Tracing Persistent Rain Leaks in Rear Compartment of 2019 Adventurer 27N

[oakprk]

Rain intrusion on the front wall of the rear compartment. All roof seals look good.

 

[be happy]

May be its just me, or early in the morning but I have no idea what you are asking about.
I think a little more information would help. Is the rear compartment inside or outside?

 

[oakprk]

It's the large outside compartment in the rear. I assume you don't have a 27N Winny?

 

[be happy]

You are correct I do not have an Adventure. However looking at a picture of the Adventure the rear compartment has 3 large doors that allow access to the storage area. You mentioned the intrusion on the front of the rear wall is it the whole wall, or what area. Thats a large wall so lets narrow down where the intrusion is located. . Is it a drip or moisture where on the wall. Does this intrusion show up while coach is sitting or running or both.

 

[oakprk]

I haven't witnessed the water coming in, only the results. The water is along the bottom of the forward wall between the raised sections on the right and left. It also flows towards the rear along the bottom of the raised section on the right side, then drops into the lower floor section on the very right rear corner. I have plastic taped onto the rear wall now, just above the floor, with it going into plastic bins, in preparation for the rain we're currently getting. Hopefully this will give me a little more insight into where the water is coming down.

P.S. Although I do have an Adventurer, the model 27N floorplan is/was also made in the Sunstar LX and Vista LX lines.

 

[be happy]

Have you checked the gaskets around the doors. I know sometimes the ones covering the top of the doors seem to roll thus not doing a good job. Could the water come in from any of the running lights or for that matter any of the lights in the back of the coach. Check gaskets around those lights. If you have side running lights near the back check those also. Again just taking a stab in the dark, Good Luck

 

[Morich]

BeHappy makes a good point on many RV! One of the basics of water is that it almost always tends to go downhill!
But that downhill isn't always straight down if there are thing the water can follow along as it moves downward.
One big issue is water that gets in at any small opening light where the lights have wires that run through the walls. When I find water damage inside, I first look at places where there are holes made in the walls or roof. Edges can get leaks but those other spots are far more common to be the leaker!
Firs stop for me is to consider if I have resealed those spots recently?
Two big problems with these is first the form of seal on many is not made to last long as it is a rubber like gasket that is laid between the light and the siding. That gasket is exposed to sun and all weather in a way that soon eats it and we need to replace that seal with better, longer lasting caulk of some sort.
I make three different spots on lights to seal. One is a circle of caulk directly around the hole where wire goes through the wall. This is second line of defense if water gets past the first, which is the seal around the light after I've put it back on. The outer seat is exposed so may not last long but the inner second seal is protected for weather and I expect it to last better.
Belt and suspenders? Yes, because had massive experience with the first few RV I was able to afford!
That makes me want to NEVER have to do it again with replacing/rebuilding wall and roof panels!
But there is the third issue? If we put the base on and have it super well done and don't keep water from getting in between the base and the cover we are leaving the back door open and water can easily get in the light fixture and find the wire to follow out the back and in to rot the wall!
But the tricky part of finding the leak is that the water may follow the wire for a good distance sideways if it is a gentle slope. So your leaker may not be directly over where you spot the water.
RV leaks are a trek with no end in sight!

 

[oakprk]

Have you checked the gaskets around the doors. I know sometimes the ones covering the top of the doors seem to roll thus not doing a good job. Could the water come in from any of the running lights or for that matter any of the lights in the back of the coach. Check gaskets around those lights. If you have side running lights near the back check those also. Again just taking a stab in the dark, Good Luck

I did check the door seals even though the wetness didn't extend to the areas just inside the doors. It's still raining off and on so I'll be going to check the rear compartment tomorrow to see how much water I got and where. Again, all the wetness is at the bottom of the forward wall (away from the doors and rear lights) and within the compartment where it obviously flowed. The compartment floors are covered with a felt/outdoor carpet material that holds the water.

 

[oakprk]

Checked after the rain and found that the bins caught all the water. The right bin got about a half gallon and the one to the left about a pint. No water went as far as the towels. The view from the right door shows no water came in from the right of the vertical beam in the wall. Need to see detailed construction drawings to figure our what that tells me about the source of the water.

 

[Morich]

Well? Got to say, you do have a massive leak! But some questions because what we see in pictures can be wrong! Is that difference in color on the top plywood wet or natural? Looks wet from here , so I might guess you have a leak of some form letting water get on top of the plywood but since it is solid, the water has to run to an edge to go lower. I might guess there is a spot where the white panel meets the top plywood and that lets the water go on down the back side of the white vertical panel to spread out left right and show up in the pans!
I would move to looking above the plywood at any openings. I see an exterior TV on the right side and those can be leakers??
But the tricky thing is that the water will just follow any path that is handy. That can make it tricky because it may come in on the left but the slope of that board makes it run all the way downhill to an edge before it can go lower.
Looks like you may get a good chance to test over the next few days but that is not a fun time to hang around outside to look!
When fighting things that get wet and then dry before I get back to look, I have used things like paper towels as test items. When they get wet, they change texture and show water has been there, even after it dries. Toilet tissue is also handy for this.

But first is the question of what I'm seeing? Also keep in mind that things can trick us, so is it really rain or some fresh water or drain leak?

 

[oakprk]

Had more rain last night and the right bin is 2/3 full. Confirmed that the plywood is dry, just stains. It would be almost impossible to get water there because it's the top of the mattress base. Going on the roof today to inspect more.

 

[oakprk]

There is a metal "bracket" screwed onto the roof close to the radius on the right side with a channel that holds the awning. The sealant on the screws holding the bracket down is dried out and may be leaking. I caulked all the screws and the edge of the bracket, so we'll see after the next rain.

 

[Morich]

Okay, first look is not correct! Not at all surprised!
Depending on how you are set up, there are times when we get get a different look by tilting the RV slightly?
When getting that much water, it might be something big you might spot. I don't normally think of that amount of water coming all the way from the roof to where you find it without going out on the floor to spot it there.
But if you have a damaged vent pipe cover, water might come in around the base there and follow the pipe all the way to floor level.

Looking at that as possible, I might think if the vent had gotten whacked by a tree limb to break at the roof, there might be lots of water run across the roof to get in, follow this vent pipe down and through the floor? That might explain why none is seen in the floor?
But when reaching the tank top, it may be tilted just right to run to the rear?

Just theory with not much to back it but might be worth a look at how well the vent base is set on the roof?
I NEVER run into tree limbs but sometimes the stuff on the roof does!

 

[oakprk]

The water all leaked into the compartment floor and the excess probably leaked out the corners. I never found any water inside the coach.
I'm optimistic that it's going to be the awning bracket.

 

[oakprk]

Well, it wasn't the awning bracket! I also added Dicor to the edge of the bracket where the old sealant was looking dried out but still looked intact.

I'm going to extend the slide and awning and inspect everything near the roof on the left side

P.S. Morich, the vent covers look fine.

 

[Morich]

Yes, trouble with wet spots and water is how much small points can lead to confuse us!
you seem to be getting a really large amount of water for the normal leak from seams or seals not doing their job. I watch your local LA weather and know that it has been a really different thing lately.
So that might lead to new/different things for the RV if it is left out? But that looks like a really large amount of water to get from the roof all the way down through the RV and into the rear?
Totally guessing here, so bear with my "throwing things at the wall", approach!
You know the situation far better but any chance of it being a plumbing issue instead of a outside leak? Depending on timing, any chance of it being water from something like the shower drain that leaks under the floor, hits the top of the holding tank, then running along that to the rear before meeting the hidden side of the compartment before coming out where you spot it?
That's where you likely know far better what happens and when!! But I do know that RV can do really weird things to us. Bouncing along on rough roads can shake traps enough to let them totally drop off at the fittings and that can dump a lot of water out under the floor where we don't see it right away.
Something weird like you took a shower, went to bed and it rained all night to make you think it was rain when you found the compartment full of water?

My son tells me it never rains out there until it does a horrible amount!
Maybe value in using a hose if the rain has stopped? That can let you know it only rained on specific points instead of the whole RV.

 

[oakprk]

The compartment was consistently getting wet after a rain, no travelling needed.

However, there might be an end to this saga! I remembered the last time I had it at the local shop, I had them re-caulk the the roof radii so I don't have my seven year old roof go flying off while I'm "flying" down the road. You can't do the whole right side because most of it is covered by the awning, and fortunately protected from the sun, so you can only re-do about 4-5 feet on the front and back. So, what if they cleaned out the old caulk and just forgot to re-caulk the right rear section. SO, I extended the slide and awning and climbed up my step ladder and...see the photos.

Cleaned it up and forced as much new caulk into that hole as I could...COME ON RAIN!!!!!

 

[Morich]

UGH! Another story that makes me glad to never visit a repair shop! Any idea how they planned for this seal to work if they never got under the awning to DO it?
I might also want to give a hard look at the places where the awning uprights are attached to the side as the awning may tend to move as winds whip it around. IF those fasteners wiggle around to break the seal around them it may be a problem, whether sooner or delayed a bit.
Now might be a time to bite the bullet and remove the whole awning to renew all of the sealing under and around it?
I'm somewhat surprised the water coming in near the roofline is able to find a path all the way down the side and into the rear compartment.
But that is a whole story as water can sometimes do things that really surprise us!

 

[oakprk]

UGH! Another story that makes me glad to never visit a repair shop! Any idea how they planned for this seal to work if they never got under the awning to DO it?
I might also want to give a hard look at the places where the awning uprights are attached to the side as the awning may tend to move as winds whip it around. IF those fasteners wiggle around to break the seal around them it may be a problem, whether sooner or delayed a bit.
Now might be a time to bite the bullet and remove the whole awning to renew all of the sealing under and around it?
I'm somewhat surprised the water coming in near the roofline is able to find a path all the way down the side and into the rear compartment.
But that is a whole story as water can sometimes do things that really surprise us!

It's pretty confusing to figure out how the water gets to the bottom of that white luan panel when you're in the bedroom. I was considering removing the panel that's just stapled on to see what's there but maybe I don't need to now.