Water leak Mystery

Greetings, I am new to posting on forums so I will give this my best shot. We bought a 2013 Elkridge 34TSRE in October of 2014. It was a new RV at purchase. On a rainy trip in June I found standing water and carpets were soaked on bothe the dining slide and the kitchen slide. While the trailer is stationary there are no leaks and the Dealer has tried to replicate but has not been able to. I was wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar problem and if they found a solution to it. My wife is fit to be tied over this and I would like to keep her happy and my sanity intact.

Lynn Halvorsen
New Heartland owner but experienced owner
2013 Elkridge 34 TSRE
2012 Chevy Silverado HD 2500

Hello Lynn and welcome to the forum. I'm sure that someone here has had a problem similar to yours and will have some helpful advice.
If you look under the slide in the area of the coach floor, near the corners I think you should see some black foam or rubber triangles.
If you do not see them, give Heartland a call and ask if they should be there.
574-262-8030

Peace
Dave

Check the seal in the forward corner under the retracted slide. It may be loose or not sealing enough to keep out the water thrown up by the tires.

Go into your coach, shut the door, you need it somewhat dark inside, and look at the bottom corners of the slides. If you see daylight...thats where the leak is. Call HL service and explain to them what your issue is. If you need the foam blocks..they might send to you and you could install them yourself. That would save you a trip to your dealer.

Thanks for the information. As the trailer has been at the dealer since July 7, 2014 I have not been able to investigate your suggestions. I will hopefully get it back in the next couple of days and will be able to explore the options you have given me. The dealer has tried but has failed to recreate the leak so I am going to have to find the leak myself and take pictures. Not impressed so far with the dealer or Heartland at this point. Maybe there will be some redeeming factors here soon. Again thanks for your help.

Same type of thing, happened to us. I really believe it was the water being flung off the tires. There are no fender wells on these caoches, so if the ground is wet and you are moving. Your throwing water off the tires at speed. You didnt use the black tank flush by any means did you? Those anti-syphon valves are known to do this too.

Well unfortunately Heartland thinks that since they cannot recreate it I am trying to getr something here and will not try to find a cause. I to beleive that it is the tires but it is going to take some time. No we had just left our home and the trailer was dry when we loaded it. Did your problem get resolved?

LAHalvy said:

Well unfortunately Heartland thinks that since they cannot recreate it I am trying to getr something here and will not try to find a cause. I to beleive that it is the tires but it is going to take some time. No we had just left our home and the trailer was dry when we loaded it. Did your problem get resolved?

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Did you look inside like Bob suggested in post #4?

Is your dealer telling you things or have you contacted Heartland yourself?

We had the same problem at the back two slides on our 34QSRL when traveling in the rain. Carpets were wet when the slides were put out. It was caused by the tires throwing up water and getting under the slide. Mud flaps behind the rear tires solved the problem.

My BIL had the same problem with his Sundance. It was from tires throwing water and he did some caulking and got it stopped. No problems in the last 3 years.

I used this thread and sent it to the dealer. Thanks for all of the good help. As a result the dealer has added extra sealing material around the dining room slide on the passenger side. I will look at the mudflaps and see if that helps as well. As far as Heartland goes, I am not impressed. Jamie, the warranty claim person that I spoke to said that since the dealer could not recreate the issue it is not a warranty item. He suggested that I contact my Insurance company and have them start a claim for the water damage. He then stated that they (Heartland) would be happy to assist me with the repairs. I am glad that others have had a great experience with Heartland customer service, but as we all now, there is always an individual who is employed by the company who is not there for the right purpose. My experience with Heartland Warranty was awful. Stalkups (the Dealer) was in a bad situation. They sold me the trailer as a new unit with a warranty. Heartland refused to pay to find the problem and fix it. Heartland had no skin in the game but Stalkups would have a reputation as a bad dealer. I have found many posts on this thread that praise Heartland but destroy the Dealers. In this case, I investigated for myself and found that the dealer was trying to help, actually spent some of their own money to try a fix, while Heartland sat back and let the Dealer take the heat. Not impressed at all with Heartland.

I got to take the trailer out again on August 22. Ran into some rain near Billings Mt and stopped in Laurel just as we did in June. Guess what. Water in the trailer again. Fortunately it wasn't as much as the last time and I could see that it was coming in from below the Kitchen slide. Took a video of it this time and notified both the Dealer and Heartland. Only after threats of posting the video on social media did I finally get a response out of both Heartland and the Dealer. Turns out that the wiperseal on the kitchen slide needed to be replaced. So now I am fighting with them to inspect the unit and replace any items that where damaged. I hope that soon this nightmare will end. I will be in touch with Heartland again today. Hopefully they will spring for a mold test to ease the mind of a customer. My thought is that they will again follow the lead of the Service manager and if I can't smell it there is nothing wrong. Kind of like "I used 3,000 psi pressure washer and could not get it to leak."

We purchased a 2013 Elkridge from Crisp RV Center Washington brand new. We have had nothing but trouble with water leaks. Heartland Customer Service has not be concerned or helpful. Leaking at the large window in the back. Finally had to have the complete back wall replaced. The Dealer found moisture in the adjacent side walls and kept the back wall off for a time to try and let it dry out. This summer we noticed something happening on the floor of the bedroom slide out. We removed the bed to get a better look. Yes, more water damage. Thank goodness my husband was able to replace the board and find where the bottom trim on the outside of the camper had spots of chaulking but not it all places so the water comes in. Thanks goodness not all down the wall. We did not waste out time contacting Heartland. The minute your one year warranty is out - it doesn't matter if it is poor construction - they wash their hands of you.
Wanted to know if other Elkridge owners have had similar leaking issues and what you did to find and fix them. We are not in a place to get rid of this camper and the Dealer won't take it as a trade in. BUT when I am in the place to buy another camper, it will never be a Heartland and I am not sure if we will use the same Dealer.
Thanks for any suggestions and tips.

Found that the Kitchen slide seal was bad. Had it replaced. The dealer drove it in a light storm and said it was fixed. I have yet to take it somewhere when it has rained on the trip. So I do not know I the problem was fixed or not. Had to post all over their facebook page to get help, even while it was under warranty. Not impressed.

So apparently your dealer did not inspect the slide seals the 1st time. Is that correct??

The wiper seal was bad on the Kitchen slide. Since the repair has been made we have not had any issues. But it does show that the company believes that they have done everything right and will not accept that maybe one got out that had a problem. Really disappointed with the whole process. Thanks

You do have point. But your coach is at least 2 years old. Slide seals can get sticky and will pull loose when you put the slides out. These are the things as owners we need to inspect and correct from time to time. When was the last time you inspected ALL the caulking and repaired as needed.

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emizelle1 said:

We purchased a 2013 Elkridge from Crisp RV Center Washington brand new. We have had nothing but trouble with water leaks. Heartland Customer Service has not be concerned or helpful. Leaking at the large window in the back. Finally had to have the complete back wall replaced. The Dealer found moisture in the adjacent side walls and kept the back wall off for a time to try and let it dry out. This summer we noticed something happening on the floor of the bedroom slide out. We removed the bed to get a better look. Yes, more water damage. Thank goodness my husband was able to replace the board and find where the bottom trim on the outside of the camper had spots of chaulking but not it all places so the water comes in. Thanks goodness not all down the wall. We did not waste out time contacting Heartland. The minute your one year warranty is out - it doesn't matter if it is poor construction - they wash their hands of you.
Wanted to know if other Elkridge owners have had similar leaking issues and what you did to find and fix them. We are not in a place to get rid of this camper and the Dealer won't take it as a trade in. BUT when I am in the place to buy another camper, it will never be a Heartland and I am not sure if we will use the same Dealer.
Thanks for any suggestions and tips.

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I have a question about your post. Were the water leaks from new or after you had the coach for a while. Inspecting and resealing all caulking is the owners responsibility after 90 days from new/drive off the lot. If you rely on a dealer to give the good service you need....don't bet on it. When the leaks 1st started you needed to call HL service yourself and not rely on your dealer. No one can help you if you don't help yourself.

I believe the post you're questioning is a year old.

Paul, you are correct...but...these owners may have been their own worst enemy.

The problem has been resolved. The trailer was less than a year old so the seals were not bad by age, they were bad by install. Heartland wanted to find an excuse to not honor the warranty.