rotting wood

[RVNCFL]

My Blue Ridge is only 2 years and the wall above the kitchen slide out is rotting. The insurance guy said they found NO evidence of water entry and the seals were intact, so, they will not cover repairs. I talked to Forest River and they said probably CONDENSATION. It could have been there when i bought it or it could have happened a few months ago. It was not under any warranty. so they will not cover it. Come on! condensation??!! Sounds like inferior construction. Any suggestions as to who else to call or what else the problem might be? The other walls don't have any problem. At least, I don't think they have. $2900 to fix. HELP!

[harderd]

If it was leaking it should still be leaking. Wait for a good rain and go inside and look for a leak and document it. The Insurance will have to pay.

[SilverbackMel]

Seals working properly does not mean perfection. They can get caught on the edges and need to be manually spread or twigs can get caught when open and then closed. Taped edges can come loose. A particularly hard side rain can let moisture in fairly easily.
Water finds entrances a long distance from where wood rot occurs.
Take the posters advice and try to locate it after a rain or climb up there and simulate it!
Condensation generally shows up in wall board crimping, bubbles, etc before the wood base would rot. That's a LOT of concentrated moisture.
2nd, spend $$$ to go to this year's FR Rally in Indiana. They will fix it there or if not, you have an audience of 500 plus owners to SCREAM TO.
I think FR will try to make it right. They have helped MANY folks who were OUT OF WARRANTY.....
U,S. Army Signal Corps slogan:
"Think, Go, Do"
You completed part 1 of 3. 👍🏁
Go forth and make this bad experience a corrected one!

[Jerry01]

First off, sorry to hear of your troubles. It looks like you are having the same issue as I am. Your insurance company is right in regards to the seals being intact. The problem is the design of the seals. This is a known issue and FR has been very good about resolving this problem. I would contact Dan Dobeki at FR. Also check out my post on this very same issue. Jerry
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ad.php?t=95700



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[Major]

There are known and documented cases of known issues with the 'D' seals on the slides of both Blue Ridge and Cardinal RV's both in this (and Cardinal sections) and the Cardinal Club forums and ways to stop water from "wicking" into the interior walls from these seal issues.

I had "pimpling" issues on one wall beside the kitchen slide until I followed the method outlined in the Cardinal Club RV forum and the "pimpling" stopped. I have not had any more issues. I did not even notice these pimples until I read about the problems on the other forum.

Luckily I caught mine before enough moisture "wicked" into the wall to cause any permanent damage but another owner I heard from had actual rot issues (as you have ???) after noticing the pimples starting and ignoring them.

I'm sure there are many owners out there that are not aware of this and have not taken the time to do a thorough inspection of the interior walls around the slides.

[149252]

2014 3125 RT had it less then 3years. I just got caught in a rain storm and noticed two slides and one window leaking. Got on the roof and the seals looked ok, but I used awning repair tape to cover the seals and that stopped the water from coming in. But the damage has been done. Now how am I going to fix this mess.

[jacknife]

Don't just figure no pimples no leaks. I have a rotten wall and not a pimple to be found .

[Scrapper]

Looks like a good reason to have slide toppers installed at the get-go. Just saying.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Looks like a good reason to have slide toppers installed at the get-go. Just saying.

Absolutely agree!!! Toppers help out a lot of different situations!

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by 149252

2014 3125 RT had it less then 3years. I just got caught in a rain storm and noticed two slides and one window leaking. Got on the roof and the seals looked ok, but I used awning repair tape to cover the seals and that stopped the water from coming in. But the damage has been done. Now how am I going to fix this mess. Attachment 114405Attachment 114406Attachment 114407

You Need to re-seal the window, maybe Applying a small Bead of Silicon along the top edge depending on window Design.

On the slides, i would try to get a different seal above the wiper seal or have another gutter installed over each slide.
Both the 5ers we've had, had a gutter along the roof line and then separate gutters above the slides.

Good luck!

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by RVNCFL

My Blue Ridge is only 2 years and the wall above the kitchen slide out is rotting. The insurance guy said they found NO evidence of water entry and the seals were intact, so, they will not cover repairs. I talked to Forest River and they said probably CONDENSATION. It could have been there when i bought it or it could have happened a few months ago. It was not under any warranty. so they will not cover it. Come on! condensation??!! Sounds like inferior construction. Any suggestions as to who else to call or what else the problem might be? The other walls don't have any problem. At least, I don't think they have. $2900 to fix. HELP!

I think I'd just look for a good repair shop and then call the bank for the cash.

Honestly, if your blue ridge is like the other guy's on here that had put the tape over the seals,....you need gutters above your slides too.

[jacknife]

I have toppers but if the wind is blowing rain under them you can still have a problem.

[thomas.jackson]

Had same issues with pimpling walls and seals. Worked with Blue Ridge at Forest River directly, just had the unit returned with walls repaired and seals replaced. Although it took awhile, had to schedule between manufacturing new, Forest River has made me a happy customer now with the service provided. Call the customer service for Blue Ridge and explain situation, see if they will work with you, it was about a year process due to scheduling.

[akfshrmn]

I had the same problem with 2014 Blue Ridge 3025. I was finally directed to Dan Dobeki(my 3rd factory Rep). After about a year, the had me take it to a privately owned shop in Fontana, California. The shops had to repair water damage on the two large closeouts. They also repairs the door where screws came up for the second time. The snap did a Very nice job on the repairs. There was no charge to me for the repairs. Had lots,of,photos to share with them and be persistent with staying in contact with them! Good luck on getting them to repair the damage for leaking seals.

[TitanMike]

Another big help in keeping any moisture damage to a minimum (leaks OR condensation) is to use a dehumidifier.

I quit using the various moisture absorbing products long ago. In the Pacific NW, they barely keep up with the damp air.

When it's time to park the TT for any length of time and it won't be used regularly I plug in the dehumidifier and then just make it a point to dump the condensate bucket regularly.

When I used to use the "chemicals" I'd notice condensation on the inside of the windows when the outside temp dropped close to freezing. After the dehumidifier went in service no more wet windows (inside). You'd be amazed at how much more water the dehumidifier collects versus the Driz-Air units.