Water in underbelly

[xaugievike]

Evening all -

Two years back, when leaving a campground we took a sharp turn that sort of pitched the camper to a side...in making that turn I was looking back and saw a bunch of water come rushing out of the underbelly where the low point drain for the fresh tank is.

I got it home and took it to the dealer suspecting a leak in the fresh tank. They reported back that they found nothing. I have a very good relationship with my dealer and their service department has been fantastic, so I trust them. Nevertheless...the water was real. And not a mere trickle. I'd say a gallon easy. So, I opened the underbelly as much as I could, filled her up and waited. Saw nothing leaking BUT had lots of condensation on the tank (that happened to be a particularly hot and humid summer here).


Fast forward last summer. Caravaning to a weekend getaway my buddy said there was a turn where a bunch of water came out of my underbelly again. I frankly sort of forgot about it because on the ride home he said nothing came out.

Fast forward today. Loading the golf cart into the rig I notice some drips coming out of the underbelly (parked at a slight angle). I push up on the underbelly covering and out pours water. And I can hear it splashing when I push up on the covering. Now, a major difference is this year I've not used the onboard fresh tank yet. Furthermore....there was a lot of water way out back under the garage....there's no plumbing anywhere near there in my rig.

My thoughts...I'm wondering if it's from rain. Last summers sighting and the most recent trip home were both in some heavy rain. I could see how water off the driver side tires could get up in there. Also, when running off the pump I've never heard it run when a faucet isn't in use. Ok, I heard it blurp once one time in two seasons... But again, there's a good quantity of water....enough so that it would have to run a good bit to get this much in there.

So....in the end, I plan to take it to the dealer upon return from a trip this weekend. But I'm curious if any of you have encountered something similar?

[therink]

Have you recently driven it in rain? Could be water getting in somewhere from tire spray? I would look very closely at the coroplast belly material where it meets up with the I beam frame along the sides to see if it is buckled anywhere between the anchor bolts leaving a gap or gaps. If so, very easy to fix.
Does the water leaking out smell like gray/black water? Just to rule out waste tank or valve leaks.
Just my thoughts.

[xaugievike]

Was just about to mention it is fresh/clean water. No nastiness.

Tire spray is my lead culprit - while I can see how water could get in from that, there's not a huge obvious gap in the cloroplast that says "here's your gap"

[therink]

It won't take much of a gap or opening to let water in on wet roads. How about where the electric brake wires penetrate the coroplast or other penetrations where there is factory applied spray foam?

[hankaye]

xaugievike, Howdy;

Don't just check the sides check the front and rear edges
as water can run in the front and get sucked in at the rear.
then the movement of the RV will send it to the back and
out through the path of least resistance.

hankaye

[BulletOwner1]

I've noticed that on my Bullet there are several round holes in the frame at the front of the trailer behind the propane tanks and a couple over the frame rails at the back. For venting I'm sure? Possible avenues for water entrance?

Last winter I taped them shut when we had a long stay in Nevada to keep in what little heat came from the "Heated" under belly but forced myself to remember to remove it when the weather warmed.

[FusionFZ371]

I've seen water slosh out of the freshwater tank to the inside of the filler door and run down under the coach before. Just a thought.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by BulletOwner1

I've noticed that on my Bullet there are several round holes in the frame at the front of the trailer behind the propane tanks and a couple over the frame rails at the back. For venting I'm sure? Possible avenues for water entrance?

Last winter I taped them shut when we had a long stay in Nevada to keep in what little heat came from the "Heated" under belly but forced myself to remember to remove it when the weather warmed.

Lippert makes the frames for most RV manufacturers. Many times the same frame will be used by several manufacturers to build similar length RV's. One may want holes in specific locations while another may want those holes in different places. Lippert simply cuts the holes for "all" the manufacturers and they can then use the same chassis for multiple applications.

The holes in your frame rails are most likely needed to build a similar size RV and are simply not used on your trailer.

They aren't required to provide ventilation, and taping them is one way to keep "critters" out of your underbelly. Many of our members have used foam, aluminum sheeting, insulation or other ways to close the holes to help prevent things from entering the underbelly during storage.

I had used 1" pink foam insulation panels to cover the outside of the I beams on my Springdale and will probably do the same on our Cougar if we decide to use it for cold weather camping.

About the only holes you'll find difficult to cover completely or to seal and make waterproof are the ones the slide rails extend through the frame I beams. Otherwise, the better you can seal it, the less chance of water and other unwanted things will get in.

Several members have noted that water will run off the back of their camper, under the RV just in front of the rear bumper and enter the coroplast there. Several have mentioned sealing that area and stopping the water intrusion.

[oldfireman47]

Had the same problem on my Springdale. Just by chance I was just looking around yesterday and decided I would pull the cover off the shower base and look around. We had just ran water through the system sanitizing the fresh water system. Upon looking, I found the shower drain was leaking water directly into the underbelly and was running to the back where it would come out upon moving. I was able to get to the plumbing which which are like a union joint and was able to tighten them by hand. As a safety matter, I also put a bead of caulk around the fitting with my finger. No more leak. Glad my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to look around and be nosey.

[deadeye]

A friend of ours had the same type of problem. Turned out to be a loose fitting on the hot water line. It would only leak after the water got hot. Took him a month to locate the problem.

[tdawg]

Had the same thing happen and it was under the kitchen sink where supply lines come up through the floor there was 2 fittings connection, a slow drip that followed the waterline to underbelly, took me a while to find.

[xaugievike]

Home from a long weekend now. Checked underbelly during the trip and found no discernible signs of water...and a hilly campground road didn't send any pouring out when we left. So I'm still thinking rain. On further examination of the cloroplast I can see how tire spray can send water into the front edge, so I'm gonna seal that up with some gorilla tape for now.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Lippert makes the frames for most RV manufacturers. Many times the same frame will be used by several manufacturers to build similar length RV's. One may want holes in specific locations while another may want those holes in different places. Lippert simply cuts the holes for "all" the manufacturers and they can then use the same chassis for multiple applications.

The holes in your frame rails are most likely needed to build a similar size RV and are simply not used on your trailer.

They aren't required to provide ventilation, and taping them is one way to keep "critters" out of your underbelly. Many of our members have used foam, aluminum sheeting, insulation or other ways to close the holes to help prevent things from entering the underbelly during storage.

I had used 1" pink foam insulation panels to cover the outside of the I beams on my Springdale and will probably do the same on our Cougar if we decide to use it for cold weather camping.

About the only holes you'll find difficult to cover completely or to seal and make waterproof are the ones the slide rails extend through the frame I beams. Otherwise, the better you can seal it, the less chance of water and other unwanted things will get in.

Several members have noted that water will run off the back of their camper, under the RV just in front of the rear bumper and enter the coroplast there. Several have mentioned sealing that area and stopping the water intrusion.

I like to use great stuff, spray it in and let it expand. Great for sealing off gaps, leaks etc is easy to apply and is a good insulator.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

I like to use great stuff, spray it in and let it expand. Great for sealing off gaps, leaks etc is easy to apply and is a good insulator.

That's a good option to seal the holes PROVIDED you don't have it expand over something that needs to be peeled away or removed in the future. Great Stuff Foam has a way of "creeping" past where it's intended to stop, enveloping wires, sensors, pipes and adhering to things that need to move (like brake wiring)... So, as good as it is when applied carefully, it can become a nightmare if (or is it when) something needs to be replaced.....

A couple of people who use it have described how they used fiberglass insulation or paper to wrap and shield things that didn't need to be "stuck together" by the foam.

I used it on my Springdale when I applied 1" foam to the outside I beam rails on the frame. I put 2 thin beads along the I beam and held the rigid foam in place until the foam set up. Much better than "liquid nails" or Gorilla tape.

Just use it cautiously and you'll be good to go.

Good Luck

[therink]

There is also minimal expansion foam for window frames. I have used that for belly holes. Well that sounds good.