Water drip from AC return

Cass Sumrall · 04-25-2015, 08:15 AM

Our 2 yr old 2013 Itasca Sunstar 30T has just developed a drip of water from the ceiling AC return when traveling at highway speed. It only occurs with the AC running when traveling, not when stationary.

I wonder if anyone has dealt with this issue?

Thanks,
Cass

HR2004 · 04-25-2015, 08:19 AM

The same thing happened to me last summer.. the ac unit was not snug on the roof gasket and hot air was coming in under the ac unit, that hitting the cold air coming out made condensation and a drip right on the bed.. snugging down the ac unit with the 4 bolts under the ceiling cover took care of it.. I was able to turn each bolt 4 full turns to snug. they were really loose.. Jerry

Cass Sumrall · 04-26-2015, 03:41 PM

Tightening just the front bolts made it leak while stationary. Then I removed another panel & was able to tighten the rear ones as well. But I left some travel in the tensioning springs to try & not flatten out the gasket. It stopped leaking while stationary, but leaked again on the road today on the way home.

I wonder whether I should consider replacing the unit rather than chasing the problem. It has never been adequate, spending most of its time in FL & runs continuously in hot weather like today (95) to keep the coach even in low 80's. Its a Dometic 14,800 BTU unit.

t55watson · 04-26-2015, 03:49 PM

Replace the gasket not the a/c unit. Add some roof sealer under the gasket when installing it.

ChasA · 04-26-2015, 04:53 PM

You may find that your AC performs better after you replace the gasket.

puttin · 04-26-2015, 05:24 PM

One more thing...you may want to check the holes up there on the pan...they might be blocked by dirt and debris. It probably would leak either sitting still or moving if this was the case but it's simple to check anyway. Get a small piece of wire that is not a coat hangar to run through the holes. I remember there were 4- one at each corner on my Colemans.

fla tom · 04-27-2015, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cass Sumrall

Tightening just the front bolts made it leak while stationary. Then I removed another panel & was able to tighten the rear ones as well. But I left some travel in the tensioning springs to try & not flatten out the gasket. It stopped leaking while stationary, but leaked again on the road today on the way home.

I wonder whether I should consider replacing the unit rather than chasing the problem. It has never been adequate, spending most of its time in FL & runs continuously in hot weather like today (95) to keep the coach even in low 80's. Its a Dometic 14,800 BTU unit.

Our 2013 itasca 42 qd lealed throuhgh the return vent starting the second day oy ownership. Campi g world could never"duplicate" . We had videos of the leakage (the enrire ceiling section was drenched multiple times. Another dealer said they found the cause(a displaced thermister in the ac) we never found out if this infact cured the issue winnebago would not agree to replace the ( multipley soacked over 6 months)ceiling pannels (florida is very humid and mold grows in wet spots) so we got rid of the coach. On a side note the unit in question never seemed to keep up with demand, hi d sight being 20/20 even though winnebago would not replace the ac or ceiling (u der warrenty)I should have it was a great coach otherwise we just got disalutioned with winnebago not fixing it under the 12 month warrenty

Cass Sumrall · 04-28-2015, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fla tom

Our 2013 itasca 42 qd lealed throuhgh the return vent starting the second day oy ownership. Campi g world could never"duplicate" . We had videos of the leakage (the enrire ceiling section was drenched multiple times. Another dealer said they found the cause(a displaced thermister in the ac) we never found out if this infact cured the issue winnebago would not agree to replace the ( multipley soacked over 6 months)ceiling pannels (florida is very humid and mold grows in wet spots) so we got rid of the coach. On a side note the unit in question never seemed to keep up with demand, hi d sight being 20/20 even though winnebago would not replace the ac or ceiling (u der warrenty)I should have it was a great coach otherwise we just got disalutioned with winnebago not fixing it under the 12 month warrenty

I meant I was wondering whether I should replace the AC unit, not the coach. We love the coach & have not found another of any make that suits us as well. We have had no problem with warranty service. I had thought maybe a bigger unit would be better but I find I already have about as big as they make for motor homes & I don't want to try & add a second one. So far our leaking is only through the return & not affecting the ceiling & can be caught in a dishpan on the floor, so no damage to the coach.

I'm sure we'll find a fix. Looks like it is just a process of elimination.

Cass Sumrall · 05-07-2015, 07:57 AM

Turned out to be partially plugged drain holes. The fix was to drill them out larger so they should not plug up again. They were very small & my repair guy said he has seen a bunch that way. They need to be larger, especially in the south FL climate where our MH spends most of its time.