Water Leaks and Condensation-34' LTD

[lmcatee]

I had a 1990 - 32' Excella for a couple years on the Oregon coast and experienced no leaks or condensation problems. I purchased a 1995 - 34' LTD last August and have done nothing but deal with leaks and condensation. Major leaks (small streams) in the front near the battery cabinet and rear (roadside floor) carpet. We are talking major water. We removed the couch and carpet to do some updating and that is when we found the front battery leak. There appears to be dampness all the way around the bottom of the trailer where the floor and the wall meet. When the carpet and couch were removed we saw damp plywood all along the edge.

Condensation: When we purchased the AS from a local person, he had owned it less than a year and had it brought up from Tucson. The curtains were water stained and there was large areas of dark grey on the walls. We thought possibly dirt, grease. We now know it was condensation. The curtains have since rotted and are shredding.

We have new curtains, carpet, wall coverings and upholstery and really like our AS. We have installed covers over all the ceiling vents, air dryer electrical units and resealed everything that even looks like a place for a leak.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of problem on this model, etc.

[j54mark]

Water leaks we can all understand; they just have to be stopped. But condensation must have a source - unless there is water present, it cannot condense.

Is it possible that you have sufficient water in the floor, belly pan, insulation, etc. that it is condensing on your interior surfaces? I suspect that until you get it throughly dried out you will not know.

Good luck,

Mark

[85MH325]

I suspect that your condensation is residual from your leaks. We have a '94 tri-axle Ltd, and there is a LOT of stuff that will hold water for a very long time. If your leak was in the ceiling, around the A/C or a vent, for example, it could have run down the inside walls through the insulation. The insulation could still be saturated. Then, there's the lovely 'carpet' on the walls that can also hold water, and hold it in. Your plywood floor sounds like it was probably saturated. The insulation under the floor is held in by the belly pan.

It may take a long time for all of that moisture to dry out. My suggestion would be to store it with the vents open and to have the windows open on the trailer as often as possible for as long as possible each time. Eventually, it will dry out.

Best of luck on this one!

Roger

[James Schmidt]

Water leaks can be a bear!!! There are several good threads here that discuss various possible leak sources that include vent gaskets, window gaskets, rivits,etc. Try isolating the leaks by running water on the outside of the coach and look for the leaks. Start low and progress upward. Good Luck