afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 9, 2022 16:56:30 GMT -5
Hello, while getting her ready for the season I noticed the underbelly at the front was sagging. I patted it with my hand and it feels like water it trapped behind the water proof sheeting. I checked everywhere for signs of water leakage from inside but see no signs of water damage. I baffled as to how water got there. I see no rips in the sheet. Any suggestions as to what might be occurring here and source of the water? There are no plumbing leaks either.
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Post by laknox on May 9, 2022 18:26:13 GMT -5
Running down the sidewalls and into a gap that's not well-sealed, would be my first though. Second would be that you =do= have a leak; you just can't find it.
Lyle
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 9, 2022 20:18:05 GMT -5
Running down the sidewalls and into a gap that's not well-sealed, would be my first though. Second would be that you =do= have a leak; you just can't find it. Lyle Thx for the reply. I’m going to have to open her up to pull all the soggy insulation. I poked a small hole and water started coming out. I have checked all the walls and see no sign of water damage (looking for brail bumps). I checked the FW tank, no issues there. No evidence of water trails anywhere. I’m gonna pressure test the plumping. It seems contained to the front. Could be as you suggest, a seal leaking that is yet to be determined. I’ll keep you posted what I find when I open her up. |
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Post by laknox on May 10, 2022 11:46:09 GMT -5
AFS, it's always good form to post updates. We always wonder "what happened?" :-) Also, others with the same rig might have the same issue and causes and fixes are great for them.
Lyle
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 10, 2022 13:06:45 GMT -5
AFS, it's always good form to post updates. We always wonder "what happened?" :-) Also, others with the same rig might have the same issue and causes and fixes are great for them. Lyle Interim update. I pulled a portion of the front area underbelly sheet away (X cuts to fold back and repair later) and the water was concentrated in one area where it pooled. I also pulled out all the damp insulation. I then hooked up the city water to pressure test. No leaks. Ok, next up will be the fresh water tank. Feeling around the underbelly, I did notice that the wood floor frame around the perimeter in this area was damp. Water has not made its way past this front underbelly area, seems concentrated there. More updates to follow. |
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 10, 2022 17:38:50 GMT -5
UPDATE: Filled the FW tank, ran pump, faucets, no leak. Pipes are all good, no drips anywhere. As I said before, the pooled water is contained to the front of the trailer. There are three sections on the frame on this model, front, middle and rear.
I have two holes opened up, one on each side of the middle frame support. Poking around in each area and feeling the front of the wooden frame that sits on the metal frame I feel damp wood. This make me think I’m getting water in this area either when driving when it’s raining splashing up, or there is a leak from the roof, down the side wall into this area. There are no rips or holes where the rock guard meets the underbelly material.
So right now I’m at a loss until it rains again to see what’s happening. I have a weekend trip planned soon and have these two holes open. I’ll have to temporarily close them up with tape until I find the source.
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 11, 2022 7:30:02 GMT -5
UPDATE: Next up, the roof and seals. I broke out the ladder and took a look at the roof. The only potential issue I see is where the front body meets the roof. There is a large seem there with manufacturers caulking. It looks weathered and it’s uneven. I suspect that water could creep down the inside wall from here. My plan is to clean and use EternaBond tape across the entire length of this seem. Process of elimination is my approach now. After that I will put additional tape between underbelly where it meets the rock guard.
It’s gonna rain Friday, Saturday, so I’ll take a look underneath before I do this.
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Post by laknox on May 11, 2022 10:23:52 GMT -5
Sounds like you have a good plan!
Lyle
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Post by nvguy on May 11, 2022 23:14:31 GMT -5
More spots to check is any lights or other things that require holes in the front cap or sidewalls.
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Post by lynnmor on May 12, 2022 7:07:10 GMT -5
You could do a leak test, this video will help you understand how it is done. Some have used leaf blowers, no need for fancy high priced equipment, Google for ideas. link |
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 12, 2022 8:24:32 GMT -5
More spots to check is any lights or other things that require holes in the front cap or sidewalls. I was just looking at that yesterday and caulked a few spots. Thx! |
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 17, 2022 6:11:24 GMT -5
UPDATE: Well, it rained the past couple of days, but no signs of water making it to the underbelly where I have a couple of holes I opened up. I’m guessing the way it occurred was during travel while raining at somehow made its way into the front portion of the underbelly. Still, I’m gonna EternaBond the roof seal where it meets the front body and seal where the rock guard meets the underbelly. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes and any future issues.
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Post by nvguy on May 17, 2022 22:28:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. Water is tricky, it will travel in unexpected ways, so give it a few days to ooze its way down, maybe even move the trailer up and down with the tongue jack in an attempt to maybe simulate towing.
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 19, 2022 20:15:47 GMT -5
UPDATE: So, today I was packing her up for the first trip and noticed a small amount of water in the front pass through. This is right above the underbelly where this whole thing started. Ah ha, we have a winner. So, the wife and I started another close inspection and she popped the front window cover just above the rock protector. Some water trickled down onto the window! Ah ha, let’s take closer look. Inspecting the window and outer gasket I noticed the gasket on the right side of the window was saturated with water. I addition, the window rubber seal looked worse for wear. I think I found the source.
So, I broke out the caulk gun and sealed the gasket around the entire window. Let’s see if that fixes it. If it wasn’t for my wife popping the window I probably would not have noticed the wet gasket. It rained a few days this week.
I’ll keep ya updated if that was the fix.
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Post by nvguy on May 20, 2022 23:11:49 GMT -5
That's the worst thing about water leaks; finding the leak. Sounds like you for sure did. If your sealing doesn't work, you probably ought to pull the window and reset it.
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afs
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 14
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Post by afs on May 21, 2022 10:38:43 GMT -5
UPDATE: Well, I think it’s safe to say I located the leak. We drove to the campsite yesterday through lots of rain. Unpacking the pass through I immediately looked to see if there was water and was pleased to see there was zero water. Whew, what a relief.
So, the leak was the gasket on the front window leaking behind the wall, traveling down to the pass through but most of it going to the underbelly. Now I’ll just permanently close the underbelly.
Cheers!
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