After several days of heavy and steady rain in North Texas, RV owners should take some time to check for signs of water damage. Water intrusion can begin long before you see a ceiling stain or water dripping inside.
Think about what your RV has been through over the last several months. The intense Texas summer heat and UV exposure can be hard on roof sealants, slide seals and exterior seams. Sealant can dry out, crack, shrink or begin pulling away, while rubber seals can become dry or brittle.
Everything may have seemed perfectly fine during a long stretch of dry weather.
Then the rain comes.
And water is very good at finding the smallest opening.
You Don’t Have to See a Drip to Have a Water Problem
One of the biggest misconceptions about an RV water leak is that you’ll know immediately when you have one.
That’s not always the case.
Water can enter through a small opening in the roof, around a seam or through a failed seal and begin affecting materials before you see obvious evidence inside your RV.
Depending on where the water enters, it may travel away from the original leak before becoming visible. That means the stain you eventually notice isn’t necessarily directly below the place where water is getting in.
By the time you notice discoloration, bubbling, a soft area, a musty smell or an actual drip, water intrusion may have already been occurring.
That’s why several days of rain are a good reminder to inspect your RV instead of waiting for it to tell you there’s a problem.
Check Your RV Roof for Leaks After Heavy Rain
Once the rain has stopped and the roof is completely dry, the roof should be one of the first places you check.
Months of Texas sun and heat can take a toll on roof sealants. Look closely around:
- Roof and plumbing vents
- Skylights
- Antennas
- Solar panel mounting points
- Front and rear cap seams
- Roof edges and transitions
- Other equipment, brackets or fasteners that penetrate the roof
Look for sealant that is cracked, shrinking, separating, lifting or developing gaps.
While you’re there, inspect the roof membrane itself. Look for tears, punctures, lifting, unusual bubbles or areas that simply don’t look like the rest of the roof.
Safety matters. A wet RV roof can be extremely slippery, and not every RV roof is designed to be walked on. Check your manufacturer’s recommendations. If you aren’t comfortable getting onto the roof or aren’t sure what you’re looking for, have it professionally inspected.
Inspect Your RV Slide-Outs and Seals for Water Intrusion
Full-timers need to pay particular attention to their slide-outs.
If your slides stay extended all of the time, the tops of those slides and their seals have been exposed to the same Texas heat, UV rays, wind and rain as the rest of your RV.
After several days of rain, inspect the tops of the slides once they’re dry and can be safely accessed. Remove leaves, twigs and other debris, and look for damage to the slide roof material, seams and edges.
Then inspect the seals around each slide.
Look for seals that are:
- Dry or brittle
- Cracked or split
- Torn
- Flattened or distorted
- Pulling away from the RV
- No longer making good contact with the slide
This is especially important as we move into colder weather.
North Texas winters can be unpredictable, and we usually see at least a few significant cold snaps and hard freezes. A damaged slide seal isn’t just an opportunity for rainwater to enter. It can also allow cold air and moisture into your RV and make it harder to keep the interior comfortable.
After a long, hot summer followed by days of rain, now is an excellent time to inspect those seals before winter arrives.
Check Windows, Doors and Exterior Seams
Your RV roof isn’t the only place rainwater can get in.
Walk around the outside of your RV and inspect the sealant around windows, doors, exterior compartments, lights and other components installed through the exterior walls.
Pay attention to corners and seams where different materials meet.
You’re looking for cracks, gaps, separation or deteriorated sealant.
A quick summer shower may never reveal a small problem. Several days of steady or wind-driven rain can be a very different story.
Look Inside Your RV for Signs of Water Damage
Even if everything looks good outside, do a thorough walk-through inside your RV.
Don’t just look for water dripping from the ceiling.
Check around:
- Ceiling vents
- Skylights
- Air conditioners
- Upper cabinets
- Windows and doors
- Exterior walls
- Closets along exterior walls
- Slide-out corners
- Flooring around slides
Open cabinets and closets that you don’t normally use. Gently feel for dampness or soft spots, especially along exterior wall areas and compare them with the surrounding material.
Look for discoloration, bubbling, wrinkling, swelling, soft areas or dampness.
And use your nose.
A new musty or damp smell can be an early warning that moisture is somewhere it shouldn’t be.
Don’t Forget to Look Under Your RV
After several days of heavy rain, take a walk around the bottom of your RV too.
Look at the underbelly for areas that appear to be sagging, swollen or hanging lower than normal. If the underbelly appears to be holding water, the next question is where did that water come from?
Don’t assume it’s rainwater. Water in the underbelly can also come from a plumbing leak or another source inside the RV.
Finding the source is just as important as dealing with the water itself.
Open your exterior storage compartments too.
Check the floors, walls, corners and around the compartment doors for dampness, staining or a musty smell. Pay particular attention to storage areas underneath slides or along exterior walls where water may have found its way in during prolonged or wind-driven rain.
Move stored items out of the way if necessary. Water can collect behind bins, boxes and other belongings where you may not notice it during your normal routine.
If you find moisture in the underbelly or a storage compartment, finding where the water is coming from is just as important as drying the area out.
Don’t Automatically Cover a Problem With More Sealant
If you find cracked or deteriorating sealant, resist the temptation to grab a tube of whatever caulk happens to be handy and cover it up.
Different RV roofing materials and applications require compatible products. The area may also need to be properly cleaned and prepared before new sealant is applied.
More importantly, if water has already entered through a failed seal, simply covering the opening doesn’t tell you whether moisture or damage is already underneath it.
The goal isn’t just to stop the next rain.
It’s to determine whether water has already gotten in and properly address the source of the problem.
Stationary RVs Still Need Regular Exterior Inspections
This is particularly important for full-time RV owners who stay in one location.
When your RV isn’t traveling, it’s easy to think it isn’t experiencing the same wear and tear as an RV that’s frequently on the road.
But stationary doesn’t mean protected.
Your RV roof and exterior seals are exposed to the weather every day of the year.
And because you aren’t preparing the RV for travel regularly, you may not have the same reason to climb up and inspect the roof, check the slides or walk around looking closely at exterior seams.
Months can go by without anyone seeing what’s happening on top of the RV.
Let the Recent Rain Be Your Reminder
Several days of rain like we’ve just experienced in North Texas can actually give RV owners a good opportunity to catch a problem.
Once everything is dry and conditions are safe, take a good look at your RV.
Check the roof and roof sealant. Inspect your slide-outs and slide seals. Look around windows, doors and exterior seams. Walk through the interior and check areas you don’t normally inspect. Take a look underneath the RV too.
And remember:
Your RV doesn’t have to be dripping water inside to have a water intrusion problem.
With winter approaching, now is a good time to find and address anything the summer heat and recent rain may have exposed.
RV Mobile Medics Repair & Service can inspect your RV roof, seals and other potential areas of water intrusion at your location. If you’re concerned about what the recent North Texas rain may have exposed, contact us to schedule an inspection.
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