roof leak and traced it to the AC Gasket??
Thanks for any comments regarding these latest problems.
Is this the best forum to post questions on a BT 5210??
Larry

[RY469]

I'll offer that water intrusion is one of the biggest threats to RV's. You might consider the possibility that water worked it's way across, and the loose AC bolts could also be from failed substrate it is attached to. Either way, you have a job of pulling the AC loose, and repairing any soft wood, etc you find. Then seal up your RV with DICOR on the roof and (as I put in previous post) DOWSIL 999-A for the side seams (not the roof).

[thirty&out]

We had the same issue on our BT5240. Our unit was delivered in June last year and we experienced water coming in while driving in the rain. Like you, I found that the AC hold down bolts were all loose. Suggest you torque them down and that should solve the issue. We also have interior ceiling panels that were not properly secured and are sagging.....have not yet addressed this issue. Actually, the number of problems with factory workmanship is too long to list. I spend the first couple of months repairing items and I am sure there is more to come.

[RY469]

I'll offer the issue of factory workmanship is an very valid issue. Unfortunately it is part of the industry. RV's are a trade-off between quality Vs cost. If the RV's were built to higher standards, the cost would be prohibitive. Look at companies like Intech. They make units like the Sol's. Much higher quality than Gulf Stream, but you can buy three Gulf Streams for the price of one (similar) Intech. Gulf Stream (my opinion of course) is a very good bang-for-the-buck, but you have to go over it (as you do ALL RV's) and do preventive maintenance. As a Tech at a dealership that sells both brands mentioned, I do this sort of thing daily. OK, I'm off my soap box now . . .

[ABP]

Not sure this is helpful but I thought I'd add that our 2019 BT 5210 had a significant roof leak from the poorly installed main roof fan/vent. We had a repair shop inspect and repair the roof. Turns out that some of the vent/fan packaging was left on during installation and the installation sealing was sloppy. The repair shop photographed the poor installation, photographed the fix, and also photographed where the repair shop added additional sealant/dicor to other roof areas as they saw fit. We submitted the repair bill and photos to Gulf Stream and they quickly cut us a check for the full amount with few questions. This was three or four months after purchase. Our other issues were a loose window shade which was a minor repair. And, our driver's side large frameless window would sometimes "gap" at speed in windy conditions. For this we mounted, vertically, a wind deflector designed for an automobile sun/moon roof. We've had the 5210 for almost 3.5 years, about 10,000 miles and well over 100 nights out. We love our BT. For the price we feel like we got a good deal. Maybe we got a little bit lucky so far too, I'm not sure.

[Larryjb]

Thanks for all the comments. So far, I have tightened the 4 loose bolts holding down the AC unit. Also I have drilled and screwed the roof panels back up in place and screwed the 1&1/2 inch ceiling strips in place. Now I need to caulk the ceiling strips as per factory finish.
The other day I found water on the counter top window after a driving rain against the side of the camper. I have traced that leak to missing caulk/sealant above the window. It looks like part way thru the sealing process from the outside, the tube of sealant emptied however the technician failed to see the gun was empty and missed a 12 inch stretch.
Previously I had to seal the outside cover on the stove vent. Technician missed the top of the cover.
Thanks for letting me on the forum. It is nice to have a place to exchange thoughts and ideas. Prior to this I have owned 4 Roadtreks and there are some great sites for comparing experiences and travel adventures. I hope this is the best site for BT touring vehicles.

[Arlenejackson]

I’m getting ready to reseal my roof on my 2005 Vista Cruiser MB 2005 motorhome. I believe it is a fiberglass roof but can’t confirm. Can anyone tell me for sure?

[hossross]

I appreciate that usually higher price products are higher quality. However this is a US worker and management falsehood. Japan taught the automakers that quality is 2 parts, do the job correctly and reduce variability. Starts with components, and then assembly. Many of the issues that are mentioned in these posts are pure assembly issues. Not torquing the nuts is a worker, inspector, and management issue. The caulking gun running out or the worker miss applying, is a pure worker issue and management not stressing to the workers to put themselves as customers. If they were paying for this RV is that the workmanship they would want? Of course not. The point is the worker is being paid to do the job, so raising the cost of the coach has nothing to do with workmanship. Usually the higher cost units, have more features, better materials, so they charge a lot more. But price and cost are only related in that
price - cost = profit So the biggest problem in the US is management does not manage the workforce. Even the junk we used to get from Mexico, is now good if it comes from a Japaneese managed company.