Brand new GT5 - Water leak from under shower

[NXR]

On our second trip the coach was slightly off-level with the passenger side a bit low. When we took a shower we noted a small puddle forming on the rear bathroom floor about eight inches from the forward part of the shower. The shower is on the drivers side and the drain is at the rear. I reached in through the rear access hole at the rear of of shower next to the toilet but everything was dry and I could not reach further forward to see what was leaking. I had a lot of pictures from the production line and there simply was nothing there.

These showers are fitted with a "waterless trap" called a HEPVO which replaces the P-trap found in a normal house drain. It has a one-way membrane so water can go towards the gray tank but sewer gasses cannot come back into the shower.

Picture attached...

The dealer had to remove the toilet to get to it because the access hole was next to the toilet. Then they had to remove a heater duct just forward of the access hole so they could get two arms under there. Then they had to reach way in to replace it.

Ray

[McCamper]

We have the same issue that you describe.

We picked up our new 2020 Georgetown (31L5) just last week and the next day while checking things out in more detail than we did on delivery day I noticed water on the floor next to the shower. There is an access hole with spin off cap that allowed me to see under the shower and it was wet under there, also. After drying everything I ran water in the shower again and once again saw water come out from under the shower and could see water through the access hole. So I dried everything and called the dealer, expressing my disgust (they charge a big fee at purchase for “Prep” to be sure that everything is correct).

We are scheduled to have it repaired while we wait next week (our dealer is an hour and a half from our home). I have no idea how they will possibly get under there to correct the problem?

I am glad you were able to get yours repaired!

We have some other issues also that need attention on this new unit.

[NXR]

They charge a prep fee? I thought FR paid a flat fee to cover PDI and issues resulting from it. I'd read it was $5,000 but that may have been a different manufacturer.

The variation between dealers is a lot broader than I ever realized. Mine is a single location and family-owned since the 1960's. They not only do the PDI, they give the new owner a tech to walk them through all of the systems and maintenance requirements. They do not limit the time at all or charge a fee.

We did a three-day PDI of our own, literally front to rear twisting, pulling, prodding and checking everything. They gave us a tech for a full eight hours the first day and then as needed on the other two days.

The service manager told us today that when a customer has a water leak they tell them to bring it right in and they will fit them in somehow. He said he considers water leaks one of the biggest issues there is, one that cannot wait because of all the potential damage.

Good luck. Perhaps you can share my picture with them and it may help. FR may have a heavy-handed installer. From the way that fitting is split it had to be from someone cranking it down way too hard. I talked to the tech and he said he had to remove the toilet, the access cover door and then the heater duct just forward of the access door. Then he was able to reach in each hole with one arm apiece and get to it. He's a pretty big fellow probably in his 50's so he must have a lot of experience.

BTW, if you have not spent about a half-hour underneath I'd recommend doing that. I checked closely for potential hose and wiring chafe points and found some. The most obvious was the Kwikee step wiring. It went into the step through a hole in the step housing and there was no chafe protection at all. A friend with a 2019 GT5 had exactly the same chafe point on his step wiring.

I bought some spiral wrap and used it to protect the wiring and some places on the rear hydraulic lines where they were right up against metal and subject to chafing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ray

[Mr. October]

It seems some of the folks on the assembly line are a bit heavy handed when it comes to cranking things down. The only truly noticeable issue we had was the cracking I mentioned some time ago on the outside water panel where screws were over tightened (I’m guessing not by hand). This warped and cracked the utility panel itself, the outside shower faucet base, and the outside shower head holder. (The latter being a cheap POS anyway that I will replace with the head we removed from the indoor shower when I installed the Oxygenics.)

Regarding dealer PDI fees, some dealers play games with pricing giving a good unit price and then charging PDI. Granted a leak such as the one shown would be hard to notice unless someone were actually showering but frankly for $5000 I’d expect them to have all water systems on for some time and be doing a pretty thorough inspection for leaks.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

Granted a leak such as the one shown would be hard to notice unless someone were actually showering but frankly for $5000 I’d expect them to have all water systems on for some time and be doing a pretty thorough inspection for leaks.

Our dealer did that but they did not find it. It did not show a leak on our first trip, but I'm suspecting that it really was and the water was running towards the driver's side or to the front (under the bed ), or out the rear.

Ray

[McCamper]

Originally Posted by NXR

Good luck. Perhaps you can share my picture with them and it may help. FR may have a heavy-handed installer. From the way that fitting is split it had to be from someone cranking it down way too hard. I talked to the tech and he said he had to remove the toilet, the access cover door and then the heater duct just forward of the access door. Then he was able to reach in each hole with one arm apiece and get to it. He's a pretty big fellow probably in his 50's so he must have a lot of experience.

BTW, if you have not spent about a half-hour underneath I'd recommend doing that. I checked closely for potential hose and wiring chafe points and found some. The most obvious was the Kwikee step wiring. It went into the step through a hole in the step housing and there was no chafe protection at all. A friend with a 2019 GT5 had exactly the same chafe point on his step wiring.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ray

I will definitely show your photo to the service manager when I get there on Thursday. Your floor plan is different than ours as we have a split bath with the shower on the drivers side between the front slide and the bedroom. Maybe there is access from the lower drawer in bedroom under the closet? It appears there is some sort of small cut-out in the floor under the shower with a piece of plywood fastened up from below but that is not visible when looking in the trunk opening (sewer/water area) that is under the shower.

Photo attached that was taken looking through the access hole under the shower, it looks like the one fitting is not threaded correctly as it is a bit misaligned.

As for checking the underneath of the coach, I did take a creeper ride the other day and things looked mostly good except I could see up into the floorboard area behind the steering column; I could put four fingers up through there. Great suggestion about looking for wiring/hose rub points. I’ll go down under and take a look at all that.

We have been RVing since the 1980’s and every unit we have purchased has had multiple problems. It is just very disappointing when you bring home a new rig and have to deal with all the issues!

[NXR]

Originally Posted by McCamper

As for checking the underneath of the coach, I did take a creeper ride the other day and things looked mostly good except I could see up into the floorboard area behind the steering column; I could put four fingers up through there.

*cough* mice *cough*

I've been meaning to fire up all the interior lights one night and then go underneath to see if I see any light streaming through that would need to be plugged. I'm thinking this will be a good week to do that.

I read a post from a fellow who was having maintenance done at his home. The tech left the doghouse cover off overnight to save time and when the owner walked into his motorhome the next morning he found a pregnant raccoon sleeping on a cabinet.

We have lots of raccoons in this area. I had nine of them in my attic some years back. That was a serious pain to deal with because they were ripping the soffit off to get inside. I accidentally locked the first three in the attic by covering the missing soffit with a piece of steel (I thought it probably was squirrels and would be gone in the daytime. BIG mistake.) The animal warden said I was lucky I had so much insulation in the attic. He said he's seen raccoon's dig through the drywall to escape and fall into whatever room was below them...

Ray

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by NXR

Our dealer did that but they did not find it. It did not show a leak on our first trip, but I'm suspecting that it really was and the water was running towards the driver's side or to the front (under the bed ), or out the rear.

Ray

Or it could have been stressed and under load that took a few trips on bumpy roads to crack.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

Or it could have been stressed and under load that took a few trips on bumpy roads to crack.

Certainly possible. As long as it doesn't happen again its just water under the shower.

Ray

[cfo111]

Maybe call people who made it see if they could tell you how to fix it so not to fine a surprise leak again.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by cfo111

Maybe call people who made it see if they could tell you how to fix it so not to fine a surprise leak again.

The dealer replaced the HEPVO component and so far, so good.

Ray

[McCamper]

So, yesterday we took our new GT5 back to the dealer to have the shower drain leak repaired. I showed them your photo that you posted in the forum. They did not repair the problem but instead said that they contacted Forest River who told them that they have a new modified setup for that drain connection. I guess there have been some others beside us that have had this problem so they have made a change to that connection?? The part(s) were ordered and we have to take it back to the dealer once it comes in (hour & half trip each way). We would like to be able to use this new Motorhome sometime soon!

Mac

[NXR]

Ugh. I hope that doesn't mean my problem may come back. If you can get any details I'd appreciate knowing what they are so I can ask my dealer.

Ray

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by McCamper

So, yesterday we took our new GT5 back to the dealer to have the shower drain leak repaired. I showed them your photo that you posted in the forum. They did not repair the problem but instead said that they contacted Forest River who told them that they have a new modified setup for that drain connection. I guess there have been some others beside us that have had this problem so they have made a change to that connection?? The part(s) were ordered and we have to take it back to the dealer once it comes in (hour & half trip each way). We would like to be able to use this new Motorhome sometime soon!

Mac

Hmm. I wonder if I should inquire about this when we take ours in at the end of the year to get a couple things taken care of?

[McCamper]

I’ll keep updating the Forum as I learn more!

Mac

[CC Traveler]

We just picked up our 2020 GT5 31R5 and saw that ours is cracked also, but not leaking yet. We will keep an eye on it until we see what the new fix is. Our shower was leaking from under the door bottom track where it was not sealed.

Mark and Connie
2020 GT5 31R5
2006 GMC Canyon (toad)

[NXR]

Originally Posted by FR3Traveler

We just picked up our 2020 GT5 31R5 and saw that ours is cracked also, but not leaking yet. We will keep an eye on it until we see what the new fix is. Our shower was leaking from under the door bottom track where it was not sealed.

Yeah, our dealer noticed that on ours as well and caulked it before we took delivery. I also notIced a lot of standing water in the tracks after a shower so I took a file and filed down the drain "slots".

I also noticed that while there was a drain slot near the back end of the tracks there wasn't one within six inches of the front of the tracks. So I drilled a small hole near the front end and now there is no standing water in the tracks. So if I'm a little nose-low or tail-low the water can still drain out of the tracks at each end.

So you saw that the same fitting as in my picture is cracked on yours also?

How did you see that? With an endoscope or similar?

Mine has a completion date of late April. Any idea on yours? Was yours an order like ours or was yours off the lot? I'm trying to get a handle on how long this has been going on.

Ray

[CC Traveler]

With the R5 the access hole is in the hallway so you have a good view of the drain area. After reading your post, I looked at ours. Sure enough it was cracked. Ours coach was off of the lot, but the shower enclosure sticker said it was installed in February 2019.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by GT Traveler

With the R5 the access hole is in the hallway so you have a good view of the drain area. After reading your post, I looked at ours. Sure enough it was cracked. Ours coach was off of the lot, but the shower enclosure sticker said it was installed in February 2019.

Got it, thanks. My shower sticker shows April 2019, the same as everything else.

If you can get to it, I'd slop some silicone sealant or something on the crack. Maybe use a stick. That may keep it from puling apart more. Cracks have a way of getting worse and never getting better.

Ray

[McCamper]

NXR.....Thank you for the following suggestion!!!

Originally Posted by NXR

BTW, if you have not spent about a half-hour underneath I'd recommend doing that. I checked closely for potential hose and wiring chafe points and found some. The most obvious was the Kwikee step wiring. It went into the step through a hole in the step housing and there was no chafe protection at all. A friend with a 2019 GT5 had exactly the same chafe point on his step wiring.

I bought some spiral wrap and used it to protect the wiring and some places on the rear hydraulic lines where they were right up against metal and subject to chafing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ray

So, a couple days ago I followed your suggestion about checking things out underneath the coach and I sure am glad that I did!!!


I found a wiring harness (which appears to be a Forest River installation) that was hanging down from above and resting against the driveshaft. It is apparent that it has been rubbing against the spinning driveshaft for quite some time because there is a rub mark on the driveshaft and the plastic wire protector is worn away down to where it was just touching the insulation on one of the wires. I am attaching some pics of what I found.


I am not sure where this harness come from or goes to but I am sure we would have had big problems if I had not discovered that issue. I think I will start a new thread for this issue so that others can look down under to see if they might have the same issue.



So once again I wonder just what the dealer really looks at during their "Prep". Having missed the shower drain leak and now this wiring harness issue I don't think they really care about finding problems.I also have numerous other smaller issues with this new rig.


This was my second time riding my creeper under the coach and I missed this the first time I was doing an inspection. I did not find anything that looked like a problem around the steps like you did so I hope I did not miss it. Do you have pics of what you had found?


Thanks, again!!


Mac