Wet bays after driving in heavy rain.

[craig ketels]

I've got a 2015 vista 30t. On our way home from Minnesota we drove in heavy rain for some time. One bay on drivers side in front of rear wheels had significant water in it. One bay on the passenger side in back of the rear wheels had significant water in it. All other bays were bone dry. Can't figure out if the problem was from road/underneath or top side door leaking. Weather strip seems in place though the hinge side as always is pinched. No sure door alignment is good. Inched the latch catch, coach side in for a tighter close. Anyone else experiencing this problem?
Thanks, Craig

 

[John Canfield]

Empty the bay, put a bright cordless light in the bay and look for light leakage (might need to do this in the dark.)

 

[afchap]

I have experienced it twice over the years.  Early on,  the cure was running fingered silicone sealant over the outside of any seams and then applying spray undercoat to the outside surface of the compartments.  Later I had the problem on muddy roads in Alaska and found it was intrusion at the seals where the tires slung water/ mud. I stopped that by blocking the gap in the tire sling path by the seals between fiberglass & compartment frame with pieces of foam cut from pool noodles.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I've experienced this as well, on two different rigs. A lot of wires and hoses run through the bays, and sometimes the transition holes have gaps (poor workmanship at the factory). I also saw one bay that physically was not well-attached to the body and had gaps along the edges. Last, the bays that have either batteries or LP tank will be vented and sometimes the vent design allows water to spray up and inside. Those bays are usually designated "not for storage" and thus not guaranteed to be fully dry, but usually the venting can be modified enough to deflect sprayed water and keep the area dry. May take some creativity, though.

John's suggestion of putting a bright light inside at night and then looking from the outside is a good one.

 

[John Canfield]

After our trip to Alaska, I found the inside of every bay coated with dust so obviously the doors weren't adjusted correctly.  Winnebago replaced the door seals (under warranty) and ran a bead of black goop where the two ends of the seals met. Since then, we don't have any intrusion issues.

 

[Rene T]

Or on a bright sunny day with the sun shining on that door, get inside  the compartment and have someone close the door.

 

[SuperMike]

As it is a 2015, assuming it was bought from a dealer, I would take it back and give them the problem. Lockers are not supposed to leak, poor manufacture. Here in the UK, that is called "not fit for purpose".

 

[Dragginourbedaround]

I had the same problem on my 2013 Adventurer. I bought a length of small diameter plastic hose from Home Depot and ran it up through the center of the weather stripping. That reinforces the weather stripping and it stays flush against the door. You can also buy new stripping from Winnebago, but its costly. I also tried plugging the holes when I could find them, but that didn't help very much.

 

[John Canfield]

There is a dislay advertiser in the FMCA magazine called Steele Rubber Products (steelerubber.com) which has "over 100 extrusions available" - or different profiles of seals. They are probably much cheaper than going to Winnebago.

 

[robmab]

I had a similar problem with my 2016 Sunstar, except in my case it was water being thrown from the tires and forcing its way into the bay through screw holes that were used to mount items inside the bay.  The Inverter and the slide controls had been mounted inside the bays, but no sealer had been used on the screws that penetrated the bay and into the wheel well.  Putting sealer on all the screws solved the problem. 

 

[cadee2c]

Or on a bright sunny day with the sun shining on that door, get inside  the compartment and have someone close the door.

And hope its someone who likes you and will let you out.