HELP At wits end.

[Elk River]

Plumbing was done during the last summer/fall months. Spent over $1000 at this local family trailer businesses. We eventually believed it was not the plumbing. The trailer was covered most of the winter until last month when it rained. BUT I just realized my daughter’s family spent a few days in the camper instead of our house when visiting because of COVID (met in garage, cooked separately) I feel like I’m in a Catch-22 or Kafka novel. I guess I’ll work on the roof, test the roof (rain expected this weekend and use hose....the underbelly is open...I plan to use newspaper in the belly to locate leak) Then pressure inside again. If no leak shows up I guess I’ll hook up the water and see what happens. This is nuts.

[Bobgin]

Last year we discovered a leak when we found a rotten floor. Open your awning and there’s a cover that slides down. There are wires that come through the body for the awning lights and motor. Ours was slowly leaking there because it was not sealed at the factory. This might be worth looking at. Good luck.

[Ret.LEO]

Be sure to replace the rusty screws with a good quality stainless screw.

[Elk River]

I only had time to do the back side today. Weather was OK. No sun and a bit breezy with fog in the air at times. Only one rusty screw. Another would not fit tight when I reset it, so I added split wood match sticks with wood glue into the hole; and as I turned the screw I added calk also. I calked all screws, replaced the cover then did the worse tape job a man could do. Yes, I watched his to videos twice. But, as long as it seals up, I’m good. Light rain came in at the end but everything was done by then.
I too found a hole left unsealed. I couldn’t believe it. And the screw next to it is the rusted one I mentioned.
I will continue to follow advice given as not one comment has been wrong!
The black calk was found inside the gutter preventing water from draining!
For some reason I can’t attach photos to this post. I’ll follow this post with photos if unsuccessful.
And again, I thank all who are helping me with advise.

[Elk River]

Here are the photos.

[Fred 2106DS]

Originally Posted by Elk River

I only had time to do the back side today. Weather was OK. No sun and a bit breezy with fog in the air at times. Only one rusty screw. Another would not fit tight when I reset it, so I added split wood match sticks with wood glue into the hole; and as I turned the screw I added calk also. I calked all screws, replaced the cover then did the worse tape job a man could do. Yes, I watched his to videos twice. But, as long as it seals up, I’m good. Light rain came in at the end but everything was done by then.
I too found a hole left unsealed. I couldn’t believe it. And the screw next to it is the rusted one I mentioned.
I will continue to follow advice given as not one comment has been wrong!
The black calk was found inside the gutter preventing water from draining!
For some reason I can’t attach photos to this post. I’ll follow this post with photos if unsuccessful.
And again, I thank all who are helping me with advise.

Sounds like you're making progress, good to hear. Good luck!

[bkclopton]

I live in the Richmond VA area and have used and are aware of two facilities in the area that use the SealTech leak test system to check for leaks.
The system connects a fan to a ceiling vent in the RV and pressurizes the RV then they go around the outside of the RV and inspect for leaks, I assume with soapy water or some other high tech device(who knows). Then in the end give you a detailed report of every area that leaked. I do it every couple years as a preventive measure after having experienced a persistent leak on a previous Class C. The cost is reasonable usually about $250.00 and well worth the money. I then take the RV home and fix the leaks or re-caulk as necessary. I have recommended the process to a few other friends with both Travel Trailers and diesel pushers with no apparent leaks and they all were amazed at what was found.

[Elk River]

I googled for such a place around here (PNW) and couldn’t find anything. It would hand saved me almost a grand (so far). Maybe some energetic person reading this could start up that business here?

[Elk River]

I only found the leaks because of the insight/advise I received from the above posters. I apologize for not adding your names here; I’m using a phone to post this. All the issues were found where suggested. I am currently running water pressure from a hose just for a final check. Rain the last three days and no leaks. I removed some screws and used match sticks coated in wood glue in the hole, then the screw with silicone as I turned it in (all the screwing was done by hand as I thought the wood might be too soft and with a power drill I might “strip” the wood so the screw wouldn’t bite…this almost sounds pornographic…sorry, not my intent) then I covered the outside of the screw with silicone and when dry, replaced the plastic strip cover. Finally I used waterproof Gotilla Glue and covered the area from the roof to the inside of the gutters. All is waterproof. I pulled off the strips of plastic running down the front of the trailer and inspected the screws for water damage…totally dry. Again, for those of you who shared your knowledge and experiences I thank you.
PS I have not forgot the advise to check the awning. I will do this Saturday even though I have not seen a sign of a water leak. I thank you, too.
Oh yes, I believe the water from under the table may have come from the underbelly. When I replaced the insulation last year I really packed it in tight. I was not impressed with what I found when I opened it up. In other words I may have created a sponge under pressure and some escaped up screw hole onto the floor. No water was near a wall, it was under the table.

[Twpinaz]

Sounds like you have done amazing detective work. You may want to consider that the gorilla glue may break down over time with the movement the tt will have motoring down the road and uv/sunlight exposure. Suggest you look at using either butyl tape or Eternabond tape to cover the areas. On my coach I had missing and broken dicor sealant on the end caps and noticed the dicor sealant breaking down on the roof. To avoid annual dicor reapplication, I cleaned and prepped the roof and reapplied self-leveling dicor once dry, applied 3” Eternabond tape on each end cap and 2” along the roof sides and anywhere on the roof where there was a penetration. 2 yrs later still holding up even in hot AZ sun. You have to prep per the directions and roll after application for good adhesion. Just a suggestion. Gorilla glue breaks down when used outside here in AZ after 2 summers, at least it has at my house.

[Elk River]

Is that the Waterproof Gorilla Glue you speak of and not their other tapes?

[Morich]

When getting repeated puddles of water on the floor and not able to spot where it came in, there is a vey slow but cheap method that can tell you.

A very thin sifting of a powder like flour can be left on the floor and it makes a telltale of where the water come in to run to the low spot where you know there can't be a leak.
Notone to be used for the occasional leak but if it is one that happens every time it rains it can point you right to the spot where it first reaches the floor.

[Elk River]

Oh, man. Where were you three weeks ago��?

[Elk River]

WELL.... I'm back. I believe I found the major leak (yeah, right!). My wife turned on the sprinkler to water overnight in an area we hadn't park the trailer in before. Man what a major leak!) The water was coming through the front cargo hatches. The main leak is on the drivers side hatch of the trailer. I believe the weather stripping is to blame as I earlier calked the outside. Before I attempt to order the original weather stripping (if i can find it; not sure what "style" I need; help?) I need your input on how to make this thing fire proof.
Thanks ahead of time. I would post the video but I'm not proud of the language I used; seriously. The photos of the wet floor shown in a previous post have far less water then what I found yesterday. Thank you in advance.

[Bobgin]

My hatch leaked and l bought 1/4” weatherstrip at a hardware store , worked great, just make sure you bend the thin metal back to original shape.

[Elk River]

Thanks for your quick reply. I don’t see where the water is getting in??? It just “comes out” where the wall meets the the floor. I was shocked at how much appeared running the sprinkler; in less then 10 minutes. Since then I sealed the top 3/4th of the hatch, ran the sprinkler and again crawled inside. No water appeared this time.
I’ll make a store run. Couldn’t hurt.
I also counted 8 screws sticking out around the opening. I’m not too impressed with Winnebago.

[Twpinaz]

Hang in there, sounds like you have been through a lot with this trailer.
I used gorilla glue tapes and had them break down in az sun. Eternabond tape has performed as designed and has held up remarkably in the az environment. Wish you the best and so sorry to hear about your troubles.

[Elk River]

Thanks for your input. I am now having a devil of a time trying to remove reside from the weather strip tape around the hatch. I have been using Goo Off, paint thinner, Coleman stove liquid fuel and they all seem ineffective. Outside of elbow grease, any advise?

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Elk River

Outside of elbow grease, any advise?

Maybe try a heat gun on low and a plastic paint scraper??

[akeagle]

I've found that Mineral Spirits works well at removing quite a few different adhesives.