81 Motorhome storage compartment leaks

[Dean Rawson]

Has anyone had success stopping water from leaking into the road side storage compartments , I have installed a driprail above the opening seam and filled the holes left by the factory on the ends and replaced the seals, all in vain it appears , I am tempted to cut the bottoms loose give them a good rearward slope with drain holes so at least the water wont stand in the compartments

[guy99]

Can you post a picture? I managed to seal mine but I'm not sure if they are like yours.

[Mike Leary]

Where is it leaking, on the pull-out? You could have a leak in the copper lines up above. Mine leaked from a crack around the upper openings. Pic?

[Keyair]

And mine was a split pipe behind the shower....
My floorsafe was full of water too!

[Smartstream]

My 280 doesn't have pull outs or copper lines above. The doors are aluminum sheets formed into a curve to match the lower panel. No reinforcement or edge trearment of any kind. A simple "L" shaped rubber gasket and that's it. And yes they are not water tite.

I've thought of maybe an inner lip around the edge of the compartment and then drill some drain holes at the bottom of the door for the water to run out before entering the compartment.

Without a perfect fit and a reinforced edge or more clamps around the door edge I don't think a rubber gasket is going to do much.

Cheers, Dan

[Dean Rawson]

Sounds like Dan has been down this road , think I will just sand blast them and repaint and set them up for quick draining rather than picking a battle I can,t win
Thank's Dean

[cooperhawk]

I have battled with mine as well. I think most of my moisture is condensation and just can't be helped. Drain holes are probably a good idea.

[Mike Leary]

Would someone post a pic? I'm confused (normal for me).

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Dean Rawson

Sounds like Dan has been down this road , think I will just sand blast them and repaint and set them up for quick draining rather than picking a battle I can,t win
Thank's Dean

It always amazes me how the lads at Airstream put so much effort into the design of some things and so little into others. I think the storage doors were designed too late on a Friday afternoon.

Cheers, Dan

[cmadmaxman]

I got tired of my tools rusting away, so took out the right side pull out and started to work it over. I welded up all the holes, used 1" wide x 1/8 thick metal and MIG welded up a leak free lip. I also sealed up all the corners and the screws that hold the lid hinge on. Sealed where the lock goes into the lid as well. A lot of work, but no more leaks

Here is a shot of the old plastic bad idea for a storage bin. Next up the Left side!

[Smartstream]

You guys with the 310's ans 345's have those fancy pull outs. Us guys with 280's aren't so lucky. We just have a sheet aluminum door with a hinge on the bottom. The door swings down to expose a wet little hole in the bottom edge of the coach.

Nice repair/modification madmaxman.

Cheers, Dan

[raveson]

Mine don't leak yet, but nice to know there is a solution when they do. Fantastic job!!!!

[kmpro]

I thought I had sealed mine on both sides, but the last big rainstorm we went through the Driver's side got wet again. Not to worry though, I will get after sealing it again. I had sprayed it with spray undercoat on the outside as well as all those listed previously in this thread. Still shipped water though.

Mike

[cmadmaxman]

Here is another shot of the completed project. Just had a 2 to 3 inch down pour and the box is nice and dry. Have not drove in a rain storm yet, but think that it should stay dry. Will keep my fingers crossed!

[Keyair]

Awsome Job Chris!
Did that stop the leaks, or any other mods?
I have leaks in all mine.
For starters i need to replace the seals between the lid and body,, but did you find it was the joints that were the leak culprets?
If so, and welding it did the trick, I will go for that too!
On mine the lids hinge from the back edge, but I think the basic principle is the same.
I was thinking about doing Herculiner for the inside ansd underside... Do you think that will work?
Also, I have not looked close, but how do you get the drawers off/out of the M/H?

[cmadmaxman]

Thanks Keyair.
The original plastic, can I say just worked OK. After the years and they started to crack and break, water was allowed to leak into the top through all the joints not fully welded up. Welding up the joints worked best for me. I have a small MIG welder that keeps the heat to a minimum. Stitch welding helps as well, but there is still some warping of the metal. The full weld of the lip is the most important part of this.

I also used Polyurethane caulk on the inside joints and the top joint where the top and sided meet the front cover.

I think the Herculiner would be a great idea. Wish I would have thought about that. I will use that on the left side big drawer when I do that.

Seal all screws when you but the hing back on.

You have to unbolt the slides from the drawer, then if you want to take them off completely, you can clean them up from years of road junk, and re-lube them.

Good luck dude! Let us know how it goes.

[Keyair]

Will do.
I have two levels going on... stuff I can only do at or on the Airstream in storage, and stuff I can pull off and do at home... this is the latter, and I like these, cos I can work on them for 10 mins or 2 hours, whatever I have time for.
I did the bed on my old Chevy Pickup about 2 years ago with the Herculiner kit, and was pretty impressed with how easy it was.

Ready:


Coat 1:

C

I still think it was a bit "thin" and would have liked to add another coat, but it has really stood up to a lot of abuse, and has only broken thru when I dragged/pushed my cherry picker in and out, and even then only slightly.
It should handle this "light duty" job with ease, and the textured finish with help stuff grip and not slide too much.



I recently picked up a barely used 110V Snap-On 140A Mig welder, and I also have the Mig Spool Gun for Mig welding Aluminum, and the DC Tig for steel(DC can't do Aluminum) attachment as well. To buy this setup new would have been $5k plus, and I got it for a song! It is HUGE, because it has a big fan and heat sinks(100% duty cycle).
Sounds like a great "Practice Project" for the Mig and Tig!
Here she is:

[cmadmaxman]

Sweet

Sounds like a great project to get some practice on the new welder. I have the small 110 Lincoln that is a 110v and have a 175 Lincoln inverter AC, DC and reverse DC that runs on 220v. It has the air cooled torch w/peddle control. Would like to have the liquid cooled line, but I don't push it that high. It's smooooth to weld with! I use straight Argon gas so swapping from Aluminum to Steel is no problem.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Mike Leary]

My slides on the roadside compartment pull-out have lost the bearings, has anyone replaced the slides, is it a bearcat?

[masseyfarm]

Originally Posted by Dean Rawson

Has anyone had success stopping water from leaking into the road side storage compartments , I have installed a driprail above the opening seam and filled the holes left by the factory on the ends and replaced the seals, all in vain it appears , I am tempted to cut the bottoms loose give them a good rearward slope with drain holes so at least the water wont stand in the compartments

Not sure what you guys have for hinges but I found silicone spray solved my problem on Clipper.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f313...eak-70444.html

Dave