Driver side storage compartment is always wet

We have owned our 1993 Itasca Sunrise for ten years and all that time the outside storage compartment right behind the driver is always wet inside. We have had the seal replaced, the door re-hung etc but have run out of ideas what in the world could be wrong. 

The compartment appears to be a one piece metal box on its side with the opening forward so the only water that could get in would be through that opening but after the two actions mentioned we cannot think of anything else to do. The bottom of this compartment is covered with a piece of (felt-like) carpet and this is always wet unless we keep the compartment door open in a warm and dry spot and keep it open for several hours. As soon as we get the littlest bit of rain it is wet once again.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there a known solution??

Elly

Elly,

Is there a window above the compartment? If so, is it possible that the outside drains slots are plugged and water is leaking down through the bottom of the window and then down through the wall into the compartment? Just an idea to consider.

Richard

The window is a very good guess.  Let me see what else I can find out.

Is the compartment adjacent to a wheel well?  Could road spray be seeping in somehow?  We had a wet compartment in an 02 Dolphin and it turned out to be spray from the wheel seeping in aorund a seal where a wire passed through the compartment. Never leaked when sitting still or when the dealer tested it, but drive down a wet highway for 20 miles and water appeared inside.

I just posted a procedure to use for finding leaks and made it a sticky.  Gary - it's amazing how water will ingress through the unlikeliest places.  We used to have a leak on the boat once in a while - sometimes the water would travel 10 or 12 feet before it made its appearance in the cabin 

Elly -- we had problems with compartments adjacent to (in front of) both front wheel wells being wet. After several attempts by dealers, I finally cured the problems by going over all outside seams with silicone caulk. After that dried, I applied spray-on undercoat on the exposed surfaces by the tires and underneath. Haven't had any problems since. 

The compartment behind the driver side front wheel was a whole different matter ...the StoreMore compartment under the slide. It took a couple of years and many attempts by several dealers and myself to finally realize that water was getting on top of the compartment while driving or running down the inside of the slide seals while parked and the sitting on top of the compartment box and seeping inside. It was not possible to get other than eyeball access to the top of the box.  Winnebago had a dealership totally remove the storage compartment box from the slide, reseal it (especially the top), and reinstall. There have been no more problems.

Thanks for all your suggestions and especially to John for his tips on locating a leak and treating it.
A few more comments about our own situation: living in Edmonton we have a very dry climate. It is not likely that condensation is a problem. When we open the compartment at the end of the winter it will guaranteed be wet inside. Yes, it also gets wet when the until is standing still , not just when we are moving. We have tried the "lamp in the compartment" thing. We placed a lamp in the compartment, closed the door and did not see any light leaks. But because the compartment is so built-in it is not possible to see all the way around.  This is also the problem with the bubble treatment. Unless we regain the bodies we had when we were 5 years old  :-\  we could not possibly insert ourselves in the spaces where we would be able to see bubbles on seams.

How do you feel about these treatments:
1. Covering the walls of the compartment with 1/4" styrofoam sheets to help prevent condensation AND/OR
2. drilling two holes in the top in the rear facing wall of the compartment to help with ventilation (provided we can physically get there) AND/OR
3. checking the window drain holes and re-caulking all body seams in the area.

Finally we have have had this problem ever since we bought this unit in 1998. It is a 1993 27' Sunrise which we love. We have talked to every owner of a similar unit who we have met over the years. Most had the same problem and no one had a solution. Several mentioned that this is "a Sunrise thing". Every canvas chair we have stored in this compartment gets mouldy. The new rubber seal around the door opening did not make any difference. We'd love to solve it!

Elly

If there is a window above the leaky compartment that could very well be the source since it doesn't get wet when traveling.  For a test try using some good duct tape and seal off between the window and the frame along the bottom of the window and see if that corrects the problem.

Elly - just had a thought (first one today  ) - what about drilling a hole and threading in a fitting so you can hook up a source of compressed air and pressurize the compartment.  Maybe start with 5 or 10 psi and listen for leaks and/or spray soapy water anywhere you can reach.

Sorry for nor replying earlier. Was at meetings  in Toronto, a long way from Edmonton where we live.

John your idea of pressurizing the compartment itself is fascinating. However it will be winter in Alberta for quite a while yet and it is physically difficult to do anything, so at this time brainstorming is our only option. We are collecting ideas and suggestions, both diagnostic ideas and treatment ideas.

Ron, when I mentioned "storing chairs", I did not limit that to storing while standing still. The chairs were in there year round. It gets wet inside in the slightest bit of rain, when in storage (either rain or snow or both), of course in the RV wash and even at times when we could not remember having any rain. (Of course that rain might have fallen during one of our senior moments 

One more question: the wet compartment is more or less under the sofa which is against the wall on the drivers side. Also in that area is the hot water heater. Could this cause that wet dampness in the compartment? I cannot visualize how that could happen, but could it??

Elly

The quickest way to check for leaks is to put some bright lights in the compartment at night and look around for any light leakage with the doors closed.  You would be surprised at the pinholes in the edges of the caulking of the compartments.

It's all speculation and conjecture unless you go for the bright light idea at night like Mark suggests or my idea of pressurizing the compartment.

FrontrangeRVer said:

The quickest way to check for leaks is to put some bright lights in the compartment at night and look around for any light leakage with the doors closed.  You would be surprised at the pinholes in the edges of the caulking of the compartments.

Click to expand...

This works best with a raised rail diesel, but a friend told me about it and I checked out our TS before we took delivery. The salesman thought I was nuts

I crawled into the bay (5 large doors with a double pass thru) and when they closed the doors, no light. It is ;D tight

BernieD said:

The salesman thought I was nuts

Click to expand...

As a condition of sale for my unit, I was to be presented with a weight slip at closing as I was concerned with CCC.  I'm certain they thought I was a little wacky as well - doesn't matter, it's our money 

I too am a victim (sufferer) of the wet basement bay syndrome.

The storage bay directly behind the left (driver side) front wheel is always wet/damp inside.  This bay is in the slide and is nothing more than a sheet metal non-insulated box attached to the slide with a well sealed door on the outside.  I have previously sealed all seams with alluminum tape (almost of eternabound quality) and still it gets damp inside while just sitting.

I've read all the suggestions in this thread, and tried several of them.  I've convinced myself that it is not a window or slide seal leak.  The compartment is relatively small and I can see and feel all sides (top, bottom, ends, sides, door seal, etc...), inside and out,  nothing appears to be leaking.

I'll describe what I observed today and then ask my question.

When I first opened the bay today I remarked to myself that it didn't seem to be damp as usual.  No such luck....
The surface of things in the bay felt dry to the touch, the exposed carpet felt dry, but when I looked at the ceiling of the bay there were dozens of water droplets hanging from the metal ceiling of the compartment.

I started removing items and discovered that things were dry on top and wet on the bottom.  Even items that were suspended in air (as in loosely stacked) were dry on top and wet underneath.  When finally emptied, the compartment, except for the ceiling, was virtually dry inside.

Of course my metal propane gas stove was wet and rusty inside and my gas grill was wet and rusty inside.  Spare one pound propane bottles were wet and rusty.  same old, same old mold.......

Now my question;  Could the compartment be too well sealed?  Does it need ventilation?  Does it need insulation?
Our temperatures have ranged from the low teens to the low seventies over the last month.  That may be a contributor. 

I may drill some ventilation holes in the back (toward the rear) tomorrow and watch it for the rest of the winter.  I'll have to devise something to prevent water incursion later.  Any ideas beyond what's been discussed?  Anyone else solved their problem?

Lou;  We also have talked about drilling some small holes in the top of the rear facing wall of this storage box for ventilation.
Still, when you think of it, in order for these drops to form on the "ceiling" of your compartment, there must have been water in some form inside that compartment. So what and where is it?

We have actually thought of putting one of those bags inside with the little pellets that absorb water. In fact, we keep a thick layer of newspapers on the bottom and we like to think that this helps.

What I also find interesting is that our drippy compartment is in the main body, while yours is in the slide (we don;t have a slide-out), yet both of us have that problem only on the drivers side. Have you thought of a reason why on that side and not on the passenger side? We do have a small compartment there as well, and it is always bone dry. Another aspect of the mystery.


Elly

Elly,

My thoughts are that it's condensation, over time.  The walls are just metal (no insulation) and heat up and cool off rapidly.  With temperature changes who knows what can happen?  I'll get to that project soon, I hope.

Elly, did you try some of the suggestions here to find your leak? 

I too have condensation problems in the driver's side compartment right behind the front wheel...no leaks that I can find and the water beads on the underside of the medal sides of the compartment. No other areas that are carpeted get wet (except of course from the dripping water beads). I live in an area where the temp fluctuates greatly...yesterday was 75 after a few days of temps in the 40s and 50s. Would love to see some proposed solutions...maybe putting styrofoam on the metal parts of the compartment would help.

Kevin Perry
2007 Journey   

If you get water beads in there when you are not driving, then it has to be condensation. The choices are to insulate it, warm it or circulate air through it. Not of the approaches are 100% guaranteed, but should help.

If you try  to insulate, make sure the foam (or whatever) is firmly adhered to the walls. Otherwise you will just be hiding the water droplets behind a layer of foam.