Odd Tan/Brown Liquid Running Down Wall

[BernieMac13]

I've had a ton of troubles with service and my 2017 FC 23D. However, my warranty is up this month, and I'm about to pick it up from service. I've been trying to figure out what this brown/tan liquid is that runs down my walls, usually towards the front of the rig, and it seems that my local service cannot figure it out either. It did end up leaving a MASSIVE stain on a front drape, however, and they will do their best to warranty that out while I still can. Any ideas? I'm thinking that it's some sort of glue, but I suspect that would mean I have (another) leak.

Ideas? I'm attempting to embrace the idea of DIY fixes now that my warranty is up instead of fretting over all the things that have and could go wrong! Thanks in advance for all ideas!

[SteveSueMac]

No idea. Some hunches...

Condensation?

A leak - the insulation in that year is a brown colored fiber. If you have a leak somewhere, perhaps it’s pulling some of the brown from the insulation?

Have you had it pressure tested for leaks? Seal-tek or whatever it’s called. If you’re currently under warranty and it ends this month - send pics and an email to AS factory and put in the claim today. If they can’t get to it for months - that’s ok - you timed in....


Good luck!!

[AlinCal]

Agree that its possibly from the insulation as a result of a leak.
Possibly a marker light? or the window frame?
I had a leak where the middle window and the pano window butt together, it showed up at the floor though.

[BernieMac13]

Thank you both, that's what I feared. I will send in these images for warranty just in case. That's a great idea. I'm picking it back up and hopefully they found the culprit this time. I will say, I was more than furious when I found out that my perfectly adhered flexible solar panels leaked because some fine technician drilled when I requested NOT to and that they only connect the wires from the top business to the batteries. Though in that case, it was very clearly pouring clear water inside all of my walls - ruining perfectly good electronic panels in the process!

[crazylev]

I have this too. In my case it is ciser to front of trailer. This may sound strange, but what does it smell like? I use my nose alot, since I have a lot of nose. To me me its kind of a metalic/blood smell. Bottom line, there is probably a leak somewhere and its picking up stuff/smell from what ever is in its path

[BernieMac13]

Good point! I do the very same thing, and it’s metallic smelling, a bit like blood! That’s funny, my girlfriend thinks I’m weird for smelling everything and associating it to something else! Also, darn these leaks...

[CBWELL]

You have water stained curtains. Find and seal the leak and wash the curtains in Oxyclean.
Been there and done that!!

[barefootmom]

I’ll agree with the possibility of condensation or leak. As for the curtains, we have hand washed our 20-year old curtains with OxyClean and mild detergent, air dry then iron, and they look beautiful! Hope that might be a solution for you. Sorry for your woes... ☹️

[Air83]

Dead body from the factory. Call the factory and see if someone is missing .

[BernieMac13]

hahaha Carl just never learned...

[BernieMac13]

Oxyclean, I didn't think of that! Any tricks to avoiding curtain shrink, aside from hang-drying?!

[skyguyscott]

From the look of the pictures, it appears the source of the wetness on the curtains came from below; the type of stain appears to be from wicking moisture from the bottom rather than something running down from the top.

Also, since the cushions are tan, I wonder if the curtains are wicking some wetness from them or from a leak in the window?

To check for a leak, you might want to have someone inside while you power wash the exterior. Check the window seals particularly. To trace the source of the leak, you also might want to tape some brown paper towels around the seams; the brown paper towels will immediately show any wet spots that might occur.

I know in my trailer, condensation will gather on the walls, if it evaporates, it leaves a brownish residue. If it gets to the point of running down the walls, brown streaks will form. I notice this in particular in the spring after winter storage. Whenever I clean the walls (mine are covered in zolatone) I pick up brownish dirt. I don't know why it's brown, perhaps it's just dirt in the air, or maybe some residual cooking particulates?

Hope this helps, let us know what you discover.

[barefootmom]

Hand washing in cold water and air drying works great!

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by barefootmom

Hand washing in cold water and air drying works great!

Dont forget the awning supports as a leak source.

[BernieMac13]

You know, I never thought folks would be so dang helpful! I did the leak test and thankfully nothing new to seal. Though I do feel much more confident now to actually be able to seal my own leaks in the future! However, new issue: Since all of the leaks (I believe we're up to 5 serviced leaks now) I have some serious mold smell coming from my cushions. I cleaned the outside of the cushions as best as I can with vinegar water, and they were pretty good. Smell persisted. Unzipped and viola, found my issue. This mold is in the spongy foam of the couch sitting cushions ('17 23D FC) and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this? Perhaps they can be really well soaked when the weather is much warmer, soap applied, squished to ring out and left out to dry? I would much rather not replace these myself if I had a choice, especially because I plan to trade in next year and it doesn't seem like an inexpensive replacement.

[rtaylor537]

Originally Posted by BernieMac13

I've had a ton of troubles with service and my 2017 FC 23D. However, my warranty is up this month, and I'm about to pick it up from service. I've been trying to figure out what this brown/tan liquid is that runs down my walls, usually towards the front of the rig, and it seems that my local service cannot figure it out either. It did end up leaving a MASSIVE stain on a front drape, however, and they will do their best to warranty that out while I still can. Any ideas? I'm thinking that it's some sort of glue, but I suspect that would mean I have (another) leak.

Ideas? I'm attempting to embrace the idea of DIY fixes now that my warranty is up instead of fretting over all the things that have and could go wrong! Thanks in advance for all ideas!

My thought is that there is a leak (somewhere) and the brown color results from water absorbing an adhesive while penetrating the skin.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Do you get condensation on your windows overnight?

We were getting a lot of water buildup on windows ourselves (could possibly be forming in walls too), we got a dehumidifier and that solved almost all of the liquid that we saw forming in the trailer. This may be a source of the liquid too? Collecting color as it moves over different surfaces (dust, etc)