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RangerJay · 02-13-2007, 02:36 PM

It’s cold outside – minus 32 C last night. There’s about a foot of snow on the trailer. I shouldn’t really be going inside it for at least another month – maybe 2 – but yesterday we picked up new cushions for the dinette from the upholsterer and just had to go in and see how they fit and looked.

We had a bit of a surprise.

Underfoot there was an unanticipated “crunch” of what I can only think must have been frost crystals under the carpet directly in front of, and abutting, the refrigerator – about exactly in the middle of the trailer. To add to the surprise the floor did not seem to be level – as though the flooring beneath the carpet had lifted.

So.

I’m hoping for some reassurance that this is normal (faint hope) – or some advice on what might be going on. Methinks something needs attention – and I need some advice.

As background we have an ’02 Bambi – there has been no visible sign of water leakage in the trailer that I have noticed – and I have looked – often – after heavy rains or after a day of driving through heavy rains. We did have in the past an issue of dampness at the doors edge (also immediately adjacent to the fridge) which seemed to be more a wicking of moisture underneath a rubber boot mat that we had placed there at the time. After re-caulking the door and replacing the mat with a piece of carpet the problem seemed to go away – and there has never been any moisture since.

My hypothesis …

The wheel-well is under the fridge and this is the only thing that comes to mind that might allow moisture into the floor towards the middle of the trailer – so – at this point my thoughts are to re-caulk the wheel well – but I’d really appreciate some advice from others who might know more.

By the way – the cushions look great.

Thanks,

Jay

richg · 02-13-2007, 02:44 PM

The wheel well could be the culprit. I have had a leak in my 2004 30' with slide since I bought it new. After six or seven trips to several dealers I believe they have found the leak to be in the wheelwell. I will be picking the trailer up later this week and when I find out exactly what and where it happened I will let you know.
richg

lynn · 02-13-2007, 03:20 PM

Do you have a hole in the refrig compartment bottom covered with screen? If you do there should be a hose that runs down and comes out through into the wheel well . Check and see if the top were it meets aluminum and bottom side in wheel well above tire is caulked.

RangerJay · 02-14-2007, 08:33 AM

Thanks - I'd be interested in knowing if the wheel-well did turn out to be the problem - and what they did to fix it.

And yes - I will check that drain - my recollection is that it seemed well caulked from inside the frig compartment - but I have wondered a couple of things:

I recall thinking that the bead around the screen seemed higher than the floor of the frig compartment - which could allow some water to pool - but I've never noticed any pooling.

Also:

since the drain empties into the wheel-well I wondered if the air turbulence from the tire on a wet highway might actually throw water up through the drain into the frig compartment - but again - never noticed that this was actually the case.

Regardless, I will check it out and be sure to check the caulking on the underside of the drain as well as the top.

Thanks,

Jay

Tim A. · 03-02-2007, 07:59 PM

The plastic cover (outside) over the AC on our 2002 19' Bambi developed cracks and we ended up with water just where you have it. It seeped through the cracks and collected on the internal frame for the AC and then dripped onto the carpet. I never saw the drip, but there was plenty of water. Removal of the interior AC cover will let you feel the water in the frame if this is happening for you. Careful! Unhook from 120V current before sticking your fingers up in there because the water can collect in the AC electrical connection box.

A new external cover stopped all of the leakage.

RangerJay · 03-03-2007, 10:58 AM

Thanks - I'll have a look at that as well.

Jay

clancy_boy · 03-03-2007, 11:44 AM

I have just solved my leak on my 2003 22' CCD. Of all things - it turned out to be a rivet on the curvature just below the AC. This rivet was indented and acted like a funnel to allow water to seep in. It was a bear to track down - first thought it was the awning rail. Took weeks of taping off with plastic sheeting and hosing down to isolate. Now all my rivets on top are coated with roof sealant. Can't see on top anyway and it's white. NO MORE LEAK!!!!!!!

Mike

Silvertwinkie · 03-03-2007, 04:15 PM

If it leaked when it was stationary and the fridge was off, then it has to be somewhere on the body/rivet/door.

If you didn't notice if it did this when in transit, then when the weather gets better, take a hose and spay water around the well. If the floor gets wet, you found the culprit.

I did a light test and the water test in the wheel well. Light test passed, but water test failed. In my case, the trailer could go through a monsoon when standing still and no issues....however when in transit in rain, the wheels would kick up water into a place where they forgot to caulk. Once I caulked it, there were no further issues.