When the original owner purchased my Scamp he paid $40.00 extra to add a crank out vent window over the cooktop. He ended up costing me a lot more than that. Apparently these windows are notorious leakers, allowing rain water to run down between the rat fur and the fiberglass shell. A waterfall may be Madrigal, but not inside your Scamp. This water makes its way under the fiberglass and soaks into the wood flooring that makes up the bottom of the sink/stove cabinet. This was pointed out to me only after I had listed the Scamp for sale. Rather than sell a scamp with a little rot, I decided to operate.
Phase 1: Remove the rot. Genesis wrote "Like a cancer cell is removed by steel let it be revealed." I carefully cut out the portion of the floor that had suffered the most rot, and like any good surgeon a bit of the surrounding "margin". A new piece of matching plywood was set in place and sealed with epoxy and fiberglass cloth. The underside was sprayed with a rubberized coating, and the whole cabinet floor was bonded with an additional 1/4" plywood and sealed to the structure with epoxy and a zillion 3/4" heavy duty flooring staples.
Phase 2: Repair the source: Apparently the only thing holding the window in was some vintage 1987 Butyl tape and a poor attempt to caulk. Removing the window took about 30 seconds and a sharp utility knife.
What is it with Scamp's windows? As mentioned earlier in this blog, the window in the Scamp's door was too thick for the thin fiberglass and there was about a 1/4" gap that allowed the door's wooden core to rot. So be it with this vent window. It is too thick for the 1/8"in thick fiberglass wall. Weep holes designed to let rain out only encourage rain to go between the fiberglass and the rat fur... something has to be modified.
Phase 3: A new 21: drip cap will divert most of the rain away from the window, New Butyl tape and some silicone caulk for good measure, and new weatherstripping of the window frame, and new drilled weep holes will hopefully keep water outside.
https://www.rvautoparts.com/Drip-Rail_c_104470.html
Photos to come.
