water leaking from underbelly

hi everyone. i signed the papers and took possession of my new sundance 3300rfb about a 1 1/2 weeks ago. we picked it up on a tuesday and left out friday for maine.

the trip was pretty much uneventful. tires stayed inflated (yay) and everything stayed together (for the most part). put about 1500 miles on it (a hub meter to measure miles would come in handy).

we did find a few minor things that need to be fixed but no big ones.

i read on here before we took possession about someone who had water leaking from the underbelly. on every stop i always do a walk around and check things out.

on one of these walk arounds i found water leaking from the underbelly on the right side (unit tipped to that side where i parked) down the entire length of camper. this made me suspect the underbelly being wet.

i pulled a bit back and alot of water came out. well, maybe not a LOT but more than just a trickle.

im pretty sure there is no leak. we had no issues all week and this was on the return home.

i went thru some pretty heavy rain in CT not long before this. im pretty sure this water got in from the rain.

anyone else have this problem and what can be done to fix it? im concerned about moisture getting in and not have good ventilation to dry out again. seems like doing something to ventilate it better would take away the insulation properties of it.

any ideas/thoughts on this?

thanks...........

deb

I remember a long time ago, maybe a couple years, reading of a member that replaced his under belly material with galvanized shhet metal. Supposedly, it didn't add much weight and he made it removable in sections. It sounded like a good idea but haven't heard or don't remember hearing any further discussion about it. I would think it could be sealed at the sides by using some sort of rigid strip and weather strip of some sort. I'm sure it could be done but have never really worried about it.

Funny that you bring this issue up. I observed the same thing a couple of weeks ago after a trip home in the rain. After the 4th weekend had to drive home in the driving rain again. this weekend I removed all the bolts on the right side and the water just pored out from the "cardboard " material. The moisture was in between the foil insulation and the material so I know the unit isn't leaking water. The underbelly was sagging so that is what tipped me off the the water being there. I was wondering if I could seal that off from the rain water getting in. I am concerned about mold getting started under the unit. I think I could seal it off and maybe a couple of holes in the cardboard where the material is sagging might keep the water from just sitting under there. any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks Randy

I have had leaks from the underbelly when driving in the rain. No leaks from underbelly when parked. I have used expanding foam where possible and used gorilla duct tape in all other ares. It still got some water in the underbelly but I found a few other places where water can get in from around the spare tire. Need to work on that. Mine leaks from where the plumbing come out of the underbelly. Never much more than drips.

I just had water leaking from under my Eagle Ridge the middle of last week.The park that the unit is set up at had water problems so I filled the water tank (1st time in 11 months) and the next morning there was water dripping from the bottom where the low point drains are.To make a long story short dropped the bottom cover from one side and got a shower. After I found that much water dropped the other side so it would dry out.That is when I found the leak.I had a 1 inch crack in the water tank.Guess I should have filled the water tank before the warranty was up (19 days ago) O'well if that is the worst thing that happens I will be one lucky puppy.Heartland customer service was very helpfull gave me the part# for the tank told me what it would cost and they were very quick to call me back.

i was think along the lines of using some 3M 5200. this is sealant/adhesive. works great on my boat and think it would work great for this to seal it off. only problem with this is....... once its on, ITS ON FOR GOOD!
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...E3E02LECIE20S4K7_nid=GSWWSBSW85beQH8HT14PGTgl

would sealing it off completely cause more problems? such as NO ventilation at all? or worse.......... no way for any water that does get in there to have a way out.

are these supposed to be completely sealed off?

Considering the number of times water is mentioned in the underbellies for various reasons, I wonder why RV bellies don't have some sort of self bailing system to get rid of it and a vent to dry it out. The belly isn't air and water tight but the water is in sagging sections where drains don't exist. Those likely areas could be fitted with some type of one-way drain to let water out. Although the Coroplast won't rot, the standing water and soaked insulation is a breeding ground for mold and odors.

After posting our similar experience a few days ago, a talk with Ken (kkamshop) and have concluded that other than replacing the entire underbelly the easiest, cost effective way to reduce the issues is to:

1. clean the chloroplast to remove any existing mold mildew.
2. use spray adhesive to bond the foil bubble insulation to the chloroplast. (might replace the foil stuff at the same time)
3. install vents (like those for the battery compartment) as low point drains in several locations in the "sagging" areas of the chloroplast. (holes would have to be cut through the foil and chloroplast)
4. replace all the fiberglass batting with fully encapsulated insulation bags, to help keep the water out of the batting.

I'll be giving this a try in the next few days or weeks.

Drill an 1/8 hole at the sagging area. Problem solved. I would think twice about gluing it. You may have to remove sometime.

We've tried sealing with expanding foam and still got water in (from driving in the rain). Guys in Elkhart and Goshen who work on lots of different units say they always find water in the bellies, so best plan is to give the water ways to drain.

I would love to have a camera hanging in the underbelly when we drive on wet roads to see the extent of the spray - it has to be a lot from our experiences!

We are thinking to replace the coroplast with sheet metal so that sections are easier to remove, but we're still working out the details for that project.

kkamshop said:

We are thinking to replace the coroplast with sheet metal so that sections are easier to remove, but we're still working out the details for that project.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't that add a lot of weight? Maybe a "mudflap" which goes the width of the TV would be a better option.

http://www.campingworld.com/category/splash-guards-mudflaps/57

http://www.tonnocover.com/ENKAY/part-00105-68508.html

jmgratz said:

Wouldn't that add a lot of weight? Maybe a "mudflap" which goes the width of the TV would be a better option.

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Our truck has very large flaps already, and we still got water i the underbelly. Just take a close look at the frame rail and the underbelly, and you'll find many gaps, holes, and other openings, all of which will let road spray in. It is practically impossible to keep the water out, so the better solution is to make it easy to let the water out of the underbelly and make everything in the underbelly as moisture resistance.

I am wondering if a lot of the water in the underbelly we are experiencing is from condensation. Maybe adding several low point drains where the underbelly naturally sags will let out most of the water. Just a thought.

John

Someone beat me to the punch. Here is an 'Ask The Factory' thread on that very subject: //heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/17249-Belly-drains

John

Just went out and checked the rest of the underbelly, and guess what, More water. I drilled a nice grid of 1/8" holes for a 12" X 24" pattern in the lowest areas and have a nice stream of water dripping out most of the holes.

The easy way to check for water, without having to crawl under the trailer, is to lift up some of the heating vents in the kitchen and living room, stick your arm down in the opening and if you fell any dampness, you have water in the underbelly.

newbie said:

I am wondering if a lot of the water in the underbelly we are experiencing is from condensation. Maybe adding several low point drains where the underbelly naturally sags will let out most of the water. Just a thought.

John

Click to expand...

Some could be condensation, but we had gallons of water the first time we found it. We've had the belly off 3 times (twice for the water and once to install the Level Up system) and the coroplast was completely replaced twice because after it stretches from the weight of the water it is very difficult to put back in place.

2010augusta said:

Our truck has very large flaps already, and we still got water i the underbelly. Just take a close look at the frame rail and the underbelly, and you'll find many gaps, holes, and other openings, all of which will let road spray in. It is practically impossible to keep the water out, so the better solution is to make it easy to let the water out of the underbelly and make everything in the underbelly as moisture resistance.

Click to expand...

I don't think it's coming off of the truck tires anyway, it's the openings near the trailer tires (slide out rails, springs, etc) that is the problem.

Wet insulation is pretty heavy too We finally just took the insulation out, but we do plan to replace it if we go ahead with the metal bottom cover. It needs to be suspended somehow up against the floor though, so it doesn't sit on the bottom waiting to soak up any water that comes along...

Haven't had the water issue but I think that that some of the issues aren't just the overspray but there must be some type water leak. I would start by trying to seal or plug all the openings that you can find. Good Luck. GBY...

Our Yellowstone never did get any water underneath in 9 years of towing. It had a metal belly cover that was very tight. Sounds like that is what we need now.

On the first attempt to block the water intrusion, the shop made a rubber "boot" for the slide rail opening nearest the tires. It was not effective. In our unit the water collects between the kitchen & living room area. We have not found any water forward of the entry door.

Alan is right about reaching into the floor vent openings - we do that pretty regularly now.