lrmike
Member
Last weekend we took the 5vr (2009 Sundance 3300RC) out for the first time this year and had a very unpleasant surprise. Our daughter and her friend were using the bunks in the garage and when we were packing up found that the leg of the fold down bunk had pierced through the floor! The wood floor under the vinyl is soaked like a wet sponge and where the bunk was it pushed all the way through to the Styrofoam insulation.
I did a visual look over at the campground and noticed that where the ramp door’s jamb is installed there is an unsealed gap between the header piece and the two side pieces. The gasket around the ramp door appears fine and the witness marks on the jamb show it was seated all the way around.
We took a little time with it today and looked close. If I stand on a ladder in the garage I can see daylight through the gap in the jamb at the forward upper corner! Not a good sign! With my wife misting water on the outside (no hose, just a pump sprayer misting) I watched from the inside and within a few minutes a disturbing amount of water began pooling on the top of the ramp door and trailing down the jamb near the gasket. Now the best part – this water never pooled on the floor! I use the garage to store and transport a golf cart (electric) and have never noticed water standing on the floor – ever! The water was just finding its way down along the wall and under the vinyl. With no evidence of a leak prior to this it never occurred to me to check the door beyond making sure the seal was intact and the door fully closed.
I used an electronic moisture detector and checked the entire floor under the vinyl, taking readings at least ever square foot, often more. I found that about half of the floor registered 50% on the electronic scale, the maximum the tool can measure, and in several areas the probes just sunk into ‘nothing’ after they pierced the vinyl. The walls next to the floors showed under 15% even adjacent to the wettest areas. I did not want to check this way from underneath because the probes of the detector would pierce small holes in the moisture barrier under the garage.
At this point I’ve made an appointment for next week at my selling dealer to see what can be done. The ramp door was repaired once when the coach was 9 months old because it jammed up so tight it would not open.
Has anyone else had any significant water damage similar to this? Or any experience with the ramp doors and sealing? I know the Sundance is not the common toyhauler and I may post a link to this thread in the Cyclone arena as well.
In the pictures the numbers on the floor indicate the measured percentage of moisture at that point. I can literally poke my finger through the floor structure in the area around the hole!
I did a visual look over at the campground and noticed that where the ramp door’s jamb is installed there is an unsealed gap between the header piece and the two side pieces. The gasket around the ramp door appears fine and the witness marks on the jamb show it was seated all the way around.
We took a little time with it today and looked close. If I stand on a ladder in the garage I can see daylight through the gap in the jamb at the forward upper corner! Not a good sign! With my wife misting water on the outside (no hose, just a pump sprayer misting) I watched from the inside and within a few minutes a disturbing amount of water began pooling on the top of the ramp door and trailing down the jamb near the gasket. Now the best part – this water never pooled on the floor! I use the garage to store and transport a golf cart (electric) and have never noticed water standing on the floor – ever! The water was just finding its way down along the wall and under the vinyl. With no evidence of a leak prior to this it never occurred to me to check the door beyond making sure the seal was intact and the door fully closed.
I used an electronic moisture detector and checked the entire floor under the vinyl, taking readings at least ever square foot, often more. I found that about half of the floor registered 50% on the electronic scale, the maximum the tool can measure, and in several areas the probes just sunk into ‘nothing’ after they pierced the vinyl. The walls next to the floors showed under 15% even adjacent to the wettest areas. I did not want to check this way from underneath because the probes of the detector would pierce small holes in the moisture barrier under the garage.
At this point I’ve made an appointment for next week at my selling dealer to see what can be done. The ramp door was repaired once when the coach was 9 months old because it jammed up so tight it would not open.
Has anyone else had any significant water damage similar to this? Or any experience with the ramp doors and sealing? I know the Sundance is not the common toyhauler and I may post a link to this thread in the Cyclone arena as well.
In the pictures the numbers on the floor indicate the measured percentage of moisture at that point. I can literally poke my finger through the floor structure in the area around the hole!
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