Community Forums

moisheh · 01-02-2015, 06:16 PM

Many Monacos have a factory defect in design. Our Dynasty is one of them. The front run bay allows water to enter when driving in a hard rain. All the computer boards are in that compartment and they are exposed to the elements. Some years have a protective cover over the boards. Mine does not. I was having trouble with one of the electric sun shades and the defrost blower. They would not work. I had the unit at a known good shop in Tucson and he told me they see a lot of Monaco products with the same water problem. It shorts out the boards and then troubles begin. I replaced that board today and all is fine. At first I suspected the shade itself . The shade is about $450 and the board was $80.00 ! I Readjusted the door to fit extremely tight and hope that will help. Is there some sort of one way drain I can install in the floor of that small compartment. It would allow the water to drain and no water would enter from underneath. Where can I find this item? Has anyone else had this problem? Did that bay have some sort of drain from the factory? The rear run bay is not much better. It is higher up but dirt still gets into that compartment.

jacwjames · 01-02-2015, 07:16 PM

You might go to an auto parts store and see if they stock an AC drain, this does about what you want. I have on of these on the rear air of my GMC Suburban it is on the rear AC condensation drain. It will let water seep out but not let any in. Sometimes you have to test it to make sure it isn't plugged up, that's how I found the one on my GMC.

Here is a picture

rmcb · 01-02-2015, 11:54 PM

Moisheh,
Do you think the water is coming in from the door seal not sealing? On my 07 Diplomat I got water in the front run bay from a leak that started where the plastic trim covering the awning rail turned down and met the top of the driver's window. Water was being channeled between the window frame and sidewall where it ran down inside the wall and drained into the front run bay. I fixed this by pulling the plastic cover off and sealing that area. I found it almost devoid of any sealant.
Roy

moisheh · 01-03-2015, 10:40 AM

Roy: Thank you for that tip. I got up on a ladder and looked at the awning rail. It is a common straight rail with no plastic cover. It ends just forward of the awning. Lots of silicone on the end. But the water from that rail could drip onto the body molding that curves and ends up at the drivers window. At a quick glance it appears to be well sealed. I will check it with a light and maybe use some sealant. I have windshield silicone that creeps into any voids. The front run bay is a molded box that is open to the front. It is riveted to the side wall of the MH. Looking inside the box it appears that only the bottom computer boards have rust on the mounting screws. This is a tough one as the water could be entering at highway speeds and splashing everywhere. There is an opening at the top of that box where the wire bundles enter. I cannot see how it sealed on the "roof" of that box. On the inside it is some black light duty spray foam. My unit is in my shop and I don't have a lot of time. It won't hit the road until late March. I will test it with a garden hose at that point.. Both on the awning rail and the top of that box. Thanks!

LaserMark4 · 02-10-2015, 10:34 PM

Hi Moisheh-- Long time no talk to. I've been off the radar for quite some time but raging back into getting on the road this year with our business, etc.

I had the same issue in nearly the 1st month we got our coach in early 2009. We discovered it the first trip out bringing it home from FL when the air horn stuck on after a rainstorm as we pulled into an RV park (yeah, that was a fun one for all the neighbors). I didn't have a clue where to look and barely understood where to put the key in to turn on the ignition- definitely embarrassing but quite an entrance statement- LOL!

The bottom line was water was dripping down from above from that horizontal rail coming off the upper roof/slide cover and coming into the electrical compartment as you described. And standing water was in the base of the compartment and corroding the boards. I dried out the compartment and duct taped the compartment tight until we got home and I could dig in and try to resolve the problem.

I did a couple of things. 1). I did a exhaustive silcone job on the top, sides, and bottom of the door opening on the body of the coach to create a silcone seal at all the points where the door edges seat against the coach. Basically I tried to match a small "silcone platform" on the coach to match the leading edge of the door on all edges. That did wonders and stopped 95%. I took a garden hose in spurts and repeatedly tried to see if I could get water into the compartment and kept finding the areas where the door was not seating against the silcone 2). I increased the adjustment of the door closure clasp to as tight as I could to get maximum seal pressure without damaging the door clasp. Again, that additionally really sealed it up- it was quite loose originally. 3). I dried out the boards and lightly "sanded" any of the corrosion off the boards to get them back into clean and proper order. 4). I am still paranoid and check it often after driving in the rain to insure there is no water in the compartment. 5). If the coach sits in a driving rain or extended days of rain, I will take a 2" tape across the top of the door to create a water reflection over that top door edge-- it has not leaked but I sleep better at night and it only takes 2 seconds to place the tape and guarantees that water run off from above with not run down into that compartment.

Hope that helps-- good luck.

J2Jake · 02-11-2015, 07:44 AM

Could you guys post pictures of the areas you are talking about? Thanks

LaserMark4 · 02-11-2015, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J2Jake

Could you guys post pictures of the areas you are talking about? Thanks

My coach is 50 miles away getting some routine maint, but I will try to do that when I pick it up and get it back in my garage.

Mark S.

nutensteve · 02-11-2015, 12:53 PM

I would be interested in pictures also. I have found water in my front bay after heavy rains. I was wondering about some sort of drain to eliminate the standing water. I don't seem to find any water after driving in the rain.

moisheh · 02-11-2015, 05:19 PM

Mark: Are you saying that you laid a bead of silicone on the edges of the coach where the edge of the door meets the coach? That would be 3 sides. To put it another way you filled the gap between the door and the coach. I also readjusted my door after the last heavy rain. You have to be careful . If it is too tight the door will not unlatch. I have seen other brands where those boards are encased in plexiglass. Pretty bad engineering to have electronics in an area subject to water intrusion. BTW: That heavy rain also set off my horn in the middle of the night!!! I am 2500 miles from my coach but will be back in just over 2 weeks. I might try that silicone trick. What about some type of rubber"rope" to fill that gap? Something similar to the product used to install screening in an aluminum frame.