ATTENTION! - Special Factory Maintenance Notice

SweetlyHome

We noted this advisory with great interest and went ahead with the checks as we were setting out on a week long trip to Kentucky from our home in Florida.  

We found it extremely difficult to see under the door but it seemed to look good there.  We checked the joints between the under side of the floor and the wheel well shown in the photos, joints are parallel to the axle.  These looked OK but will check them again when we have access to water to clean away the dirt thrown by the tire.  We had to work at the lot where we store the T@B.

We took a deep breath and removed the fenders and were glad we did as the caulk was broken to some extent in the upper joints on both sides of the T@B. 

This is an in process photo.  You can see where we forced silicone sealer into the joint in question.  On this side the black plastic wheel well had only 3 screws in the flange as shown.  We added a couple of more to limit motion and hold the sealer in place.  We did work at smoothing the joint better.

This was not a difficult project, just time consuming.  We had had not noticed leaks but are glad of the warning and having checked.  LG should look into finding a way to make the joint lap the opposite way so water runs over rather than into it.

You can see how tightening the screws oozed the sealer out

John_and_Kris

Sweetly Home Question I do not understand you last comment about tightening the screws and the caulk eased out. The pic show s the fender off what screws did you tighten? Thanks John

SweetlyHome

John_and_Kris I am referring to the screws that secure the wheel well liner to the wall of the T@B one is shown close up in my second photo .  We had been able to work sealant down between the grey wall of the T@B and lip of black wheel well liner as there were few screws securing this joint and in some cases they were loose.  When we installed additional or tightened the existing screws the sealant we had applied in this joint oozed back out to some extent.  We felt this was a good result as it meant we had gotten sealant well down into the joint. 

The fenders are secured to grey wall with 5 screws, you can see the 5 locations in my top photo, plus two that screw into the trim piece from the bottom shown in Michigan_MIke's photo.  Note that the fender was not totally sealed to the wall of the T@B just the 5 screw holes and their screws were sealed.  

Dave and Katie

John_and_Kris

AHHHHH Now I see the holes in your picture are in addition to the holes that secure the fender. Thanks so much for taking time to clarify. John  Happy TABing

Stephensharp

Is there a maintenance clinic scheduled for tearstock? I think this is a great idea and will really add value to the experience. Any opportunity to learn more about our new tab and how to maintain it is something that little guy should sponsor. If not maybe some more experinced tab owners could provide an ad hoc session that provides the novice with operational and maintenance tips. 

Verna

Both Mike and I have sent a list of topics for various discussions, but we have not received confirmations of what to expect. Last year we had many afternoon and evening discussions about different topics outside of my T@B. If nothing is planned, we can certainly do this again.

Michigan_Mike

Scott Hubble had made mention of a winterization clinic so I'm guessing that they do have plans to hold it.  I will query him and post any additional information I receive.  

Thanks for asking!  

jbug10

for those of use that don't want to take this on, and would rather take it somewhere and let someone else do this, would a RV service center be the place to take it?

JustJohn

This question has been here a while, so if you go to an RV repair shop they will do most anything you will pay for. If this is something you are not comfortable doing, I would suggest you go to an independent repair shop or perhaps a larger shop like Camping World or others. Ask their hourly rate and wait for the work to be done. The best solution of course is to have it done at PV.

mrlynch1953

Photomom said:

kybob said:

Thank you, Mike. This would be something nice that they could show us how to do in person at Tearstock. It would be nice to have a general maintenance workshop sometime during the event. 

What a great idea! I'd bet this would get a lot of people who've bought trailers in the previous year. 

Also bearing maintenance, Alde maintenance, etc. 

yes. Please please!

RollingBnB

One thing I remember from my motorhome days is NEVER use silicon on fiberglass. It won't stick and leaves a film that will prevent any other sealant from sticking. I used a lap seal made for rv;s.

ChanW

RollingBnB said:

One thing I remember from my motorhome days is NEVER use silicon on fiberglass. It won't stick and leaves a film that will prevent any other sealant from sticking. I used a lap seal made for rv;s.

Interesting to know! ... But I can't think of any fiberglass in the Tab. Is there some?

RollingBnB

ChanW said:

Interesting to know! ... But I can't think of any fiberglass in the Tab. Is there some?

RollingBnB said:

One thing I remember from my motorhome days is NEVER use silicon on fiberglass. It won't stick and leaves a film that will prevent any other sealant from sticking. I used a lap seal made for rv;s.

nuCamp RV uses Fiberglass and Azdel Sidewall Construction in its campers for serious wall construction. Azdel Composite Panels are constructed using a blend of polypropylene and fiberglass, creating an extremely strong and lightweight wall. Most noteworthy, the top features of using Fiberglass and Azdel Sidewall in campers

Upnorth

This has probably been noted elsewhere, but as I inspected the underside of my T@B, I noticed that the caulking around the black water drain pipe where it exits the trailer was cracked in several places. Another place to check?

One other comment: if you do remove the wheels, I think it would be important to: 1. Chock both wheels, 2. Use a jackstand in addition to the jacks themselves before you get under the trailer.

However, I’m not sure exactly where the jackstand should be placed. Does anyone know?

tabiphile

When you are applying caulk, don't drive yourself crazy trying to get it perfect. Do the best you can with the caulking gun and once finished, put on a pair of latex gloves and then use your fingers to smooth it out and press it in. Don't push or press too hard as you'll end up flattening the bead too much...you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Select a caulk that remains pliable.

Ratkity

Another trick I learned is to use a plastic spoon that is wet to smooth out caulk. The latex gloves would be great if I wasn't allergic to latex! LOL.

Tartantrio

Has anyone used 3M 4200 sealant on the caulked T@B joints?
As a former boater I’ve used this above and below the waterline. It is an excellent performer that will withstand heat/cold, stress and vibration exceptionally well.

ChanW

I love the stuff. I recently used marine 3M 5200 'fast cure', to seal up around a wire entry. 

Nice that it sticks to everything, and is very flexible when cured.

I also used it to seal around our  replacement ceiling fan on the exterior side.

I've heard some people criticize it because it sticks so well, and is hard to remove if you need to remove it.

Tartantrio said:

Has anyone used 3M 4200 sealant on the caulked T@B joints?
As a former boater I’ve used this above and below the waterline. It is an excellent performer that will withstand heat/cold, stress and vibration exceptionally well.

Tartantrio

The 3M 5200 is great too, the only caveat is to use it on things you do not plan on taking apart.
The 4200 should be used on parts that have to periodically be disassembled.

Slackers

I found discolored flooring under the passenger bench. Removing the wheel fender revealed this.  

Lisamorrisette

Not sure what I’m looking at? Is that damaged foam sealing strip or what? Not that I would know, just trying to be proactive.

Slackers

It's more of a rubber material. The forward portion of this material should be further above the wheel well. You can see a dirty line that it should meet. Also the rubberized foam should not be split. My understanding is the split can be fixed by filling it with a good RV caulk. I'll also add some caulk at the torn-looking spots at the screws holes.

justdoit70

We have a 21 T@b 400 solo .We had water show up after a 5 hr tow in the rain  Drivers side looked like it came from under the bed.You all think I have bad seal in this area. Thanks

Sharon_is_SAM

Wasn’t there an issue with the Nautilus box not being well sealed?

justdoit70

I had a leak there also It was the out side edge of that box.I sealed it with Mortite rope caulk pushed into the gap all around the gap inside of the box where it meets the wall. 

Slackers

I tackled this project this weekend. Like @justdoit70 rope caulk was used to fill in the cracks. Since there was plenty of the product, I added a bit more above and beyond the cracks. I'm confident the stuff will stay in place in the cracks, but less so where I used it to build up the sagging portion of the original weather sealing material. The rope caulk was purchased at Lowes at around $7.