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Old 12-11-2007, 06:16 PM   #1
Dean A Van Peursem
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Water leak late 2006 3400RL

This has been discussed before right here in this forum but my water leak seems to be a little more difficult. The water leak only shows up during a heavy rain and may also be limited to rain with wind. The water leak shows it's ugly head to the left of the cold air intake for the furnace and under the right side of the pantry cabinets.

I've checked and rechecked the rubble flap seal all the way around the kitchen slide. All looks good. And the water doesn't seem to be coming from the right side of the slide anyway. I've checked the pocket door cavity, with a flashlight the best I can and so no moisture through the slots. I've checked the shower and shower skylight and am unable to detect a source for the leak. The front garage is dry.

Could the moisture be blown in through the furnace vent to the outside?

Anyone else experience something like this? I'm stuck! Help????
 
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Old 12-11-2007, 07:57 PM   #2
JH Sechelt
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Dean,
A month or so ago, Dawn & I where camping down by the Ocean along our Coast and A large storm blew in with lots of wind & Rain.

Two Problems:

1) When we set our trailer up, I used to keep the Drivers side a little bit high ( figuring it would sink alittle when the two slides on that side came out). Plus that was the side our heads are on when sleeping. But by doing this.... The Roof on the bedroom side actually slanted toward the trailer. There for all the rain that landed on the Bedroom side would run toward the trailer and work its way past the seals.
That roof has little or no slope to it. The fix was to level the trailer right out & now after all the slides are all the way out, I bring the bedroom slide in about 3/4 of an inch. ( that seems to drop the outside of the slide about the same 3/4 of an inch. Now the rain water runs to the outside of the slide and down to the ground.

On this same trip we had water pool on the floor around the L shape bar (the 2980 has a bar like the 3400) Because of the heavy rain and wind we figured the rain was getting blown in through the vents on the back of the fridge and going down to the floor and working its way through the Cupboards...... a couple of things you can look at.

J&D
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Old 12-12-2007, 06:26 PM   #3
rubble express
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We had water getting in the kitchen slide somewhere but we couldn't figure it out for the life of us. All the seals were good and the roof was good on the slide. The water was showing up in the lower carpeted cabinets next to the fridge. When it rained really hard it got really wet. It would start to puddle in front of the stove because the carpet was so soaked. Thought it might be the window so after we dried it out we covered everything on the outside of the slide with plastic except the window and let her have it with the hose. Dry as a bone. Next we covered everything except the lower fridge vent and ran water down from above it (not directly into the openings) and guess what. Big time leak. We took it to the dealer and I told him what we had found. Apparently the bottom of the frame around the opening was tilted in a little bit and the water was running in instead of draining out. Even though there is alot of caulk and sealer around there it was getting in. The dealer put in some wood blocks (shims) under the inside of the lower part of the frame to raise it up and then resealed it. He made sort of a caulk lip ( build up) also so now the water can't get past it. It's been out in monsoon type rain since and hasn't leaked a bit. Hope this helps.
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Old 12-12-2007, 07:28 PM   #4
Dean A Van Peursem
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Thanks for the additional hints. I'm starting to get a pretty good hunch that this water is coming in or around the outside furnace vent. When the weather improves I'm going to do some serious investigation in that area. This may a bit hard to find but.... patience is a virtue and I want it now! :-)
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Old 12-13-2007, 02:23 AM   #5
ARJ
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The furnace in my TT is under the frig. I found that water would tend to collect on the outside fridge cover and then run down into the furnace vent. I resolved the problem by installing a piece of aluminum U channel under the frig cover so water is directed away from the furnace vent.
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Old 12-16-2007, 07:52 PM   #6
Dean A Van Peursem
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Looks like I have found the source of the water leak. I'm embarrassed to have to report that the water leak is coming from the shower. We haven't had rain here for a few days and now the water leak only shows up after showers. Now in AZ it would be a bit embarrassing to have in the past only taken showers when it rains. :-) But anyway I would have bet big dollars it was being caused by windy & rainy conditions. Must have been coincidental. So how does one gain access under the shower floor? Access panels in shower frame or through the removable panel behind the convenience center? Could it just be the drain is leaking in the floor of the shower or pipes connected to it?
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Old 12-27-2007, 02:00 PM   #7
carl b
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Dean,
I noted a leak when we showered. After some looking I found that water was leaking around the showered facet unit. I loosened the unit and applied a liberal amount of chalking and resent the facet unit. It seems to have fixed the problem.
carl b
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Old 12-28-2007, 05:22 PM   #8
sreigle
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Dean, ours was caused by the shower faucet connections loosening. Access was through the access panel closest to the stairs. The one with two screws to remove it.

In case someone else is reading this looking for a solution to a water leak in the same area, our 3400 has a somewhat obscure place a leak can occur. Inside the pantry, on the back wall, is an access panel. Behind that panel, and a little bit below the opening is that vacuum break for the black tank flush, the one sometimes located under the vanity in other models. There have been some problems with this valve leaking, resulting in a puddle under vanity/stairwell area.
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Old 12-28-2007, 05:36 PM   #9
Dean A Van Peursem
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Thanks for all the tips, suggestions and help folks. We are back in WA for the Holidays but when we get back to AZ on the 5th of January, this will be the first thing on the agenda. Sure would be nice if was easily detected and fixed. Got my fingers crossed. Thanks again.
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Old 01-06-2008, 08:15 AM   #10
Dean A Van Peursem
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I have just chased our shower leak on our late 2006 3400RL. The water pipe fittings to the faucet control were all too loose. I have tightened them all up and the leaks seem to have stopped. What is really interesting is the hot water pipe only leaked when that faucet was turned on. I'm not sure if it was the fixture or the fact that the water pipes heated up and allowed a leak when the pipes and fixture heated up.
Another issue is that the top of the plastic shower insert is not sealed but the sides are. Since both my wife and I are quite tall, I'm 6'3" I would suspect that spray gets to where that seal is supposed to be and drips down the outside of the plastic shower liner. That would also cause a leak in the same area. I tested it by deliberately spraying on top of the plastic liner edge and water poured down behind the plastic and the wall. We could see it through the inspection hole behind the pantry with the pocket door open. When things dry out I think I'm going to seal the top of the shower lip as well. There seems to be two different theories about whether that is a good thing to do or not. But will continue to monitor for leaks before I do. Seems to me like it should be sealed.
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Old 01-06-2008, 05:28 PM   #11
sreigle
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Dean, the uncaulked areas of the shower surround are supposed to be uncaulked so moisture can escape.

On our 2001 2880RL I had the dealer caulk those uncaulked places and it ended up causing bubbles on the outside wall just outside the shower. The moisture has to go somewhere. I sealed the escape route so it found another... out through the fibreglass. Lesson learned. This was explained to me by Larry Fox, owner of Fox RV in Middlebury, IN. They did the repairs.
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Old 01-06-2008, 07:49 PM   #12
Dean A Van Peursem
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Steve,

I assume they need to have the moisture escape because it sure does get in there. When I'm taking a shower my head is nearly touching the ceiling so it is above the top edge of the liner. Any reflected spray is going to go right to that uncaulked seam between the wall and the liner. I wonder if one could put a flap over that edge that is glued(stuck) to the wall but doesn't glue(stick) to the liner? That would stop the water going in and let air escape. Sure doesn't seem like a good OEM design to me. Maybe most other people are much shorter. :-)
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Old 01-07-2008, 12:25 AM   #13
Cyrus
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Both hoses connecting to the shower faucets were loose. I was lucky finding it; the water ran down the pipe (nice big hole through floor)into the storage bay and dripped on a bucket top. Saw the water but took awhile to figure when it got there. Because of my size and location through the shower access panel I could not reach them. Tall skinny dealer tech tightened them and said they were both loose. He said all these plastic pipe connections needed to be checked occasionally and must only be hand tightened, no pliers.
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Old 01-10-2008, 04:03 PM   #14
sreigle
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I'm glad yours is solved, Cyrus. Leaks are not fun to deal with.

Dean, your flap idea sounds to me like it would work so long as it isn't so tight to the surround that it effectively blocks the opening.
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Old 01-16-2008, 05:26 PM   #15
Dean A Van Peursem
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Haven't had any more leaks since I tightened up the faucet and pipe fittings. Haven't added the flap yet over the top edge of the liner and haven't had any more water on the floor but I'm pretty sure there is water getting behind the liner while taking a shower. Just not as much as when the fittings were leaking. Don't like wood geting wet.
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Old 01-17-2008, 02:20 AM   #16
richfaa
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I just don't understand how the water running down in back of the shower walls is good idea. There is not much ventilation back there and wet(thin) wood is not a good thing..I don't see how it can ever dry out. I could run my finger down the wall all around the top of my shower encloser and there was a huge space in the corner. I just do not understand..
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Old 01-18-2008, 05:50 PM   #17
Dean A Van Peursem
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Rich,

Something isn't Kosher about this whole thing. I'm going to Quartzsite next week and going to do a little investigation. Does anyone know if Montana will have factory representatives there? Haven't had any problems on our late 2006 3400RL lately. I'm going into withdrawal! :-) I think putting a flap over the top of the liner willl keep the water out and still let it breath. Now I just need to get a "Round Tuit" to "get er done!"
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Old 01-22-2008, 02:02 AM   #18
Dean A Van Peursem
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Our water leak is back. Only leaks while taking a shower. Need to chase this further. Now, don't see a leak through the inspection covers in the tub of the shower. I'll take the cover in the garage off behind the convenience center and see if I can find a leak in the plumbing there. This stinking leak is starting to get under my skin. It may be coming from the top of the shower lining.
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Old 01-22-2008, 04:41 AM   #19
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Dean A Van Peursem

Our water leak is back. Only leaks while taking a shower. Need to chase this further. Now, don't see a leak through the inspection covers in the tub of the shower. I'll take the cover in the garage off behind the convenience center and see if I can find a leak in the plumbing there. This stinking leak is starting to get under my skin. It may be coming from the top of the shower lining.
Dean, I don't want to beat a dead horse but have you closely inspected the drain in your shower? Ours had a very tiny crack (almost invisible to the naked eye, but could be seen with a magnifying glass) that allowed water to "seep" out and by capillary action travel over to the wall and down into the underbelly. Then eventually, after taking a shower the water would drip out of the underbelly. That was our experience. We changed the drain to one of those metal ones and the leak has not reoccurred in over two years of full timing.

Orv
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