Moisture detected in floor - what now ?

[PharmGeek]

Odd - I just noticed the entire rear of door had water drops on it - hmmm - did not Boyce that at first

[m.hony]

cburch@airstream.com
rmcneeley@airstream.com
dsnider@airstream.com

[PharmGeek]

And after hitting it with more drenching water from hose - this

[PharmGeek]

And beyond that spot on drivers side is where I detected the leak

[Landrum]

I'm sure you're wondering if it is the door seal or is the water coming into the wall above the door? I wonder if you could stuff some weather stripping in around the door and re-test. If there is no more water inside you would identify the problem as the door gasket.

[perryg114]

How you going to get the floor dry? It is sanwitched between two layers of plastic.

Perry

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Airstream Forums mobile app

[PharmGeek]

To be clear the water that entered for my test was on metal surface and I captured it with towels and newspaper before entering the other flooring

As far as moisture that is under flooring to date? I have no idea how that moisture will come up

I am asking iggy walker and they say they had same problem while driving in rain - I bet a lot that theirs leaked while sitting at home as well - I'm going to their house perhaps tonight to see if theirs reached same spot as they have not leak tested yet and have same trailer as me

[SafariSS]

From my experience that door sux. I tried for a year, could not get mine to seal. Its like the latch wont put enough pressure on the gasket?

[PharmGeek]

Ps - I adjusted the latch as tight as it could got and still close - no change

It is most definitely that gasket - water is just going right around it

[PharmGeek]

What can I use to safely tape it off and protect from rain in meantime?

[SafariSS]

I would use some easy to remove blue masking tape, 2" wide

[RVDreamer]

I think you could use something like coax seal tape. It is a soft rubber tape that molds but is not super sticky and doesn't leave residue. You can get it at a Home Depot.
I use it to seal all kinds of things and it works pretty well.

[Landrum]

Perhaps blue painters tape? Not duck tape.

I'm thinking out loud here: the water is coming in the top, running down the inside of the door, hitting the gasket on bottom which is tight up against the door, this causes water to run into AS. What if the gasket was removed on the bottom? Would the water then hit the door frame and run back out at the bottom of the door? If you knew the gasket needed to be replaced it might be worth looking at. Like I said......I'm thinking out loud.

[PharmGeek]

My neighbors with same bunkhouse - just went to their house - found same moisture (it seems) in same spot but on passenger side

They have confirmed this gasket has leaked for them when driving in rain

Here is a photo of the door closed with interior light on - if photons escape then water can enter....


I'm not entirely sure if this is only a problem when driving or with I guess high wind pushing water inward hard enough? I'll be doing more fiddling when time permits - will do a test with water flowing only from above and not any direct at the door

[PharmGeek]

The doors design it seems to me is terrible - center latch only on a very long aluminum door....

[cwf]

Howdy, PG! Wow.. bummer on the leak...Looks like a warped door to me. That is a Mothership fix... I bet..

Meanwhile.... to minimize the leak... perhaps a simple approach..

Check out this link.. McMaster-Carr

That is McMaster Carr.. an industrial supplier.. they have lots of great products.. The link above points to their 'seal' category. Some 'foam' strips like this link.. McMaster-Carr would be something you could apply to the inside of the 'door' face... where it will take up the slack between the door and the existing seal....

Another option is to rip out the existing seal and replace with appropriate thickness... but this time of a 'bulb' type design... pick one design from this link.. McMaster-Carr

It may well save you a rotten floor and many miles of travel... time to get creative..

[PharmGeek]

Yup - it is that time

I think that door and gasket has no choice but to leak by design - I have only two data points at this point but I suspect many many that have this door will have the same problem?

I will certainly be thinking of a fix for this

[reinergirl]

In the meantime, seal with aluminum tape from the orange box store ( found in the reflectix section). I've actually found that the blue painters tape leaves more residue . Don't use 3m aluminum tape ...it's a bugger to get off!!

[cwf]

PG.. as Reinergirl said.. whatever STOPS the water without damaging the AS...

You could also get some "screen spline" and jam around the door opening... once you direct the water down to the bottom, it should drain fine...

[SafariSS]

Here is the fix...! Have it removed...