Help with leaking bin doors

[Jasco]

Hi guys and gals, we just purchased our first fifth wheel, an Elkridge 29 bhck, a couple months ago and had to put it in storage for the winter (Texas winter 😊). The storage facility only had outside parking which is what we went with. We've got two small kids so yesterday as it's raining like crazy we ran through Chik-fil-a for breakfast and headed over to the storage place so I could winterize the new beauty. I found 2 bin doors that have been leaking and a decent amount of water has entered the passenger side pass through basement compartment and the outdoor kitchen compartment. From the looks of the basement door frame there was a hairline crack that I scraped clean and resealed. I am a fan of OSI Quad products so I used white and resealed it. As for the outdoor kitchen, it looks as if it has a glue on seal around the edge of the door that has shrunk around the bottom corners on both sides leaving a 3" gap where you could stick your finger through. The odd thing is that all the other bin doors use a press on seal that fits over an edge. I need to get this fixed asap obviously, but am not sure where to get the seal and why the glue on seal was used in the first place. I brought a heater with me to put in a bin for a while to dry things out as the carpet in the basement area was still wet. None of my outlets will work even with the truck plugged in a nd running. Any advice from seasoned pros out there? Sorry for spelling errors, I'm quickly typing this on my phone. Thanks for any info, Jason

 

[For20hunter]

Your 110V plugs will not work unless you have the trailer plugged into 110v or you get an inverter big enough to handle the watts and amps draw of the 110v appliance or device you want to run when not connected to power. If your near any 110v hookups or outlets, just run power too it while you need the 110v and then unhook when you are done. If you don't have access to that, maybe you have access to a portable generator that you can bring out and run it for power?

As far as the leaks go, that does not sound right. Are you able to post some pictures of the basement door frame crack and the big gap at the corners so we can visualize it? Either way, it sounds like you should call Heartland and send them some pictures of it too to start the process of getting it fixed. If you are not mechanically savvy you will end up having to schedule it in to the dealer or another repair facility to get the problem fixed.

 

[danemayer]

None of my outlets will work even with the truck plugged in a nd running.

Hi Jasco,

The outlets run off 120V AC provided by shore power or a generator. The truck sends 12V DC that will slowly charge the battery and help run 12V DC lights and other 12V DC appliances and subsystems.

If you want your outlets to provide 120V AC when not plugged into shore power, you'll need to install an inverter to convert 12V DC into 120V AC. And you'll need a way to keep the battery charged - solar perhaps.

Or you can carry a generator and plug the coach into the generator outlet.

If you're trying to run a heater than needs 120V, a generator is what's needed.

 

[MagnoliaTom]

Having your camper plugged into the truck will only give you 12v power, not 110v needed for the heater. As far as the door, you could fill the gap with some pipe insulation (or pool noodle) until it stops raining or until you can get it fixed correctly


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[MagnoliaTom]

Man you guys type fast


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[Jasco]

Thanks for the quick replys. I am heading back over this morning to further investigate. Ok, I understand the 12 v only now. Sounds like I'll have to drag it home for a few hours and run a cord to dry out. MagnoliaTom,brilliant idea for quick temp fix on the bin door using a pool noodle. My kids have a few laying around. I'll have to do a trade with them This site is fantastic. Thanks for the support Danemeyer and 20hunter.

 

[Jasco]

Here are some pics showing the bottom right and left of the outside kitchen bin door where the rubber seal was glued on. I used the pool noodle trick until l can find some new rubber seal to use.


Also there is a pic of the passenger side pass through bin door that I resealed yesterday. From the looks of it I think the water was coming in from the hinge. It seems like a bad design to have the frame, then the hinge screwed to the frame and then the seal underneath that connection. The water was just flowing in between where it was screwed to the frame of the door. I tried to seal it up really well so we will see.

Does anyone else have the low grade rubber glue on seal on any of their bins?

 

[Bones]

That almost looks like the seal was cut too short and they were trying to stretch it to fit.

 

[For20hunter]

I would agree with Bones, it was cut too short to begin with. I would just order a new seal and seal glue and replace it. It is an easy job and if you are handy and do it yourself you know it will be done right. You can call Heartland and order the seal or if you know what you are looking for, you can find it online.

Rod

 

[Bob&Patty]

You might take a sample of the seal to any RV parts house. They are a universal seal used on RV's. Use 3M weather strip adhesive (yellow) to glue it in place.Cut it a little longer than you need so it will not shrink when it gets cold. You might need to adjust the latch to make the door seal better to the seal.