Water Leak 1st Curbside Basement Compartment

[photraveller]

Finally got a chance to look into a water leak we get in the first curbside basement compartment if we drive in the rain.

First thing I did was empty that compartment and have the wife lock me in to see if I could see daylight anywhere.

I could see a little daylight on the lower seal where the hinge screws compressed the seal. However the real amount of light was coming in from an air gap vertically along the right side of the front carpet covered plywood.

Got out and investigated the front right wheel well. Where I found a bead of hard chalking material that was on the metal frame member but not touching the plywood. Nice 1/8" gap behind the bead before the plywood. Pictures below are from the inside of the wheel well looking at the wall of the first compartment. Second picture shows the bead better, but isn't in focus.

Then as I looked at the pictures, I noticed that the plywood seems to have taken some damage from rocks, etc.. and I got thinking that seemed stupid to allow plywood to be exposed to the rear of the tire like that. So I looked at the drivers side and found a sheet metal liner on the rear side of that tire. Both fronts and Drives have exposed coated plywood to the front of the tires.

So besides a heads up about what I found, my questions are:

1) Does anyone have a wheel well liner on the curbside? I can't see where it would have attached, but it seems really strange to have a liner on drivers side and not one on the passenger side.

2) Aside from trying to create a liner, my current plan is to use some 3M 5200 to seal the seams between the frame and plywood. I'm thinking both from inside the compartment and in the wheel well. I can get at the gap much easier from the inside. So I know I can get a good beam there. Then if I miss a spot in the hard to get to wheel well, its still stopped from getting all the way in. Not the best I know, but I want to make sure it is sealed up.

3) Finally, what would you coat the plywood with in the wheel well? I can contact CS and see what they used for all the undercoating. But I wonder if something more substantial like Rhino coating would be a good idea. Besides anything I coat in there should help the 5200 to seal things up.

Steve

[brobox]

Spay can of undercoating should work fine. Good heads up and nice report. I had a similar problem on the Travel Supreme with the basement compartment frames being poorly sealed to the plywood. Used Spray foam and black enamel spray paint, never had another problem. Your fix will be better than mine.

[jrugarber]

Steve,

Thanx for bringing this issue to everyone's attention.

I also, will be investigating my intermittent issue of a wet carpet area along the front of the fresh tank compartment floor. It seems to only occur when I completely fill the fresh water tank to 100%, but there had been an earlier post about screws puncturing the wall of the tank at installation that had been the cause of the leakage. I haven't removed any panels yet to explore that any further.

[photraveller]

Chuck, thanks!

I don't understand why they put a liner on one side and not the other. Not only would a liner be good protection for the basement, but also the fuel fill line.

Steve

[photraveller]

John, if you only get the wet carpet at 100%, I would check one or both of the over flow lines. Could have a leak at the fitting on top of the tank, or the tube doesn't properly exit completely through the floor.

FYI, at least on my DEQ be careful in that area above the fresh water tank. I have a lot of flex drain and whole house vac lines in that area that have some brutally sharp hose clamps on them. They're mostly above your sight line and they are unforgiving. I guess they never expected us to go in behind that panel.

Steve

[Rwstoner]

Steve

I wanted to thank you for taking your time to give such a comprehensive report on the water leak, cause and cure. I checked my wheel wells in the front and both sides are covered with sheet metal. Since it is an area exposed to road debris something like this could happen. I will keep in mind when doing visual inspections going forward.

Thanks,
Ron

[Rollin101]

Mine has a shield on passenger “curb” side non on drivers side. Starting in 2020 the fuel fill hose no longer runs through the wheel well.👍👍

[jrugarber]

Steve,

Thanx for the advance warning on the hose clamps, kevlar gloves may be in order! I'm hoping either one of your suggestions is the problem. I dropped the Sea-Level readout down to 95% last weekend and I won't be at the Coach until 9.12 so hopefully it would have dried out.

[photraveller]

Originally Posted by Rollin101

Mine has a shield on passenger “curb” side non on drivers side. Starting in 2020 the fuel fill hose no longer runs through the wheel well.👍👍

Strange, seems to be hit or miss. I have one shield on drivers side, and you have one on curb or passenger side, and I assume we both have fuel fill lines in each wheel well.

Steve

[Rollin101]

Originally Posted by photraveller

Strange, seems to be hit or miss. I have one shield on drivers side, and you have one on curb or passenger side, and I assume we both have fuel fill lines in each wheel well.

Steve

Yes to the hit and miss and yes to fuel fill lines in wheel well.

[photraveller]

Originally Posted by Rwstoner

Steve

I wanted to thank you for taking your time to give such a comprehensive report on the water leak, cause and cure. I checked my wheel wells in the front and both sides are covered with sheet metal. Since it is an area exposed to road debris something like this could happen. I will keep in mind when doing visual inspections going forward.

Thanks,
Ron

Ron, thanks like most things people post here, I wanted to add something that people might want to take a glance at even if they don't have an active leak. We had seen some wetness in that compartment over the last 3 years but I brushed if off since I had usually just pressure wash the coach.

Then earlier this year we had to drive is serious downpours for a couple hours and that compartment was soaked. So I knew I had a real problem.

Steve

[Harleydeal]

My ‘19 was parked outside in a typical Florida thunderstorm downpour and that compartment was drenched. Still not sure how. There was no driving involved.

[Rollin101]

Originally Posted by Harleydeal

My ‘19 was parked outside in a typical Florida thunderstorm downpour and that compartment was drenched. Still not sure how. There was no driving involved.

Check the drain holes above the doors that drain the rail above the doors. If they’re plugged water will run over into the bay. They put sealant in that channel to keep water out of the bay, but some times they also plug the drain holes.

[Harleydeal]

Originally Posted by Rollin101

Check the drain holes above the doors that drain the rail above the doors. If they’re plugged water will run over into the bay. They put sealant in that channel to keep water out of the bay, but some times they also plug the drain holes.

Thanks for that. That will be first on my list when I get back to the coach!