How to find a leak?

[stewartlittle]

I got to thinking about that leak in the ceiling,water was coming thru the seam on the in side.

If it were leaking around the a/c,could it find its way to the center and leak?

Or would it just leak around the a/c and drip from that area?

[AustinBoston]

That de[pends on the construction of the roof.  

If the roof is made of many composite layers, and includes waterproof layers on the inside (such as plastic, fiberglass, aluminum), then it is possible for the water to travel anywhere before coming out.

I would expect a leak to cause wood in the roof to swell before travelling too far, but it's possible.

What model do you have, and what kind of roof does it have?

Austin

[stewartlittle]

Its a '99 Jayco,aluminum top,has a center seam in the middle.I think it has a little roof rot,at the ends where the roof curves downwards is sagging a little(might fix it in the future).But the area around the a/c seems pretty solid.

[ScouterMom]

I'm not sure if Jaycos have foam roofs like my Starcraft -  but if they do, even wet foam can feel 'firm'.  I'd guess that  your roof must have some extra support for your AC unit, other than just foam, but whether it's leaking from around the AC or from somewhere else, it can travel in between the layers to anywhere.

the problem is that even if it dries out - as soon as it gets damp again, it starts to spread, and rots more.  So it's well worth finding the source.  You can start by looking around any opening or seam in the roof, or place where it might have shifted or sags, or might need caulking.

on the inside, find the rotted spots in back and trace them backward and upward to their possible origin.  Sometimes, the walls of the roof box rot UP from the channel that rims the bottom edge of the box - thats how alot of older campers i've seen rot. So it might not be from the AC area at all.

good luck -

Laura