entrance door bottom rusting out

[windsorbill06]

I was doing some PM on my entrance door latch/lock and I took the bottom aluminum door shoe  off. (have to drill out 5 rivets on bottom of door)  When I took that off, quite a bit of rust fell down.   I see where the door frame is steel and pretty rusty.  Obviously, water is getting in, collecting on the inside of the bottom aluminum shoe and causing the damage.   I'm sure it's from the way Monaco sealed the outside painted door panel to the aluminum shoe that's on the bottom of the door.  (I don't think the leak is from higher up on the door and dripping down--no water staining, no rust)   I'm sanding, cleaning the rusty metal then a couple good coats of primer, then, reassemble and adding a good sealant.

Left unchecked, I could see where this could become an expensive problem.   

I'm tempted to drill small holes in the bottom of the aluminum door shoe to allow any water to escape in the future.

 

Anyone else run into this?

[Ivan K]

Our coach has a PTL Engineering's door and already came with drain holes near each bottom corner, so I'd say that you have the right idea. 

[diplomat don]

Bill, for paint I recommend POR 15. Great rust paint, wire brush loose rust off then paint. Expensive but works great, learned about it from the collector car hobby. Just be careful to not leave any in the drip channel when putting the lid back on the can or good luck ever getting the lid off again. Ask me how I know. Good luck, Don

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[Bill R]

Hey Bill - I ran into the same exact issue two months ago while readjusting the latch assembly.   As you already mentioned, I removed as much rust as possible, painted the entire area with rust primer, and then sealed the entire door.   Keeping the coach in covered storage and checking sealant integrity regularly will hopefully keep it good for many years to come.

[windsorbill06]

Well, I guess I'm not alone!

This door problem reminds me of the slide bottoms rotting out.  Maybe not as expensive if ignored, but sure would be a PITA.

Monaco used black silicone to seal the aluminum door sweep to the painted outside surface. Tiny, thin bead that was pretty much useless.    Looks good when new, but didn't seal much.

@Bill R, did you use anything special when you resealed?  

@Ivan K Thanks Ivan.  I will be drilling a couple holes in bottom.  Hopefully won't be needed if I get it sealed up nicely.

@diplomat don Got it!

[Bill R]

1 hour ago, windsorbill06 said:

did you use anything special when you resealed? 

I did not.  I think I went back with a black silicone to match the trim.  There is very little margin between the frame trim and door to get a good bead, and I am sure there is a lot of movement on the door while traveling.  But I did go with a thicker bead on the bottom section of the frame trim because I was thinking that might be the area of the most water intrusion.   I like Ivan's idea of drilling a few holes on the bottom.  Will probably do that too.

[windsorbill06]

@Bill R  Ivan'door was made by PTL, I believe.  Ours, monaco made in-house. I'm not sure what structural differences there are.   The PTL came with weep holes.  Easy enough to add to ours, however.

[Donflem]

I noticed my bathroom wall under the window needs to be recaulked what caulk do you guys recommend for the inside of my motorhome?

Thanks Don

[Tom Cherry]

1 hour ago, Donflem said:

I noticed my bathroom wall under the window needs to be recaulked what caulk do you guys recommend for the inside of my motorhome?

Thanks Don

ONLY RV PRODUCTS.  The Home Depot and Hardware Store items don't cut it.  This is NOT a house or a building.  Proflex is what a lot of folks use.  I like the DiCor Lap Sealant.  The Proflex is thicker, so for "gunning" and applying a bead....it is the best.  BUT, if you are touching up the roof and trying to get a self leveling product, use the DiCor.  Monaco put the original product on the roof in big globs and it sort of spread out.  The Dicor is not that vicious, but it does spread and you can work it some.  The Proflex is thicker

For Windshields and such, an good (3 M) RTV Sealer (usually in BLACK) works well.

Good luck

[windsorbill06]

3 hours ago, Donflem said:

I noticed my bathroom wall under the window needs to be recaulked what caulk do you guys recommend for the inside of my motorhome?

Thanks Don

For the "inside" of the motorhome?    Normally you will caulk the outside  only.  If you have water running down the inside, I'd start by checking to be sure the outside weep holes are not plugged up.

[96 EVO]

6 hours ago, Donflem said:

I noticed my bathroom wall under the window needs to be recaulked what caulk do you guys recommend for the inside of my motorhome?

Thanks Don

Not sure what you want to seal.

If it's just a counter to the wall, any indoor silicone sealant should do the job.

[RNMCBR]

You might also want to check your door awning to make sure it’s not leaking between the awning and coach. On my coach, there was a strip of foam seal squished between it and the coach but rain still got through, ran down to the top of the door and water puddled there. I am sure it also ran down into the door. 
Roy

[Bill R]

@windsorbill06 I had forgotten that the PO installed a shallow U-channel type gutter above the door that helps keep rainwater from running down the front of the door from above.  I now recall he had said rainwater was getting in the door and door frame and this fixed it.  See pic below.   I have not seen any water ponding around the door frame when it rains either.  And when I discovered the rust on the bottom of the door, there was no evidence of recent water intrusion.  Thought I'd share this tidbit.

 

[windsorbill06]

@Bill R That drip channel  was OEM on my coach.      I'm 99% sure my leak was coming from the outside of door at the bottom, where the shoe wraps around the outside painted surface.  It was poorly caulked/sealed using black pure silicone. 

[96 EVO]

3 minutes ago, windsorbill06 said:

@Bill R That drip channel  was OEM on my coach.      I'm 99% sure my leak was coming from the outside of door at the bottom, where the shoe wraps around the outside painted surface.  It was poorly caulked/sealed using black pure silicone. 

Yeah, I was going to say I thought that was factory!

[Bill R]

Well my bad.  Sorry for the confusion.  PO must have been wrong or good chance I misheard him during the coach turnover. 

[RNMCBR]

I couldn’t find that U channel so I ripped one out of a piece of square aluminum tube salvaged from a Winegard crank- up antenna, and painted it satin black. I did this on my table saw with a fine tooth blade, a good push stick and leather gloves for added protection. It helps keep the water off the door but didn’t solve the problem of water leaking behind the awning. 

Oops, here is a picture.