97 Premier window leaks.

Everything about Chinooks that isn't option specific. Please check if your post is more appropriate in another category before posting here.
Roddo63
Posts: 11
Joined: November 3rd, 2017, 3:16 pm

97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Roddo63 »

How common is it for a 1997 or similar year premiers or concourse to have leaks at every window? I looked at a 97 Premier and actually bought it, but ended up taking it back.Every window had a leak that rotted out the framing below the window especially the kitchen. All the wallpaper was peeling off the walls and it also had multiple water staining on the lower parts of the cabinets and couch area.Only has 53,000 miles and ran great the price was $12,500. I think the repairs we're not worth it. Would it have been worth it to have it fixed or just wait for another one that's been cared for and maintained better? Is this a relatively common issue for all Chinook premieres and concourses to have window leaks? The roof had no leaks whatsoever but the windows that were leaking seem to be relatively poorly constructed to allow this to happen. Do the concourses of this era have less problems than the premiers for window water leaks or are they constructed better? thank you for any and all advice much appreciated!
Last edited by Roddo63 on December 9th, 2017, 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
kdarling
Senior Member
Posts: 726
Joined: October 20th, 2015, 6:57 am
Location: Northern NJ

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by kdarling »

I've never heard of this happening unless the bottom drains were clogged and the water backed in from there.

Otherwise, I wonder if someone had removed the windows and replaced them improperly.

Kev
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
User avatar
Blue~Go
Senior Member
Posts: 3716
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:01 am
Location: 1999 Concourse

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Blue~Go »

It seems that the Chinooks had some good quality window bedding done when they were built, so leaks aren't (yet) very common. But.... any holes with stuff in them (roof vent/windows/refrigerator vents/air-conditioners/etc.) eventually need maintenance (re-bedding), whether preventative or to fix a leak problem. That said, I haven't heard of too many people having simultaneous leaks at all windows. Still, as our rigs age, leaks/maintenance will happen.

I think Scott (who has a mid-90's Premier) did have window leaks - you may be able to search and find out more, because I think he made a thread on it. It was then that I first learned that the Premiers had "stick built" window framing vs. the "plywood sheet with a cutout" framing of the Concourse. I think the windows are typically clamp-ring types (mine are anyway). (Oh, I just realized you returned that Premier.)

Anyway, the main thing is to either re-bed things preventatively, or catch leaks very soon and do it then. Even molded fiberglass RV's like ours have plenty of wood/fabric/etc. that won't react well to a long term leak. The good thing is that there aren't flexing seams all over the place like in some other types of RV.
1999 Concourse
Roddo63
Posts: 11
Joined: November 3rd, 2017, 3:16 pm

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Roddo63 »

Thanks for the response maybe it had something to do with the heat and sun prematurely drying out the bedding. The premier spent its life until 2004 in Arizona then went to Upstate New York. After that it looks like it was stored mostly Outdoors by the weathered decals and severely weather and deteriorating plastic Hardware on the outside. It's good to know that this is not a common problem. A little preventive maintenance would have went a long long ways in this Premier . Also had rot in the closet and storage area in back. I will be patient and hopefully I will find a good one!
User avatar
Scott
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 608
Joined: October 12th, 2015, 5:54 am
Location: Santa Cruz

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Scott »

Hey there. My Chinook's previous owner hired an RV technician to reseal the windows after some slight water intrusion by the sofa. In a stroke of genius, the tech applied gobs of acrylic caulk to the outside of the window flange. I'm guessing he was a dim apprentice with a hangover. I couldn't stand to look at it so I ended up rebedding it, then did same to the rest of the coach windows. Then I resealed all the gizmos on the roof as well. There weren't any leaks; it was just for maintenance. Probably overkill but it's possible to have a slow leak go on for years without knowing it, which is the cause of the inappropriately named "dry rot." Here's the thread BG was referring to: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=274&hilit=beer

The lower fridge vent is a common leaker, and it's documented in this forum. Another one that surprised me was the furnace intake/exhaust flange thingie. Water actually got into it and would dribble into the coach through a hole in the furnace exhaust. If I hadn't removed the furnace, I would have never known. I don't know who to yell at (Chinook or Suburban, probably Suburban), but there were half a dozen things wrong with that situation.

But now that I'm more familiar with the Chinook, I'm even more delighted that it's a single piece shell (the reason I set my sights on a Chinook in the first place). We're pretty well off. I don't want to sully the good name of the folks at [redacted] (starts with a "W" and ends with an "O"), but this is a picture of a model that frequently sells for over $100k. This would give me actual nightmares.
not winning.jpg
Last edited by Scott on December 8th, 2017, 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1994 Premier
User avatar
Blue~Go
Senior Member
Posts: 3716
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:01 am
Location: 1999 Concourse

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Blue~Go »

Thanks for adding that link and recapping it, Scott.

I was going to mention that - just for future reference - leaks that end up around the step/closet/area are not that uncommon. The difference is that people who are paying attention (vs. one just left to its own devices in outside storage for years) notice it and repair it. The usual culprits are the lower fridge vent, sometimes the door, and/or the tire locker door seal.

As Scott says, thank goodness for the one-piece shell. That doesn't mean there's nothing to maintain or possibly leak; but on the other hand RV's with nine-million seams STILL have fridge vents, windows, and hatch gaskets in addition to all the other areas. We have orders of magnitude fewer things to worry about in the way of what could potentially leak.

In some ways a different shape or style of RV would suit me better, but it is SO HARD to go from solid fiberglass shell to anything else. I seriously considered a few other nice rigs, but each time stick with my not-perfect-but-in-many-ways-so-fabulous Chinook.

Chinook also did a pretty decent job of documenting the wiring/plumbing/propane systems (the parts you can't see normally).

So are they perfect? No. But you could do SO MUCH worse. Basically, if the overall type (small Class C) and layout works for you, they really are nice rigs. I often get comments and sometimes wistful looks and - for Pete's sake - mine is nearly 20 years old. Not that that's bad, but typically a 20-year-old Class C is something that people just walk on by without really noticing.
1999 Concourse
reddingnative
Posts: 96
Joined: August 14th, 2017, 6:52 am

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by reddingnative »

Roddo63-
Your post is quite interesting. I have a 1995 Chinook Concourse with plywood framed window openings. I had similar water damage on the driver side sink area and then quite an obvious leak at the opposite end of the window running down the wall onto the couch.

On the passenger side, I found two leaks, after removing the furnace under the seat. A small water leak from around a poorly sealed vent cap and another stream of water trickling down the fiberglass to the left of the vent cap leak. I assumed these leaks were causing the wet carpet from just behind the front passenger seat all the way along the wall back to the stove area.

I made this a priority as it was going to cause more problems if not addressed. I made an appointment with a local auto glass shop as they had an inside covered work area. They removed the passenger side window first. The window seal was a thick black foam which the glass installer thought was a good idea, probably used to make installing the windows easy and quick. It worked for a while anyway. This window opening had the most water damage to the plywood at the corner above the furnace. I'll post some pics, it looked bad and had been leaking for quite a while.

The driver side window opening was nearly perfect. No water damage anywhere, the plywood looked as new. Pics of that also to follow...
Chinook Concourse Manufactured 6/1996
1995 Ford E350 Chassis, 7.5L 460
User avatar
kdarling
Senior Member
Posts: 726
Joined: October 20th, 2015, 6:57 am
Location: Northern NJ

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by kdarling »

Blue~Go wrote:I was going to mention that - just for future reference - leaks that end up around the step/closet/area are not that uncommon. The difference is that people who are paying attention (vs. one just left to its own devices in outside storage for years) notice it and repair it. The usual culprits are the lower fridge vent, sometimes the door, and/or the tire locker door seal.
Plus (rarely?) from the rear indicator lights. And I had a top rear door leak that came from a top ladder attachment point where they used a screw that went all the way through the roof.

One thing about the Chinook's fiberglass is that leaks can sneakily travel quite a way before they come into view!

Kev
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
reddingnative
Posts: 96
Joined: August 14th, 2017, 6:52 am

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by reddingnative »

Here are pics of 1995 Chinook Concourse: The previous owner stored this outside. I had no idea about the source of the leaks until I sat inside it during the pouring rain while removing the old furnace. That's when I discovered the clogged window drain by the sink area.
Attachments
Passenger side corner. This leak was discovered by previous owner, thought it was from roof vent because carpet was wet in various spots on passenger side. I observed a small water leak at furnace vent cover when replacing the furnace and and another bigger leak running down the fiberglass wall to the left of the vent opening. This leak is what caused carpet to be wet behind front passenger seat and continued along the wall to the stove area. I still have not located the source of this leak. Could be a roof railing support which is above that area. Also, there is no staining to the ceiling anywhere including the cabinet above where antenna crank is located.
Passenger side corner. This leak was discovered by previous owner, thought it was from roof vent because carpet was wet in various spots on passenger side. I observed a small water leak at furnace vent cover when replacing the furnace and and another bigger leak running down the fiberglass wall to the left of the vent opening. This leak is what caused carpet to be wet behind front passenger seat and continued along the wall to the stove area. I still have not located the source of this leak. Could be a roof railing support which is above that area. Also, there is no staining to the ceiling anywhere including the cabinet above where antenna crank is located.
Upper driver side window corner. No water damage to window opening. Water was leaking through the foam rubber seal at the top of the window frame and then dripping onto the pad behind the couch.
Upper driver side window corner. No water damage to window opening. Water was leaking through the foam rubber seal at the top of the window frame and then dripping onto the pad behind the couch.
If you zoom in you can see damage to paneling by the sink, but no water damage to window opening. So leak was from clogged corner window drain, my drain was clogged, water over flowed the window track/frame and ran onto counter top. You can also see very minor water damage to opposite bottom corner behind couch.
If you zoom in you can see damage to paneling by the sink, but no water damage to window opening. So leak was from clogged corner window drain, my drain was clogged, water over flowed the window track/frame and ran onto counter top. You can also see very minor water damage to opposite bottom corner behind couch.
Chinook Concourse Manufactured 6/1996
1995 Ford E350 Chassis, 7.5L 460
Roddo63
Posts: 11
Joined: November 3rd, 2017, 3:16 pm

Re: 97 Premier window leaks.

Post by Roddo63 »

Thank you to everyone posting replies! I cannot wait until I find a good one to call my own. Looked at many smaller rvs airstream b190,roadtrek, srarflyte, coach house, Phoenix 2100, trans van , by far my favorite RV is definitely the Chinook! Perfect size and interior height!
Post Reply