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Post by clown9644 on Jul 18, 2016 17:42:01 GMT -5
I am certain that all of our Sprees have similar issues. The bottom of the camper is covered with a waterproof membrane to keep water out and something to hold the insulation in place. The membrane is sturdy and does in fact hold water, on either side of it. When I was talking to the factory about my slide issue the lady commented that the only failure they had was from the floor failure due to moisture. Well my floor was dry underneath but I did discover that I had about a quart or more of water pooling in the center of the membrane. Upon inspection what I found is the the LP Gas Pipe had worn a hole through the membrane in one spot AND that the wires from the tow cable enter through the membrane in front with next to no protection. I have been draining the water for 2 days and even went to installing a temporary fan to blow dry air into the void to evaporate the moisture. I am not rushing as I want it dry under there! I bought the correct tape for mending these issues at a local dealer (not a KZ) for a $1.95 a foot rather than buying a roll at over $35.00. I got 5 feet which is about 4 feet more than I will need as both holes are small.
I am gong to reinforce the area where the elbow of the pipe wore a hole with some Aluminum roof patch I have from a previous camper (this too is a very agressive glue on with a thick aluminum plate) and then I will seal it with the patching tape. I am gong to use some material sold to seal cables around the wires and then cover that with the patching tape as well.
Don't panic. I think my Spree 196S is a terrific unit, fits my needs to a T. Yes these are shortcomings but with the amount of use I get from it they are just that, nothing major if you keep an eye on things. Trust me-all manufactures have issues and most are much worse than these I have brought up. I belonged to another group when I owned that model of camper and they did what I am doing. We are a family, just like the name of this forum so I want to tell folks of the issues I have seen so they can fix them on their unit as well. Yes I do look at other manufactures, mostly to see what I can do to make mine even nicer. Most of the time I don't see anything that would be worth the effort but I sure see where ours are better made than most.
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Post by lynnmor on Jul 18, 2016 20:01:14 GMT -5
I think you would do well if you pulled down the covering and simply replaced the insulation. While it is opened up you will be able to improve a lot of things in there. I had a belly full of water from the fill hose leaking. The insulation was saturated and would never be right again.
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Post by mdconvert on Jul 19, 2016 6:41:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the information. I noticed that the membrane was sagging in an area between the "beams" on my 196S but didn't think that it could be pooling water; I'll look more closely at it.
Would you mind letting us know the brand of tape you used? Around the fresh water tank drain pipe/hose there was a hole that I thought was larger than necessary so I used Tyvek tape (used to tape Tyvek sheets on houses) that is holding up well so far.
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Post by lynnmor on Jul 19, 2016 8:11:28 GMT -5
Here is one kind of tape, usually used on the thin material. tapeIf you have the thick Coroplast type covering, stitch together any cuts with wire ties and then tape it. Some folks have had good luck with Gorilla tape. Around pipes that come thru the belly, spray gray landscape foam to seal it.
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rcb28
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 28
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Post by rcb28 on Jul 20, 2016 19:01:55 GMT -5
Gotta keep an eye on this one. Thanks for sharing
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Post by clown9644 on Jul 25, 2016 11:47:40 GMT -5
I agree lynnmor. I have been looking around and discovered that the underbelly material looks a lot like the new roofing material that replaced tar paper. Expensive to buy a whole role (Lowe's at $138) which would be enough to repair several campers so I am looking around at roofers to see if one would sell me some by the foot, or maybe I can find some in a dumpster! Tyvex, which is house wrap is another option as it is a reinforced plastic as well and a lot cheaper, drawback it is white and it is thinner. My first choice is roofing material. I think I will only need to replace the center section between the aluminum beams that run the length of the camper and only to the first main cross beam that is exposed. Would love to see some pictures and explanation of how you did yours.
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Post by tweeter on Aug 8, 2017 10:08:07 GMT -5
Hi everyone, need help... noticed that the flooring under the front bed near the compartment door on my e196s was rotten. Discovered that the underbelly was full of water and the insulation all wet around that area. That is when i discovered this thread. Checked a few places and it turns out its humid pretty much everywhere. Leaves me no choice but to remove the insulation so it can dry. Replacing a small flooring section under the bed will be fairly easy but finding where the water is coming from wont. I think that once water is getting in the underbelly, it just spreads over the membrane material and in the insulation. That leaves me asking why they put insulation there in the first place ? My old pup-up never had any nor it had the underbelly membrane. Its not going to be easy to install new insulation from underneath without ripping the underbelly quite extensively so i don't think i will be putting insulation back after the infiltration is located and fixed. any other thoughts or comments on this issue?
i would not be surprise how many have the same situation and don't know about it. thanks for your help
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Post by mdconvert on Aug 8, 2017 11:36:36 GMT -5
I found quite a bit of water above the membrane fabric in mine (E196S), middle of the camper adjacent to the exterior door. Also found it in the area underneath the water heater, which the dealer worked on. After the dealer's work it still leaked - I have been attempting to track down the source.
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Post by tweeter on Aug 8, 2017 12:51:09 GMT -5
I found quite a bit of water above the membrane fabric in mine (E196S), middle of the camper adjacent to the exterior door. Also found it in the area underneath the water heater, which the dealer worked on. After the dealer's work it still leaked - I have been attempting to track down the source. i'm thinking its coming from one location and moving along the bottom as we drive and go up and down. i am going to spray the bed compartment doors and look for water from the inside as most of the damage on the plywood is around that area and the front door. i removed the window last night and its not coming from there nor the base of the awning where the pole is attached to the frame.
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Post by wspirdarren on Aug 11, 2017 18:54:05 GMT -5
Hi All,
Need to check that out, after my first season I was removing parts to clean up and removed the cover on the side of the shower floor and discovered that the drain and the drain pipe were disconected! Cost me quite a bit, they had to remove the black tank so they can access the floor and dry everything out. I have the Spree Escape 2014 Cheers Darren
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Post by lodost on Aug 12, 2017 16:21:30 GMT -5
Another small water problem I had was when I would drain the hot water heater the water would run down the back and in between the frame and the outer membrane. This would soak into the insulation. The dealer sealed this area for me at no charge. Express Connect model 260.
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Post by wheatboy on Jun 11, 2021 8:21:36 GMT -5
Damn... something I need to look into now. One of kids left water on over a plugged sink a couple of years back & trailer flooded. Thought it was cleaned up and dealt with but now I forsee there is likely work pending. SMH.
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Post by kiknpl88 on Aug 31, 2021 21:50:28 GMT -5
Hi everyone, need help... noticed that the flooring under the front bed near the compartment door on my e196s was rotten. Discovered that the underbelly was full of water and the insulation all wet around that area. That is when i discovered this thread. Checked a few places and it turns out its humid pretty much everywhere. Leaves me no choice but to remove the insulation so it can dry. Replacing a small flooring section under the bed will be fairly easy but finding where the water is coming from wont. I think that once water is getting in the underbelly, it just spreads over the membrane material and in the insulation. That leaves me asking why they put insulation there in the first place ? My old pup-up never had any nor it had the underbelly membrane. Its not going to be easy to install new insulation from underneath without ripping the underbelly quite extensively so i don't think i will be putting insulation back after the infiltration is located and fixed. any other thoughts or comments on this issue? i would not be surprise how many have the same situation and don't know about it. thanks for your help
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Post by kiknpl88 on Aug 31, 2021 21:59:47 GMT -5
Hi guys I’m new to the forum but also had wet insulation under both front compartments of my 2017 spree escape 196s. When I cut into the underbelly insulation I found carpenter ants just started to set up shop to make it worse. I cut out all of the insulation in the front third of the trailer and sprayed and bagged it up to get rid of the ants so that’s cared for. Now I’m left wondering why and where the water was from. I had just washed it and we’ve had a lot of rain but not when we were traveling so it’s not not road splash. I’m thinking the compartment doors are leaking. Any ideas on the leak and any suggestions on reinsulating the underbelly? I also noticed some factory seams let go in the underbelly in other areas so it looks like the cheap tarp material needs some patching too. Any help/product recommendations are greatly appreciated!
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Post by buckshot on Oct 5, 2022 23:34:12 GMT -5
We just recently found a little bit of water in the front storage compartment. The carpeting on the other side of that bulkhead was also a little damp. So far, we think that the culprit is a failing of the City Water hose connector.
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Post by lynnmor on Oct 6, 2022 14:57:25 GMT -5
We just recently found a little bit of water in the front storage compartment. The carpeting on the other side of that bulkhead was also a little damp. So far, we think that the culprit is a failing of the City Water hose connector. What ever it is, water will quickly destroy an RV. Besides the plumbing, check along the outside corners everywhere. Also check for leaks at the compartment doors, they often leak and the single slam latches are worse than the two latches in older models.
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