Wet carpeting

[figallegro]

We have had a lot of rain in the last two weeks. I had our Mountain Aire 3783 parked in the driveway with the slides closed. When I opened the living room slide, the main carpet that was under the slide was wet. The carpet on the slide under the sofa was dry. I traced the wet area and it went along the side wall next to the drivers seat to almost under the dash. Any ideas of where to start looking for the leak? I thought maybe it is entering the roof and running down the inside of the wall to the floor/carpeting. I have caulked all of the five running lights, but not sure if there was a leak from there or the air horns if it would show up on the drivers side floor. Thanks for any suggestions.

[wkdwitch]

Have you checked the roof coating where the front cap joins the main roof? We just checked ours and are going shopping for sealant next trip to a large town. Sorry you had to have wet carpet, but glad you found it early.

Another thought, was the roof of the slide dry last you brought it in? I have pulled out of a site and got an unexpected bath of sorts - that taught me to always check the slide -rain or not.

[figallegro]

Yes, the slide roof was dry when retracted. Didn't discover the wet carpet until after dark and will check the roof as you suggested. I did check the roof a month ago and it was ok at that time.

[heybc]

Do you have a power window on the driver's side. That was the source of a leak in our coach.

[figallegro]

No power window. When it was parked the coach sloped down from front to back, so the water should have ran back off the roof.

[soricobob]

If there is nothing apparent on the roof, I would take a hose up there and try to replicate the rain, with your partner inside the coach watching.

["007"]

You need to check the seam above the drivers top window that runs along wall between metal wrap and side wall. The front cap in this seam also.
This seam is not on roof.
The water if entering there will run down the "A" channel down to the floor of coach and under rug.
You need to clean out old caulk and replace.
If the sun beats down in this area caulk will dry out and crack.
I hope you place coach on level ground when you prepare for trip and turn on refridge being that off level can cause trouble with refridge.

[GaryKD]

Hi figallegro,
Consider using EternaBond to seal all the seams on your coach roof. Go to RV Leak Repair Tapes & Sealants | EternaBond and read about the product. I've used the product almost since it has been available. Once placed on a seam, you will not have a leak.

If you use the product, you get one chance to place the product. Once it is placed, there is no readjusting it. For a long run, consider dropping a chalk line to mark where one end of the product will be placed.

[PaulO]

I am in the process of changing my carpet to vinyl flooring and when I tore the carpet up, I discovered I had a leak in the same place as yours. After much investigation and attempted fixes, I finally got it solved and sealed. Turns out it was leaking between the driver's window frame and the outer fiberglass wall. I had to remove the window to discover this and interestingly, it appears to have been this way from the factory. That's an eleven year leak!!!! Newmar uses some sort of foam tape to seal the window and upon installation of the window, the tape on the bottom rear corner slid inward and was no longer on the outer flange. This created a wonderful little conduit for the water running down the edge of the window to channel underneath in that corner and into the inner void of the wall. From there it went down the inside of the wall and onto the wood flooring. I have to say that the constant leak for eleven years did much less damage to the wall and the floor then I would have expected.
Paul

[figallegro]

I have pretty much determined that the leak is coming from the drivers window. I inspected all of the caulking on the top and sides of the window as well as the seals on the windows and no suspected areas were found. We are taking it to the shop next week and they will pressurize the coach and hopefully see exactly where it is leaking. In the meantime, I taped some plastic over the window from the gutter to prevent further water intrusion. 007 and Paul's response will give the technicians some good information. Will post the pressure test results. I discovered yesterday that there was some water in the bay under the sofa and to my surprise, there was a lot of water in the bay under the kitchen slide out. There is no leaks from the frig ice maker or water dispenser and there was no water pressure on the cause a plumbing leak. So I wonder if the water could have traveled from one side of the coach to the other even though it was tilted slightly away from the kitchen slideout. I do level everything before running the frig or storing it very long.
Tony

["007"]

If you have a furnace under the fridge on kitchen side check outside the top of the furnace opening with cover on side wall off. The top of the furnace may not have sealant along the top of furnace opening.
If there is a cap there water will run across top of furnace on to kitchen floor and possibly under wood laminate floor or rug into bathroom.
When you have awning out this will not happen but with things closed up water down sidewall will run into MH.

[figallegro]

007 ... The furnace is further back under the bathroom sink on the 3783 model.

["007"]

Should have looked at broacher's archive, I would still look at top of furnace for sealant.
If the slide is locked when pulled in to compress the bulb seal shouldn't be able to get water behind face of outside wall.

[figallegro]

Turns out the leak was from the bottom of the drivers window. They popped out the window and the seal allowed some water to get in. They reset it with a different black caulk material. The leak in the passenger side basement emanated under and behind the kitchen slide out in the forward stepped up section near the entry door. Never really sealed good at factory. took off the short trim piece to get access and caulked the area. There was a small metal plate that didn't look as though it served any function and it leaked in around that plate. 2 hours at the shop took care of it all for peace of mind.