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Old 08-11-2019, 02:56 PM   #1
Sputlegin
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2014 230BHS Water Damage Help

Hi All,

2 Days ago I picked up a 2014 230BHS used from a private sale.

Before making the trip, the owner stated it was in perfect condition and everything was working. When we got there we discovered the fridge was not functioning and the floor was a little soft around the entry door. We ended up driving away with it for $6k less than our previously negotiated price. Plans were to inspect and replace the soft spot in the floor and repair or replace the fridge if needed.

The fridge was an easy fix ($2.00 fuse on the main board) but the floor turned out to be a major issue that I would never expected to see in a 5 year old trailer.

The affected area is around the entry door on the right side spreading towards the front storage compartment and back under the kitchen. I removed the kitchen & cut up the damp & moldy floor from basically the fridge to the front storage compartment. All of the water damaged floor above the frame and insulation is now removed.

When I removed the foam, the thin plywood sheeting underlayment was sogged and warped for basically 2/3 of the trailer floor. Getting underneath, you can feel the undulations above the waterproof covering (tyvek or tarp type material).

The plywood is not moldy but it's wet and smells wet!

Basically I'm looking for advice on how to find this leak and how to proceed to repair the underlayment. I'm fairly inexperienced on repairing RVs but I'm mechanically inclined and have been building and renovating houses for 15 years or more. Am I looking at a body lift & replace?

What I've done so far:

I removed most of the screws from the corrugated plastic guard and lowered it enough to cut strips in the waterproof barrier. I basically opened it up in all the accessible areas outside of this and large areas under the guard. I then punched holes in the "undulations" to allow air in and water out.

It seems to be drying pretty quickly so far. I will get some pictures up if needed.

What should I do? Attempt to let it dry out or plan to lift the body to replace it all?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Matt
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:39 PM   #2
Sputlegin
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Photos of above floor water damage.
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:41 PM   #3
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From your inspections can you tell if the water was coming from the inside (or topside) or coming from underneath due to water spray or something like that? Pulling the body off the frame might prove to be daunting.

The "Tyvek" type material is Darco fabric and I believe what you are referring to as the corrugated plastic guard is the coroplast (plastic sheet) below frame waterproof cover.
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:43 PM   #4
Sputlegin
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After the upper floor and insulation removed. Showing the wet underlay (baking soda added to help absorb moisture)

Notice in the last picture, you can see where the "undulations" have air gaps that travel under the frame. These practically travel from one side of the trailer to the other. I'm leaving these open and using holes punched underneath to allow air flow to dry.
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:51 PM   #5
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Others will have their own ideas but that sure looks like the water damage is from below. Where are the wheel wells in relation to the damage? What did the underside look like as far as any gaps/holes etc.? Look up into the wheel wells to make sure they are completely sealed with Darco/foam etc.
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:51 PM   #6
Sputlegin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
From your inspections can you tell if the water was coming from the inside (or topside) or coming from underneath due to water spray or something like that? Pulling the body off the frame might prove to be daunting.

The "Tyvek" type material is Darco fabric and I believe what you are referring to as the corrugated plastic guard is the coroplast (plastic sheet) below frame waterproof cover.
Hey!

Thanks for the reply! It seems like it was ingesting water through the door to me. The aluminum step has a gas shock attached to it that supports the door when opened. One of my guesses is that the shock is causing the seal to break on the aluminum step (bottom of door) and water is entering through there.

On my first observation the "baseboard" trim was wet near the door. It had rained all morning before I left to come home (400kms) and was raining heavily the entire trip.

The previous owner's daughter used the trailer mostly in their back garden. It wasn't towed much so I'm thinking it's leaking while the trailer is parked. It has the original tires and they are in almost new condition. No wear or hardly any signs of use inside. I believe the range was never used. Could be leaking while parked or during a tow.

And thanks for proper names for the materials! Will help for sure when sourcing replacements!
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Old 08-11-2019, 04:01 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Others will have their own ideas but that sure looks like the water damage is from below. Where are the wheel wells in relation to the damage? What did the underside look like as far as any gaps/holes etc.? Look up into the wheel wells to make sure they are completely sealed with Darco/foam etc.
Wheel wells are around the area behind the kitchen where there was signs of water. It all looked solid underneath to me but I certainly could be wrong!

Is it possible that water was spraying up and entering through the door?

I believe that the thin plywood above the Darco was damaged due to a constant water entering and pooling on top of the Darco as it had nowhere to go.
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Old 08-11-2019, 04:30 PM   #8
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The Darco is glued with an adhesive to the flooring material. Mine is a 14 and it is all glued tight. I wouldn't think the water would penetrate from below if there isn't a hole or other way for it to come in and get on the top side.

If the Darco is "billowing", coming/is loose from the bottom layer of the floor, water from above is probably causing the adhesive to let go. I don't guess I'm familiar with a "gas shock" that supports the door off the steps. I've always had manual pull out steps. A picture would help on that.

If somehow the water could penetrate under the door frame and get into the flooring it might well settle into the bottom layer of the floor. I thought you had said it was the entire kitchen area side to side. It seems it is more confined to the door side and looks like it is concentrated on the bottom vs the top. Your analysis may be right on point - you cannot have any kind of gap/seam on an RV because water WILL get in it.
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Old 08-11-2019, 04:42 PM   #9
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My last trailer had similar water damage. I ended up tearing out the water damaged floor until I got to good wood. The bottom layer I just let it dry out good by leaving it open on top and cutting the darco open underneath. I didn't tear it out though as it was just holding up the foam board insulation. I put down plywood for the new floor and then some luxury vinyl planks and that gave the new floor much better strength.

My leak came from the storage area hatch just like you have on the front corner of yours. It soaked the whole front corner of the floor all the way back to the door area. The only way I found the leak was when I had it tore apart and it rained and I noticed a little drip of water at the storage door frame.
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Old 08-11-2019, 04:55 PM   #10
Sputlegin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
The Darco is glued with an adhesive to the flooring material. Mine is a 14 and it is all glued tight. I wouldn't think the water would penetrate from below if there isn't a hole or other way for it to come in and get on the top side.

If the Darco is "billowing", coming/is loose from the bottom layer of the floor, water from above is probably causing the adhesive to let go. I don't guess I'm familiar with a "gas shock" that supports the door off the steps. I've always had manual pull out steps. A picture would help on that.

If somehow the water could penetrate under the door frame and get into the flooring it might well settle into the bottom layer of the floor. I thought you had said it was the entire kitchen area side to side. It seems it is more confined to the door side and looks like it is concentrated on the bottom vs the top. Your analysis may be right on point - you cannot have any kind of gap/seam on an RV because water WILL get in it.

Hey!

In the pics you can see the water damage on the top side that flowed in either directions from the door. It kept fairly close to the wall along the side.

Sorry for the confusion about the "side to side". It's difficult to explain. I was referring to the plywood material above the Darco, but below the insulation and frame. All of that is wet from the front of the trailer, side to side and about 2/3 back towards the rear. I'm assuming the water that entered from above crept along the top of the waterproof Darco and soaked the wood as it could not escape through the Darco.



See the attached pic of the gas shock. I believe this may be original. I think it's to stop, the door from swinging open and striking or interfering with an open bedroom window. There is no latch present that would keep the door to the outside wall that's typical on most RVs.

I think in combination with a poor seal, the shock is loosening the aluminum step and allowing water in. That's my best guess but still unsure. It could be from above or like you said, below from the wheels. I guess it's garden hose around the seams test time tomorrow Haha.

I'm hoping now that I've opened up the darco and punched some holes in the wood, it will dry out and I won't have to replace it.
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Old 08-11-2019, 05:16 PM   #11
Sputlegin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steveo57 View Post
My last trailer had similar water damage. I ended up tearing out the water damaged floor until I got to good wood. The bottom layer I just let it dry out good by leaving it open on top and cutting the darco open underneath. I didn't tear it out though as it was just holding up the foam board insulation. I put down plywood for the new floor and then some luxury vinyl planks and that gave the new floor much better strength.

My leak came from the storage area hatch just like you have on the front corner of yours. It soaked the whole front corner of the floor all the way back to the door area. The only way I found the leak was when I had it tore apart and it rained and I noticed a little drip of water at the storage door frame.

Glad to hear that you were able to dry it out!

It looks like its sole purpose is to create a flat surface for the darco to lay against. Must only be a 32nd of an inch or so!

I will test the front hatch and door with a garden hose tomorrow! It seems to me that the previous owner left the keyed latch undone on all the hatches and never closed them tightly. Now that you mentioned it, I wonder is that simply where the water came in? I may pull up a layer of vinyl in there to see but it did feel solid in there.

Thanks for the tips guys! I really appreciate your input!

Cheers!
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:03 PM   #12
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Just an idea, but does the black outer window frame happen to have any cracks in it? If it does, water could easily run down the inside of the door and flood like that. You might spray test the door window when you check the hatch. I have had to replace both my outer frames due to cracks that caused water to pour down the inside of the door. I caught it fairly quickly so it didn't ruin my floor. I seriously doubt the gas strut on the door was causing the leak, at least from my experience with them. Anyway, you are doing a great job on the rebuild; looks good so far.
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:18 PM   #13
Sputlegin
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Just an idea, but does the black outer window frame happen to have any cracks in it? If it does, water could easily run down the inside of the door and flood like that. You might spray test the door window when you check the hatch. I have had to replace both my outer frames due to cracks that caused water to pour down the inside of the door. I caught it fairly quickly so it didn't ruin my floor. I seriously doubt the gas strut on the door was causing the leak, at least from my experience with them. Anyway, you are doing a great job on the rebuild; looks good so far.
Hey!

The black outer frame doesn't have any cracks. Now that you mention it, while I was looking for RVs, I spoke with a few guys who said their doors had leaked through the window and they had to re-seal it.

There's two small drain holes at the bottom of the door and water was dripping out of them after the rain last night. I was assuming since it had the drain holes, that was normal. I had a theory that if water was running out of those holes, it would build up behind the bottom door seal and enter on the sides of the aluminum drip step where it meets the sides of the door frame. Seems there is no caulking there.

I'll get some more pictures tomorrow to help explain all this!

Thanks for the replies guys! Making me feel less alone in this Haha.

Cheers
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:26 PM   #14
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Hey!

The black outer frame doesn't have any cracks. Now that you mention it, while I was looking for RVs, I spoke with a few guys who said their doors had leaked through the window and they had to re-seal it.

There's two small drain holes at the bottom of the door and water was dripping out of them after the rain last night. I was assuming since it had the drain holes, that was normal. I had a theory that if water was running out of those holes, it would build up behind the bottom door seal and enter on the sides of the aluminum drip step where it meets the sides of the door frame. Seems there is no caulking there.

I'll get some more pictures tomorrow to help explain all this!

Thanks for the replies guys! Making me feel less alone in this Haha.

Cheers
Yeah, when my first frame leaked we were camping and a major rainstorm blew through. I found water pouring down the inside of the door and pooling on the floor. Next day I found maybe a 1/8" crack in the outer frame. Replaced it and it was tight as a drum. That is a plausible theory regarding seepage around where the frame isn't caulked though.
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:42 PM   #15
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Yeah, when my first frame leaked we were camping and a major rainstorm blew through. I found water pouring down the inside of the door and pooling on the floor. Next day I found maybe a 1/8" crack in the outer frame. Replaced it and it was tight as a drum. That is a plausible theory regarding seepage around where the frame isn't caulked though.
Alright awesome! Will certainly test that out tomorrow!

Thanks a lot!

Will report back what I find.

Cheers all
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:47 PM   #16
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Alright awesome! Will certainly test that out tomorrow!

Thanks a lot!

Will report back what I find.

Cheers all
Yeah, good luck tomorrow. I will check in to see your results.
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:52 PM   #17
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Glad to hear that you were able to dry it out!

It looks like its sole purpose is to create a flat surface for the darco to lay against. Must only be a 32nd of an inch or so!

I will test the front hatch and door with a garden hose tomorrow! It seems to me that the previous owner left the keyed latch undone on all the hatches and never closed them tightly. Now that you mentioned it, I wonder is that simply where the water came in? I may pull up a layer of vinyl in there to see but it did feel solid in there.

Thanks for the tips guys! I really appreciate your input!

Cheers!
Check that front storage door good. Even my new trailer had a similar leak from the screws that they used to attach the storage door frame. It would leak in the hatch frame and then run along the floor into the main trailer area by our bed.
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Old 08-12-2019, 03:49 AM   #18
Sputlegin
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Check that front storage door good. Even my new trailer had a similar leak from the screws that they used to attach the storage door frame. It would leak in the hatch frame and then run along the floor into the main trailer area by our bed.
Yes I will absolutely check that for sure!

Called in to work this AM on my day off so I won't get to it until later this evening. I'll let you guys know what I find!

Cheers all
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Old 08-12-2019, 05:50 AM   #19
Sputlegin
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Check that front storage door good. Even my new trailer had a similar leak from the screws that they used to attach the storage door frame. It would leak in the hatch frame and then run along the floor into the main trailer area by our bed.
Quick question for you in case I run into this. What did you do to stop the leak? Did it affect your walls at all or just the floor?

Cheers
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Old 08-13-2019, 04:35 AM   #20
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I would also look closely at the roof seal on top of the trailer where the cap meets the roof. Water can get in there and could leak all the way down to the floor and over from there. With that amount of damage I would think you would notice water on the ceiling or delamination on the side wall either inside or outside of the trailer, as it seemed to be pretty significant. But I'm not an expert!
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