Mold

[Mac]

Fixed all my leaks around vents, roof fitting & such with a sealer. That damned overhead sleeper hatch keeps leaking & has been a problem since I had it. I'm going to rip it out & fiberglass over top of it!!!!!

So I took the hatch off & the amount of new mold & old was shocking. The wood cross beams are just waisted and have been feeding the mold over the years. I'm bleaching it & extracting the lose stuff with a wet/dry vac that is outside the RV.

Looks like I have it everywhere in the overhead at various places due to the leaks over the years.

I'm just going to seal all these areas air tight & then paint the overhead with Kiltz paint primer to encapsulate it all. I have some chemical moisture control to keep the atmosphere dry of moisture while not using & use an ozone generator evey now & then.

Just wondering what the experts have done in this area. I know mold is big money maker and the liability rewards for lawyers is tremendous but I'm not a freak about the stuff, it's been with us since time began. Having the amount I seen in my face in my sleeper will keep me awake at nights wondering. But it is way too much to start cutting out & removing.

[JerryT]

Sorry to hear about your mold problem, that's a biggie. I chased water leaks for 4 years and still trying to seal the rear wheel wells to the floor. My last water leak in the bunk was the top center seam of the front window. The extruded frame was leaking at that top center seam. I sealed the exposed butt joint on the outside with some good putty. That little seam let a lot of water in, filled up that front window track and overflowed causing paneling damage and even some rust down on the A pillars.

I would think getting it dried out and cleaned/sealed will abate the mold problem. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

JerryT

[Horst]

Standing/pooling water is one of the biggest problems for  roof leaks in my opinion - if something is submerged - it's likely to leak eventually - the key is to not let water pool on your roof - the Clipper has several spots where water will pool.

Ever since I've done my poor man's water removal fix (it's on this site somewhere) - my leak issues have been 99% eliminated - and my Clipper is always level and out in the elements.

One of you mechanical tinkering geniuses out there can even improve on my model - and make it a 12 volt, auto on/off system via sensor! (I get a free one you make for the idea!)

[John Eversoll]

Hi Mac, I have the same problem as You.

The over head escape ghatch has leaked for years and I have

checked the area around the hatch and figure that the 2x2's are rotton ....

Now is it something that I can replace my self or should I leave it to the pros??

Give me your feed back!!!  John:)

[jon]

My damn escape hatch has more silicone on it than a booby bar on Saturday night. It seems to have worked. it quit leaking.

[pop427]

John, You can do it yourself. I did. Home Depot has everything you need. I found the ceiling material in the bath shower section. Replace all the wood and use liquid nail with the nails or staples. When you take the old ceiling out make a pattern of the ceiling so you can cut the new one outside. It is a bitch to do inside the coach. If you can save the old trim it helps because it was hard to find new trim that was the same.

Doug 

[Mac]

I'm thinking of doing it the wrong & hard way by cutting a large square on top (fibergalss) and work my way into the damaged & effected insulation & support beams so that all that mold & spores stay outside as much as possible. I think from what I saw that the damage (mold was quite large) and it willbe easier for me to work from the top. The hard part will be making & reinserting a large fiberglass patch, probably have to get a pro to do it. I'm leaving the hatch out. Summer time the radiating heat wakes me up early and in the winter time the rain drops on it keep me awake. I'm so damned tall that trying to get up into that escape hatch takes awhile anyway & then once in I'm too fat to get out! I normally sleep with a shot gun up there anyway in case I needed to get out in a hurry.

[JerryT]

Mac
You got the top cut out?  Sounds like time to a put on a Nosecone dome and get some head room.

  http://americanclipperownersclub.com/techforum/index.php?topic=1372.0

JerryT

[John Eversoll]

  shot gun???

I will keep my 357 and 44 mag right next to me

The wife has a berretta with pink grips"  I mean reallly" Pink!

[Mac]

Jerry, I'm going to open it up this summer when I know the rains have stopped. I don't have an interior place to do it. I've been thinking of getting a dome like yours but was wondering how you insulated it or did you? If I don't go with a dome then I'll just blank patch it once I replace the rotten wood, insulation & mold. I think I'll build up all the puddle spots too to prevent further leaks.

John, I shortened up an old mossberg with a pistol grip. Illegal aliens run rampant through one of the places I camp at Pio Pico camp grounds. They are active there. The Border patrol is in and out of the camp grounds but I like to be ready in case I get bum rushed by a group of desperate illegals gathered around my camper while I'm stuffed up in the sleeper, the movie Deliverance comes to mind but in spanish. They cross the mountain then come down into the camp ground. Me & dog were out hiking last week while camped out and we came across two areas of scattered shoes, clothes, back packs, water bottles, tooth brushes even womans panties. It looked like about 20 people were abducted by Aliens and they were beamed up into the mother ship. Perplexed & trying to figure out what the heck it was me and dog kept going and then were invaded upon by Border Patrol agents on ATV's. They noticed that I was of caucasion appearance and wore a savage nation ball cap so we started shooting the breeze while they smoked & took a break. I asked about the possible abduction sites & they said that fresh clothing and supplies are stashed by coyotes for the incoming to change into. The new version of America comes over dirty, thirsty & stinkin like sage which is a give away so they all change out before they are let to go on there own. The border patrol & hikers come accross the stashes & then empty the water bottles and scattter the clothing & supplies.   

[JerryT]

Hi Mac!
I used 3/4 (closed cell) neoprene glued to the inside. I think I would 1/2 if I were to do it again.

JerryT

[John Eversoll]

Hi Mac, the Mosberg sounds great..

My wifes late uncle was a border patrol agent..

25 yrs. they found him face down in his trailer .....

need I say more.....He held the record of drug busts in Calif.

Oh well, take care and keep in touch...  John