Our gasket/brow cracked badly almost from the get-go. My electrical bay (streetside forwardmost) would get an inch of water in it while just parked here by the house. When I complained to my BCS service advisor, ca. 2008-9, he doubted that the water could come from the cracks in the windshield gasket. In theory, the gasket is designed so water can’t get by it. Hmmm… okay. But I got tired of going out after every Oregon rainstorm and sopping out that bay, esp. given it’s the central 12v distribution center. The white melamine backer board was swelling and cracking around rusting screws. The water level was pushing the bottom of the Smartwheel module and other susceptible connectors.
As Stan and Keith mentioned, the most guilty culprit noted here by members are the clearance lights on the upper cap. You could try Lexel around them if they look failed, but if they’re old it’s more likely they have nano-cracking of the orange plastic lens. It’s best to replace them all, perhaps choosing less troublesome LEDs in lieu of original incandescents while you’re at it.
I got a tube of Lexel and literally filled the cracks in that rubber windshield brow/gasket, and used a wet finger to spread and level it as best I could. The gasket had puckered a bit down the driver’s post, so I carefully levered it back into place with a flat blade screwdriver and Lexeled suspicious areas. The leaks stopped. The bay has been dry for many years, and I only touched up the Lexel windshield job a bit if annual inspection revealed potential issue.
Probably the best fix is a new gasket professionally installed by RV Glass Solutions. A factory windshield installation problem caused ours to crack months after we purchased the coach. The Harrisburg Monaco tech said it was a common glitch, with our model at least. There is a right way and a wrong way… in 2006 one-piece windshields were a new, relatively untested idea. As long as my Lexel treatment works, I’ll get along without replacing the gasket.
You can find Lexel in the caulking tube sections of Ace and Lowe’s. Squeeze tubes in white and clear are available usually on display hooks, and Lowe’s at least had gun-size versions. The clear squeeze tubes are handier for smaller jobs on coach or house, and the product works like but is better overall than silicone. Take extra steps to reseal tubes; if unused for sometime the Lexel thickens in the air in the nozzle, and it can be a bugger to dig that out next time to a flowable workable product. Don’t wait too long to use the wet finger smear as it sets up quickly, becoming too rubbery to work.
The fold-over bay door mounts seem to keep water out. But for suspicious spots above, a smear of clear Lexel is easy mitigation. Done carefully and minimally, such reseals are unnoticeable.
You have a furnace (exhaust)? I thought HydroHot was standard, but will have to check the brochure… it must’ve been an option.
Joel
Addendum: the brochure does indeed list HydroHot as an option.