Rusted Roof

[phlite]

When I was looking at my 2006 van to purchase used, I noticed during inspection that the rear corners of the roof were rusted out, I had the guy drop a bunch off the price and had it fixed by a shop right away. They ended up buying the rear half section of a refurbished e350 top, cutting the corners out, and welding them into mine. The shop ended up having to take the penthouse seal off the top of the van for them to do the job. During the fixes, they noticed a couple cracks uptop under where the penthouse seal hid, and i had them weld those too. I'd imagine a lot of folks have these cracks up top too. They painted to match the van and you can't see a thing. It was not cheap. But the cancer is gone.

The thought is that the van had moisture build up under the pentouse top, and the moisture runs it way to the back of the van as it is sloped back a bit. it sat and sat ... The back of the van is the normal place for water to run off the gutter rails.

Recently I had the windshield replaced and noticed some rust under the seal around the windsheild, keep an eye out for that too!!

Chris

 

[choochee]

more leaks

seems like a lot of rusty gutters/roofs out there... not sure if this the best place to post this as there are many threads that deal with leaks/penthouse repair etc....

also i'm really not sure WHERE the water is getting in my van... which is a 1987 e-250 that i've been working on for 3 years...

here are a number of pictures and if anyone might be able to help me diagnose the water entry location that would be awesome....

basically i have:

1) a drip above the drivers side door in the middle right under where there is a metal seam... how does one get the water to stop dripping from that seam?

2) the 4 inside corners of the penthouse get damp when it rains...i don't see any moisture from the canvas above or coming from the penthouse roof.... is this coming in between the penthouse seal and the van seal? or poolin above the penthouse seal?

3) the third spot (you can see rust from when previous owner had it) is in the "cavity" right above where the back doors open....i can feel standing water if i put my fingers in the hole...then it is moving to the "low" point and coming out a place where the metal connects....

if anyone has any thoughts/solutions for any of these spots i would be VERY appreciative....cheers - choochee

 

[Pntyrmvr]

You can buy mastic butyl in caulking style tubes. I used it for my top swap.

Set it out in a hot sun for a few hours then add a good size exterior bead for a foot on either side of your leaking top. It will flow and settle down a bit. Let it set and then test it.

Otherwise pull the corner of the canvas up and redo it with the same butyl. More work, but more guaranteed to stop the water.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

 

[choochee]

Thanks for your reply.... Where exactly would you apply the butyl???

 

[choochee]

Also where do you think the water is getting in? above the penthouse seal? below it? thanks again

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Put a bead along the bottom at the sheet metal for 24" and let it set up. Test. Move higher as needed.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

 

[choochee]

10-4....I'll do it and let you know...Unfortunately I'm in Vermont and we won't see any warms temps for sometime i suspect.... are there any "cold"weather applications? thanks

 

[86Scotty]

I've done the job a couple times. You need this stuff:

Mobile Home/RV Black Butyl Tape 3/4" x 30' for Windows, Doors, Roof Sealant | eBay

I'm sure the tubes as Pntyrmvr suggested are the same but I thought this was easier to work with. It's what SMB uses.

Pull your upholstery back from the inside of the top with top raised and you will see 1" furring strips around the inside screwed every inch or so. Pull all screws and strips which are probably rotten to pieces. You'll see the flat butyl tape underneath. You just need to remove everything you can, lay in new tape, furring strips (any 1/4" ply will work) and reinstall. The furring strips will squash the canvas into the butyl and form a seal. I have not heard of one leaking like yours does. Even with rotten wood they usually stay mostly dry. You could do this job in a day, no problem. There is no need to mess with the lifting mechanism of the top at all. Raise it, replace everything I listed, reinstall. You may need to pull the top down just a bit to give your canvas some relief when reinstalling strips to get a good compressed seal.

This is a messy job. Try to keep the butyl gunk (mostly from the old tape) off your canvas and upholstery. It likes to stay on what it gets on.

As for the drip at the rear center of raingutter Twogone had the same problem and solved it ingeniously. Get a roll of gaffer's tape (or any other comparable tape but it has the right texture/thickness/etc.) and run a strip across the back of the rain gutter above the doors. Fold it perfectly where it creates a sweep that the doors go right under when closed, but the tape stays in place, catching water and it then drips off the edge of the tape. I'm probably not doing a good job of explaining this. Maybe he can help.

:b5:

 

[sdwindansea]

I figured I should post an update. I finally removed all the protective tape from the roof. There is another spot (passenger side) that is extremely rusted out as well. Very similar to the pictures I posted on page 2. If you see any bubbles under your tape you probably have moisture trapped there. I guess that tape is definitely not a lifetime solution. Looks like there are more repairs in my future.

 

[Glider-ClassB]

I finally removed all the protective tape from the roof.

How did you get the tape unstuck from your roof? That adhesive is pretty strong.

 

[sdwindansea]

How did you get the tape unstuck from your roof? That adhesive is pretty strong.

The van is about 10 years old and I'm guessing the salt air doesn't help much either. Most of the tape had at least one corner/edge starting to lift up. From there it was a matter of muscling it off (OK more using my weight) while standing on a ladder and trying not to fall off. I'll post a picture later today of the new rust area. I also found several other areas where rust is starting to form.

 

[choochee]

Pntyrmvr -

Finally got some warm temperatures here in Vermont. That said, I've been unable to find any butyl caulk anywhere that is black colored!!! Weird.... Any other products that i might be able to use? 3m 5200? I figured I would go with your approach first versus taking all the furring strips and old butyl tape off and see if that works.... Thanks to you guys

 

[capn]

Don't use 5200. That stuff is very hard to remove, and if you had to work on the top again for any reason you wouldn't be able to separate it from the van without damaging it. I can't help with an alternative, unfortunately. Also, I've used 5200 in the past and it takes a good while to set up and moves around a lot more than you might want before it does cure.

capn

 

[sdwindansea]

I just removed the awning today to get a better look at how bad the roof is. It is pretty bad. All of the rust formed under the protective tape SMB uses between the roof and the penthouse.

I'm going to look into other possible solutions since the tape is obviously short term one, at least close to the beach and salt air. Any suggestions?

On the bright side this forces me to refinish the awning brackets. I got the clamp-on ones several years ago and had them powder coated but they are looking a little rough around the edges.

 

[woodbee-SMB]

When I was washing my SMB, I found a rust spot on the rear passenger side roof, under the black protective tape under, the penthouse. I lifted the black protective tape and found a rust spot (not pictured). So I got out the sand paper and started the repair. It was about 1 inch in diameter. While sanding, the center of the rust spot went all the way through to the interior of the van (I was lucky no water had made it inside). I used body putty, metal primer and Fleet White paint to finish the job.
After that I thought I would check the rest of the protective tape under the penthouse. On the front driver side, rear drive side and below the upper brake light I found the same thing, (just not all the way through to the interior). On close inspection of the rust I could see that when the protective tape was applied and trimmed with a knife, the knife cut through the tape, paint, primer and into the metal. (pictured). I just wish I would have found it years earlier. I have had my SMB eight years, so I recommend everyone should check out the black protective tape under there penthouse where the tape was trimmed.

Good Luck,
Woody

 

[sdwindansea]

woodbee - Looks like you were well on your way to having the issue get worse like mine did. Our van is 2 years older than your van. I'm also really close to the coast so I'm sure the constant salt air just exasperated the problem.

Are you just going to apply new tape or go a different route to prevent this problem from happening again? I still have not decided what to do but I'm thinking about looking into Rhinoliner for the roof area.

 

[woodbee-SMB]

woodbee - Looks like you were well on your way to having the issue get worse like mine did. Our van is 2 years older than your van. I'm also really close to the coast so I'm sure the constant salt air just exasperated the problem.

Are you just going to apply new tape or go a different route to prevent this problem from happening again? I still have not decided what to do but I'm thinking about looking into Rhinoliner for the roof area.

Like I said, I wish I had caught it sooner but the rust was pretty much hidden under the tape. I don't think it will happen on the rest of it because there was no trimming of the ends. It only rusted where the ends of the tape was trimmed with a knife after it was laid down.
I will be leaving the tape on for now. On the straight runs there is no problem, just where the ends that were shaped with a knife.
I removed as little of the tape that I had to, if there is rub where I did the repairs I will apply Helicopter Tape.
I hope other SMB'rs do check there protective tape.

Woody

 

[sdwindansea]

Thanks Woody. Looks like my problem had a different cause as there is rust along the straight runs as well (and much worse than yours). I'll post back once I figure out something for a solution. Glad you caught yours early, I've had two major rust areas that are complete through the metal.

 

[woodbee-SMB]

sdwindansea,

Your welcome, I am sure things will work out, just what its going to cost. I feel the Rhinoliner will work great but what its going to take to patch things up.

Good Luck,
Woody

 

[sdwindansea]

I got the roof fixed, a bunch of metal removal, welding, rain gutter repair, and the self leveling filler in the gutters. They then applied several coats of rhino liner to the roof. This was all done by the same person who did my last repairs. I would highly recommend them if in San Diego. I think this should last a lot longer than 10 years.

I still have to sand and repaint the awning brackets. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that they still attach correctly as the gutter filler is thicker than what it was before, especially since the rhino liner was applied to it and over the lip of the gutter.