20' Series New weather seal on Expanda bed end - HELP PLEASE!
- Thread starter Flossymk1
- Start date
Thats possibly the best alternative. The cover as its currently delivered will not attached as per its design, which is a shame. I suppose with enough jerking around and modification it could be made to fit, but Im not too fussed having my van used as the guinea pig. I want to see it on someone else's van first. Id prefer a tried, tested and designed product or an alternative from a professional in that trade. Anyway, early days yet I suppose
Maybe, they will make the BEs out of waterproof material in new vans, same as the bottom 200mm so you don't need BEFs! (Yeah, pigs flying past my place at the moment as well)
Is that why the Windsor Rapids don't have flys???
We thought we'd go buy a stack of waterproofing spray for ours after we season it ......To help stop leaks.
So I spoke to the dealer today and short answer is they have no idea how they are going to attach the bed end cover as apparently they haven't yet installed one on a van up here (even the old style lid!)... So he is going to talk to the boys out the back and get them to ring me before they do anything...
The only other option I can think of is maybe they can remove that seal and replace with the older version?? I can't remember what the lid looked like on our 17.56 though, so don't know if this could be done or not...
Wish I had caught up with this thread earlier, I was at Coffs Jayco yesterday could have taken some pics of the new lids and matched against mine. I mentioned elsewhere that I thought the new vans BE's were of lighter material than mine (09) they just seemed thinner and lighter when I was checking them out yesterday.
Not sure about the canvas on the new van, but on our 2009 Expanda the canvas was 100% waterproof, very effective, and probably 10oz. I "Seasoned" it and sealed the seems where they tampered with it by cutting and sewing. It never leaked a drop in 5 years with some testing weather during that time. The new canvas is definitely not as heavy .... but Im hoping Jayco hasn't cheapened that up, and the new one is a similar quality and type.
Jayco dont do themselves any favours by not actively informing people of the limitations and requirements of canvas. The canvas on our 2009 was high quality, fantastic, 99% waterproof and Jayco did a great good with it .... but thats where it falls apart. There was a lot of people complaining the Expanda's leak because Jayco never bothered to learn them up.
Tents, even good ones (including Expanda ends) all leak when new. A tent that never leaked or leaks is as common as a Unicorn. The process of sewing creates a hole by a thick needle, left filled by a much thinner thread. The thread is generally not water proof and will wick the water by drawing it through the looses holes creating by the larger needle. The wet thread will then quickly soak any zipper material, other material and anything else touching it.
Canvas "Seasoning" isn't about the canvas, its the process of closing the needles holes around the thread by the intentionally, artificially and repeated soaking and drying, soaking and drying etc etc new canvas seams over a short period. The repeated soaking and drying shrinks the sewing holes in the canvas around the thread and reduces the wicking, more often than not to nothing. The newer the canvas and the more repeated and effective the soaking and drying ..... the better the "Seasoning".
Take out the vans mattress, and get that damn hose and soak that canvas as much as possible, especially the seams and stitching. If your not getting some moisture through to the inside of the van, your not trying hard enough.
A warm day is the best time to do it, because the cycles are more effective and shorter. "Seasoning" is most effective on new canvas; trying to "Season" older canvas thats already seen some weather will not be as effective. Wetting the canvas during the "Seasoning" is not like replicating rain ..... its more like trying to drown it.
After you've Seasoned the canvas, get a pump pack of NikWax UV Proof (NikWax is the best waterproofer in the cosmos ... according to me). Pour the UV proof into the container, throw the pump pack in the bin. Using a small paint brush, work the UV Proof onto the all the seems, paying particular attention to the zipper material. NikWax UV Proof looks like milk and you can't put too much on. If it starts to run just wipe the excess with a rag. You don't need to paint or treat he canvas itself.
STOP THE PRESS .... The UV Proof isn't on the NikWax website, I need to find out what the replacement product is for my new Expanda, and Ill post that later.
This is a pretty graphic pic of a so called typical "Sh*t built, pox, leaking, Jayco Expanda" ......... the 100% water proof Jayco canvas is happily and clearly holding its own, and you can clearly see the stitching wicking the water and soaking everything ........ everything, except for the actual canvas. Damn sh*t leaking Expanda's .......... never really leaked at all (well, at least the older ones. I about to find out if the new ones are the same)
That spray-on water proofing needs to be constantly re-applied to be effective. Quality manufacturer proofed canvas, will retain it water proofing for many years without any additional attention. Ive never used the spray-on stuff myself; Id be a bit concerned that the components of spray-on stuff might kill the manufacturers proofing in the process .... and you'll end up having to water proof it all the time.
All that said ....... Ill have to wait to see if the new Expanda canvas is as good as the old
Hope this helps
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My sign off said the same. At the time I questioned that, and the dealer didnt have any explanation. Its obvious now what that meant. Ive requested they exchange the lid with the old style. My dealer has jump onto that and after speaking to the factory, has confirmed the cabin moulding is unchanged,just the lid being modified, so the older lid will fit straight. @Flossymk1, good option for you too. You could still take delivery and return it when the replacement lid arrives
I have been watching videos from the US on Neverwet for about 18 months, but it has been too expensive to bring in from there.
I just discovered it at Bunnings, and have just purchased a kit to treat the bed end seams with.
If it works as good as the videos demonstrate, I think they'll be selling a lot of it to Expanda owners
http://www.rustoleum.com.au/index.php/products/item/never-wet-liquid
I just discovered it at Bunnings, and have just purchased a kit to treat the bed end seams with.
If it works as good as the videos demonstrate, I think they'll be selling a lot of it to Expanda owners
http://www.rustoleum.com.au/index.php/products/item/never-wet-liquid
Now Jayco have the Storm Covers they sell I wonder if they still go and tell people never heard anyone getting wet in a Expanda.. That was what we where told by 3 dealers when we are looking. I said so why do Kakadu sell storm covers..
@Crusty181 , hit the nail on the head...............if you did camping in tents then you probably don't have problems with the bed ends and I mean canvas tents, it was a standard procedure years back for canvas tents and swags not to mention truck tarps....................old timers hint......rub the stitching with bee's wax as well no leaking or wicking then, the thread used should be waxed to ensure waterproofing and longetivity, always ran my thread thru bee's wax when stitching up tarps.
Where the HWS is in the 2014 20.63 OB shown is a ridiculous place for it. Not only has it taken up space in the front boot, but you can't access it from that side????? Wheres the hatch door gone?????? What was Jayco thinking. I'm glad we got a 2013 (December 2013 build) looking at the issues some people are having. We fit the "Holiday Annexes" canvas bed fly no troubles at all. I actually used the one we had on our 2011 18.57-9OB that got written off. They only take 1/2 hour, a drill, pop rivet gun and a bit of silicon to fit. Never been wet since using these. In saying this, we have had some rain get past our seals when traveling. Not a big deal but it has happened. I would probably steer clear of PVC bed end flys as they can be very hot and promote mould growth in persistent rain ( days and days of rain ). I've spoken to people that have made their own PVC flys and they say they are heavy and don't allow air flow ( Not my words, theirs ). Can you simply take the new seals off and go back to the old style seals????
I'm waiting to see what you guys come up with to solve the sail track problem.
I'm waiting to see what you guys come up with to solve the sail track problem.
We have request the new lid be replaced with the older style lid.
Our new 20.63.1 OB was ordered minus the slide out, and the HWS is under the couch. The roadside boot hatch is still where it should be, so it clearly is a modification just for the slide outs. We did have to poo poo the ext shower because they insisted reducing the size of the roadside boot hatch by half, and plonking the ext shower next to it with the hoses free balling around inside the front boot.
With our previous 16.49.1 the rain did enter through the front seals. I found the seals in the lower corners missed the cabin body moulding all together. I removed the seals, filed out some of the corner, replaced the seals and it didn't leak again.
With the new lids, the new seal which is on the outside edge of the lid seals that gap very well between the lid and body when the lid is closed. It looks like a better way to seal the lid against the body, and its a shame that zero thought has gone into informing people for vans already ordered, or the greater impact on anything else.
After seeing the new seal setup, Ill be looking into an additional similar seal to fit to my new van (with the old lid) ......... Im not sure I understand what I just said.
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Ok so my dealer has finally heard back from H/O re how to install the BEF, and they have said it needs to be installed where the normal black privacy screen would go..
I think it will be too close to the actual bed end canvas if installed this way?
So I am going in there this arvo after work to get them to show me exactly what they mean, then we will make a decision from there..
I think it will be too close to the actual bed end canvas if installed this way?
So I am going in there this arvo after work to get them to show me exactly what they mean, then we will make a decision from there..