Water Intrusion

[rouxguy]

We noticed bedroom ceiling water stains in the area under the ac unit. We had some monsoon type weather a few weeks ago. Is it possible rain came in through the ac unit? Any insights appreciated, thanks

2015 38 resb

[Stripit]

Yes it is possible. Might be worth climbing up on the roof (carefully) and remove the a/c cover shroud. There will be 4 lag style bolts holding down the a/c unit. they are not torqued to a high number, but need to be uniformly tightened down. I've had one bolt looser than the others allowing a trickle of water to enter that corner. Might be worth a check to see if you have something like that happening.

[wingnut60]

There is also a reseal kit available from Dometic (assume this is the AC brand) and with a little help, the unit can be lifted up and away, the reseal applied and the AC replaced and tightened down properly. Can also check for wood rot while the AC is off the hole.

[rouxguy]

I pulled the shroud this morning, there was one of the four bolts that was not a tight as the other three. Snugged all four of them up some - hope that helps. Not sure what I can do about the stained ceiling panel though. Thanks!

[rouxguy]

Yes, they are Dometic. Hope that is not the case though. Thanks

[Stripit]

I used Folex that is a carpet cleaner in my small carpet cleaner with a hand held wand that I used on the ceiling. Folex can be bought at Home Depot and comes in a 1 quart spray bottle. You could just use it out of the bottle and blot the stain out too. It really did a nice job on my stain.

[rouxguy]

Wing-Nut, I brought the Rv in to a dealer to see what they could do for the water intrusion. Given it had only been about 8 weeks since it happened, I was surprised to hear they want to replace the WHOLE roof. They claim the AC's were installed without caulking the lag bolts. What are your thoughts? I think I can remove and recaulk all those bolts myself. The water caused some minor ceiling discoloration but no real, major damage. Your insight is appreciated - Mike

[Stripit]

Wow, replacing a roof is not something I would take lightly. If what they say is true, and you can verify that no wood rot has taken place, I would do as your thinking, unbolt the lag bolts, lift the a/c unit and caulk with the correct sealant. I have lifted my a/c units to replace the seal, not a big job at all. I did use a caulking to reseal the bolts when I put them back in, no leaks, no issues at all.

[rouxguy]

Thanks, did you inject caulk in the bolt holes? Did you also apply caulk around the heads of the lag bolts? The dealer seems to think when the Ac were installed at the factory, they should have caulked the bolt heads - which they say caused the leak

[Stripit]

Yes, The 4 lag bolts were removed, the a/c unit rolled on its side, as there was plenty of power cord to allow that to happen on my unit. I needed to replace the seal as it was not stopping the slight water leak when it rained hard. I purchased the foam/rubber type material on a roll about 3 inches wide and maybe 15 ft long somewhere? I removed the old seal, came up off the roof top very easy. Cleaned the roof at the seal area well, cut the new seal stuff to fit tight. Used an automotive black rubber sealer to fill in the seams where I cut to stop any water from creeping through anywhere. Then used a rv sealant, forgot the name to fill the bolt holes and about 1/2 an inch around each bolt. Then set the a/c unit back down and actually used my torque wrench to torque the bolts to whatever the speck called for and then a touch more. Never had a leak again. If you over tighten you squish the seal down and it could leak, the seal needs to seal, but not be crushed. That was how i did it. I don't think from start to finish it was more than 45 minutes. Also a 1 man job. My wife would NOT go up on the roof, so just me.

[rouxguy]

Thanks Frank, I went retrieve my camper this morning and had a chance to ask the "technician" some pointed questions about their diagnosis and proposed fix. Not sure where they find or how they train them, if at all. I was floored by the responses given and justification for the new roof! Have a great weekend, Mike

[Stripit]

Unfortunately it is in every vocation, folks get a job that they have had little or no training at and all of a sudden become experts. Just got an email this moring from a friend trying to build a summer cottage. He said every single trade he has hired has fallen short either on job performance or even showing up. So sad to watch it happen. Not how I was raised by my father, but things are changing I guess.

[rouxguy]

Has anyone replaced a bedroom ceiling panel?

Are parts available and from what resource? At a minimum, cabinets, lighting, speakers would need to come down to gain access. Any insights would be appreciated, thanks!

2015 MS 38 RESB3
2015 GMC 3500 Denali DRW

[Stripit]

what is causing the need to replace that panel? Stains or tears?

[rouxguy]

Stains, we tried Folex but it remove the stain

[Stripit]

Stains, we tried Folex but it remove the stain

OK, so why the need to remove the headliner?

[rouxguy]

Folex did not remove the stain, sorry. That would be the reason to change the panel.

[Stripit]

Ok what methods of cleaning have you done?
When I had the water stain from the leaking a/c seal I started with various spray can carpet cleaners. Then went with the Folex right out of the plastic spray bottle. Then went to the Bissell home type heated carpet cleaner using the upholstry attachement and only hot water. Then added the normal Bissell carpet cleaner and the Folex to the tank. That did the trick. The dark ugly black/grey water stain is gone. I'd say 95% so much so you have to really look to see any slight discoloration. Everyone said don't use the carpet cleaner on the ceiling? but that is what worked for me. If your ceiling panel is bad enough that you feel it needs to be replaced why not at least try the carpet cleaner? I would have rented one from Lowe's but I owned the Bissell.

[rouxguy]

While in the process of tracking interior wall water intrusion near back right corner of our MS, I pulled the left exterior scare light. The light in recessed into a 7" round cut out in the exterior wall, held in place with 4 screws. Was surprised no find NO caulking at all on the exterior painted surface nor on the interior of the flange, but more surprised by the absence of a gasket on the back side!

The poor craftsmanship on this and other high end RV's continues to amaze me.

I really do feel sorry for folks who may not be handy and have to rely on services done by others.

[Stripit]

My scare light was installed upside down, letting water enter through the screw holes and filled the light with water. It never went further, just into the light. I removed it and set it in correctly and resealed it up, but how hard is it to see the way it should have been put on. No only did the installer mess up, but the inspectors missed it too.

[rouxguy]

At least they weren't 90 degrees off!

BTW, sorry for not editing the photo before posting.

[Stripit]

At least they weren't 90 degrees off!

BTW, sorry for not editing the photo before posting.

I looked at your photo and had to look closer to see it was not correct, but thats OK, you could get a job at the RV plant and fit right in :D (Big Grin)

[wingnut60]

Inspectors? They have inspectors?

[porthole]

Inspectors? They have inspectors?

I was surprised at how many QC people I saw when we did a plant tour in 2015. Seemed there was one at each main station, with a roll of blue tape marking items.

Two things caught my attention, 1st that they were actually doing it and 2nd, the amount of blue tape markers, both pre and post paint.

But at least there were markers.

[wingnut60]

Sure have a lot of defects that get thru into dealers if they have all the QC people you indicate. I have been to the factory twice (years ago) and at the time they were using red markers on the units and lots of them. Seems only the color has changed, not the results...
Makes you wonder how many of the markers are accounted for in QC.

[rouxguy]

The saga continues, so far I've had the all roof caulking renewed, AC seals changed and scare lights sealed. We had heavy rains last week while camper was stored at home with slides in. I found two large puddles of water between entry door and fridge in the middle of the floor, I don't see any evidence of the water coming from the ceiling. Also large puddle in center of living room, once again no evidence of coming from ceiling.

Is it possible water is leaking through slide seals and collecting on the floor?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS?

Mike
2015 MS 38 RSSB3

[wingnut60]

There are several ways for water to get in even tho the slides are closed. Make sure all the seals on the slide faces (outer edges that face inward) are all intact--usually the upper corners tear quickly.
Sometimes the culprit is the lower horizontal molding that all the slides have at the bottom sides--check closely that there is a caulking seal all along the top edge of the molding.
Since the trailer is at home--strongly suggest that you make the effort during the next rainstorm to be out in the trailer and see where the water is coming from--or maybe make your own rain with a water hose with someone inside.
Hope you find a solution to the mystery....
Joe

[rouxguy]

Thanks Joe, I had already changed some out some of the D seals. Getting really discouraging, I think I have it corrected every time we fix something only to find more water.

[wingnut60]

I never had a problem with my old '05 TK3, but with this new RSSA, we have noted some wet carpet after traveling but not when parked with slides out. Puzzling....
Thinking the D seals were maybe not doing the job, I added foam gasketing all around the slide facing where it meets the D seal, thinking this would compress it better. So far, been ok in the rain, but really haven't traveled much in wet weather since I put the foam gasket on. This is the same stuff you get a HD/Lowes/WM that has tape you peel to stick it to the window frames. Not hard to do, but lots of footage when you do all 4 slide faces. Just an idea....