Community Forums

Davene brown · 02-25-2018, 07:07 AM

We purchased our Aria 36 just a year ago & still have wet basement after 1 factory visit & 2 service garages. Going back to Indiana in mid April for one more try! Reading lots of comments here for possible fixed...has anyone found the cure for it? Obviously it is not the seals as ours have been replaced. We have gallons of water in basement after driving in rain. Mold is there and all basement floor have to be replaced. Help! I have the feeling we need to tell Thor how to fix this problem. What good (& healthy) is an RV with a wet basement?

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-25-2018, 07:11 AM

Welcome to Irv2. I’ve moved your post here to try to get some Owner input .

Cliff

MisterT · 02-25-2018, 07:22 AM

agreed, if you just allow Thor to repair or replace the floors, they will do it the same way it was done to begin with... but still no solution to the actual problem.

2 things:

- if it's not the storage bay door seals, then it has to be infiltration from other sources, such as storage bays not sealed well when they were installed, where they meet the chassis, etc. Like with mice, water will find it's way IN anyway it can, even when you swear there is no way it's possible. Driven water/rain while driving is certainly an added culprit, as the force of the water, and the fact that it's 'thrown' from the tires, can put water in placed you wouldn't imagine. We've had the same problems. Our floors in the main and wet bay were also replaced by Thor, yet we still continue to see water there, even with added seals, foaming the outside of the bays under the chassis, and sealant in all of the interior corners and everywhere sides meet. Aggravating.

- Thor, as well as some other manufacturers, build their own storage bays, then attach them to the chassis - underneath, of course. The build of the bays is simply plywood, covered on both sides with a fiberglass 'sheet'(you can buy these same sheets at the hardware stores). While the sheet itself is 'water proof', the plywood is not, of course. And since the plywood front and back is covered by the sheet prior to cutting them down to size, the edge of every piece of plywood is NOT covered... creating a 'weak' point in the design, where water and moisture can wreck havoc. We even had some type of mold or mushroom 'plant' growing from the edge of ours!
If the factory does not cut the plywood to size FIRST, and only THEN wrap all 6 sides and edges with the 'water proof' sheet cover, then you'll also have a potential issue. Or, at least completely SEAL the cut edges with some type of water proof sealant.

I delivered a new Venetian last year from Wakarusa(Thor Motor Coach factory) to Raleigh, NC... I had some rain on the second day, though not heavy. When I arrived at the dealership, and checked all the bays, there was water in almost all of them. A brand new coach, full of water.

dpavlosky · 03-21-2018, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davene brown

We purchased our Aria 36 just a year ago & still have wet basement after 1 factory visit & 2 service garages. Going back to Indiana in mid April for one more try! Reading lots of comments here for possible fixed...has anyone found the cure for it? Obviously it is not the seals as ours have been replaced. We have gallons of water in basement after driving in rain. Mold is there and all basement floor have to be replaced. Help! I have the feeling we need to tell Thor how to fix this problem. What good (& healthy) is an RV with a wet basement?

We have the same problem with our Aria 3601. Been to dealer 4 times and Indiana once for a month and still have the problem.

Davene brown · 03-21-2018, 11:51 PM

Just what good is an RV with a wet basement... unuseable & unhealthy!?? We were so happy to trade it in. I have much better things to do than driving e back & forth to Indiana! Good riddance.

Teblues · 03-26-2018, 09:01 PM

We too had a wet basement, and had the factory replace all the seals. On our way home we went through a driving rain storm and had water in the center of the bays, so I thought that the water was coming in where the frame rails went through the bays. When I looked at both wheel wells I could see a hole when the fuel fill pipes went through the frame, and thought that maybe water was getting in the frame and running back into the bays. I sprayed foam into both sides and any other holes. I then looked in the LP bay, and sprayed foam into the fram, so that any water traveling down the frame could not enter the bays. I also sprayed around the frame when it entered the bays. I then saw that the front of the bay, at the bottom that goes from one side to the other, had pulled away from the steel framing, and water could enter at that point, so I resealed that whole front edge.
We took it out of storage and have now arrived in AZ, but of course no rain on the trip to test out if what I did will help, but will repost when I find out.

Gowfster · 03-31-2018, 05:46 PM

How are folks making out with the water leaks, any resolution? I was looking at a 3401 today and very interested but concerned about this water situation if no cures are found. Also, I can’t find if forum rules discourage pricing discussions? I’m curious if we can share prices to help inform for negotiations?

dpavlosky · 04-01-2018, 06:13 AM

Gowfster. After 4 trips to the dealer, 3 visits to our house from Thor service techs and Thor having it at Elkhart for a month, we still have wet basements and Living room slide still leaks. Very discouraging.

z3406 · 04-01-2018, 06:53 AM

Our Venetian also had wet bays after driving in the rain. The leaks are on the list of things to be corrected when we take it to the service center in May. In looking for a source of the leaks I took a strip of paper and put it between the chassis mounted edge seal and door and closed the door. The paper pulls out with no resistance which means the seals are not physically touching the door when shut. Also on our coach the inner door lining is white and the seals are black. A wear pattern is easy to see on the door where the seals make contact, on none of the doors is there a contact patch evident all the way around the door. There may be other sources of water leakage into the basement but it's pretty easy to determine if bad door seals are part of the problem.

Gowfster · 04-01-2018, 06:55 AM

I feel for ya... these problems are only fun when it isn’t happening on your own rig...
Any chance that it is something really unexpected? Can you describe in detail when you do and don’t see the water? Only when driving, or when parked? Only when slides are out, or do basements leak all the time? Do you see water coming in while hose testing or does it appear later? Does it ever appear when driving and not raining? Just a bunch of questions to stimulate the discussion... I’m a problem solver and often in my job have to build comprehensive fish bone diagrams for fault trees ... and follow the data ... sometimes the answers are elusive but writing it all down helps find the unexpected.
Happy to help keep dialogue going.

Davene brown · 04-01-2018, 09:01 AM

Since Thor made these leaky RVs, I truly doubt they can repair them. We had the factory replace all the basement door seals from half inch to one inch width. They then put it through their spray garage where water comes at the RV in all directions & found no water in basement. We then drive it home in a hard rainstorm through puddles (3 times) and had to remove galloons of water. The basement particle board covered in vinyl only on top & bottom, not on edges, floors are soaked with moisture, so are soggy & great mold growing medium. I asked how Thor was going to fix it & warranty told me she could not tell me. I would have to talk to the tech when I got there! So I was more than happy to trade it in. I could only imagine how many more times we had to return to the factory. The front basement was so soggy we feared the floor would give way so it was totally unuseable.

dpavlosky · 04-02-2018, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by z3406

Our Venetian also had wet bays after driving in the rain. The leaks are on the list of things to be corrected when we take it to the service center in May. In looking for a source of the leaks I took a strip of paper and put it between the chassis mounted edge seal and door and closed the door. The paper pulls out with no resistance which means the seals are not physically touching the door when shut. Also on our coach the inner door lining is white and the seals are black. A wear pattern is easy to see on the door where the seals make contact, on none of the doors is there a contact patch evident all the way around the door. There may be other sources of water leakage into the basement but it's pretty easy to determine if bad door seals are part of the problem.

z3406- Between the dealer and Thor in Elkhart they changed the seals on the doors 3 times, sprayed all openings and wire holes etc. and it still leaks when driving in the rain. The living room slide leaks when driving in the rain and when I wash it with the slide closed. Very disappointed it this product.

dpavlosky · 04-02-2018, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gowfster

I feel for ya... these problems are only fun when it isn’t happening on your own rig...
Any chance that it is something really unexpected? Can you describe in detail when you do and don’t see the water? Only when driving, or when parked? Only when slides are out, or do basements leak all the time? Do you see water coming in while hose testing or does it appear later? Does it ever appear when driving and not raining? Just a bunch of questions to stimulate the discussion... I’m a problem solver and often in my job have to build comprehensive fish bone diagrams for fault trees ... and follow the data ... sometimes the answers are elusive but writing it all down helps find the unexpected.
Happy to help keep dialogue going.

Gowfster; As for the leaking bays, they leak when driving in the rain. I can get as much as several inches of water in them. As for the slide out, it leaks some times when just sitting in the rain with the slide out closed, depending on if it's a driving rain or not, it always leaks when driving in the rain as well as leaks when the slide is closed and I just spray water on it when I wash it. Thor techs that came to my house put all new wider sweep seals on all the slide outs plus Thor in Elkhart put all new seals all the way around and it still leaks. Very upset with whole unit.

lexton · 04-02-2018, 11:03 AM

I had the same problem. It's the design of the seals in the storage doors as well as holes in different areas allowing the rain water to get in. They will never correct it. Our seals were replaced, then they adjusted the hinges on the doors to make them tighter. Nothing worked. They are not willing to admit it's a design flaw. Good luck.