Water in front storage and under bed

grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 04:34 AM

I picked up a Passport Elite 19RB about a month ago. On the second outing I noticed water under the bed and front storage. I thought it was caused be a loose water fitting at the city inlet. I tightened it and all seemed well until today. We had a rain last night. When I went out to load up the trailer I discovered water under the bed and front storage. I had a plastic tub under the bed and it was wet underneath. I also had a plastic bucket in the front and found a puddle of water under it. The caulking around the doors looks good and I can't see signs of water leaking down from above. I don't have the water hooked up now so it isn't a plumbing issue.
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Bob

bill-e · 08-09-2017, 05:45 AM

Check all your roof seals. Water entrance can be tricky to find but if there are any cracks in the lapping compound clean and seal those right away with some Dicor self leveling lapping compound.

jkohler70 · 08-09-2017, 06:39 AM

It's almost certain there is a leak where the roof meets the front cap. This area is notorious for poor caulking that leads to leaks.

grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 06:41 AM

I had a quick look and caulking looks good. I'll check the windows and roof again when I have free time.
I have an appointment with the dealer if I can't sort it out.
Thanks

slow · 08-09-2017, 06:54 AM

Have a look at posts #2 & #10 in this thread for a possible source for your water leak: http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...highlight=seal

It was the solution for me and a number of other forum members.

Nuke · 08-09-2017, 06:58 AM

If you have marker lights on top of the front cap, check those as well. Might want to run a bead of sealant around them anyway.

grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 07:21 AM

Lots of great suggestions.
Thanks very much

Tbos · 08-09-2017, 08:16 AM

It was a marker/clearance light seal that caused my leak last year.

2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 11:59 AM

I think I discovered the problem. We just had a downpour here and I can see where the water is coming in. The rain gutter that runs the length of the trailer is lower in the middle than either end. When it rains hard the water is pooling on top of the awning then running like a waterfall off the front end directly onto the front window. I could see water seeping out of the wall just in front of the window.
When we looked at the trailer I inspected it carefully and didn't see any signs of water intrusion. It was sitting a few inches nose high at the time. Hopefully the reason wasn't to hide this problem. I will give the dealer the benefit of the doubt at this time. They have been great to deal with so far.
I'm not sure how easy this problem will be to resolve. I have an appointment for a couple of weeks from now. That is the earliest they could get me in. We'll see what happens.
I appreciate all the feedback.
Thanks
Bob

Tbos · 08-09-2017, 01:48 PM

Hope the repair goes well. In the mean time you may want to see if you can find a temporary way to seal it.

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grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbos

Hope the repair goes well. In the mean time you may want to see if you can find a temporary way to seal it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think if I keep the trailer off level so the water flows to the back or front I should be okay. The gutter looks to be at least 1/2" lower in the middle. With the awning rolled up it looked like a river dumping directly onto the side of the trailer directly above the window. The gutter doesn't work as designed and was dumping water onto the rolled up awning then down the side of the trailer. My thought is if the gutter was installed properly at the factory there wouldn't be a problem.
I may take some duct tape and seal up the window for now.

grampscamper · 08-09-2017, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbos

Hope the repair goes well. In the mean time you may want to see if you can find a temporary way to seal it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I took your advice and sealed the window up with duct tape. It doesn't look pretty but should do for now.
Thanks

slow · 08-09-2017, 04:16 PM

We had an occasional (2 times in 4 seasons) very small leak below our bedroom window only when travelling in heavy rain and wind. Turned out to be the frameless window frame not seating properly to the exterior wall skin.

The fix was removing the broken screw thread that was left in the inner window frame, and retightening all the screws holding the window in place. The piece of broken screw was preventing the inner frame from clamping the outer frame tightly in the front lower corner of the window.

Hopefully it will be as simple a fix for you.

(BTW: I suggest you still apply a bead of silicone to the top hinge area of the baggage doors. Only a matter of time before they start to leak.)

grampscamper · 08-10-2017, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slow

We had an occasional (2 times in 4 seasons) very small leak below our bedroom window only when travelling in heavy rain and wind. Turned out to be the frameless window frame not seating properly to the exterior wall skin.

The fix was removing the broken screw thread that was left in the inner window frame, and retightening all the screws holding the window in place. The piece of broken screw was preventing the inner frame from clamping the outer frame tightly in the front lower corner of the window.

Hopefully it will be as simple a fix for you.

(BTW: I suggest you still apply a bead of silicone to the top hinge area of the baggage doors. Only a matter of time before they start to leak.)

Thanks. The baggage doors caulking looks fine now but I'll keep a close eye on them. Hopefully the window will be an easy repair. I do have a couple of concerns. I'm concerned of the long term effects of having water inside the walls (delamination). I'm not sure how the dealer can remove and install the rain gutter so it functions properly and looks okay.

slow · 08-10-2017, 02:54 AM

Just to clarify: There is no caulking of the baggage doors by the factory in the location I am referring to near the hinge (unless it is a recent change at the factory). The location that will require it is between the two aluminum extrusions at the top of the baggage door. One extrusion is the wrap around frame extrusion that is mounted to the wall and the second is the extrusion at the top for part of the door's hinge. They are riveted together without any sealant between them by the factory. Water can/will penetrate the gap and end up inside your baggage compartment and depending on the slope of your floor at the time, will allow the water to migrate to other areas. Applying a bead of silicone where none current exists, avoids the problem.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...4d749f7112.jpg

Please also keep in mind, no matter how non-functional the rain gutters, water should not be penetrating into your TT through any other area like a window because of the direction of water flow off the gutter.

grampscamper · 08-10-2017, 03:31 AM

Thanks slow. I'll have a look at the baggage doors again. I will apply caulking as you suggest. I agree water shouldn't penetrate the trailer at all but it would be nice if the rain gutter worked as designed. The rain is coming off the awning with such force I think it's driving through the window seals. When my air conditioner is running water drips through the center of my awning onto the wall near the electrical outlet. I'm going to add some caulking to the top edge of the cap also. I don't see any cracks but think it could stand a little more near the edges. I guess this is some of the fun owning an RV.
I can't use the under bed storage or front storage until I get this resolved. Not too convenient in a 19' trailer.
Not a happy camper at this point.

**JRTJH** · 08-10-2017, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grampscamper

I took your advice and sealed the window up with duct tape. It doesn't look pretty but should do for now.
Thanks

You had commented earlier in the thread that you couldn't get the trailer into the dealership for "a couple of weeks". If you used "conventional duck tape", (the silver cloth stuff) you might want to reconsider. If the sun "bakes" that duck tape for a couple of weeks, the adhesive may discolor the FILON siding and leave a stain that can't ever be removed.

grampscamper · 08-10-2017, 01:51 PM

I'm not sure what else I can do. I didn't like this solution but it seems to have temporarily solved the problem. We had a rain earlier and no leaks.
Can you suggest an alternative.

**JRTJH** · 08-10-2017, 01:58 PM

You said that if you raise the front of the trailer, the water doesn't run in that direction. That's one alternative. You may be OK with duck tape on the FILON, then again you may find that when they remove it, there's a permanent discoloration. I'm just suggesting that I wouldn't use duck tape on anything that's exposed to the sun and leave the tape in place longer than a day or two.

Another alternative might be a 16x20 blue tarp over the front of the trailer and secured so it won't billow and rub the TPO roof??? To me, I think, based on what you've said previously, I'd just jack the tongue up as high as it goes, remove the duck tape and see what happens. If it leaks, then look for a different solution.

grampscamper · 08-10-2017, 02:19 PM

Thanks.
I had the same issue on my Larado a few years ago. Duct tape was a temporary fix then also until I could get home for the dealer to replace the window. At least 2 weeks then without a problem.
I have a good coat of wax on the trailer. I'm not 100% sure raising the front will be enough if we get a severe storm. I certainly don't want anymore water entering the wall and living area.
There is a dealer next door to the campground we're in. Maybe they have different tape I can use. I lifted some of the tape. So far so good but I'm worried it could cause some damage.

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