R20 roof seal leak

[rbenbow]

Dear Ant - my 3 year old Duo HyLo is now experiencing water behind the roof seal at the front.There is some water after rain even when the van is parked at home, with roof down, but on two occasions a lot of water has found it's way into the van, after driving in heavy rain.The luton was extremely wet, with even the upholstered bulkhead behind the cab seats very damp.
I would appreciate any advice on dealing with this very worrying problem on an otherwise excellent product. Romahome and purchasing dealer not helpful.rogerb

[ant]

Hi Roger.
I'm sorry to hear you're having a water problem with your Hylo, it's not normally a problem with the Hylo. After time the front of the Hylo drops very slightly where the roof seal would normally sit, you can see the gap along the front when the roof is down. This isn't normally a problem as far as water ingress is concerned unless you're driving into very heavy rain, then some water can work its way in past the outer seal. Getting past the outer seal in itself does not normally mean the wet gets in. For the wet to get in it has to breach another sealed barrier ( very rare). I've had 2 or 3 Hylos with similar symptoms as yours and every time, as unlikely as it may sound, the place the water gets past the inner seal is via the front fixing screws that hold up the pelmets. If you look between the canvas bit and the inner seal you'll see a domed nut and washer, this is the culprit, water gets down the thread of the screw and spreads forward on the pelmet to the headlining behind the cab seats. The pelmet itself rarely shows much sign of wet because it has a grp structure and the wet tracks forward as a puddle on this grp.

So, take off the nut and washer and put some sealant around the threads of the screw and enough to create a seal with the washer when you refit it. I think your water problems will be sorted.
Ant

[rbenbow]

Hi Roger.
I'm sorry to hear you're having a water problem with your Hylo, it's not normally a problem with the Hylo. After time the front of the Hylo drops very slightly where the roof seal would normally sit, you can see the gap along the front when the roof is down. This isn't normally a problem as far as water ingress is concerned unless you're driving into very heavy rain, then some water can work its way in past the outer seal. Getting past the outer seal in itself does not normally mean the wet gets in. For the wet to get in it has to breach another sealed barrier ( very rare). I've had 2 or 3 Hylos with similar symptoms as yours and every time, as unlikely as it may sound, the place the water gets past the inner seal is via the front fixing screws that hold up the pelmets. If you look between the canvas bit and the inner seal you'll see a domed nut and washer, this is the culprit, water gets down the thread of the screw and spreads forward on the pelmet to the headlining behind the cab seats. The pelmet itself rarely shows much sign of wet because it has a grp structure and the wet tracks forward as a puddle on this grp.

So, take off the nut and washer and put some sealant around the threads of the screw and enough to create a seal with the washer when you refit it. I think your water problems will be sorted.
Ant

Dear Ant - thanks for your prompt reply, I will follow your recommendation. Roger