Leak or Condensation?

tmcleanrn · 04-29-2010, 12:47 PM

Soooo......been camping for 5 days now and having a great time. But on day 3 we had a very steady drizzle for about 4 hours in the afternoon. Went to bed that night and woke up early, about 5am. Reached onto the shelf to get my glasses and missed the shelf and touched the corner of the bedroom slide and my fingers got all wet

Checked it out a few hours later. Horizontal corner across/above our bed (at the molding) and down the corner on my side of the slide were wet. Although we couldn't see active "dripping", when I ran my fingers across those areas, they would be wet. However, the carpet in the corner was NOT wet. Haven't noticed this before, but haven't looked for it before, either. It was pure accident I discovered it now.

The campground we are in won't let us run a hose to check it ourselves. There is a FR dealership 30 mins away. We are checking out tomorrow with another trip planned in 2 weeks. We do store our rig here, and.......we have 13 days until our 1 year warranty is up

I probably already know the answer to this question......leak or condensation? any one else with this problem? suggestion?

Thanks, Tracey
2009 Cardinal 3100RK

tmmar · 04-29-2010, 12:58 PM

Are you in a warm area and using the AC? I had a problem when I first got my unit. We were in Florida in August and we were using the AC. The AC units are set up so that there is a tube running inside the ceiling from the AC to the side of the unit and down wall of the unit to underneath the unit to carry the condensation from the AC. Turns out, after several trips to local dealers and finally back to the factory, that when the unit was built, someone stapled through this tubing and caused the leak. The leak soaked the ceiling and eventually began to drip from the ceiling. FR replaced the tubing and it's been fine since.
Just a thought and maybe something to consider.

NWJeeper · 04-29-2010, 01:06 PM

By any chance are you using a radiant propane heater instead of the furnace for heat? Something like the Mr Heat or Olympian catalytic heaters? Most people who use these to save on power don't understand that the byproduct of these heaters is water in the form of condensation. I had exactly the same thing happen several years ago when I borrowed my dad's RV. He had a catalytic propane heater and we ran that for heat through the night. Woke up to the same situation, condensation on the walls, running down to the mattress and soaking it, it was everywhere but the carpet.

SLCaton · 04-29-2010, 01:06 PM

Hey Tracey - I'm new here but I've been a full-time live-in in my Sandpiper 345RET, have spent the majority of the last 2 years in the southeast (mostly in Florida!) and during the 'a/c months' we, too, have noticed the condensation in the master BR, mostly under the bed in the cubby holes at the floor (also condensation behind the sofa in the slide in the living area). Got a small dehumidifier and it works beautifully! I know other RV'ers that have more than one dehumidifier in even shorter units than mine!

Just a suggestion...

tmcleanrn · 04-29-2010, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the quick replies......The temp here has been in the high 60's, so we're not using the A/C. We are using (and always have used) a small ceramic, portable, countertop heater that we place in the living room. It does heat the whole rig, tho. Haven't noticed the moisture before, even when using the heater. Don't have a humidifier, and haven't thought of using one.

We really worried there is damage in the wall that could be MAJOR bucks to fix later down the road. My parents spent almost 10 grand fixing dry rot in their old rig. I'm hear to tell ya, we don't have that kind of $$$ to spend on dry rot !!

Thanks, Tracey
2009 Cardinal 3100 RK

grhodes50 · 04-29-2010, 02:23 PM

If it was my trailer, I would get it to the dealership. Let them check it out and document everything before the warranty runs out. If it is a leak, then your covered. It's better to be safe than sorry.

shineysideup · 04-29-2010, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmcleanrn

Thanks for the quick replies......The temp here has been in the high 60's, so we're not using the A/C. We are using (and always have used) a small ceramic, portable, countertop heater that we place in the living room. It does heat the whole rig, tho. Haven't noticed the moisture before, even when using the heater. Don't have a humidifier, and haven't thought of using one.

We really worried there is damage in the wall that could be MAJOR bucks to fix later down the road. My parents spent almost 10 grand fixing dry rot in their old rig. I'm hear to tell ya, we don't have that kind of $$$ to spend on dry rot !!

Thanks, Tracey
2009 Cardinal 3100 RK

I have had condensation on the wall corners of my rear slide when camping around the freezing mark. The little heater will heat the trailer. It is amazing the amount of humidity that people will add to a trailer (there is 4 of us and a little dog). A lot of people think that it is the propane furnace causing the humidity.

I usually leave a window and a roof vent open ( a little bit... ) as much as I can. I could feel the dampness on the walls in the corner. I assume that this is partly because of the thermal bridging between the outside of the trailer and the inside. The aluminum framing is not insulated so it conducts the cold straight through to the inside. I can actually see the framing of my trailer on a cold day from the outside when the sun is starting to come up!

rockwood06 · 04-29-2010, 08:23 PM

The average person produces about 400-450 BTU's almost motionless, this heat load along with other factors increases the work load on your a/c unit. When heat is produces humidity increases. There are three thing that the a/c system does...Filter the air, Dehumidifies and Removes Heat. Most people have the wrong concept about an a/c system (Air Conditioning) they seem to think that the a/c system cools the room or space, this is wrong but it is the end result, with out getting technical the a/c system removes the heat from the air within the space and transfers it to the out side. When heat is removed from the air, then is when the air is cool. Remember one thing as it starts to get hot, keep a CLEAN FILTER and make sure all of your returns are clear. If the air in the return becomes restricked all of the electrical componets work harder and this go's for your home as well. About 85% of all a/c failers are electrical. One other thing before the cooling season starts, turn the breaker off to the a/c unit and tighten all electrical connections. Loose connection will cause motors and fans to over amp and shut down, now you have no a/c. There are safety devises on some componets and they are called thermal over loads, there are almost like a fuse to protect the motor once the motor over heats from a loose connection the thermal over load will open the circuit to the motor and then the motor will shut down, once the motor cools down then the motor will restart until it over heats again as long as there is no damage to the motor. Loose connections are not the only thing that will cause a motor to fail, but this one you can prevent. There is more to this but I am going to stop not because I don't want to share info, it's that I may start getting into the technical end and one thing runs into another....I am going to jump off of the soap box.

backin15 · 04-29-2010, 09:37 PM

I'd think if it is a condensation issue you would see the moisture in many areas, especially the windows.

tmcleanrn · 04-30-2010, 08:26 AM

Thanks to all that have replied. We decided to have our rig taken to the dealership and have them check it out. They'll look at it on Monday. Praying it's not a big deal, as we have another trip planned in 2 weeks.

Love the forum, and especially how helpful everyone is. Thanks again. You guys are the best!!

Tracey

grhodes50 · 04-30-2010, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmcleanrn

Thanks to all that have replied. We decided to have our rig taken to the dealership and have them check it out. They'll look at it on Monday. Praying it's not a big deal, as we have another trip planned in 2 weeks.

Love the forum, and especially how helpful everyone is. Thanks again. You guys are the best!!

Tracey

I think you made the right decision. If it is a leak and water has leaked inside your walls it would be an expensive fix. Best to let FR do it under warranty rather than pay for it yourself.

I'm hoping it's just condensation and an easy fix for you so you can enjoy that trip in a couple of weeks.

Good luck and happy camping!

shineysideup · 04-30-2010, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmcleanrn

Thanks to all that have replied. We decided to have our rig taken to the dealership and have them check it out. They'll look at it on Monday. Praying it's not a big deal, as we have another trip planned in 2 weeks.

Love the forum, and especially how helpful everyone is. Thanks again. You guys are the best!!

Tracey

That is the right decision. As another poster commented you would also see the condensation in windows also. Our slide is only a bed with a curtain drawn across so it holds the moisture really well, too well!

Get it checked so there is no doubt.

You may also like: