Major Leak - Need help if posible

[bkphotog]

Hi All

Went into my MH on Sunday and decided to open up the bedroom slide to get at something. Was I suprised to step onto wet carpet just in front of the slide and after further investigation I found out that the whole area in front of the slide for about 2 1/2 feet along the face of the slide and the area under the nightstand was wet. Pulled the drawers in the nightstand and then cutout the carpet and pad under the nightstand. This area was all wet along the sides of the wall. I have been drying it all out now for the last couple of days with heat and a fan. Here is a pic.



I can not find any way that this water has got in the MH. The roof is sealed and there is not any evidence of water leaking in along the junction of the rear cap to the roof. That junction is sealed really well.

The small bedroom window was closed and all of the caulking around that window is good. No evidence of water running down the inside wall anywhere.

The slide was closed as far as it would go and the interior closet and cabinets were all dry. Even the carpet that is on the slide platform is dry.

Here is my question. We had some really powerfull rain storms in FEB and the wind was blowing the rain horizontally into the bedroom slide side of the MH. Do any of you experts out there think that the rain seeped in along the seal side of the slide and some how mde it to the floor and the carpet? Has anyone ever seen that or experienced such a problem? When I closed the slide it looks like the seals are up against the side of the MH but who knows. Could a slide that is out of alignment cause such a problem. Any thoughts and comments will be welcomed. I will be taking it into the shop to see about the alignment.

I have the area dry now and I am going to spray the area and wood with a mold killer just to preclude and problems with that issue.

Thanks in advance for any help and thoughts.

Bill

[-Gramps-]

How about the bottom of your closet..I think that is what I see in the picture to the left of the nightstand? Was it dry inside?

[bkphotog]

Hi Gramps;

Yes it was completely dry inside of the closet and the carpet inside that area.

Bill

[mahon1993]

I had the same kind of problem on my 2000 Diplomat on the bedroom slide. The water was leaking in at the seam between the top of the bottom frame of the slide and the side wall. There is a calked seam that might look ok untill you push on the side wall just above the 2" metal frame on the outside bottom of the slide. When you push on it you will see that the calk seam has failed. I had to clean it out and re calk to solve the problem. You suould also check the bottom seams on the ends of the slide out for the same condition.
Greg

[bkphotog]

Thanks Greg:

I will check but I am not sure I understand your reply. I have included another pic to see if we are on the same page. Your Dip my be different than my Neptune. As far as I can see all of the rubber seals seem to be intact but you never know when it comes to water leaks. As stated the inside of the slide (closet and drawers) are all dry. So the intergrity of the box itself is not a problem. The water is some how getting beyound the side rubber seals that close off the inside of the MH. I am really dumbfounded on this one. Would welcome any futher comments or clarification you might have.

Thanks again.
Bill

[mahon1993]

OK, we're close. Along the bottom edge of the slide out is a metal edge about 2" wide. It actually frames the whole slide out. The side wall fits behind the frame. [Or the frame is over the fiberglass side wall]. At the point where the frame and the side wall meet is the calked joint I'm talking about. If you push on the fiberglass wall just above the frame you might see where the calk has failed. At least that's where mine failed. In your pix the area I'm talking about would be right around the corner from your circle on the front of the slide out.
Hope thid helps.
Greg

[Nonno]

Bill,
I have a different floor plan so I'm not sure if this is a possibility. My bedroom slide is on the curb side and I have a rear closet and my water heater is in the rear corner. Could it have come from the water heater or its compartment?

[Meandering Retiree]

We have had the same problem. We are wintering in AZ and took off for a week's tour of the Copper Canyon. I did shut the water off before we left. When we got home the carpet on one side of the bed was soaking wet. We immediately went out to buy a fan to dry it. When we spoke to some friends the next day they told us that not only had it rained really hard, but the wind blew up to 40 mph. I do not think that the rubber seals are meant to hold back 40 mph winds. This is the first time that we have had this problem as we have been through some rain storms where it rained straight down without the blowing.

[bkphotog]

Hi Greg & Bob

Thank you both for you thoughts and posible solutions.

Greg

Your additional comments helped me in looking at the caulking. The caulking on the top of the horizontal frame seems to be OK, but the seam where the horizontal frame meets the vertical frame does seem to be seperated. It is right where the pop rivets is showing. Behind that area the rubber gasket is also pulled out from the frameing. So I will address these problems ASAP. My question now is what type of caulking did you use on the painted side of the framing? I do have some touch up paint for the MH so I gather that I should get a silicone caulk that can be painted. This is hard to believe that so much water got in from just that small gap, but after owning several "stick houses" with leaky roofs, I know it is possible for water to "wick" through small gaps. I do hope that this is the problem combined with the wind driven rain that we had over the last couple of weeks.

Bob,

Thanks for your thoughts. I will certainly check that information. Our water heater in also on the curb side along with the bedroom slide. The water heater though is way up front in the kitchen area. I did check all of the water hoses leading under the refrig and where the washer/dryer would be if we had one. Did not see any problems with those areas. But you present some good ideas that are worth re-checking. As we all know water leaks are so hard to find.
Thanks again guys

Bill

[bkphotog]

Hi Meandering Retiree;

Did you have your slide open of shut?

Mine was closed since the MH is on my slab (storage) on my property.

The driving rain storms were the same ones that hit CA before they moved on to AZ and Quartsite a couple of weeks ago. The wind was driving the rain horizontally right into that part of my MH. We had very stong winds with gusts in the 50 to 55mph range since I live on the CA coast ( just slightly inland from Santa Barbara). This is why I was wondering if anybody else has ever experienced water getting in the MH just because of wind driven rain. I had checked for leaks several times during the storms but I never opened the slides. Everything looked OK as for the roof and other areas. I never even thought to open the bedroom slide until this past Sunday. Thats when I stepped on the wet carpet that was under the slide platform along side of the bed.

Thanks for you comments and thoughts.

Bill

[itdave]

After Monaco poured water on that same bedroom slide on my MH for two day we finally found that the seam between the bottom and side wall had not been caulked. The water would come down the side hit the gutter and then be directed into the open seam right were you circle is on the picture. It was unbelievable how much water would get into the seam and then empty in the coach right next to the bed. I now re caulk all those seam yearly.

[bkphotog]

Dave;

Thanks for you input. I redid the pic so that I might fully understand what is happening and what you may have done to find the solution

On the pic I circled the areas that I think you spoke of. They are in red. If I am correct just pop a yes back to me or any other comments you want to make.

Thanks every little bit of a solution is helpfull because I really do not want to go through this again.

Bill

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkphotog ...... My question now is what type of caulking did you use on the painted side of the framing? I do have some touch up paint for the MH so I gather that I should get a silicone caulk that can be painted. ......

Bill,

Geocel makes a clear caulk that many RV manufactures use on the outside of RV's over painted areas.

Pro Flex 10 Ounces Pro Flex Clear Sealant 26100 by Geocel at HardwareAndTools.com


Bob

[itdave]

Yes those are the areas, however the one causing the leak was the one at the bottom of the slide below the gutter.