Help with front window

[PaintyLiz]

I could use your help! I replaced my front window due to carelessness on my part LOL, however when I replaced it I used a window that was not made to be installed on a slant. Therefore it occasionally leaks. Has anyone made a rain guard for the top of their front window like the old campers used to have? If so, or if you have any suggestions, please share!

Liz

 

[profdant139]

Are you sure you can't seal the window?? Did you use butyl tape? Silicone caulk won't do the job.

 

[PaintyLiz]

Hey Prof,

I used butyl tape. It is not the edges of the window that leak. The glass is inset into the frame about three quarters of an inch and water piles up in there and leaks between the glass and the window ... maybe. And it's a 3 pane window, with the center having a screen and sliding upwards to open, there are holes from screws etcetera. I think it's the one that opens where the water leaks in because it's set on a slant and I think it was actually made to be a vertical window. Other problems include that I beat a dent out of it's frame and possibly warped it a bit. To be honest I'm not positive where it's leaking. However, I think if I were to make that rock guard seal better or maybe better, overlap the actual frame it would solve the problem. At least that's my optimistic view LOL

I found a source for the old fashioned aluminum drip caps that's reasonable, that's a start. I think I will put an extension around the other three sides. I suppose I'll make it out of galvanized flashing. It's thicker than aluminum. But really I'm not sure. And I have to make sure I don't make it look too tacky so that I can still get into RV parks haha.

I tried putting really good, thick weather stripping around the awning/rock guard and it was too thick and popped it out from the frame and then water really leaked in. So that's another route - finding some thinner weather stripping. But, I still think the flange would be a good idea.

Liz

 

[profdant139]

Ouch. An openable window in the front -- that is a difficult problem. Even if you put a "brow" over the top of the window, using the flashing, you will still get rain that hits the glass itself and runs down to the bottom of the frame.

This may be one of those expensive "let's start over" problems. (I have had quite a few of those during almost 60 years of DIY projects, starting in the 50's with my father and then in the 70s with my own houses.) My concern is that if you have leakage around the window frame, the water will get into the front wall under the frame.

As I am sure you have discovered, the rock guard guards against rocks, but there is a reason they don't call it a moisture guard.

Hang in there!

 

[PaintyLiz]

Oddly enough, it doesn't leak all the time. And it's so minor it's not enough for me to yank that window out. Since I'm the one who sleeps under the bunk shelf, behind a big guy, against the wall, I want an opening window lol the breeze is marvelous.

Liz

 

[profdant139]

Aha! Better to be a little damp sometimes than to suffocate all the time -- good decision!

 

[PaintyLiz]

Aha! Better to be a little damp sometimes than to suffocate all the time -- good decision!

Exactly!

I close the rock guard during rain, so I'm thinking that just putting a flange around so that it completely covers the window when closed might work. I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried anything like this.

Liz

 

[profdant139]

OK -- retrofit the rock guard to keep out water. Hmmm. Here is an idea -- Lowe's and Home Depot stock a wide variety of self-adhesive rubber weather stripping, some of which is pretty thick and wide. Now imagine putting that stuff not only on the perimeter of the rock guard but also on the matching area on the window frame, so that when the rock guard is closed, the two sets of weather stripping meet and create a seal.

It's worth a try, anyway. I did exactly this on my side window -- the one that opens out as an escape hatch -- and it worked! Will it work on the rock guard?

 

[PaintyLiz]

OK -- retrofit the rock guard to keep out water. Hmmm. Here is an idea -- Lowe's and Home Depot stock a wide variety of self-adhesive rubber weather stripping, some of which is pretty thick and wide. Now imagine putting that stuff not only on the perimeter of the rock guard but also on the matching area on the window frame, so that when the rock guard is closed, the two sets of weather stripping meet and create a seal.

It's worth a try, anyway. I did exactly this on my side window -- the one that opens out as an escape hatch -- and it worked! Will it work on the rock guard?

well, I bought some really nice thick weather stripping and put it in there and what it did was push the rock guard out so much that water just poured down behind it, and into the window and therefore into my camper LOL so it might work if I can find some thinner stuff. I agree I think it's a good idea I just need to spend some time finding the right one.

By the way, I believe you took your dinette out and turned the cushions into a couch? If it was you, you were my inspiration! Until I read your blog I never had changed a thing in my camper.

Liz

 

[profdant139]

Thanks, but that was not me -- we still have the dinette that turns into a bed. But we have done a LOT of serious mods -- I am guilty of working on my trailer, while my neglected stick house looks terrible.