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Mogal
08-20-2020, 11:52 AM
Hi all!

New around here. A little back story to the question. I currently have a 1996 21RDS from Aerolite. It's an amazing trailer and in great shape. But I had discovered a leak recently. Turns out it's been leaking for awhile, as the trailer's entire floor was soaking wet under the lino. (Didn't know until I pulled it)

My thought is that once the water gets in the trailer and under the laminated floor, there is no way for the water to get out! (Lino resists water and the wood/styrofoam laminate and underbelly waterproofing prevent water from getting out)

So, I ended up cutting all the lino out from under the bed, cabinets, benches ect... exposing as much unseen wood as I could to allow the water to evaporate. Floors were reading 100% water content according to the meter.
I put a dehumidifier in the trailer for about a week, and the moisture meter tells me the entire floor of the trailer is now dry and under 15% moisture.

Out of curiosity, I grabbed the water hose, and started to spray down the trailer. Low and behold, I did find another leak. Thing is though, if the lino was still there, I would not have found it. (wood changes color when wet! Lino hides it!!)

So I am very happy I pulled the lino. It's made me more comfortable that I will be able to discover leaks where I thought there was none before.
I'm highly considering doing this to my next trailer.

Anyone else have a similar situation, or has done the same thing or something similar to dry out the trailer?

P.S. I've joined the forum, as I will hopefully be picking up a 19FBPR this weekend. Only 2 feet longer then my current trailer, and about 3x the floor space!

chuckster57
08-20-2020, 03:08 PM
Welcome to the forum:wlcm:

What year is the new trailer? I’m not so sure I would start out by ripping out the Lino. You could easily make some cuts inside cabinets under beds and such and check. If no moisture, it’s easy to use some seam sealer and leave well enough alone.

SummitPond
08-20-2020, 05:10 PM
Welcome to the forum.

We had a 2015 model year 19FBPR and were very happy with it. The only leak issue we ever had was self-inflicted: we kept a plywood cover on the tub where we kept our cat's litter box, food dish and water (the plywood cover and contents were removed for a short while, much to the cat's consternation, when we used the shower). Living in Florida we normally don't have to winterize, but one year it got bitterly cold for about a week (in the 20s) so to be on the safe side everything was drained. I opened the tub faucet to drain that line and never closed it, thinking I would remember to check it before we used the trailer again. When we hooked up to city water at a campground a month later the DW was not in the trailer at the time. Water rolled off the plywood sheet and out the bathroom - as far as the dinette. I'll say one thing: no water got down into the heater ducts nor under the seams where cabinetry connects to the floor. We were very impressed and very lucky. Several towels later we had the water sopped up and a borrowed fan helped quickly evaporate the thin moisture film remaining on the floor. Needless to say, the DW now stays in the trailer while hooking up to city water! We traded the 19FBPR when the DW could no longer broach the lip of the tub to get into the shower; we now have a walk-in shower.

There's another recent thread (https://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43742) for a new 19FBPR owner. Be sure to check out the Bullet Premier group under "community" listed in the bar at the top of the page.

Best wishes with your new trailer.