1998 U270 bedroom water leak

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1998 U270 bedroom water leak

June 20, 2016, 12:55:36 am

Hey there, I'm just trying to fix a (severe) water leak on my recently purchased 98 U270... I did not realize how bad it was when I purchased it and well, now I'm here, fighting rotten wood, mildew and delamination...

well, pictures say more than a thousand words, so here are a few:
Foretravel

My question is, does anyone have an idea on where this water could get into the coach?
I've checked the seam between rear cap and sidewall. There are two spots that did look a bit suspicious, the spot where roof, rear cap and sidewall meet and the fake air intake on the side. To be sure I added some caulking.
Of course I also had a look at the bedroom window, the caulking is not new anymore, but also doesn't look like it's leaking.

Did I miss a spot? Where could all that water come from?

Note: This is the drivers side, I noted also the passenger side is moist in the rear outside corner...

cheers,
Matt

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #1 – June 20, 2016, 10:04:53 am

That does look bad, but fixable with a lot of work. Check the clearance lights up high on the back of the coach, also the luggage rack rail. It could be coming from the shower if your shower is on the driver side. The trim strip above the lower compartment doors. Could be a small leak in the fresh water plumbing somewhere like in the bath area.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #2 – June 20, 2016, 10:19:31 am

Also, in case you haven't heard of this yet, you really should check your bulkheads. Do a search here and you'll find all the information you need. Best of luck -

Chris

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #3 – June 20, 2016, 10:25:20 am

Hmm... given the the fact that the subfloor was rotten in the area below the window, I would wonder if the window had been left open during rain storms at some point. If the leaks were from above, they could migrate down there, but areas in between would also be showing signs of damage as well.
Don

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #4 – June 20, 2016, 11:24:48 am

Mine wasn't that bad but I did notice water entry when I ripped up my carpet to replace it.

I would check a couple of things. Remove the rain gutter trim piece where the roof meets the side walls and caulk everything underneath it before replacing it. Remove the trim piece where the rear cap meets the side and roof cap and caulk everything underneath it before replacing it.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #5 – June 20, 2016, 11:31:27 am

Quote from: Matt_frbrd – June 20, 2016, 12:55:36 am

Did I miss a spot? Where could all that water come from?

I don't know, is this a crazy idea...?
Have a helper on a ladder flood the outside of the coach, one area at a time, with a garden hose, and look around inside with a good flashlight for water running in...

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #6 – June 20, 2016, 01:12:26 pm

Is the water damage on the same side as the bathroom shower? If so, it might behoove you to check the caulking around the shower skylight. Water can migrate to places you wouldn't expect.
Our skylight leaked, depending on rain/wind direction, water volume, and coach "tilt", sometimes in the bedroom overhead cabinet up against the bathroom wall, and sometimes into the shower itself.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #7 – June 20, 2016, 02:34:22 pm

Seal your coach up, install a low volume fan inside the coach. Turn it on and go on roof with a spray bottle with soap/water mixture and spray everything that's attached to the roof then do the sides, front and back. You should find your leak somewhere.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #8 – June 20, 2016, 06:47:54 pm

Quote from: rbark – June 20, 2016, 02:34:22 pm

Seal your coach up, install a low volume fan inside the coach. Turn it on and go on roof with a spray bottle with soap/water mixture and spray everything that's attached to the roof then do the sides, front and back. You should find your leak somewhere.

I don't see how recirculating air in the coach will create pressure. One window opened with a fan sealed to the outside at that window might create some pressure.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #9 – June 21, 2016, 12:19:28 am

Oops, that's what I ment!

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #10 – June 21, 2016, 12:33:20 am

FT fit a fan into roof vent over toilet and seal it up then build up pressure but very carefully as you can pop windows.
JohnH

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #11 – June 21, 2016, 10:17:45 am

On cars I have watched window leak gurus use just the hvac fan to create enough to pressure with soapy water on the outside to find leaks. On a motor home would the dash fan and the roof airs make enough pressure withou over pressurizing?

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #12 – June 21, 2016, 10:20:14 am

Quote from: its toby – June 21, 2016, 10:17:45 am

On cars I have watched window leak gurus use just the hvac fan to create enough to pressure with soapy water on the outside to find leaks. On a motor home would the dash fan and the roof airs make enough pressure withou over pressurizing?

In a word, NO.

The roof A/C's just recirculate air-- intake inside, exhaust inside. There is no "makeup" air from outside.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #13 – June 21, 2016, 10:25:52 pm

Hey guys,

thank you for all your replies. In the meantime I replaced the rotten wood (added some photos to the album: Foretravel ).
I also sealed all around the rear cap, the side trim and the trim that connects roof to the sidewalls. Partly I did take it off, partly I just added caulking. Though they used stainless steel screws, some can't be opened anymore.
The previous owner told me he had a leak in the shower skylight and fixed it. I checked it again and it really seems to be fine. The shower is on the drivers side, yes, but I could not find any obvious water traces from the water pipes.

What I did find - and that really shocked me - is that there are water traces on the floor all around the coach. The closer I looked, the more I found. It seems like as if those water spots came from water sprayed up by the wheels. Looking into the wheel wells I can see there's no spray protection at all, the water is spraying up and against the sidewall structure, exactly where the floor plywood meets the fiberglass. This obviously had been glued together back then in 1998, but there's no glue left now...
Well, you can see it in this picture: Foretravel
I was thinking about sealing the fiberglas-steel angle connection with a good layer of foam sealant (unfortunately that'll make it very unpleasant to remove the fender in the future) and glue an additional aluminum angle to the lower end of the steel angle and the fiberglas that holds the floor insulation (like I did here: Foretravel). Unfortunately I won't be able to rivet it this time as I don't have enough time to remove the fenders, so I hope a good industrial glue/sealant will be able to hold it (thinking about liquid nails here).

Or do you guys have any other ideas on how to fix that? I'm a bit disappointed about seeing this, I was expecting one of the highest quality US coach manufacturer would have thought of spray water...

cheers,
Matt

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #14 – June 21, 2016, 11:34:59 pm

"Or do you guys have any other ideas on how to fix that? I'm a bit disappointed about seeing this, I was expecting one of the highest quality US coach manufacturer would have thought of spray water..."

Matt, I have a 93 and it is dry as a bone. The issues appear to be a lack of care and upkeep, not a factory caused issue. looks like you have a full plate. Good luck with your project.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #15 – June 22, 2016, 12:09:04 am

Matt, I agree on some of the issues as to water intrusion as I too have found some "lacking common sense" finishes over the years but I have to say it again that those trim strips can be one of the biggest issues for water intrusion and MUST be checked at least every 6 months for screws to be tight. In fact all over the coach ones must be too. I took every one out and pumped sealant into the holes and tightened them up. There is another place for possible water to get in and that is when the bay doors are open, if you look up at the top of framework that the doors cover and at floor level those joints around doors will allow road spray to get into framework. I have caulked every inch at all openings. Do not use silicone use a good polyurethane one in clear.
I also posted recently about the vertical vent openings behind airbags at rear of front tires and also in front of the rear tires again behind the left airbag. I have sealed mine up and now the bays are dry and clean. I do not see a need for them at all.
JohnH

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #16 – June 22, 2016, 10:45:27 pm

Hey guys,
sorry if my last post was somewhat insulting on the FT quality, guess I got carried away...
Today I'm feeling better about my purchase for a few reasons:

1.) I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel, having only a few trim pieces left for recaulking
2.) I foamed up the connection inbetween fenders, sidewall and inner steel angle and I think the result is definitely acceptable, I don't expect spraywater to enter there anytime soon again.
3.) I raised the RV today by the airbags to their full extend and it just looks awesome that way

4.) The odor of rotten, wet wood is slowly dimishing.

I can smell that there must be another wet, rotten spot somewhere around the entry door, but havn't found it yet... perhaps the door itself...?

Cheers,
Matt

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #17 – June 22, 2016, 10:48:31 pm

@John: I checked the ventilation openings towards the bay today and they're covered with metal plates (obviously by factory), only allowing a small amount of air in. I will keep an eye on them, but I think they're somewhat necessary to provide sufficient ventilation to the battery compartment...

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #18 – June 23, 2016, 09:16:36 am

Rotten Entry Step

Hi Matt,
You might read a little about some people's experience with the entry steps (one example in the link above) on our coaches. Maybe this could be the source of your smell at the entry door? Glad to see your progress. For a nearly 20 year old coach, I believe you will be pleased with it once you're finished.

Chris

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #19 – June 23, 2016, 02:08:57 pm

Matt, I have a vent in floor of battery bay so that is why I covered the vertical ones up. You actually will get quite a lot of spray from tires thru' those vents I mentioned.
JohnH

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #20 – June 23, 2016, 02:21:59 pm

It's also why (prolly Brett) made a cover to fit underneath the gen set bay.

Re: 1998 U270 bedroom water leak

Reply #21 – June 27, 2016, 12:29:50 am

Well, that rotten smell in the doorway wasn't the floor... it was the door itself. There wasn't much wood left in there and almost all behind the vinyl covering turned into dirt.... So I just ripped the complete door apart, only left the steel frame and hinge in place as I didn't wanted to mess with those 100s of screws that're holding the hinge in place. I am now completely renewing the door now. We had a shower today and thankfully it seems like I finally got the coach (not yet the door) watertight - at least the new floor in the bedroom stayed dry.
I plan on posting some more photos to my website and publish the repair experiences soon, will let you guys know!

So long,
Matt

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