Zeppelin water leak - desperate

[ZEPPELIN291]

I really need some help and advice. We own a 2006 Zeppelin 291. We recently discoverd that the wood floor is wet under the linoleum from the very front of the storage compertment to about one third of the way into the trailer past the bed to about where the kithchen starts. I have pulled up the linoleum and can see that the wet wood. I am currently using a dehumidifier 24/7 to draw the water out of the floor. My dealer tells me that the water is coming in from the outer molding and the screw holes which run around the trailer. I understand that the floor is constructed of foam sandwiched between luan wood. My dealer also tells me that the foam soaks up the water and will continue to keep the wood wet and that it is a common problem with the Zeppelins. A slide topper installed last year stopped the leak from the slide. My dealer also said that basically there is nothing I can do to save the floor. It will disintigrate.
Needless to say we have had a week of sleepless nights. Will the dehumidifier running 24/7 be sufficient to dry everything out and stop the wood from disintigrating?
We have only used the trailer maybe 20 times since we purchased it new, and are still paying for it. We love the layout and have kept it like new. We are sick about this.
Does anyone have any sugestions or can share a similar experience.
We need to act quickly to avoid mold from growing.
CAN ANYONE HELP US? PLEASE?
Send me a Private Message if you wish.

 

[Ken / Claudia]

Sorry about that problem. I cannot say anything about the floor construction as I do not know about that style. I best guess is to say that you must know for sure that the leak is stopped or repaired. Than replace as much floor as needed. If you have it done by a dealer it might cost as much or more than the trailer is worth. Selling it with a rotten floor will not bring much money and trying to past it off without informing the new owner is wrong. I would repair it myself and continue to use it.

 

[ZEPPELIN291]

I have removed the bed and some interior walls to enable me to pull up the linoleum. The floor underneath was wet about one third of the way back from the front. No mold present (thank goodness, small consolation). I have a dehmidifier running now 24/7 to get the moisture out from the luan wood floor and from what is in the foam underneath. Need to identify the cause of the leak if I can.
I can not in good conscience sell this trailer to someone else.

 

[05kzep241]

I just finished cutting the rotten wood out of the floor and got a replacement. It took me 5 hours to cut, remove, clean. I am leaving a fan running all night to dry as much as possible before installing the new wood floor panels and the linoleum. I have a Zeppelin Z241 and the chunk of floor removed was 42x42. I asked General RV and they told me that to fix the damage it would cost me 5 grand. I spent in materials $46, so I ended up saving a little over $4950... It takes time, pacience and a lot of prep work (watching videos online).

The leak is coming from the outer seam where the roof and side panels are glued together, right where the awning ends.

Tomorrow I will work on sealing the outside. This could have been a $10 USD fix for Keystone if they did things properly. Next RV will not be keystone, that is for sure...

 

[05kzep241]

And I should have read the time stamp of the last posting... Holy thread revival!

 

[Ken / Claudia]

Counting up the RVs I have owned is 9 and I replaced a ceiling in one, the whole under side of the over hang on a truck camper, had the factory replace the full front outer skin on another. All from leaks. All RVs can and do leak at some point. The last 2 rvs where the most costly and I am on the roof several times ayear cleaning and looking for leaks. The best hope is to find any problems before they become big problems. It would be nice to store them indoors but, I cannot.