Sealing the rear window on the door

[mtn-high]

Heya folks.

Has anyone experienced leakage/staining on the inside of your backdoor under the glass? My door (or should I say window) appears to not be sealed all that well. Today I'm planning on taking it apart to see why.

Just wondering if anyone has had this apart? What did you find/how did you seal it up?

any info appreciated!

 

[Ted]

We have an '03 Hawk. The rear door window is simply pressure fit inside a screwed together plastic frame. the piece of glass rests on a couple of very small plastic points. These little pieces of plastic have a history of breaking off and the window drops down about an inch, leaving a gap. That may be where your leak is coming from.
It is very easy to remove the window frame and window by simply removing the screws in the frame. To repair ours, I laid one section of the frame flat, placed a bead of silicone around the inside edge, and set the window on the frame. Once that dries, put it in place on the door. Then put a bead around the other frame, put it in place, and screw it back together. I have had no problems since, even with all the washboard roads we had in Death Valley.

 

[SunMan]

Mtn,
I've had mine apart twice and it's a fairly simple process. Not sure how the newer model door/windows go together but on my 2003 Hawk there are plastic guides that keep the window centered and in place. There was a problem in the past with the lower guides snapping off allowing the window to drop down into the frame. I placed some dense foam underneath to stop the window from falling and to absorb some of the shock of offroading.

A second pair of hands is helpful once you remove all of the screws to ensure the glass doesn't fall out. When reassembling i ran a thin bead of silicone around the glass where it contacts the frame and is "sandwiched" in. Pretty simple, but again, I'm not sure if the design has changed on newer models. Hope this helps

 

[SunMan]

It seems Ted & I had exactly the same issue on our 2003's!

 

[mtn-high]

THANKS Ted/Sunman!

I remember reading that about the rear window...but mistakenly though it was older FWC's with the problem. Mine has yet to slip/leave a gap...but I can say without a doubt that it has never been sealed up well as I noticed some staining/streaking last Summer after one of our first outings.

In the Wintertime the road grime here is very invasive/nasty/corrosive. Last weekend I opened the door and there were brown streaks running all the way down the door so I knew I needed to address the problem before any lasting damage occurs.

Thanks again for the tip. I think I know what I'm doing later when it warms up a bit!

mtn

 

[Tomas Tierra]

fix with pics

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=521


Pretty simple..as Sunman said, make sure you put something at the bottom of the glass to support it..the little plastic tabs WILL break..

Good luck MH..

TT

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks for the thread link, TT.

Coincidentally, like 5speed....my rig also sports a Pirate Fish!

 

[b team]

Its fun to get home from dv and find the window had slid down and the camper is full of dust.

I used silicon and a piece of rubber hose (3/4 iirc for heater core) to fix it. No problems since.

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks again, everyone.

It's a done deal. Took me about 45 minutes or so. Woulda taken less but all I had on hand was white silicone so I had to do a bit of extra wiping/cleanup to get rid of what creeped out around the frame. No biggie.

Upon first inspection, I found the 3 lower screws in the frame to be loose. When I took it all apart there was noticable dirt/dried road grime laying on top of the styrofoam core. Definitely where the dirt was coming from...

The "seal" around the glass was also a bit schwag. I'm guessing our cold temps here may have shrunk it over the winter and that is partially why the water got in. No matter what the cause.....there just wasn't all that much "weatherstripping" there to contact the glass in all areas and I see why it leaks now.

Either way...it B "pooookied" all to Hell now...so I don't expect anymore streak/leaks.

To hold the glass all the way around I cut up a strofoam floatation "noodle" and wedged peices of it in the top/bottom and sides.

Time for DV! (or the San Juans)

 

[leadsled9]

rear window

Does anyone know if the newer (2008 Hawk) campers have this problem? Or are they different design?

 

[mtn-high]

My Hawk is a 2008, leadsled.

 

[craig333]

When I visited ATC they recommended siliconing the window in. I did a bead on the inside and outside just for piece of mind.

 

[fourwheeltom]

The door frame was modified quite some time ago by the supplier to the door manufacturer. The support in the frame is stronger, and we haven't seen any problems in campers newer than about three or four years old. The glass is strong, and very rarely breaks (usually an impact). We have used a wood block to take the place of the plastic pins, and that has been very effective.
Tom

 

[BobD]

Holy thread revival...

I just picked up a gently used 2012 Grandby from the original owner and noticed that the rear window was "loose" in the frame while cleaning it. Looking closer it was obvious that the outer frame had considerable UV damage with several good size cracks. I was going to dismantle and silicone per this thread but decided to give FWC a call and see if a replacement clamshell frame was available. Sure enough, $20 plus shipping and I have a whole new frame on the way. I'll be sure to silicone seal the new one and put some blocking underneath the tabs when reassembled.

 

[Taku]

Yep on a 2013 Ocelot. Pulled it out and resealed with caulk. Fixed that about five years ago. Now have to chase another leak that after reading some other posts, I think is around the whole door frame. That will have to wait cause it is time to go on a trip before fire season kicks into gear up here.

 

[BobD]

Quick update. The new frame arrived from FWC and included new glass which I didn't expect for $20 at all. They've updated the design on the frame so the window actually sits in a frame as opposed to resting on the ten plastic pins in the old model. With the new design the glass is 3/4" wider than the older model. I ran a bead of RTV around the window to ensure no leaky in the new frame and then ran butyl tape around the outside sealing edge and I'm back in business.