Damp in Roof Conundrum

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mikexgough
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Damp in Roof Conundrum

Post by mikexgough » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:05 pm

I have a Bongo Owner who has asked for some help...... with dampness inside his AFT on the tent area.
The owner is certain that the reason for this could be due to storing a thick memory foam mattress in the roof and the roof struggling to close when said mattress was up in the roof.

Now.... I've taken a look see and can't see much that looks wrong from initial observations and this roof tent issue was still happening during September (the driest one since records began).

The owner tells me on the phone, that there is more dampness up there since the rain yesterday and him driving through it, which kind of leads me to think about the seal at the bottom of the AFT (which was recently treated by the owner with gummi pfledge) and if that is causing the ingress of rain etc.

I'm (if he manages to get here) going to check out the roof and how "true" it sits,lifted and shut, and compare it to the workshop manual

Just wondering...on his behalf..... if anyone has seen/come across this problem before...
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Simon Jones
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Re: Damp in Roof Conundrum

Post by Simon Jones » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:27 pm

Could it be the seal around the glass panel? A ladder, hosepipe and an assistant might at least eliminate that as being the cause.
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Re: Damp in Roof Conundrum

Post by g8dhe » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:44 pm

The rain would not only be having to get under the AFT rubber but then also under the AFT frame seal itself. I had a problem ages ago where the seal on the frame had disintegrated over time and the water was getting in there when the AFT was up. The solution was to release the lower frame (scrivets), strip off the old sticky backed foam and apply a new seal, it was the same stuff for sealing doors however rather than stick the foam layer to the frame I stuck it to the top of the roof as it was easier and there are intentional "dents" in the roof that meant the foam only just sealed the gap at those points, by applying it to the roof meant it at leased sealed the bottom at those points and if it does shrink over time then the water has to rise up at least 5mm to overtop the foam!
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Re: Damp in Roof Conundrum

Post by helen&tony » Wed Oct 08, 2014 4:18 am

Hi
Open the roof hatch, leave it open and lower the roof. Use very soapy water and it's easier to see the soapy streaks....It shouldn't be too hard to find, as both replies are the only 2 areas for leaks of your sort...unlike my old type 2....which I had to seal with rubber paint!
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Re: Damp in Roof Conundrum

Post by mikexgough » Thu Oct 09, 2014 3:18 pm

Following on...... The Bongo owner is/was concerned that the thick memory foam mattress may have "twisted" or "distorted" the roof/mechanism so it not fitting right and allowing water ingress.....

To update on that..... the roof raises and lowers okay and the main runners are fine and dandy, looking at the Workshop manual...there os no reference to any adjustments for the roof......

There are 3 "loose"ish tent bottom fixtures on the door side of the tent, where it appears to be damp,so I guess that is where it's needed to eliminate.

One Caveat is there was a silicate damp pouch or 3 up in the roof to keep the chance of mould down but one appears to have burst up there....it has been cleaned up though and the roof mattress removed.....
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