Window behind couch
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 6:32 pm
I am a new owner of a 1996. This is a great forum and has already been most helpful. In fact I found my van here through the want ads.
I've read through most of the posts and have not found my questions addressed elsewhere so here goes. In a previous life the window behind the couch leaked and rotted the paneling. I have removed the paneling and made a replacement, but am curious as to the sealing of the window. Apparently in an attempt to stop the leak there was lots of caulk like material stuffed down in the gap between the outside top of the window and the side of the body. Taking the paneling out required removing the inside trim which is what apparently actually holds the window snug against the body. Mine had pieces of styrofoam around the window on the inside and a piece of 1x3 that fell out when I removed the paneling. I'm not sure where that actually was located. As yet I have not removed the window completely.
Now to my questions. Is there any gasket around the window or is it just sealed with RV window sealer material? Do those of you that have experience with this recommed I remove the window and remove all the old sealer before I put it back together? The window is of course flat and the side of the van has a slight curve to it so it appears that the top and bottom of the window will not fit snuggly against the side of the van, Is that correct? If so I can see where the sealant is important To snug the window as tightly as possible is apparently what the styrofoam and 1x3 were for and it would seem that putting those pieces in the right place would be critical to have a snug window, but maybe I'm missing something and they don't have anything to do with the sealing of the window at all.
I'm pretty handy and will tackle most anything so I can figure out something, but would like to do it right and maybe not have to redo it too many times. Any experiences and recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim
I've read through most of the posts and have not found my questions addressed elsewhere so here goes. In a previous life the window behind the couch leaked and rotted the paneling. I have removed the paneling and made a replacement, but am curious as to the sealing of the window. Apparently in an attempt to stop the leak there was lots of caulk like material stuffed down in the gap between the outside top of the window and the side of the body. Taking the paneling out required removing the inside trim which is what apparently actually holds the window snug against the body. Mine had pieces of styrofoam around the window on the inside and a piece of 1x3 that fell out when I removed the paneling. I'm not sure where that actually was located. As yet I have not removed the window completely.
Now to my questions. Is there any gasket around the window or is it just sealed with RV window sealer material? Do those of you that have experience with this recommed I remove the window and remove all the old sealer before I put it back together? The window is of course flat and the side of the van has a slight curve to it so it appears that the top and bottom of the window will not fit snuggly against the side of the van, Is that correct? If so I can see where the sealant is important To snug the window as tightly as possible is apparently what the styrofoam and 1x3 were for and it would seem that putting those pieces in the right place would be critical to have a snug window, but maybe I'm missing something and they don't have anything to do with the sealing of the window at all.
I'm pretty handy and will tackle most anything so I can figure out something, but would like to do it right and maybe not have to redo it too many times. Any experiences and recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim