True Air: duct leaking into the rear fiberglass cap.

Oh-one · 08-16-2005, 04:35 PM

I noticed by chance that there was a cool breeze blowing out of the rear cap on my 2003 Itasca Horizon with True Air. I suspect the duct has separated under the cap at a joint in the duct work. Has anyone else had this problem and did Winnebago do anything to help? I am loosing a lot of conditioned air that should help cool and heat the coach. Thanks

Oh-one · 08-16-2005, 04:35 PM

I noticed by chance that there was a cool breeze blowing out of the rear cap on my 2003 Itasca Horizon with True Air. I suspect the duct has separated under the cap at a joint in the duct work. Has anyone else had this problem and did Winnebago do anything to help? I am loosing a lot of conditioned air that should help cool and heat the coach. Thanks

John_Canfield · 08-16-2005, 04:41 PM

Oh my yes! I don't remember who it was, but I did read either here or on rv.net where somebody had the duct seperate. Winnie (or the repair facility) had to take off the entire rear cap and retape the duct work, but that could have been a warranty situation.

Try a search on "duct separation" or some such and you should be able to find the post.

--John

08-16-2005, 09:27 PM

aluminum duct tape and silicone caulk and a flash lite if out of warranty.......[fun job also]...."you never learn to swear real good till you own a RV"...geofkaye 2005

DonavonP · 08-17-2005, 05:58 AM

I second geofkaye's aluminum tape suggestion.

See 3M # 1430

Most "duct" "duck" tape sold today isn't intended to be used on duct work.
It's made as cheaply as possible with crude, uncured, rubber adhesive which falls off, gets gooey, or otherwise goes to heck in short order.

Rick Buddrus · 08-17-2005, 06:29 AM

Well said Donavan. When I did my ductwork last year I bought the best metal tape I could find locally. Considering the effort required for this job I would recommend spending the extra couple of pesos. This duct problem is becoming more common and I would suggest that evberyone inspect their coach for the duct seperation. It will rob you of valuable cooling.

Rick Buddrus · 08-17-2005, 06:33 AM

A note for oh-one.

If you would include your coach info into your signature it would really help everyone that is reading your posts and help us to help you with problems. IMHO

RVDriver · 08-17-2005, 11:00 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This duct problem is becoming more common and I would suggest that evberyone inspect their coach for the duct seperation. It will rob you of valuable cooling. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Rick,

Next time my son is over I'll have him check it out, he is tall,thin, and can actually stand up between the rear of the coach and the end cap! He wired my "Toad Brake System" to the rear (third) Tail light standing up inside the rear cap!

Bruce

Trek-Cyclist · 09-01-2005, 12:02 PM

Super! I'm not the only one!
Yes mine also was leaking on the Adventurer. It was out of Warranty by 6 months but Winnie did fix it! They had to remove the cap and the tech took the whole thing off wrapped it in foil tape a couple of times and replaced it. Now even when it's 105 outside we have to turn the AC down because it gets too cold.
That's one good reason we are looking into roof airs on our new coach. Winnie does a real cheap job on the duck work, One piece of tape on the seam lap only. Cheap, cheap, cheap!Next one 3 roof Air/Pumps.
The other real cheap deal is the drawer slid ends. Cheap plastic/nylon that bends and rips even without anything in the drawers. Today I went to Home Depot and bought two more sets waiting for the others to break! so far had to reaplce 5 drawer sets including the long one on the side of the bed.
Don't get me wrong Winnie has stood by their product but this stuff shouldn't happen if the spent a few cents more!

DriVer · 09-01-2005, 06:38 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ed/Full-time:
Winnie does a real cheap job on the duck work, One piece of tape on the seam lap only. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>IF it's any consolation, mine is still holding and I was in the south western desert and the A/C did great job.

New winnies get a one piece duct that looks like a big Y for all purposes and it works a lot better than the duct and flex hose we see on 2003 models.

I like basement air but there are merits to having 3 rood airs I guess. You can now hang meat.

The Clock Meister · 09-01-2005, 09:45 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DriVer:

New winnies get a one piece duct that looks like a big Y for all purposes and it works a lot better than the duct and flex hose we see on 2003 models.

Driver, I'm not sure which models you are referring to when you say new, but my '05 has the same duct and flex hose set up I have seen on the '01 - '04 model Adventurers I have looked at.

I checked mine out several weeks ago and found a healthy air flow coming out of the duct joints so got a roll of the aluminum tape and put it on last week. Even though mine is still in warranty, it was much cheaper and easier to fix it myself than drive to the dealer and hope they got it right. Didn't have hot enough weather last weekend to see if it made any significant difference, but it has got to help some.

Chris

DriVer · 09-02-2005, 05:47 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Clock Meister:
Driver, I'm not sure which models you are referring to when you say new, but my '05 has the same duct and flex hose set up I have seen on the '01 - '04 model Adventurers I have looked at. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Chris, I seen it in living color so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the 2006 builds are using the "Big Y"

Hello from the beach in sunny Myrtle Beach!

Oh-one · 09-02-2005, 06:25 PM

I have been notified by my dealer , Suncoast RV in Jacksonville Fla. that Winnebago will cover the repair under warranty. I am scheduled to send it in on Sept. 12th. They have another 03 Horizon with the same problem to fix at the same time as mine. This( leaking air ducts) is one of many problems that I have had on this MH. I must say that Suncoast and Winnebago have not hesitated to fullfill their warranty and repair it right the first time. I hear a lot about getting the right price and the quality issues involved in owning a MH. However I think the dealer is just a important as the deal. Suncoast has been great from the start and really have earned a good reputation. This was our first MH and now that it has virtually been "Overhaulled" it is a pleasure to own . Thanks for all your comments on this thread. I think it really is time for quality improvements in the lower cost RV industry. The mfg. that survive the fuel impacts will hopefully build a better product. Thanks again. Oh-one out

no18yes · 09-02-2005, 10:39 PM

My question is how do you get to the duct joint without removing the roof end cap if you want to repair it yourself?

Izzyblueye · 09-03-2005, 06:14 AM

Can't add any answers here but I do want to get onboard for answers.

RKL2 · 09-03-2005, 03:09 PM

On my 02 36 GD Journey after reading this forum I checked mine for leaking airflow...I did find a small bit of the tape worn away. From the rear engine access and after removing the right taillight assembly, I found I could reach most of the area of the lower duct joint..
I retaped with alumimun tape just about all the way around and the rear of the duct was accessible from underneath the coach...I believe I redid the entire joint successfully.
I assume there is also an upper duct joint but I couldn't see one and certainly couldn't reach it....Does anyone know if there if the same taped joint at the top of the duct before it turns into the ceiling duct?....thanks RKL

Trek-Cyclist · 09-14-2005, 03:33 PM

On my coach they had to remove the rear cap to do the job right. It was re-taped from the top to the bottom, twice! Where it comes out of the basement Air I did it one more time just to make sure I didn't cool off the outside air much.I want it all to myself! So far so good!
From San Diego, CA