2018 t@b 400 side portal window leak

SeaLaVie
SeaLaVie Member Posts: 47
edited November 2020 in Service/Maintenance & Recall Notices
I have a 2018 t@b 400. found a small amount of water running down the wall inside the bathroom under the portal window. It appears the black seal around the outside of the portal window has some very slight gaps where it seems to have pulled away from the outside wall of the camper. Can anyone recommend a sealant that will run into a narrow gap like that and cure that will not require me to remove and reinstall the window?

Don't mistake the bit of white area in the photos for the size of gap. There is some white showing where I peeled away a small bit of the black graphic material in order to get better access to the window seal. I can get my fingernail into the gap between the seal and the wall in some areas.







2018 T@B 400
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Comments

  • vhollow
    vhollow Member Posts: 95
    I too have a 2018 400. I have not noticed this problem (yet), but good to know of the possibility. I would tape off the bottom of the seal area, then squirt in a two-part liquid epoxy resin. The kind that comes in two side-by-side syringes. If you want to get fancier, West Marine sells G-Flex epoxy resin, which is supposed to be slightly flexible. But I haven’t used it, so I don’t know if it is worth it. But, as a long-time saltwater sailor, I can say that epoxy resin makes an excellent, permanent bond, and would flow around your window with gravity, as long as it is warm enough. It cleans up with acetone, but careful with those decals; they could dissolve. Use a really tight, fine line tape under the window.
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  • vhollow
    vhollow Member Posts: 95
    You can thin room temp epoxy with a little acetone and use a syringe to squirt it in or dribble it (patiently) with a toothpick, as long as none leaks out the bottom.
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  • Bayliss
    Bayliss Member Posts: 1,496
    @SeaLaVie, I know that nuCamp uses GEOCELL MHRV 2300 sealant, because it works well with fiberglass, BUT I do not know specifically whether they use it for the rubber window seals.  You can always contact them to see what they say.  You may also want to take a look at Geocel ProFlex RV sealant, which is a similar product.  I believe they are both  polyurethane based.

    NOTE:      You do not want to use a silicone product on the exterior of the trailer, because it does not adhere well to aluminum or fiberglass.
    2019 T@B 320 S Boondock Lite; 2025 Toyota Tundra CrewMax 4x4
    (Alde: 3020; Refrig: Isotherm Cruise 65 Eleg; Battery: BB 100Ah LiFePO4; Solar: Renogy 220W Portable Suitcase w/ Victron SmartSolar MPPT 75/15 Controller; Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor w/ Shunt; Pwr Cntr: PD-4135KW2B; EMS: PI-HW30C)
    Greg & Marlene (Tucson, AZ)


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  • jimcenname
    jimcenname Member Posts: 345
    I had that problem repaired under warranty earlier this year. Nucamp service solved it by removing about 1/4 inch of the black decal around the windows and recaulking with white chalk. Apparently the black decal, when heated by the sun, moves enough to break the caulking away from the window. Thus they removed the black decal from around the window.
    2019 T@B400
    TV: 2017 Nissan Frontier SV 4X4
    Southern California
    Full-timer since 2019
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  • SeaLaVie
    SeaLaVie Member Posts: 47
    Thanks everyone for the great tips so far! I emailed nucamp about it and am waiting on their response as well. I will report back with what they recommend and hope I can get it sealed up soon.
    2018 T@B 400
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited April 2021
    I would not put any epoxy products around the window seal, this will cause more of a mess, than  it will fix.  The correct caulking material is the solution.  The best, longest solution I’d to get the nüCamp recommended caulk, remove the port light outside seal, clean under it, pull back the decal, and re-caulk the seal,back in.  Temp fix, cut back,some of the black decal as previously suggested, and add OEM caulk around the problem area.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • vhollow
    vhollow Member Posts: 95
    Yes, my suggestion for epoxy was to put something penetrating into a tiny gap if one didn’t want to strip out the old caulk, but Denny’s suggestion is better, and even cutting back the decal and using white caulk would be more prudent than epoxy. The decals around my portholes have produced a few air blisters in sunlight. So far my low tech solution has been to prick them with a pin and squeeze the air out. Cutting back the decals would solve that too.
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited April 2021
    @vhollow, if the sides of the TaB had plywood in them, the penetrating epoxy woukd be good to displace any moisture and seal the ply.  But as the newer TaBs are Azdel, fiberglass/foam sandwich, nothing for the epoxy to soak into, it will just run down like the water did.  
    Cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • vhollow
    vhollow Member Posts: 95
    Okay. Here I sit, old, semi-quarantined, bored...and corrected. :)
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    That make two of us my friend. Verna nails me every now and then too.  ;)
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • SeaLaVie
    SeaLaVie Member Posts: 47
    edited November 2020
    Thanks again for the info. I heard back from NüCamp and they recommended using Geocel 2300 MHRV sealant, https://www.geocelusa.com/product/2300-mhrv-sealant/ 
    2018 T@B 400
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  • SactoSteve
    SactoSteve Member Posts: 32
    The 2300 sealant is white.  I’m looking to reseal the door window and the doorside porthole window which currently have a black sealant which is deteriorating.  Geocel 28103 is their black sealant.  I am planning to use that anyone have experience with the Geocel 28103 product?  Thanks, steve
    -steve
    2019 T@B 400
    2018 Audi Q5
    Sacramento CA
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  • jimcenname
    jimcenname Member Posts: 345
    edited April 2021
    nuCamp changed the decal to window alignment and now leaves 1/4" space around the window from the decal Since the panel is white they now use white sealant. The black sealant on my 2019 400 broke away from the windows and nuCamp trimmed the black decal back and then resealed using white. 
    2019 T@B400
    TV: 2017 Nissan Frontier SV 4X4
    Southern California
    Full-timer since 2019
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  • SeaLaVie
    SeaLaVie Member Posts: 47
    SactoSteve said:
    The 2300 sealant is white.  I’m looking to reseal the door window and the doorside porthole window which currently have a black sealant which is deteriorating.  Geocel 28103 is their black sealant.  I am planning to use that anyone have experience with the Geocel 28103 product?  Thanks, steve
    The 2300 sealant does come in a black version. That's what I used. I believe their product number is GC63103. It worked very well. This stuff is STICKY. I trimmed back the decal material before resealing the windows. Decided to do all three since they were all showing the same signs of pulling the decal material off the fiberglass.
    2018 T@B 400
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  • PamandJohnUpNorth2
    PamandJohnUpNorth2 Member Posts: 147
    @SeaLaVie Where were you able to buy the 2300 GC63103? I have searched the internet and I find lots of "clear" but no black.
    Pam and John
    Champlin, Minnesota
    2018 T@B400 and a 2025 Ridgeline Trailsport

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  • Raydar
    Raydar Member Posts: 13
    Caulking has cracked and bubble up around windows. How do I repair this, and with what type of Caulking. 
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  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM Member Posts: 10,061
    @Raydar - this discussion should be helpful.  See above.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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