65callie
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Post by 65callie on Apr 11, 2016 15:10:14 GMT -8
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Apr 11, 2016 16:49:50 GMT -8
No matter what you do short of shrink wrapping the entire trailer Jalousies will leak when driving in a rain storm.
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Post by vintagebruce on Apr 12, 2016 8:21:18 GMT -8
Wow, that is quite a price reduction! I may buy some and give it a try on my Compact jalousies. Thanks for the tip!
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65callie
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Post by 65callie on Apr 12, 2016 12:30:41 GMT -8
Wow, that is quite a price reduction! I may buy some and give it a try on my Compact jalousies. Thanks for the tip! There's a guy here in north Geogia who restores trailers and this is what he uses.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on Apr 12, 2016 18:35:48 GMT -8
I read somewhere and I'll see if I can find it again, but it has to do with pressure change in the camper while driving....kinda like the pressure change in a house when a tornado is on top of it. The water gets sucked in. The article was talking about having a small vent open or a window cracked. I haven't tried these, but the pressure change does make sense to me. We have a stone guard on our Starflyte and we still get water in through one of the front windows. Not entirely on topic, but on our trip last fall we had numerous mini- explosions of various liquids (food & porta potty) that were related to changes in elevation. Mostly in New Mexico, with pretty significant altitude changes. Regarding the jalousie window problem...I suggest driving in reverse when it rains. Takes a lot of practice, especially at 50 or 60 MPH.
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Post by danrhodes on Apr 12, 2016 20:16:34 GMT -8
I read somewhere and I'll see if I can find it again, but it has to do with pressure change in the camper while driving....kinda like the pressure change in a house when a tornado is on top of it. The water gets sucked in. The article was talking about having a small vent open or a window cracked. I haven't tried these, but the pressure change does make sense to me. We have a stone guard on our Starflyte and we still get water in through one of the front windows. Not entirely on topic, but on our trip last fall we had numerous mini- explosions of various liquids (food & porta potty) that were related to changes in elevation. Mostly in New Mexico, with pretty significant altitude changes. Regarding the jalousie window problem...I suggest driving in reverse when it rains. Takes a lot of practice, especially at 50 or 60 MPH. youtu.be/mxr83Vkrh00
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ladywendolyn
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Post by ladywendolyn on Apr 12, 2016 20:19:20 GMT -8
No matter what you do short of shrink wrapping the entire trailer Jalousies will leak when driving in a rain storm. I am so tempted to post this photo on Facebook with a title "Trailer for sale, no leaks".. lol
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chametzoo
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Post by chametzoo on Apr 12, 2016 21:04:13 GMT -8
No matter what you do short of shrink wrapping the entire trailer Jalousies will leak when driving in a rain storm. Due to very specific aerodynamics, it's the front and rear windows that have the most potential to leak. My side jalousies never leak. Updraft emerging from under the tow vehicle help the front to leak and the same emerging from the back of the trailer do the same for the rear. The airflow curls abruptly upward from under either vehicle before dissipating. Add water to that… and you have a mess. The shrink wrap for the front windows is not a bad idea for those rainy occasions. I think they sell it at Home Depot for insulating drafty windows. Plastic wrap + some hot air from a blow dryer. Wonder if that would withstand the airflow while traveling.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Apr 13, 2016 6:26:12 GMT -8
No matter what you do short of shrink wrapping the entire trailer Jalousies will leak when driving in a rain storm. Due to very specific aerodynamics, it's the front and rear windows that have the most potential to leak. My side jalousies never leak. Updraft emerging from under the tow vehicle help the front to leak and the same emerging from the back of the trailer do the same for the rear. The airflow curls abruptly upward from under either vehicle before dissipating. Add water to that… and you have a mess. The shrink wrap for the front windows is not a bad idea for those rainy occasions. I think they sell it at Home Depot for insulating drafty windows. Plastic wrap + some hot air from a blow dryer. Wonder if that would withstand the airflow while traveling. Well that was really sort of a joke but it really is hard to stop the front jalousies from leaking while driving in a rain storm. However just to answer your question this Shasta made it all the way to NC with the shrink wrap intact. The trailer had a brand new paint job and the owner did not want that new paint to be damaged during the trip to NC from CA. It worked.
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Poquito
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Post by Poquito on Oct 6, 2020 6:17:45 GMT -8
I realize this is an old post (2016) but I did buy the clear seals from VTS a couple of years ago and did a crazy thing with them.
I noticed that they slid off while driving - they would fall into the inside of the window and the screen kept them from going anywhere. So I decided to try to add a clear kitchen and bath tube sealant to the inside of the seal and placed them on each pane of glass. It held pretty good except as the days heat up here in Florida I noticed the seals did slip a little.
BUT over time, the road gunk, dirty stuff attached itself to the seals. As time went on, the dirty stuff helped the seals stay in place and driving in the rain had no ill effects. BUT I got tired of the dirty ick on the windows and cleaned them up nice before going to a rally. Well, taking off the dirt made them slipery again and the front ones did not hold up well, dry or wet. Rain came in on the way home. I could of used some non residue tape across the front panes on the way home after stopping at a gas station but decided to keep on keep'in on. So, the seal strips warm up and warp or loosen.
The kitchen and bath sealant did not keep them permanently on, and if you like to keep them looking clean, the kitchen and bath sealant stuff is not the greatest but is better than nothing at all. I'm looking for an alternative and will share if a better plan comes my way. Cheers, Poquito
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chametzoo
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Post by chametzoo on Oct 6, 2020 8:16:35 GMT -8
The kitchen and bath sealant did not keep them permanently on, and if you like to keep them looking clean, the kitchen and bath sealant stuff is not the greatest but is better than nothing at all. I'm looking for an alternative and will share if a better plan comes my way. Cheers, Poquito Tough choice: dirty windows or wet interior. Further back in this thread, Mobiletec made a joke about just shrink wrapping the whole trailer, but I think he is on to something. Even after applying the glass strips, I still had problems with water coming in those front windows, not between the glass panes, but through the frame itself. With the air rolling over the front of the trailer, there is a big pressure differential and the water will be sucked through even the tinniest of openings. On close examination the jalousies frames which are assembled from many parts, have lots of gaps and pinholes that the glass strips do not address. So, I decided that the only solution was to completely cover the front set of three windows on my '60 Mobile Scout when traveling with rain expected. So what would that look like? At first I would use a piece of clear plexi with a rubber gasket around the perimeter that would press onto the surface of trailer and seal off the windows from water and air flow. The challenge was how to get the plexi to attach. I came up with a couple of solutions, but before I fabricated this thing I got an easier solution a la Mobiletecs shrink wrap joke. When traveling in rain, prepare the windows with clear heavy mil plastic and secure it to the trailer skin with a non glue residue "duct" tape. I tested the tape and found that it did perform well in terms of not leaving any glue residue. If you've got a good paint job it certainly will not pull any paint off the skin. So, this is a temporary, rain only application. When you arrive at your destination, you just rip the whole thing off. The plastic can be reused for next time and you keep a roll of that tape handy. Now... I haven't tried this in practice yet, with low rainfall this summer in NM... but I think it is promising and also easy to apply and remove. Just taking the jalousies out of the equation is my solution
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Oct 6, 2020 9:57:12 GMT -8
This is a very old post, because it's a very old problem!
The problem is not really about leaks, and seals, it's that all the various makes of Jailousie style windows are a awful design that should never be used on the front of any moving vehicle. If you look back over the history of old RV's they used the Jailousie style of window only for a very short period. Unfortunately for us, that period is a very popular period for what we call vintage.
Sealing up a trailer with a plastic shrink wrap is not a good idea if your plan is to transport the trailer. Just call Flyte Camp, and ask the Justine Scribner what he think's of shrink wrap when towing a newly polished and rebuilt (very high $$$) Spartan Manor cross country. Moisture and dust collected under the plastic, the wind of highway travel then abraded the newly polished skin to the point that they had to re-polish ( a BIG JOB) the entire trailer before they could deliver it to the new owner.
The reason that the clear plastic edge seals do not stay on the glass edges is because not all glass panes used on Jailousie windows have the same thickness glass. Remember, this is only a style, it was used by several different manufacturer's, there's not a standard size, which you will discover when you go looking for seals. Finding the correct size fuzzy scraper seals is usually the most difficult.
In my opinion, Your not going to succeed in sealing the window to make it water tight when you toss in the unknown of 60 mph road winds, coming from differ, and changing angles.
The best solution for those trailers that were originally built with a jailousie style front window assembly is to fabricate a ridged rock guard. Something along the lines of a extruded aluminum frame, hinged at the top, gas shocks to hold it up, pull lock pins to hold it closed for travel. Use the corrugated fiberglass (or plastic) patio panels to fill in the middle. It does not need to be water tight, it just needs to stop the air flow, and divert the air/water flow. If you use a opaque color panel, it will work as a sun shade when the cover is raised.
John
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Poquito
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Post by Poquito on Oct 7, 2020 7:31:49 GMT -8
I like your suggestion, Chametzoo. I had thought of something similar - I saw it being done on a beautifully restored trailer at a rally, before they left they had some kind of wrap taped to the front and back windows. The trailer had a strong front and back curve so the water is probably even more likely to pull up and in during travel in rain. I use 3M no residue tape. I did start having trouble finding it, a couple places have it in stock (Publix and Target) but not in HD or Lowe's in my area but in case I couldn't find it anymore I did order extra from Amazon.
So getting to my newest and latest idea...I found 3M Press in Place Caulk, Cat. No. 2150, from a local hardware store. They had plenty of boxes of it even though the packaging looks dated. It is a thin strip of butyl type tape with a pull off strip - 5/15 of an inch wide and in 22 ft length. I cut off the strip and put it on the alcohol cleaned edge of a window glass then pressed down the vinyl gasket from VS. It is sticking on pretty good and will test it out on my next road trip. Even if I use a taped on widow cover, this will be the 2nd level of defense!
Happy travels, Poquito
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Post by wisconsinjoe on Nov 4, 2020 6:59:20 GMT -8
I agree on using a well designed rock guard. Somewhere in this forum there was a great suggestion on how to build one from some aluminum extrusion system. I hope I bookmarked it because I'm coming up to that project soon. But, I want to put a Lexon panel in the middle because I like being able to see in my rear view mirror all the way through the campers front and back windows to the road behind when pulling the camper. That view may be small, but you can tell if you have vehicles stacked up behind you.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on Nov 4, 2020 19:19:05 GMT -8
Interesting discussion. Like Joe, I can see behind me when towing, through the trailer's rear windows. I really like this, it makes decisions about passing or pulling over into the slow lane much easier. Our Fan has jalousie windows on the side and rear windows. There is no doubt that the jalousies don't seal well. I haven't yet replaced the seals. I've posted this before, every Fall I remove the screens from our Hehr windows and shrink wrap them with clear plastic. This makes them, in effect, a storm window of sorts. It dramatically reduces drafts when camping in cold weather, and helps keeps road dirt out while traveling. In spring I just remove the shrink wrap, and until I replace the seals we'll have road dirt. It is a hard life!
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