Front, door side leak -where?

At dinner DW casually announced she had just been in the RV and I need to add a delaminated counter top to the (growing) list of things to fix in our Cyclone. I asked when she had planned to mention this...

In any case it looks like water is coming down the wall in the bedroom and must have collected on the vanity/counter there - pretty much destroying it. It seems like it has only been leaking for a few weeks since we've been in it numerous times and would have notice this. Is there a list of places to check for severe water leaks? I'll be on the roof tomorrow searching. (oh yes, anyone know how hard it is to remove the counter top to try to repair it?)

This is pretty much the end for me and Heartland. This fall we lost a spring shackle, then the fresh water tank fell out. I still have not repaired the failed oven or fuel station... it is failing faster than I can get around to fixing it. I have owned other RV's and understand that some amount of repairs are to be expected. But this is really a much higher failure rate across the board.

Man, I might flamed for this, but I'm going to stick my neck out anyway. It's a rig into it's forth year. Seems odd to blame Heartland for the spring shackle. They're a wearable item you have to watch each season. Depending on what you find with the leak, the same might be true with that. Caulking needs to be reviewed regularly imo. Your other issues are not with Heartland either. Pretty much every RV uses the same manufactures for their parts. The spring, stove, and fuel station all fall under suppliers parts...four years old at that. You can go buy a Raptor, Voltage, or nearly any toyhauler and they'll have the same parts. What traditionally seperates Heartland has been the great track record of Heartland's customer service. On another front, that rig must be well out of warranty by now.

I'll admit you've had some bad luck, but I'm not sure Heartland is to blame based on what you posted.

What he said!!!

I'm hoping the roof leak is as easy as just caulking - we will see. I found a place where the end-cap meets the roof that seems to have shifted and opened a gap I can caulk up and hope.

Yep - I'll admit I'm frustrated, so don't hear this as flaming back at the "what do I expect in 4 years" responses.

To be honest, I expected something close to the repair rate I had on my 4 year old Jayco which I bought for about half of what the Cyclone cost. At this point the failure rate is about double on the Heartland vs the Jayco.

btw - the furnace failed last night... adding that to the list.

I'll only address the counter top. You won't be able to repair it if water has been absorbed and caused it to swell and delaminate. You will need to replace the entire top.

Stuff does happen to these rigs and you need to stay on top of the maintenance and inspection. But sometimes, folks get a bigger dose of it than others. Sounds like you may be in that group. Frustrating to say the least.

JohnDar said:

..the counter top. You won't be able to repair it if water has been absorbed and caused it to swell and delaminate. You will need to replace the entire top.

Stuff does happen to these rigs and you need to stay on top of the maintenance and inspection. But sometimes, folks get a bigger dose of it than others. Sounds like you may be in that group. Frustrating to say the least.

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I was afraid of that - the laminate itself seems fine I guess you are saying I should expect that the subsurface will be shot when I get it out? I wonder if I can get the laminate and nosing off intact and apply them to a new counter. Well... first things first - gotta make sure I eliminate the leak.

I have always been OK with the idea these rigs are like a house on wheels and will have a bit of maintenance... but this rig has sure tested my patience.

davelinde said:

I was afraid of that - the laminate itself seems fine I guess you are saying I should expect that the subsurface will be shot when I get it out? I wonder if I can get the laminate and nosing off intact and apply them to a new counter. Well... first things first - gotta make sure I eliminate the leak.

I have always been OK with the idea these rigs are like a house on wheels and will have a bit of maintenance... but this rig has sure tested my patience.

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Let me qualify that, about the counter top. If the laminated covering has only come unglued and the substrate is not swelled, you may be able to reglue it using contact cement. You will need to inspect the uncovered edges of it at the delamination to determine the extent of the damage. My guess, unfortunately, is that the substrate absorbed water and swelled, thus lifting the laminate. Even formica covered particle board kitchen countertops are not immune to damage if exposed to water on unprotected edges.

OK, I'm stumped. The gap I remembered on the end-cap was on the rear, not the front. It's not at all clear to me where this water is coming from. Is there a list of usual suspects to check/correct?

davelinde said:

OK, I'm stumped. The gap I remembered on the end-cap was on the rear, not the front. It's not at all clear to me where this water is coming from. Is there a list of usual suspects to check/correct?

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I don't know about the usual places to check, but when we bought our Cyclone from Lakeshore RV, they made a point of telling us that we needed to inspect the roof and vents on the roof for any cracking or openings in the caulking on top and on the sides. They said to check it at least every 6 months or more for any new cracks. Any cracks are supposed to be sealed with Dicor.

I'm still stumped here. I've gone into the rig after each heavy rain and cannot find any signs of water. However I am seeing some deformation of the wall panel in this area both inside and outside. It's like the water is getting inside the panel and must be getting pulled into the end of the counter. For sure I need to stop this. For sure I have no clue how.

I'm in central Florida now and will be looking for suggestion on someone who might be able to evaluate this before it gets worse and suggest a way to repair it. Really not happy with this...

Dave, look outside and see what is mounted (screwed) on the outside wall in that area. Might be an awning bracket, a light, and such. They can leak and the water WILL run inside the wall.

Looking at the floorplan for your 3210 (had to find one on a dealer website), you've also got the bedroom window adjacent to the vanity. Could water be entering somewhere around the frame on the vanity side and coursing down to the top? If you can find a dealer near you that can do the SealTech test, they might be able to locate where the leak(s) are.

hmmm... well the awning did take a beating in a sudden squall and one bracket was ripped off. I repaired that one and it's not near the leak - but there IS a bracket near the leak that looks good - but I did not check it. And... as noted there is a window in the area - I'm considering taking it apart just to see since it looks OK but might not be OK.

I like the leak test idea and will try to find out what that will cost me to have done somewhere around central FL.

THANKS ALL for the pointers.

Dave, we had a window leaking on the Horn. The caulking looked good...but....The frame seemed to be not flush with the outside wall down the sides. I could never see any water trails on the wall. It was running inside the wall and getting the carpet wet. I cleaned all the caulking around the window and recaulked the frame and also down the sides. The leak is now gone. Look at the inside window frame and see if you see a water trail in the dust. Not saying you have dirty window frames. Water leaks are tuff to find.