Best Methods to Stop Skoolie Window Leaks and Seal Roof Seams

[RadioHill]

Hello, 2009 Thomas Blue Bird owner here,

I just thought I'd ask here before I go to town with a calk gun, rained pretty hard here in OR this past weekend.
I've got what's very clearly water coming down the seams between the windows, following through the wall and then down to the floor. It's likely I didn't see it earlier as it was under the part of the floor I've now pulled up.

Do the experts on here have advice on how best to approach this? My thinking was to pull at least one of the windows, and or just re-calk the whole thing on the seams, had appeared that the water was coming in at the back of the window pane, where the bus had been parked was making a capture for water in the back corner of the sill. But not sure if I'm missing something.

Thanks,

 

[Slapdash]

Heya, I'll never declare myself an expert on anything bus related, but here's what we did to seal in windows: Sealing in Skoolie Windows: What a pain in the A$$! - Sunny the Bus

That said, AFTER we did all of that, the @#$%ing thing still leaked. We had no idea where from, why, etc., until we did some probing on the roof. There were several places where water was getting in between the strips/sheets/panels of roof, etc. To eliminate that, we scraped everything down, used automotive seam sealer in all the appropriate cracks, etc., painted the roof, then got some 6-inch wide butyl tape type stuff and plastered that over the where the cracks and holes we had just seam-sealed were.

It was a menacing process, but in the end, we have zero leaks now. We simulated a hurricane and some Forest Gump rain with a garden hose at weird angles and nothing was able to get in. Our bus is very, very dry now and we've had some crazy storms.

Good luck and keep at it!

 

[RadioHill]

@Slapdash Thank you!

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

I threw down some roof sealant product around the windows day of, was starting to second guess myself a bunch, but then a day later, found a leak through the roof as well (and I thought I'd already sealed everything up there). Not super clear to me where it might be leaking, but I no longer care, every seam is getting the treatment....

So now, the plan is basically mirroring yours.

I ordered $200+ of this ever-bond or Eterna-bond product with all the glowing reviews, ("it's so good don't try to remove it after applying it etc, etc") and going to cover every rivet line and seam with the stuff. Then I think I'll paint, and then put a roof sealing paint over the top of that....

 

[Slapdash]

That's the stuff! EternaBond. We used the 6-inch version, but that 2-inch would be good for smaller things too.

Again, I'm not an expert, but I would be hesitant to paint over the tape, in case the stuff shrinks/expands differently than regular paint. It might end up cracking/distorting the paint, but I don't know for sure.

Second, I would avoid roof sealing paint as well, if you're talking about something like Henry's Tropi-Cool. I don't know from experience, but I've heard that Henry's, if it gets damaged, like from a tree branch or whatever, it's impossible to fix because it's rubbery and not paint-paint. We just used a regular exterior oil-based paint, which has stood up very well so far, and you can touch up with that as well, where Henry's you can't touch up. I can conjure up the brand if you need it, just don't have it on the tip of my fingers.

Also, if you haven't already, make sure you get ALL the old goop off first before applying the new goop (seam sealer). We forgot to do this near our door, so we need a little repair there. That EternaBond is everything you've read. Great stuff. Will not come off and will not un-stick from itself either!

 

[RadioHill]

@Slapdash Thanks for calling out the paint plan.

You're right. Eterna bond does not recommend painting. Kinda was hoping to do a brand new white at the same time, need to re-evaluate that plan.

Will, again, follow your advice, it appears I had the wrong idea.

 

[nikitis]

I just used a regular bathtub caulk that's mildew /UV resistant. I sealed the outside edges where the window lays against the bus frame, put a large glob at the bottom two corners before inserting. When I insert the window, I squish the blobs down, seal the front outside edges all around, and then same for the back, and I have zero leaks. It's exactly how Thomas did their windows. Blue bird similarly.

 

[GunnyVP]

@Slapdash Thank you!

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

I threw down some roof sealant product around the windows day of, was starting to second guess myself a bunch, but then a day later, found a leak through the roof as well (and I thought I'd already sealed everything up there). Not super clear to me where it might be leaking, but I no longer care, every seam is getting the treatment....

So now, the plan is basically mirroring yours. View attachment 2420209
I ordered $200+ of this ever-bond or Eterna-bond product with all the glowing reviews, ("it's so good don't try to remove it after applying it etc, etc") and going to cover every rivet line and seam with the stuff. Then I think I'll paint, and then put a roof sealing paint over the top of that....

Here is what I did to eliminate roof leaks.

As an ex-body tech, I swear by 3M 08307 self-leveling epoxy seam sealer that comes in the auto-mix tube. It’s the gold standard for the auto body industry. Some auto paint stores will allow you to return the gun for 90 percent of the sale price if you keep it clean and in a resellable condition (clean gun, keep the bag and the box not torn up). It takes about two auto-mix tubes to do the roof of a 30-foot bus, including both sides of the ridge lines. I washed the roof with Dawn dish soap and rinsed it real well to clean and degrease it, and then I removed the old sealant from the seams, and I then wiped the seams with denatured alcohol. I then applied the 3M self-leveling epoxy seam sealer. It goes on clear and hardens as a milky white. The hotter the outside temperature, the quicker it hardens. 10 to 15 minutes is average set time on a warm day. It takes longer to set on cold days. I then put Dicor tape over the seams, burnished the tape, and then painted two coats of Dicor metal roof sealant over the tape.

 

[Slapdash]

@Slapdash Thanks for calling out the paint plan.

You're right. Eterna bond does not recommend painting. Kinda was hoping to do a brand new white at the same time, need to re-evaluate that plan.

Will, again, follow your advice, it appears I had the wrong idea.

If it helps, the EternaBond blends into the white roof on mine, so you don't really notice it. Unless you're doing a rooftop deck, you most likely won't be paying attention to the roof anyway when you're out adventureneering.

 

[Mr. Beefy]

We took a pro-active approach, before identifying any leaks that may or may not have been present. Every window was pulled, disassembled, cleaned, and re-assembled to assure the rubber seals / felt wipers were viable, replacing or repairing any that weren't (along with other parts like latches), while using additional non-permanent polyurethane sealant to account for sloppy manufacturing since 'water-tight' was never part of their intended design. Granted, if it's a sideways driving rain they're still likely to leak where the panes meet (and on emergency windows around the periphery), but with the drip-edge above that doesn't happen often.

We also pre-sealed the framing into which they were inserted (which likewise was never designed to be water-tight), and used a combination of butyl tape and low-strength polyurethane sealant to seal the edges where inserted. I've had the opportunity to test things out, and I can say with certainty our windows do not leak (again, excepting side-ways rain). But it took a lot of effort to get there.

All that said, I still accounted for the possibility of them leaking as time/wear/tear take their toll. So if water gets into the walls from that eventuality, it does have a way of getting out.

 

[Mr. Beefy]

I just used a regular bathtub caulk that's mildew /UV resistant. I sealed the outside edges where the window lays against the bus frame, put a large glob at the bottom two corners before inserting. When I insert the window, I squish the blobs down, seal the front outside edges all around, and then same for the back, and I have zero leaks. It's exactly how Thomas did their windows. Blue bird similarly.

Yep, I did the same thing, only I pre-blobbed before inserting them (let those corners cure then added a bit more when setting the windows), and I used polyurethane instead of (likely) silicone.

 

[Beeb2]

I tried every solution I found on these forums and they still leaked in Florida rains. The only thing that solved it was I cut down some plastic roofing material and attached it to the outside of the bus just above the windows to create a makeshift rain guard. That completely solved the problem and was a relatively inexpensive fix (not counting the hundreds we first spent on all the other options).

 

[More2See-SKO]

When sealing around windows you need to use a product that can stretch and move. Do not use anything silicone based that hardens and becomes rigid. Polyurethane caulks are the best to use as they remain tacky. When I took out my windows and resealed the original polyurethane was still elastic in nature. Same goes for anything outside the bus. No silicone based products. Synthetic based latex products are also good to use as again they remain elastic over time. Both types of products are fully paintable.

 

[nikitis]

It's funny because Thomas used "Radio Pure" silicone on my original windows, and they ended up not leaking, but it's rare and I was a lucky exception as it's well known that many Bus windows leak, and it is likely because they used "Radio Pure" silicone. When I reinstalled my windows, I used a white caulk, but in the same places Thomas did since it did end up working out for me, I figured their pattern they originally used works well for these windows.

 

[RadioHill]

I just used a regular bathtub caulk that's mildew /UV resistant. I sealed the outside edges where the window lays against the bus frame, put a large glob at the bottom two corners before inserting. When I insert the window, I squish the blobs down, seal the front outside edges all around, and then same for the back, and I have zero leaks. It's exactly how Thomas did their windows. Blue bird similarly.

Thanks, this is what I think I'm going to do following up with windows if I need to seal. As it were, it seems that I had a number of relatively clearly roof leaks that I've since been working to address (photography might not show correctly but clearly gapped by human eye)

If it helps, the EternaBond blends into the white roof on mine, so you don't really notice it. Unless you're doing a rooftop deck, you most likely won't be paying attention to the roof anyway when you're out adventureneering.

@Slapdash, I was hoping for this, but I might, no I definitely didn't think it all the way through. I think I'm going to have to paint the roof earlier than I thought, just because of the look....

Felt like a bit more of a band-aid look than I realized. But does blend in quite well on the white top!

Going to leave er' out in the rain for a few days, I kinda don't want to tackle the windows if I don't have to right now in my workflow, but really appreciate the advice and insight on this. I already drew blood removing silicon rigid sealant from the roof.

 

[Slapdash]

Ah, I see. I had it in my head that your roof was already painted white. But, sealed in is still better than an interior waterslide for now. Looks like you have a different rain-shedding design too, with those diverter things over the windows. Mine has actual gutters, sort of like on a house. But the pic in the driveway shows the fresh paint all the way down into the gutter, which was a serendipitous event because I didn't have to be laser-precise with the painters tape line. That pic also doesn't have the EternaBond on it yet. The second pic in the campground does and you can barely see it. So when you get to painting, I'm sure you can have a workaround for the Band-Aids. At least they're waterproof Band-Aids!

Keep us posted on the rain situation. Also, I hear ya on the blood-drawing. Feel like I lost a few pints on mine. Even chipped a tooth doing the front brakes!

Once the blizzard melts here, I'll try and get a better 'after' pic.

 

[RadioHill]

Just to update, checked in on the rig this morning.

Only 4 remaining leaks remaining!

I have one roof seam that was not taped. That is clearly contributing to 2 leaks when I think of the path of travel, from the seam to interior wall members, etc. So will get that on the next dry opportunity.

The other two, are slower versions of the original two windows leaks. Going to have to follow the advise from @nikitis & @Mr. Beefy on window sealing on those.

@Slapdash thanks for the photo context, I'm absolutely thinking similarly to you on the paint lines. Anything above the edge of the window = white. But absolutely no argument whatsoever on priorities. Was thrilled to see no water on the floor. Just on the window line and door, entryway.