Journey storage compartment rusting

[atomasze]

Now i have to open with the units i have been looking at are all up in the New England area. I have looked at several 02 to 08 Journey's and i see the storage compartment bay, drivers side front, are always rusting away. The other compartments would have surface rust, but not as bad as that drivers side front.

Does anyone know why this particular bay seems to be a problem area. Maybe just the way tires flood the compartment rolling down the road, but the rust i have seen is both outside and inside the compartment.

I ask because i just found an 07 and this compartment is covered in mostly surface rust so far. Again inside and out. So i will sandblast, treat rust and paint with POR15, but i would like to fix the reason it's being attacked also.

Thanks
Andy
Soon to be: 07 Journey 34H owner.

[Jim_HiTek]

My '02 Journey (purchased in '16) originally from Minnesota didn't have much rust in that particular compartment. But I figured it did get a bit of moisture inside because the metal multi-drawer cabinet I had in there rusted on the bottom and marked up the carpet in there. I haven't checked yet, but I expect to find a seam that I can use silicon on to prevent driven rain from getting in there.

As far as rust abatement, the Jasco Rust preventative from most hardware stores is what I use...turns rust back into metal, doesn't cost as much as Por-15.

[FleetMan]

There have been many posts on this problem. Despite denials from Winnebago, they have done a very poor job treating and rustproofing their underside metal work in the manufacturing process. I mentioned this to a tour guide during one of my factory tours in Forrest City, he was not very receptive to my comments. Having been made aware of this problem shortly after we took delivery of our new from the factory Journey, I initiated an annual underside corrosion Control program for all things Winnebago. Never any problems with the Freightliner components. The first few years, I would spend up to an hour underneath with a wire brush and rust treatment spray. Now I spend about 10 minutes checking and treating each preseason. The Left front wheel well area seems to require the most attention every year. Check all the welds and tubing ends in the Winnebago structure and be sure to check and treat the metal propane lines underneath.

Also, take a good look at the HWH equipment under the right front area. I had corrosion problems with an electrical terminal on one of the solenoids on the pump motor. I fabricated a splash shield to protect that equipment from road spray from the right front tire.

Build yourself a set of sturdy 2x12 ramps, at least four planks thick, one ramp for each tire (six total) to drive up on. That will give you plenty of SAFE room to do most anything you want underneath the coach.

[cbeierl]

This thread Compartment Rust Repair shows how I repaired one of my badly rusted compartments. Subsequently I have done a similar repair the length of the coach on both sides. I think it came out very well.

[Pelledan]

We have a '06 Journey that had the same problem. The root cause is that no sealant was used to seal the bottom front & rear wall to floor seams. I verified that by removing the carpeting and was able to push a thin spackling blade right through the seam from inside to outside. The problem also exists to a lesser degree with the vertical seams of that compartment. I sealed the exterior of all the seams using silicone and removed the floor portion of the interior carpeting by using a razor to cut along the floor/wall seams all the way around. That carpet is held down with a black tar like adhesive that will still allow the carpet to be pulled away from the floor without tearing the carpet. Once the metal floor was exposed I used a wire wheel on a drill to remove all surface rust. I then used a product called Por15 to treat any remaining rust. Por15 is a multi step product that does a great job neutralizing and sealing corrosion. The small starter kit containing everything need for that compartment job runs around $20-25 online. Don't buy more than what you will use for the job as once the product is opened, it has a shelf life of about 30-45 days. Once the product cured, I reinstalled the floor carpeting using a generic adhesive. Problem solved.
Dan