Leaks in the basement

no18yes · 06-13-2006, 09:18 PM

In cleaning up my 01 Adven for a Montana trip, I noticed that some of the storage bays were wet. It has rained alot this year. My rig sits out uncovered. The driver side forward bay, and the little one under the outside radio. Has anyone else experienced wet carpet in your storage bays, and how did you fix it? Any help appreciated

no18yes · 06-13-2006, 09:18 PM

In cleaning up my 01 Adven for a Montana trip, I noticed that some of the storage bays were wet. It has rained alot this year. My rig sits out uncovered. The driver side forward bay, and the little one under the outside radio. Has anyone else experienced wet carpet in your storage bays, and how did you fix it? Any help appreciated

ichn2go · 06-14-2006, 04:19 AM

If you notice, at least on my 03, there is rubber gasket around all the opening to the compartments. May be metal to the left or right of the opening, but the opening itself has rubber all around. See if you have a impression of this on your compartment door this will tell you if you are getting a good seal.
I don't really know how to make the doors close tighter unless you move the keeper or maybe a dressing such as 303 on the gaskets to soften them...Good Luck

John_Canfield · 06-14-2006, 08:02 AM

We have a leak in our electrical bay that Winnie tried to fix unsucessfully; it gets quite wet when we drive in rain. Then I just noticed the carpet in our entertainment bay was wet after driving in rain. If yours is leaking when parked, then you have quite a problem in my opinion.

Jim had a good suggestion about looking for the seal imprint against the door. Could be that the seals have lost their resilience and need to be replaced. I think you can adjust the striker latch to pull the door in tighter. On my coach that would involve removing a spacer on the latch which would move the keeper closer to the coach.

rebelsbeach · 06-14-2006, 08:09 AM

Agree with Jimmy and John....Had a leaky door on my '06 Vectra and they replaced the gasket AND readjusted the door...

Also had a water filled compartment from a leaking shower line,but you did mention "only when it rains".....

smlranger · 06-14-2006, 08:15 AM

Suggest you look above your compartments for evidence that water is gaining access from something allowing water in. For example, on my previous rig ('97 Adventurer) there was apparently a leak at the roof seam that allowed water to delaminate some exterior skin and finally gain entry to lower compartments. Also, there was a leak around the outer fridge access door...same result. If you have not already done so, suggest you look at the 'roof' of the storage compartments near the outer wall for evidence of water stains.

lesgorv · 06-14-2006, 09:50 AM

This may sound a little elementary, but making sure that both latches on the door are ingaged may help. On my MH I do a walk around and check all basement doors before traveling.

2000 Horizon
Jeep Wrangler
Chihuahua

Hikerdogs · 06-14-2006, 10:21 AM

n018yes: We have the same coach and have had similar problems. It turned out that the water was leaking in along the wire for the compartment lights. The light fixture would fill with water and drain out into the compartment as you drive.

When the light in the front compartment on the drivers side wouldn't work I popped off the cover expecting to find a burnt out bulb. I was surprised to find the light full of water and the socket all but rusted away.

I replaced the fixture and resealed the hole where the wire came through. I inspected the light fixtures in all the other compartments and found 2 more that had signs of water in the cover so I resealed all of them.

The only time we got water in the little compartment under the radio was when I was filling the black water tank for a good flushing. I accidently overfilled the tank. There is a vent in the top of the tank which sits above the compartment. The water came out the vent and ran down the side into the lower compartment.
Fortunatly I had to remove the access panel by the black water tank to install brackets for an auxillary brake compressor. I cleaned the area and have been careful since then to not overfill the tank.

no18yes · 06-14-2006, 10:56 AM

Thank you all for your input. Will check the seals and readjust the doors as a starter..

LK23 · 06-14-2006, 03:21 PM

Here's the best way to check for door leaks. Open the next door and look in at the suspect door. If you can see light around the gasket you have a potential leak.

Also check the trim strip that runs above the doors the entire length of the coach. It should be sealed with silicone. When I had my coach in for maintenance, they removed this trim strip and forgot to reseal it. I drove in the rain and it leak down around the door seal that also leaked.

"007" · 06-14-2006, 05:09 PM

While your at it check the sealent along the top of your furnace opening and refer openings if water gets thru there you will have water under your floating floor or rug in the bathroom.

AFChap · 06-14-2006, 07:58 PM

I added sealant to all the seams I could find on the outside of the compartments around the front wheels, then applied spray-on undercoat. That stopped all my leak problems except for a more extensive problem in my front slide-out "StorMore" compartment that after two years of attempted fixes by several dealers required it to be totally removed, resealed, and reinstalled.

Romer1 · 06-15-2006, 10:12 AM

You can also have your motorhome leak tested for about $100 at any of these places:
http://www.rvleaks.com/locations.htm

Used them for my travel trailer and they found every possible place that could leak. Picking up a used Adventurer this weekend and plan to have it tested.

no18yes · 06-15-2006, 11:55 PM

Romer1, I had that done this spring, my dealer is Roberson RV in Salem, Or. I noticed they were on the list. This is one of the best dealers in our area. They did find a potential leak in the driver's door window. Resealed it.
I am not so sure this technology would work for the under area however.
I think that test is one everyone should have done once a year.

tderonne · 06-16-2006, 05:26 AM

The StoreMore compartment on our slide had almost all of the above leaks.

It leaked at the seams behind the front tire, through the plastic convolute for the lights (they seal the outside of the convolute, but water can come right in inside it), through a screw hole or two that had snapped off screws, and mis-adjusted doors.

I found all the leak areas by crawling right in the compartment and closing the doors on a sunny day. Took some contortions, but I think I found all the leak paths. I suppose the same could be done on a dark night with a bright light in the compartment.

Romer1 · 06-16-2006, 05:33 AM

We're picking up our "new to us" 94 Adventurer tomorrow. When we drove it last Saturday, it had been sitting out in an all night 3"+ rain storm. Had a leaky gasket around rear a/c and a leak somewhere around windshield. They were going to fix both or we would have driven it home then.

Anyway, once it's home, I'm making an appointment to have it tested ASAP