Problem after Problem with new RV

[LarryDel]

Lots of problems with out new coach. More recent we found water in two of the outside compartments. Service man thinks its condensation. It was about 1/2 in both compartments. I tried spraying a hose on the compartments and no additional water went in. More importantly we had a noreaster with a driving rain and strong winds. During the storm we noticed water seeping from under the refrigerator and down the living room flooring. Also noticed that the outside vent refrigerator cover is a little buckled. The service guy said that wouldn't cause the leak. Should we use some type of seal around the perimeter of the vent. Probably should replace the cover but we had the full body paint. Can the vents be made to match the paint scheme.

Quality seems to be a thing of the past when building these
RV's.

I welcome your comments, Larry

[CapeDave]

Think like water!
It may sound stupid but it does work, my last leak was on the front side
of the vent over the front bunk. Sealant not adhered down, hidden under the
plastic were it hinges.
Good luck in your search!

[loggenrock]

re: fridge. Look at the bottom seam accessed from the lower outside panel. I found ours needed to be recaulked.
Compartments. the comment about holes that cables run thru is valid. Discovered they had sealed a cable accessing 1 outside compartment thru a large hole. That was good. Issue was the cable was run thru a split plastic wire loom to protect the cables from chafing. Acted like a tube - water could enter from the outside into the split loom, only to run out inside the compartment. Simply a poor design.
Compartments take 2... Check the seams where the compartment meets the bottom of the camper floor, and meets the sidewall of the rig. They use a piece of weatherstripping type material. I used roofing tar to make sure they were water tight joints.
Bottom line - climb underneath with a good light and start looking!

[MrSeven21]

Beware of any water in your coach. We had a Keystone Laredo Fifth Wheel purchased brand new in 04. One day my wife found a magazine that was on the night stand beside the bed was soaked. Upon further investigation a small leak was found on the roof seem where it meets the front cap. It seems the roof was leaking from day one and it finally came out on the night stand and the door side of the coach. Long story shortened, The 5er went back to the factory and all carpets and all wood that was touching the carpet was replaced as well as the Entire right or the camper as it was de-laminating, Finally got unit back 8 months later. On our first trip I notice the rear tires are showing steel belts coming thru the tires. It seem Keystone had bad axles that year the camber was welded wrong on a lot or units. Keystone had no recall as they determined most units tire wear would never become an issue while under warranty, and would deal with it on a case by case basis. They replaced them and the tires! My point is BEWARE OF WATER LEAKS. Like others have said learn to fix the small stuff yourself. Goodluck and happy camping.

[Racine96]

I used to have a TT with a closet that was in the slide. During winter, my wife who used to put a lot of cloth on the bottom of the closet noticed it got wet. There was no leak from anywhere. I asked her to remove her pieces of clothing from the bottom. No more wet areas in the bottom of the closet. It seems the slide closet was not well insulated, and the change in temp between outside and inside produced the wetness. She quit putting her polos in the bottom of the closet, and we never experienced wetness after that. Just what we learned.

[ron_dittmer]

Hi Larry,

According to your profile, you bought a Coachmen 21RS Freelander. Apparently yours was built on a Friday afternoon. The Coachman Freelander lineup is an entry level family of motor homes, not known to be made with the highest of RV standards. But even so, it should not be taking on water in so many ways. I would be concerned that the rig was built 6 months to a year ago taking on water all that time, making lots of irreparable structural damage and mold growing in hidden places.

I advise to try your best to trade it for another brand new unit, even if you have to pay money to make it happen. Saying farewell to the mold spore health risk along with long term structural troubles would be worth it to me.

[BFL13]

I would go on the roof and take off the cover for the fridge vent up there. (Scrape out the goop on each of four screw tops to unscrew) Look down with flash light for any sign of water above the lower side vent. Around the vent is the Dicor that might be flawed--easy fix. The wind might have forced water up and over under the cover, but not likely.

Side compartments, look up inside for any wire access holes not sealed so that water might be from the wet floor too.

How can the side vent be buckled and still fit? Also it is plastic. is the opening out of shape too?

Horror story-- a tree fell on a friend's Class A in the middle, and squashed/twisted things some up and down its length, not just where the tree was. Eg, the front window won't fit back in. Not very likely, but if your rig was "rolled" and repaired to be sold as new, things could be out of shape and could have leaks. (Very unlikely)

[ppine]

It is diappointing enough to have issues with an older used RV.
I cannot imagine what it is like to have problems with a new one.

[azrving]

1/2 an inch of condensation? The guy is an idiot

[Tom_Barb]

midnightsadie wrote:
there is no quality in the rv world. .

Maybe in the lower costly coaches, but in the higher end coaches we would hope there is.
This thread is another example of the 2000-2007 coaches are a better value.

[klutchdust]

My 09 Cambria had a windshield leak but only in heavy rain and sometimes power washing. it wasn't until I had the windshield replaced did we find the issue. A bead of windshield caulk was amiss and under certain conditions would allow water to drip down the inside.
I like the idea of pressure testing.

[DutchmenSport]

Our previous travel trailer, Outback 298RE, had a slide in closet in the bed room. After one trip we were removing dirty laundry from that closet and everything was wet. Examining the bottom of the hanging cloths that touched the bottom of the closet, all of that was wet too. Camper was still less than a year old.

I went on a mad search trying to figure out where that water came from that soaked the carpet on the bottom of the closet and absorbed into the hanging clothes touching it. It was WET.

I sprayed water from all directions on that slide out. I couldn't make it leak. Every time I washed the camper, every time we went through a rain storm, every time we towed in the rain after that, I'd check to see if that carpet was wet. I did this for the next 4 years, and it never got wet again.

We've since traded that trailer, but to this day, I still do not know what made that closet floor sopping wet!

Sometimes, mysteries just never get solved. I certainly hope you can figure yours out though. My first thoughts would be the refrigerator condensation is the problem. Good luck.

[Mandalay_Parr]

Mobile techs are a good idea.
Also independent service companies can do warranty work

[donn0128]

Pay for a sealtest to be done. That will point any and all leaks. Then learn to do your own repairs. I know its frustrating, but it is what it is in the RV industry.

[midnightsadie]

there is no quality in the rv world. learn to do repairs yourself, or wait for the dealer to half ### repair it. when you do need a repair you can,t handle ,call a mobil tech .