Community Forums

iluvuk · 05-13-2019, 06:18 PM

Ok, so I found I was getting water in my large pass through storage bay. I drove through some pretty heavy rains for about a week so it is hard to tell where it was coming into the bay. I only saw water on the bottom inside surface. I checked the other bays and they are all dry. No problems there.
I decided to use heavy duty clear silicone sealant and seal the inside seams and all the outside seams (yes, I was underneath for quite awhile). I then took Eternabond tape and put it over each outside seam of the large bay. I don't want water to get in underneath and rot the wood, even if I don't get it back inside the bay.
I have just finished the job and will have to wait for the next drive in the rain to see how it worked. By the way, I am fairly certain based upon my inspection of the doors that the bay door seals are not what is leaking but I can't be absolutely positive.
In addition, While in Illinois at Nauvoo state park, I ran into a 2017 36.3 and he had just picked it up from the factory for a replacement under warranty of the wet bay floor. It didn't look like it was any different than mine and had no extra sealant or protection...it just was replaced just exactly like the original leaking bay floor. I hope his doesn't leak on him again.

wstrace3 · 05-13-2019, 07:32 PM

After using expandable spray foam to seal off around the rails I stopped the water intrusion on mine.

ky bob · 05-13-2019, 08:23 PM

I had a problem with the floor in the front bay on the passenger side. The wood floor was rotten and fell apart.

When I repaired it I found that when the wood panel was placed down into the angle iron structure at the factory, there was no sealant laid down before the wood panel was was placed in it.
The lack of sealant allowed water to soaked into the wood and over time it rotted.

When I replaced the wood floor, I put plenty of silicone caulking on the angle iron to help seal it from water from the road. Then I sealed it in with silicone from the underside also.

If the floor had broken thru while driving , it would have dumped my tool box in front of the front passenger tire. That would not have been a good outcome.

auto_man · 05-13-2019, 08:42 PM

Regarding the rails that go through the large pass-thorough bay, notice in iluvuk’s photos that there appears to be no foam sealant on the rail on the right side of the photo. I found that on my 2018 33.3, the same rail had no foam sealant. The rail on the forward side of the bay had sealant from the factory, but where it passes through to the rear there is no foam sealant. I get water in my pass through bay when driving in the rain. I often wondered if there was a reason the rail in question had no foam sealant. Did it allow heat to pass through to the wet bay when the furnace is running? I have not yet applied the expanding foam sealant to ours.

Anyone else notice the same missing foam sealant on their rails?

iluvuk · 05-13-2019, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auto_man

Regarding the rails that go through the large pass-thorough bay, notice in iluvuk’s photos that there appears to be no foam sealant on the rail on the right side of the photo. I found that on my 2018 33.3, the same rail had no foam sealant. The rail on the forward side of the bay had sealant from the factory, but where it passes through to the rear there is no foam sealant. I get water in my pass through bay when driving in the rain. I often wondered if there was a reason the rail in question had no foam sealant. Did it allow heat to pass through to the wet bay when the furnace is running? I have not yet applied the expanding foam sealant to ours.

Anyone else notice the same missing foam sealant on their rails?

I don't know if you are concerned about water coming in there by that rail, but since it is directly connected to the next basement compartment, no water comes in there that I can see on mine. On mine it is dry, clean and like new with no water stains. I thought about sealing it but realized no water was coming in and I might want the heat to flow through there...then again, maybe someone has a better Idea why it is that way and what to do with it.

auto_man · 05-13-2019, 09:11 PM

ky_bob, when you replaced your passenger side front bay floor panel, what type of replacement panel did you use?

ky bob · 05-14-2019, 05:13 AM

When I pulled out the rotten floor panel, I carefully pulled the thin flexible plastic panels off of the top & bottom of the rotted wood. I pulled off any wood still sticking to the plastic . I removed the tougher pieces stuck to the plastic with a 4” angle grinder with a worn out grinding pad that ground away the wood pieces without grinding through the plastic. After the plastic was all clean, I used a good contact cement to glue the plastic to both sides of the wood..

It worked out fine, but if I had to do this to a larger floor panel, it might not have been so easy to do.

It would be nice to be able to know where to purchase the plastic sided wood that Thor uses at the factory.

ky bob · 05-20-2019, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auto_man

ky_bob, when you replaced your passenger side front bay floor panel, what type of replacement panel did you use?

Hi again Auto Man,

I contacted Thor and they said the flooring panels coated with plastic on each side is part # 0300749. It is called Pebbleboard.

Thor said I would need to purchase it from a Thor dealer.

My local dealer in Southern Indiana said it would have a crating charge of about $50.00, plus a delivery charge of around $130.00 plus the cost of the wood of $10.64 per sq/ft or $340.88 for a 4' x 8' sheet plus Indiana 7% sales tax.

($364.32 for a 4 x 8 sheet if I order it from Total RV in Elkhart, Indiana and pick it up from them.)

or

($555 for a 4" x 8" sheet if I have it delivered to my local Thor dealer in Southern , Indiana)

If I needed 1 or 2 sheets , it would make it cheaper for me to pick it up from Total RV in my own truck.

Total RV said there would be a 2-3 week delay as Thor or their supplier says they have negative inventory at this time.

Hope this info helps anyone who is repairing the basement flooring.

auto_man · 05-21-2019, 04:38 AM

Sounds like a rip-off for that basement floor material from Thor, especially since the Thor material delaminates and rots so easily. There ought to be other sources for the same or similar products. I recall researching some time back and came across various types of marine panels, which looked similar. They were available in 3/8 and 1/2 inch marine grade plywood sandwiched on both sides between white textured aluminum. If I can locate my previous research I’ll post the sources. I thought upgrading the Thor panels to a marine grade 1/2 inch panel would provide a stronger and longer lasting floor. Should be easy to replace the smaller bay floors, but probably much more difficult for the large pass-through bay.

Anyone have experience replacing the large pass-through bay DIY ?

iluvuk · 05-21-2019, 10:39 PM

So, I think I might be getting some water, very small amount in heavy rain while driving only, through the doors on the drivers side large pass through bay. Has anyone had this? I think the rubber weather strip between the doors or at the bottom of the doors is inadequate. If you have replaced it or added to it, what did you use to improve the seal?

coeranch · 06-24-2019, 12:11 PM

OK, just thought I'd add to this thread... I just returned from a 2400-mile trip, with heavy rain on and off my last day. I had a lake in my large pass-thru storage compartment, and even some water in some open bins under my rails! But since there was no water or even dampness, on my moveable shelf, I have to assume the water is coming in along the rails. Since there are no storage bins directly in front of the large pass-thru, I'll give the expanding foam a try in the front of the rail openings. I can also try better weather stripping in the doors; but not sure that was the main problem - especially for getting water into open bins in the middle of the coach!

Any other advice?

iluvuk · 06-24-2019, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coeranch

OK, just thought I'd add to this thread... I just returned from a 2400-mile trip, with heavy rain on and off my last day. I had a lake in my large pass-thru storage compartment, and even some water in some open bins under my rails! But since there was no water or even dampness, on my moveable shelf, I have to assume the water is coming in along the rails. Since there are no storage bins directly in front of the large pass-thru, I'll give the expanding foam a try in the front of the rail openings. I can also try better weather stripping in the doors; but not sure that was the main problem - especially for getting water into open bins in the middle of the coach!

Any other advice?

I hope that solves it for you. Let us know. On mine, I inspected the rail area quite closely and I could find no sign of water in the center of the bay or in the shelf or around the wood edges of the cutout around the frame rails. In other words, mine seems to be coming from underneath or in the door seals.