2010 Edge M21 Very dissapointed - water leak!

dplantz

Member
I am the 2nd owner of a 2010 M21 Previous to me owning the original owner kept it under a shed on his farm. Here at my house it sits in the driveway in Texas. Last time we went camping, my wife mentioned the floor was kinda "squishy" right by her corner of the bed ( the corner that is adjacent to the corner of the sofa) and I should check it out. This is on the drivers side of the camper the side the slide out is on. We got a decent rain couple weeks ago and so I went in and pulled up the linoleum there. It is wet, moldy and looks to be all along that wall by the bed about a foot in. Also looks like the rot runs partially under the jack knive sofa. I cannot really see anywhere obvious where it leaked in except perhaps the lower right corner of the wall where the slide-out is. Looks like the contact paper there may have seen some drippage. About a month ago I took off the exterior wheel well coverings and caulked them as per another post I seen about that being a source to leak. But it rained since then and so I know it is probably not from that area. Is it common for these to leak around the slide out? I looked at all the rubber seams and they look normal to me. I checked the roof and also looked underneath, all looks ok HELP!
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
One thing you might want to check is the pump as it is located near where your leak is. The pump is in the boxed in area on the left side of the underbed storage area. You just have to remove the screws and cover to access it. If, by chance, it is leaking, the floor could be acting like a sponge. I had an M21, but did not have any leak problems.
 

dplantz

Member
thanks, I have a question. Is this pump only used with the under camper water storage? I have never filled that tank yet. I admit I have ran the 12v pump but only briefly to ensure it worked. The camper is at the repair facility now, I will call them and ask them to look into this area
 

dplantz

Member
Well I got back my M21 from the camper RV place and they came back with this estimate. $10,370 to repair this camper! They want to tear out everything inside, and lay down a brand new floor from front to back! I am beyond belief. This camper has only been used about 10 times total since 2010 I personally think it could just be patch repaired, but in this case of the RV place and the insurance agent they could not even tell me where they think the leak originates from. They both said the roof is fine, the windows are fine, the slide out rubber boots are ok. etc... The only area they point to is a small about 3" crack in the bottom left corner of the slide out in the fiberglass, and that part does not really even come in contact with the camper. And then they noticed 3 small nails that appear to have originated from the inside floor molding that for some reason have poked out the trimIMGP4928.jpg piece on the outsde I am posting picturesIMGP4929.jpgIMGP4927.jpg
 

danemayer

Well-known member
dplanz,

Sorry to hear about this estimate, especially since no one is sure how the water got in.

One thing to consider is that while no one can find a problem now, it's possible that the original owner may have fixed something before you got the unit, but didn't realize there was hidden damage, or perhaps didn't want to spend the money to fix the damage.

Whether or not it's contributing to the water damage, the crack in the sidewall is a concern. It suggests the possibility of unusual forces being applied to the trailer.

You might want to consider getting a 2nd opinion on the repairs. TXBobcat posted last March about some repair work that he had done in Pipe Creek, TX that you might want to review. That repair shop might have a very different price for you. Here's a link to Bob's Thread.
 

dplantz

Member
yea, I am beyond belief at this. The reason I bought a 2010 that was practically new was to avoid this sort of this. Like I said earlier, About a month ago I took off the exterior wheel well coverings as per a post in here about that being a source to leak. Am wondering if this was residual from that but like I said we had a recent heavy rain of about 4 inches over 2 days and when I pulled up the linoleum it was moist so am wondering if that is not the only source. It is not coming from the under bed pump, I checked that. I know it came with a one year warranty, but anyone think it would be worth a call to Heartland to see if that have any "known" issues around this area and leaking?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
It's always worth a call to Heartland. Call Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.

Keep in mind that 2010 trailers were built 3 - 4 years ago and warranties are for the original owner only. You might approach the discussion by first asking for their expertise on how to find the source of the problem and how to determine what repairs are needed. If they agree that it's an extensive repair not well matched to most dealer capabilities, you might ask if this is something that could be done at the factory.

I'd leave the $$ part of the discussion aside until the end of the discussion at which point you can ask what help might be available.
 

Chumbly

Active Member
Wow, it's so disturbing to hear this... man, we feel for you guys. Is there any way to take it back to where you purchased it? Really, if you look at how these units are made, IMHO, in order to properly fix this, you'd basically have to separate the frame and floor from the whole top, (because the floor is laid on the frame before they put on the walls, roof, etc.). To just rip out the floor up to the wall, would never be stable enough in my opinion, especially if the floor is only constructed of something like particle board...which I believe it is. In any event, I wish you well in this endeavor... please keep us posted on this.
 

dplantz

Member
No way to take it back I bought it almost a year ago from a private and we have only camped in it 4 times. They had it stored in a barn, so doubt if they really knew this issue existed either. It hardly ever rains here in Central texas so the problem was kinda hidden from me for a while. I just talked to another local RV dealership here who is a consignment dealer and repair facility As they dont sell new campers they are more willing to do repairs. Going to take it by there for estimate next week to spot repair the damage and try to find the source of the leak. It is about the only option I have, as no way am I paying 10k for a whole floor replacement and no promiser the leak id fixed.
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Some thoughts:
1. The top plywood is not marine and is only 3 ply so it would not have taken much water to cause the damage you have.
2. You need to try to make that the way the water got to the floor fixed before making your repairs.
3. As was mentioned the floor is laid on the frame. It is a sandwich of bottom and top thin plywood with styrofoam in the middle and has aluminum joists. So, you still have the structure to work with even if the top plywood is soft.
4. Based on the wall crack you posted a photo of something bad happened to this Edge that the seller or or a prior owner if the seller to you was not the original owner did not disclose. Cracks like that are not normal given how the Edge is constructed .
5. Here is how I would fix what you have described, granted this is work but certainly not $ 10,000 worth ! :
a. Patch the damaged area (does not have to be perfect) so that your overlay will have same height old floor under that area.
b. Put 1/2" plywood (marine if available, prime both sides and edges if not) over the existing floor and then put stick down vinyl tiles over that. I would use construction adhesive to install it and not make any holes in the floor. It would be OK to do it in several rectangles.
c.You would add about 50 lbs or so to trailer weight. I would stop the overlay at the bathroom door and put a transition strip there.
 

dplantz

Member
Really appreciate the info here, I will be looking into it. I also found a local RV company who do not sell new campers - they only do consignments and have a decent repair shop and they told me they do do patch work and want me to bring by next week for estimate. I think part of the problem with the 10k estimate for the other shop is they would like for me to probably trade mine in on a new one to sell me a new one and are not really interested in doing repairs. I really love the camper and dont want another one.
 

Bgriffi87

Member
Im having a similar issue with my M21. I have discoloured linoleum on both sides of my bed and water migration appears to be the culprit. On the door side of the camper my issue appeared to be a poor awning installation and has since been fixed. One thing I noticed if my trailer is not 100% level them the tip out acts like a water slide and introduces water into the unit. Does anyone know if there is an adjustment that can be made on a tip out so that it always slopes away from the camper body? After seeing your photos I am a little concerned with the integrity of my floor.
 

camr

Well-known member
One thing I noticed if my trailer is not 100% level them the tip out acts like a water slide and introduces water into the unit. Does anyone know if there is an adjustment that can be made on a tip out so that it always slopes away from the camper body?

it was the first rainy night that we spent in our Edge that made us realize that the slide roof had no angle away from the coach wall. Going forward, every time we dropped the trailer, we intentionally made sure the door side was slightly higher than the slide side so that rain ran away from the wall. BTW, we absolutely loved our Edge, and still have some of the nicest memories from our time with it. Ours was an M-22.
 
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