Dirt road dust through floor

[tvoneicken]

We just took our new 23FB onto some CA desert dirt roads. What a dust experience! The rear bath had a good millimeter of dust, it was even thicker inside the bath cabinet. Kitchen cabs were only a little better. No, we didn't leave windows or vents open, this stuff must have come through the floor penetrations, of which there seem to be many and they're rather big.

Has anyone tried to seal the floor penetrations? I don't want to use something like expanding foam 'cause that would make all future work hell. I'd rather do something that can be removed or cut out more easily when needed.

[JBinKC]

Window seals are a major culprit and just look how many there are! Plus roof vents for the heater and refrigerator, the A/C, Fantastic Fans, bathroom fan, stove vent, door seal. Oy vey! The problem's much more severe than just floor penetrations. And the clean-up of outside compartments! Double oy vey! So sorry but you'll really pay the price to drive in such severe dust, no matter what you do.

[r carl]

If the top front fantastic fan is out of the dust while traveling down dirt roads you can try turning it on to kinda pressurize the camper to stop dust from getting sucked into the camper from below.

[newroswell]

The Fantastics only blow out from the Airstream factory creating a vacuum inside. If you've installed the fan yourself you have the IN+OUT+OFF switch. You can also buy the 3 way switch and install it yourself.

[DaveFL]

Our last MH of SOB must have had a shortage of carpenters and figured the carpet layers would fix the big holes made for pipe penetrations of the floor. They made oversize holes to make it easier for the plumbers, discovered when we got clouds of dust from Canadian road repair project. Expanding foam in a can was the easy fix.

[tvoneicken]

Thanks for all the replies!

J, I don't think it's the windows or stuff on the roof. The most dirt was in the cabinets, not on, say, the dinette. Also, while there was some dust in the windows (the space between the glass and the screen) there wasn't nearly as much as I would have expected if the windows had been leaking.

Roswell, thanks for the FF switch tip, I was wondering how to make it blow inwards, now I know why it won't do it. The air pressurization makes sense to me, I'll have to see whether the car dust goes up and over or all to the side and under. It still leaves the problem about what you do when you cross another car or someone passes. Seems that then you really scoop the stuff in actively!

Dave, I think the carpenters in new AS don't wait for the carpet layers to make large holes. Below the water pump they cut an about 5"x7" hole! I want to avoid using expanding foam if I can 'cause it's going to make any repairs or modifications hell.I've been thinking of trying hvac tape or 10mil pvc pipe wrap. BTW, how well did the expanding foam work overall?

[Dan@LED4RV]

Originally Posted by tvoneicken

We just took our new 23FB onto some CA desert dirt roads. What a dust experience! .....
.....Has anyone tried to seal the floor penetrations? I don't want to use something like expanding foam 'cause that would make all future work hell. I'd rather do something that can be removed or cut out more easily when needed.

I have seen this one time before and found the problem around the wheel well. I would wait till night when it is dark and turn off all the light inside your unit. Get on the ground and shine a powerful flash light up toward the bottom of the unit. Start at the wheel wells where you can see inside of cabinets right over the wheel wells where possible. If you don't find it there, keep crawling around. It may give some strong clues. If you do see any holes you want to plug and the out of the way and out of site then use TremPro Polyurethane Sealant (Vulkem) As Part Number 360002

[DaveFL]

Originally Posted by tvoneicken

Thanks for all the replies!



Dave, I think the carpenters in new AS don't wait for the carpet layers to make large holes. Below the water pump they cut an about 5"x7" hole! I want to avoid using expanding foam if I can 'cause it's going to make any repairs or modifications hell.I've been thinking of trying hvac tape or 10mil pvc pipe wrap. BTW, how well did the expanding foam work overall?

AS uses a different fitting for the toilet flange, screws down to the tank, other brand hole was way oversize. My feelingl is the same I don't like the permanence of foam to get in the way of future repairs, but when I found the tank installed with a gap of 3-4 inches below floor and open to the road giving it almost a funnel effect of air traveling from the front of the tank up thru the floor, into the rest of the MH by way of hidden cabinet space.
I will try the light at night maybe I will be able to find the gaps my AS must have, as this winter I had the mouse revisit, found her nest material in the bathroom furnace outlet. Torn up tp, paper towels and insulation from the motor area.

[tvoneicken]

A few days ago I finally bit the bullet and took some tools to the AS. First thing I discovered is that there was a 1/4"-1/2" gap at the underside of the rear wrap-around plastic panel (is that what people call the banana wraps?). I opened the shower trap access panel (23FB -> rear bath) and discovered that air getting under the wrap-around panels goes straight up through the floor penetration for the shower trap, around the corner, and into the back of the vanity! It's like a special-made funnel to capture all the dirt under the trailer and deposit it onto the towels in the vanity. Niiiice! (NOT!) Also, while there was some reflective bubble insulation in there is was anything but well placed (or the wind displaced it), so I stapled it in place and complemented it with some aluminum tape to seal the portion of the floor penetration that wasn't covered (what's insulation good for when there's a 3"x4" hole left right next to it???).

First I sealed the panels and screwed them up, see first photo. Then I took out the vanity (man, they could really have made that easier!!!) and sealed the opening towards the shower using some aluminum flashing and aluminum tape. Then, while I was at it, I sealed the opening on the other side towards the black water tank. I haven't been able to really test the result, but I'm convinced I will have a lot less dirt inside the bathroom on our next dirt road trip. Whether it'll be zero, time will tell...

[Mexray]

I'd say you probably solved a future rodent problem by sealing those gaps...

I'm a canned foam devotee...of course our AS is a bit older...but the foam fills voids you can't get to or see easily...it can be easily cut away in many cases at a later date...

Any foam that's exposed to the outside, I spray with an aluminum spray to protect it from the UV rays, and hide it's presence...

I've even used canned foam in other vehicles to secure batteries in tight spaces - foam around the base (don't overdue it!) keeps the batteries from moving in their boxes, but I can still remove them when required...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I haven't had a dust problem, buy I did pick up a hitch hiker once. Like you said, Airstream left some huge holes in the floor. I could see light through my door so I added a weather strip to it and sealed it good. This was done to keep the air conditioner and/or heater from working too hard. In the pictures you will see the holes in the floor [two major holes] the plywood plugs that I made, and the finished product. Finger crossed, hoping to never have another un-invited guest in our trailer.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, now that I sealed up the huge holes in the floor, you will notice that it holds the water pipes tighter. This caused my water pump to really transmit vibrations when turned on. To cure this, I made my own water pump silencer kit. The water pump should have never been hard piped from the factory, but it was. I made my own kit because it was cheaper, I could make the flexible hoses any length I wanted, and the store bought kit doesn't have 90 degree ends.

[tvoneicken]

Nice plywood plugs! Thanks for posting those images.

[Bluto]

tvoneicken,
I have done similar stuff to the outside of my unit when I took delivery and over the past year working on it little by little in my spare time. I think it all helps to keep dirt and water and bugs and rodents out. I also drilled little holes and covered with screens in a few areas under the trailer to let any water entering from above to drain from the area (if, and when that happens).

ROBERTSUNRUS,
You have inspired me to look closely at the interior spaces and and do some creative wood patches. I like the finished look!

[tvoneicken]

Quick update. Drove some 40 miles of dirt road in the Mojave this week end. Good news is that the sealing really helped. Only minimal dust in the bathroom. Yay! The remainder seems to come from around the black water tank, which AS didn't seal where it goes through the floor (the tank sits centered about 4-5" above and below floor). I can't reach much of that area at all, so I'll have to get creative....

On the bad news front, the tall wardrobe door completely fell off and made quite a dent into the floor vinyl. The hinge screws rattled loose, it seems; i.e. the screws to adjust the hinges. Same happened to the 2nd smaller wardrobe door, it just didn't actually fall off, phew. I'll have to treat these with some thread lock, and I'll add some velcro fasteners to these doors as extra safety. Sigh. Oh, and the dinette seats are now completely loose, gotta put wing nut bolts in there asap.