SCA pop top roof leak

[rfc59]

Hi all

In torrential rain, and when it facing uphill, I get a water leak through the area around the LHS hinge mounting. I've had the hose out to investigate - it's definitely not the tailgate seal or through the canvas, but rather somewhere around the base of the hinge. I think that water might be getting in through the three mounting points, where I can see three nycloc nuts. The reason I think that is because water only comes in if the water level in the gutter is pretty deep. I guess that some of you on here have had dealings with SCA roofs, or maybe fitted one. Does anybody know if it's even possible for water to get in that way, or have any suggestions.

All the best

Richard

 

[Grim Reaper]

Probably the same way the rails leak on standard vans, the hinge may use one or more of the original holes but likely some more have been made, the only way to fix it is to remove the nuts/bolts holding the hinge and lift it up to reseal with sikaflex or some other sealant, however, this might be easier said than done.
You might get away with removing one at a time and squirting some sealant into the hole and refit the bolt/nut. if you do it this way you could try to keep any exposed threads clean but if it's a hole it'll be squirt and refit while it's still soft.

 

[rfc59]

Hi Grim Reaper

Thank you for your reply. The mounting bolts or studs for the hinges are in a horizontal plane and seem to be attached to the fixed superstructure of the SCA roof, which is above the level of the original van roof. I definitely like the idea of undoing the nycloc nuts one at a time, to see what's underneath them and to fill the holes with sealant, but I don't dare to undo them until I know for sure that they are on studs or captive bolts - it's not possible to see. I've had a search around, but I can't find any info or diagrams . Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[Grim Reaper]

A picture might give more ideas.

 

[rfc59]

Hi again

I've had chance now to take another look and get a few pics (below). The base of the SCA roof covers the original van gutter so it is not possible to see the mounnting holes. I've been back to the converter, who is an SCA dealer, to book it in for an inspection, although November is the earliest availability on that. Some of the potential remedies sound a bit scary (expensive). My chief suspects are the mounting bolts for the awning bracket and the seal between the SCA roof and the original van. I might put some sealant in the bolt holes and, if that doesn't work, try running a bead along the top of the awning mounting bracket. I hope that it's not a failure in the joint between the van and the SCA roof. If anybody knows a bit about how they are fitted they might be able to say how likely that is.

I'll keep posting, so that if anybody else has the same issue in the future, they'll know how it worked out.

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

The bolt (studs) are moulded into the fibreglass section of the roof (this is called the platform) during manufacture. The hinge bolts to these studs. They are sealed so no water will get in there unless the platform has cracked.

Some SCA models require 3 x rivets to be installed through the hinge once the roof is fitted. Did they drill holes and not fit rivets?

The entire platform neds to be glued in place and sealed around its entire perimeter, including the spoiler. My guess is that they have not done this properly and water is getting under the platform and tracking along the roof gutter (now under the platform) and then coming in where the existing gutter roof rack bolts are. They would have removed the roof rack bolts to fit roof, these holes need filled when fitting the roof platform.

I’d check the entire perimeter for any sign where water could penetrate. Also the rivets along the back may not have been sealed in correctly and could let water in. Worth checking.

Your awning will have a bracket which could potentially allow water in.

Problem with some fitters , they pop to Toolstation and buy glue, mastic, no nails etc. We’ve seen no end of crap adhesives used and they all generally fail. I keep saying it, you need the correct adhesives and primers on vehicle, especially fibreglass.

To clean out and fully seal in again would take approx. 2 – 3 hrs so I don’t know why your fitters are putting you off, especially as our van is essentially being ruined all the while the water is coming in. If they had a hole in their workshop roof would they leave until November, pretty bad service I’d say….. Tell them you’ll wait until November, but you want all the damage inside rectified also……

 

[rfc59]

Hi Eclipse Vans

Thank you so much for taking the time to post - I can see, from the SCA website dealer page, that you are a full supplier and a parts supplier for SCA roofs.

I think that everything that you say is absolutely spot on - that it is highly likely that water is getting in through the joint between the roof and the van and running in through the rack bolt holes. Below I've posted another photo, showing the second point from which it drips if the rain is particularly heavy.

The van was converted 4 years ago by a large VW approved converter with, I would think, quite a high sales volume - at this stage I'm not going to name them. I guess that they will be following the SCA fitting instructions, but that, in the case of my van, an error has been made in the installation. I would definitely expect much better after sales service. Assuming that the fault is with the installation rather than with the roof, the van wasn't put together properly in the first place (otherwise it wouldn't now be leaking).

I had a similar quality issue with a 7 year old Skoda Yeti (an otherwise excellent car) that, after careful and immediate evaluation, was rectified free of charge. I'd expect the same with the same with the VW.

My top priority now is to get the problem resolved ASAP. After that I'll want to look into gathering evidence and pursuing the converter for my losses.

As the converter and supplier of my van has no availability for inspection or repairs until November, I guess that I could take the van to a different SCA dealer for repairs, and then pursue the issue from there.

Thanks again for your insights - they are very helpful.

All the best Richard

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

Water can track anywhere unfortunately so really hard to determine the ingress point. Another dealer could look at it for you but really you need to give the original company fair chance to put right.

Even though a large dealer, that doesnt equate to quality of work and often times a loss of quality, that said we all have a problem sometimes. Another point is that 4 years ago, was that around COVID times? There was a shortage of materials - roofs especially, perhaps the fitter had to fit whatever they could source and were not fully aware of the intricacies with SCA roofs if they were not used to fitting them? Who knows.
God luck with it

 

[rfc59]

We took delivery before Covid struck, so that won't have been a factor. The converter is long established and a good reputation for quality. To be fair to them, if it wasn't for the current problem, I would still be really satisfied. As you say, no quality control can be perfect - there will always be an occasional failure. What matters now is what happens next - I'm hoping that they'll be able to find the staff availability to move it up the priority order.

In the meantime I'm hoping that water won't come in with the roof shut and practising walking around bent double.

 

[rfc59]

Hi all
This is, hopefully, resolved now. I waited four months until the converter and supplier had some workshop capacity. They had the vehicle for a couple of days and were easily able to reproduce the leak. The repairs involved removal of the pop top hinge to allow for sealing behind it and in the vicinity of the bolts. Looking at it, the original mastic to the front and rear of the hinge, which always looked fine, is still in place - most of the work that has been done is hidden by the hinge, but it is obvious that extra mastic has been applied. I'm still not really clear on exactly where it was leaking. Water only came in during the most severe storm rain, or if water was run over the base of the hinge with a hosepipe.
No charge was made (the warranty expired two and a half years ago) and I was told that they would look after me in the case of any further issues with the leak.
Although it was a long wait, I am pleased that action has been taken and that the converter showed care and supported me. I hope that it will be OK in future.
All the best and thank you to the people who took time to rely to my post.

 

[CAB]

Hi all
This is, hopefully, resolved now. I waited four months until the converter and supplier had some workshop capacity. They had the vehicle for a couple of days and were easily able to reproduce the leak. The repairs involved removal of the pop top hinge to allow for sealing behind it and in the vicinity of the bolts. Looking at it, the original mastic to the front and rear of the hinge, which always looked fine, is still in place - most of the work that has been done is hidden by the hinge, but it is obvious that extra mastic has been applied. I'm still not really clear on exactly where it was leaking. Water only came in during the most severe storm rain, or if water was run over the base of the hinge with a hosepipe.
No charge was made (the warranty expired two and a half years ago) and I was told that they would look after me in the case of any further issues with the leak.
Although it was a long wait, I am pleased that action has been taken and that the converter showed care and supported me. I hope that it will be OK in future.
All the best and thank you to the people who took time to rely to my post.

Good to hear you got it fixed in the end.

Would you want to name the convertor?