Fastest way to stop tail light leakage.

gulfarea

Mine had leakage on drivers side. I put 3M 5200 white around biggest holes then clear silicon around the rest. Here in  Mobile Al we get a tremendous amount of rain and now it is dry inside. This is not for everyone but it sure stopped the leak. Even the wet area inside had dried up and gotten MUCH brighter.  I wish I could have made it look better, but in this 100 plus heat at least I stopped the leak! Art

Horigan

I think a better method is to take the light frame and corner off and apply sealant in the inner interface.  Try that if it leaks again.

MuttonChops

Horigan said:

. . . better method is to take the light frame and corner off and apply sealant in the inner interface. 

Yep.  Seal the handle mounting screws & light frame screws . . . .

lkc001

@MuttonChops. Would you just put a big glob of caulk on each of  the handle screws & caulk in the other screw holes & around the area where the wires come through & also around the light fixture before putting it back together?

MuttonChops

lkc001 said:

@MuttonChops. Would you just put a big glob of caulk on each of  the handle screws & caulk in the other screw holes & around the area where the wires come through & also around the light fixture before putting it back together?

Am No Expert - - - would attempt to remove the handle screws, clean off the old sealant, re-bed handle base with new sealant, and then use extra sealant on each screw as they are driven back in.

If all that is not possible most likely would clean off as much of the old sealant as possible from handle base edges back out the screws I can reach then use new sealant on each screw as they are driven back in and finally put a nice bead of sealant around all the handle base edges.

And Yes, the light fixture screws need sealant . . . black stuff tends to be reusable . . .
However Wires use a cable pass-thru clamp {can't think of the correct name} that includes rubber seals; would just confirm it is tight.

VictoriaP

gulfarea said:

Mine had leakage on drivers side. I put 3M 5200 white around biggest holes then clear silicon around the rest. Here in  Mobile Al we get a tremendous amount of rain and now it is dry inside. This is not for everyone but it sure stopped the leak. Even the wet area inside had dried up and gotten MUCH brighter.  I wish I could have made it look better, but in this 100 plus heat at least I stopped the leak! Art

Definitely would not want to deal with any kind of repairs in 100° heat. Glad the wood is drying out, at least!

For others needing to do a quick repair like this to keep further damage from occurring, silicone and 3M 5200 are both problematic for different reasons. 5200 is the right material in that it’s polyurethane based, which is what nuCamp recommends, but is basically non removable...it’ll never leak again, yay, but you can’t easily go back and clean it up later either. 3M recommends the 4200 instead of 5200 if there is any possibility of eventually needing to remove the sealant.

Silicone isn’t a permanent fix as it eventually degrades or separates from the surface and doesn’t stick well to fiberglass, but it’s also virtually non removable as there will always be a residue left behind that nothing else sticks to either.

Obviously dismantling the area before resealing is best, but it might make sense to keep some 3M 4200 or the equivalent on hand in case emergency repairs are necessary, such as discovering a leak during a multi-day downpour.

ChanW

(wish I'd learned that before I'd used the 5200!)

Note that the 3M 4200 is recommended where it won't be exposed to sunlight. The 4000UV is the UV resistant version.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Marine-Adhesive-Sealant-4000UV/dp/B0000AY0ND

VictoriaP said:

......
For others needing to do a quick repair like this to keep further damage from occurring, silicone and 3M 5200 are both problematic for different reasons. 5200 is the right material in that it’s polyurethane based, which is what nuCamp recommends, but is basically non removable...it’ll never leak again, yay, but you can’t easily go back and clean it up later either. 3M recommends the 4200 instead of 5200 if there is any possibility of eventually needing to remove the sealant.
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