Rainy season leaking - part 2

[paulitzlee2]

My FF X-139 was leaking this winter.

I had a mobile RV guy come out and he discovered there was a low spot in the roof. The rain was collecting in a pool, right around the A/C, and since it was submerged in water, the water leaked through the A/C. I emptied several buckets before the mobile RV guy came and discovered the problem.

The roof was soggy, like a wet sponge. And the ceiling by the A/C felt heavy too. It actually have some give. You could push it up and it felt squishy.

The repairman told me to

1) Jack the front end to be higher
2) Tarp it
3) Run my furnance on really hot and open the windows a few inches to dry it out.

He also said the caulk needs to be redone every year, since the sun can dry it out.

Now, after a day of the furnace on and the rain stopped for now, the ceiling seems okay. It still has a slight sag, but it doesn't feel heavy or squishy.

Do you think I'm out of the woods? At one point, the repairman told me he would sell the trailer before it got worse. That broke my heart.

Questions:

1) If we covered our trailer every winter with a tarp or a trailer cover, and were religious about re-caulking every year, do you think we could have many more years of happy memories? The trailer is a 2006, so I hate to give up on it. It's not like it's 20 or 30 years old.

2) Is it easy to find a trailer cover for a FF X-139? It's the smallest model. Only 14 feet. Where could I get one?

2a) Are trailer covers absolutely waterproof? If even a little water snuck through the cover, it defeats the purpose. The roof may then leak again.

2b) This may be a dumb question. There is an antenna on the roof. Not the one for the TV that retracts. Another one. Black, rubber, about a foot high. It does bend, but is it safe to cover the trailer with that antenna, or does the cover need a hole for the antenna to slip through? Or are most covers not that tight where this would be an issue?

3) The repairman said to jack the hitch end of the trailer to be higher. But my driveway is sloped down towards the street, so I really need to jack it up high to compensate. I have lots of wood under it to make it go the other way. There is a slight low spot on the roof towards the hitch end of the trailer, but I'm hoping if I cover the trailer, that I can either make it level or have the hitch end DOWN, like the driveway slope. What do you think? It's a real pain to jack the trailer to go against the slope of the driveway.

Thanks for your help. 8)

 

[paulitzlee2]

One more question.

Around the A/C hole inside the trailer is a wooden frame. That frame is wet and has some mold. The repairman said when it dries out, the mold will go dormant.

Can I just replace that frame of wood?

What is the roof of FF's made of? Wood? Or something else? He said the fungus only likes wood so it's only an issue around the A/C frame.

He also said the ceiling has dryrot. Is this something that can be lived with? Can we still use the trailer if we keep it covered and unlevel in winter?

If the roof is made of wood and got soaked, is my trailer a goner?

 

[LJAZ]

Not sure about your model year, but the later models have an aluminum frame with foam. So it's possible you could just replace the wooden box around the AC.

I don't think the covers are 100% water proof if water pools on them, but they should keep most of it off. To buy a cover check camping world or a similar website. Lots of vendors out there. Their customer service department should be able to help you get the right one. The rubber antenna is for your radio. I don't think the coevers are that tight. Again the customer service dept. should be able to advise you.

I can't imagine that it would make a difference which end was lower. As long as it's not level so the water can pool.

Can't help with the dryrot part. You might just want to get a second opinion. If you get the same answer from 2 different sources then you'll know for sure.

Good luck.