06 Journey Wall leak

xl guy · 07-29-2013, 06:13 PM

We got caught up in a massive Northern AZ monsoon, Had water on the floor by the Frig and the compartment directly underneath..Walls seem fine,, where would this leak begin. thanks for your input

garykk · 07-29-2013, 08:26 PM

First place to check would be the seam at the roof and gutter. If your MH has the roof vent for the frig that would be worth checking.

skigramp · 07-31-2013, 03:35 PM

A strong wind and heavy rain can cause water to get into places that it doesn't normally get into.

I had a roof leak in my stick house that only occurred when the wind was from a certain direction and blowing hard ... I couldn't find the leak ... but an older experienced roofer found it and fixed it.

So it may be difficult to duplicate the conditions that caused your problem ... think about the direction (relative to your coach) that the wind was blowing, etc ...

And the leak may not be directly above where you discovered it on your floor ... sometimes it "runs" for awhile before you see the result of the leak!!!

I hope you find it.

krautkamper · 07-31-2013, 03:45 PM

I once found water near the floor of the fridge and the drawer underneath and it ended up being the icemaker valve was leaking. It filled up the cavity there behind the fridge and then overflowed. Possibly you got water in through the vent louver panel on the outside wall of the coach? This would explain your walls being fine.

xl guy · 08-01-2013, 04:39 PM

Leaking connection (Washer shot) at Ice Maker Fill Valve for sure. And sealant at Refrigerator Vent... What will take that Black Goop off the Exterior and Louver Frame?

jerichorick · 08-02-2013, 03:42 PM

Is this a room slide where you found the water?

My '05 Vectra had a slide leak in the bedroom. When all was settled (took 3 years, many dealers and finally the factory to find and fix) the seam on the slide roof had opened behind the inside trim. When the fix finally happened mold had developed in the ceiling cloth over the bed.

After the fix I would use a mirror and flashlight to inspect. Bringing the slide in about half way gave me enough room to see and caulk if need be.

I hope this helps but I truly hope it was just rain blown in from a strange angle.

Rick

mrschwarz · 08-02-2013, 04:07 PM

We had some rain this morning and I had the exact same problem. The main awning was out and I went outside to see if I could see something. There was a narrow stream of water running from under the awning (it looks like a couple a weep holes directly above the refer vent on the side). It ran down the side and into the vent. It was flowing under the refrigerator and onto the floor inside.

I built a little gutter out of duct tape to redirect the water away from the vent opening and the leak stopped. The rain also stopped so I will need to confirm this is the problem. I'll have to go up on the roof and survey the area to come up with a permanent fix.

smlranger · 08-02-2013, 06:45 PM

For folks with the Norcold fridge (maybe the same with Dometic), Winnebago has a plastic pan under the fridge. At one corner of that pan is a drain hole that goes to a little hose to drain any water that gets in that pan.

Stuff (dirt, dust bunnies, etc) will clog that small hose and the pan will fill with water and it can work its way into the coach (ask me how I know). I had to clean that hole out several times when we had a 2002 Journey.

jerichorick · 08-03-2013, 05:49 AM

Michael, the obvious is always a good place to start. Great observation and patch. Now it the drain problem is the fix you are back in business! A quick fix is always welcome.

Stevegd007 · 08-05-2013, 11:19 AM

Here is another place leaks can be found. We have 2 large slideouts, these both have electric locks on the top of the slide, to prevent movement while traveling. We had the slide in the open position with a very light snowfall melting on top of the RV. The slide topper awning was slightly bowed downward from the snow. Melting snow, water, was on the top of the open slide. Surprise there is a hole in the top of the slide for the lock to engage. Water, as the snow melted, came over the lip of this "hole" for the lock and suddenly appeared poring down the inside of the wall and window.
Solution was to close the slide and throw a bunch of towels up on the inside top of the the now closed slide. Once the water was sopped up...no water was leaking down the wall. Also, do not allow the your slides to be open during the time you may have melting snow on the top of the RV.

CWHTRAINS · 08-05-2013, 12:39 PM

Also check your gasket on the exterior radio door. On my 2006 36G it leaked in a hard rain. Once replaced, no more problems. Only showed up once or twice in a really hard rain such that I noticed the carpet near the sink got damp.

jerichorick · 08-06-2013, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevegd007

Here is another place leaks can be found. We have 2 large slideouts, these both have electric locks on the top of the slide, to prevent movement while traveling. We had the slide in the open position with a very light snowfall melting on top of the RV. The slide topper awning was slightly bowed downward from the snow. Melting snow, water, was on the top of the open slide. Surprise there is a hole in the top of the slide for the lock to engage. Water, as the snow melted, came over the lip of this "hole" for the lock and suddenly appeared poring down the inside of the wall and window.
Solution was to close the slide and throw a bunch of towels up on the inside top of the the now closed slide. Once the water was sopped up...no water was leaking down the wall. Also, do not allow the your slides to be open during the time you may have melting snow on the top of the RV.

We had a similar problem. In our case it was when we closed the slide. Water flooded out of the lock motor cover and down the wall and window. The weep hole on the outside near the top for the motor cover was plugged by some cridder. It took a few tries with a thin wire but I got the hole cleaned. That took care of most of the problem. Tipping the coach before we close is a must. Even then we still get wet on the floors. We are still new to this rig so practice makes perfect (I hope!)

Jerry J · 08-06-2013, 08:05 PM

We had a waterfall down the wall behind our headboard one night during a heavy rain, also water dripping on my head and pillow. We later found out about the great resource from Winnebagoind.com service tips. Simple fix that I occasionally do with a pipe cleaner. See the service tip pdf.

jerichorick · 08-07-2013, 04:13 AM

Thanks for that great tip, Jerry. As I stated above, we had this same problem with this new coach. The living room slide weep hole had become a home for some critter. I don't think the '06 has these because I think it has hydraulic (HWH) slides rails. I had to use tie downs as locks in my '05. Water on the floor when camping was always from failed caulk of the slide roof seams. If not caught early and repaired correctly, it may become a very expensive repair.

bobmac · 08-07-2013, 07:51 AM

I also had water running down the wall. The interior of my slide locks were completely dry. It was not until I changed the slide topper that I found the caulking on the top of the slide around the front of the lock was missing. That turned out to be the source of the leak. In my case the water ended up at the front of the slide in the carpet some 5 feet away from the source. Good luck, leaks are difficult to locate.

Stevegd007 · 08-07-2013, 08:54 AM

Good information, did not know about the little hole to drain the slide top. Never have cleaned it out...so I will soon take a look at this. Thanks.

Jerry J · 08-07-2013, 10:08 AM

Incidentally I have HWH slides and jacks on our 08. We also have 2 locks, 1 near each end so blowing wind and rain can get inside the lock area. We have had the weight of snow pull down the slide covers and the heat escaping out of the top of the slides melting the snow and turning it to slush and ice. Underneath the slide covers can be like the inside of a tent and dripping water.
I would think slide locks without open tops would be better. I didn't know that the new Winnebago's still had the same locks. I don't remember seeing drain holes on the new motorhomes at the GNR but I was busy looking at other things.

jerichorick · 08-08-2013, 04:24 AM

Oh how things change over the years. Our '05 Vectra had HWH slides and jacks but no powered locks. This '11 has the HWH jacks but PowerGear slide rails and powered locks (that need fix'n) and weepholes (homes for flying critters). It is another potential water problem but worth the effort for what improvements we have over the '05.

I am a bit gun shy since we had the bedroom bed slide ceiling fill with water and mold because of a long term failed roof seam. I will be checking these with my mirror and flashlight from time to time. What a mess and expense. I found so many bad Winnebago service centers with Gold Stars out there as I tried, for years, to find the source of the leak. When I wised up and went to the factory did I get the leak fixed.

xl guy · 08-13-2013, 07:58 PM

Just wanted to report: the Leak was a hose gasket at the ice maker fill solenoid.
replaced hose gasket, Leak fixed
Frigerator wont power back up

Any ideas

jerichorick · 08-14-2013, 03:18 AM

Are all of your recalls done? One done on my old '05 was a module installed on the back of the frig. I noticed a red light on it one day and the frig did not work. I disconnected the wires to it and reconnected them as they originally were. The frig started back up. I recall removing the module and putting it back on the tubing then putting the wires back on it. The frig still started to work after that. I have no idea why this worked but it did. If I recall correctly the module was another 'fix' to prevent fire from overheating.

I hope this helps.

Rick