Trying to figure out water leak

[sborek]

I am trying to figure out an apparent water leak in our motorhome. we are in a 2005 Winnebago Sightseer and have pulled up the plumbing diagrams on the website. According to them, there are no pipes in this wall. The carpet is wet at the base of the wall in what seems like a small patch near the drawers. I can't tell where this is coming from, and we have this issue even when it has not rained in a few days. I checked all the pipes and connections under our bed, and the water pump and find nothing leaking there. Does anyone have ideas of where this water is coming from? Thank you for trying to help.

[HollywoodGT]

Originally Posted by sborek

I am trying to figure out an apparent water leak in our motorhome. we are in a 2005 Winnebago Sightseer and have pulled up the plumbing diagrams on the website. According to them, there are no pipes in this wall. The carpet is wet at the base of the wall in what seems like a small patch near the drawers. I can't tell where this is coming from, and we have this issue even when it has not rained in a few days. I checked all the pipes and connections under our bed, and the water pump and find nothing leaking there. Does anyone have ideas of where this water is coming from? Thank you for trying to help.

Well first off make sure the coach is level to see if it makes a difference. I just seen a leak in my coach because I was parked nose down and the Cap was leaking. No damage found it right away. Then look above on the roof for any types a cracks in the caulking maybe like a a rear cap if its in the bedroom. If it has a cap and there are any seems you must remove the caulk and re-caulk the entire area. I use masking tape make a nice straight neat line on each side and then calk it and remove tape. That's just me though. You can make a water tester with a shower head on a long pole that is how we did cars. They we took off anything that would give us access to see where the leak is coming from. When we do cars we remove all the carpet to see where the leak comes from

[sborek]

Originally Posted by HollywoodGT

Well first off make sure the coach is level to see if it makes a difference. I just seen a leak in my coach because I was parked nose down and the Cap was leaking. No damage found it right away. Then look above on the roof for any types a cracks in the caulking maybe like a a rear cap if its in the bedroom. If it has a cap and there are any seems you must remove the caulk and re-caulk the entire area. I use masking tape make a nice straight neat line on each side and then calk it and remove tape. That's just me though. You can make a water tester with a shower head on a long pole that is how we did cars. They we took off anything that would give us access to see where the leak is coming from. When we do cars we remove all the carpet to see where the leak comes from

A few weeks ago I did go on the roof and re-sealed all the edges as they were all failing. They have held up good, but do you think this water may have been trapped from that previous leak a couple of months ago and is just now showing itself? I know the cap is sealed now because the water in the back corner of the room that I felt on the wall when it rained no longer shows itself. Maybe it is water trapped in the subfloor from that old leak?

[Morich]

Have you pulled drawers and openings under anything like the vanity to try to see if the water is in front of, behind or both places like where those drawers fit to the floor? There can be lots of places where we can get a better look at the floor in some areas like that and since water usually tries to go downhill and the least resistance, knowing it is getting wet on one side of a space like at the bottom of those drawers can help to tell you which direction it may be moving.
It can be a bear to find, though as water does do strange things.
One point to look over as a possible easy fix is to look at the drain slots on the bottoms of windows as them being stopped up can let water collect and then do strange things like run inside but not come out any where near the window but follow some board sideways several feet and THEN run down!
One tricky spot that I had to find was around the vent stack at the roof as it had a fitting around the pipe which was tight enough to block the view but plenty loose enough to leak and let the water follow the pipe down to the subfloor before running sideways to come out near the front of the shower door! I nearly beat that to death before deciding it was NOT the shower door leaking!
You've got a bear by the tail!!!

[sborek]

Originally Posted by Morich

Have you pulled drawers and openings under anything like the vanity to try to see if the water is in front of, behind or both places like where those drawers fit to the floor? There can be lots of places where we can get a better look at the floor in some areas like that and since water usually tries to go downhill and the least resistance, knowing it is getting wet on one side of a space like at the bottom of those drawers can help to tell you which direction it may be moving.
It can be a bear to find, though as water does do strange things.
One point to look over as a possible easy fix is to look at the drain slots on the bottoms of windows as them being stopped up can let water collect and then do strange things like run inside but not come out any where near the window but follow some board sideways several feet and THEN run down!
One tricky spot that I had to find was around the vent stack at the roof as it had a fitting around the pipe which was tight enough to block the view but plenty loose enough to leak and let the water follow the pipe down to the subfloor before running sideways to come out near the front of the shower door! I nearly beat that to death before deciding it was NOT the shower door leaking!
You've got a bear by the tail!!!

Yeah I am starting to wonder if it is another water leak that I missed from outside. That would be better than it being a plumbing leak which could be a lot more messy. There is no water under the dresser drawers seen in the image, it is just in this one spot. Raining outside right now, but will check the roof and surrounding areas again when it stops, possibly I missed it.

[Morich]

One kind of funky way to test the water supply lines is to disconnect from pressure water and turn the pump on for a while. It should pump up and stay for quite a while if there is no leak in the supply lines. Not totally firm answer if the check valve at the water inlet is letting a little leak out there but if it cycles too fast/often, it can show there is a leak in the supply side of the lines? If you have some way to plug the input fitting, it might be a way to begin to sort out which place to look???
But there are lots of things that make it hard to spot because it can take way too long for water going in one place to show up somewhere that we can spot it. And then it may take a week for that to dry out enough to see what happens when we try it again!!

What's in or behind that white wall to the right? Is it a place with plumbing or maybe where they run the vent from a tank up to the top?
The older RV don't get the really great system like the newer where we can get almost an X-ray view of things and turn the RV all around to look at how every piece of plumbing goes but maybe by looking measuring from outside to vents, you could guess if there is a pipe down through that wall??

If that sounds like guessing, you got that right!!!

[sborek]

Originally Posted by Morich

One kind of funky way to test the water supply lines is to disconnect from pressure water and turn the pump on for a while. It should pump up and stay for quite a while if there is no leak in the supply lines. Not totally firm answer if the check valve at the water inlet is letting a little leak out there but if it cycles too fast/often, it can show there is a leak in the supply side of the lines? If you have some way to plug the input fitting, it might be a way to begin to sort out which place to look???
But there are lots of things that make it hard to spot because it can take way too long for water going in one place to show up somewhere that we can spot it. And then it may take a week for that to dry out enough to see what happens when we try it again!!

What's in or behind that white wall to the right? Is it a place with plumbing or maybe where they run the vent from a tank up to the top?
The older RV don't get the really great system like the newer where we can get almost an X-ray view of things and turn the RV all around to look at how every piece of plumbing goes but maybe by looking measuring from outside to vents, you could guess if there is a pipe down through that wall??

If that sounds like guessing, you got that right!!!

That wall to the right is an outside wall. according to the Winnebago plumbing diagram, there is nothing in that wall. I think I may have isolated the problem, the awning over the window on that wall didn't seem to have anything sealing the top of the bar that attaches it to the outside wall, so water may have gone behind it and entered through the screw holes, working down the wall to the floor inside. I sealed it up, now to wait like you said to see if it dries up.

[Morich]

Sounds like progress so will wish you luck and maybe it works!!

[Sightseer 27]

On my Sightseer the problem was with the outside freshwater fill on the drivers side rear corner. The water came right off the roof water channel/drip rail onto the locking door to the fresh water fill.
Any kind of heavy rain would “overpower” the meager ability for the water to pass through this door and flow back into the rig through the fresh water fill hose chase.

SS

[Akachin]

Is your toilet located on the other side of the wall?
If so then check the flush valve. We had a similar leak that puzzled us last season. The culprit was the valve located at the rear of the toilet.
Good luck

[sborek]

Originally Posted by Akachin

Is your toilet located on the other side of the wall?
If so then check the flush valve. We had a similar leak that puzzled us last season. The culprit was the valve located at the rear of the toilet.
Good luck

It is an outside wall. After a lot of inspecting and looking around at the pipes, no pipes go through this area, so there must be some kind of leak on the outside wall, or roof, I have not noticed yet. That is all I can think of.

[chrisking]

I had a leak same spot in my 2004 sightseer, finally found it was a defective gasket on the city fill foot on the outside that is on the other side of the drawers . Winnebago replaced the at no charge

[HollywoodGT]

Another big help in finding and working on these coaches are the wire cameras you can use your smart phone with.There there are also stand alone mini pin hole cameras that will work. I have used them numerous times in mine.

[sborek]

Thank you everyone for the input. I went on the roof and resealed some more spots that looked questionable. The carpet inside has since dried up and is no longer getting wet. Turns out that was the problem I guess, water was still making its way in somehow up there. It sure doesn't take much for water to get in, and it doesn't always appear near where it enters.

[HollywoodGT]

Yep in my business finding squeaks, leaks and water leaks. Take time sound and water travel. So like mine the coach was facing down hill. Never had a leak snd all of a sudden I’m seeing a drip in the corner. Thank god I checked it right away

[Marty57]

Another problem area is the pump , under the bed. It has happened three times now. This time the "hand tighten only" filter came loose because the pump vibrates when running. It comes loose and soaks the area. I'll be using aviation safety wire to keep the filter"hand tight only". Never understood putting a water pump on top of carpet, under a bed, with very poor access.
Marty57

[Wyatt]

I have an infrared red camera I use to see inside of walls/floors. Maybe it’s worth the investment?
https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[imnprsd]

I don't know what a Sightseer is.

That said, does your bedroom sideout? If so, maybe your water leak is coming from 1 of 2 places:

WIND DRIVEN RAIN FIX

A) First I would remove the outer 3/8" outer trim pieces and re-glue them with silicon underneath.

if that does not work, then...

B) You probably need to replace the thick slideout seals.

PROBLEMS AFTER GETING A NEW TOPPER

* Someone replaced your Topper and cut it 1/4" shorter than the OEM.

* Someone put the new Topper back in the wrong place and you just need to readjust it so it properly covers your slideout.

* WORST CASE, you need a wider Topper.

[creativepart]

This is a back wall? With the rear Cap behind it? If so, then two possibilities exist.

1. A leak at the rear cap to roof joint- or more likely a leak at the cap's roof radius at the top of the cap on the side. You have these joints at the front and rear side of the front and rear caps. The rear wall of the RV should be sealed behind the rear cap - but not always. Also, if you have basement A/C you have ducting back there between the rear wall and the rear cap.

2. If you have rooftop A/Cs there are condensate drains back there behind the rear wall and the drain runs inside the rear cap. If you have this you see water dripping from the back of the RV when the A/C is running.

I have no idea if it's either of these things - but just wanted to mention them as possibilities.

Most of us think the rear wall of our RVs is the directly covered by the rear cap, but in fact there is a ~6 inch space between the real most wall of the RV and the Rear Cap.

[chrisking]

Check the water fell on the outside- needs needs sealing inside door once in a while - or where hose attaches check for a crack. Ask me how I know!