Is your frig access cover going to destroy your MH or TT?

[waiter21]

Is your frig access cover going to destroy your MH or TT? If its like mine, yes, depending how much rain you have, it's a matter of time before the walls below your frig are rotted away.

What caused all this damage - The frame of my frig cover doesn't have a lip on it, so any water that runs down the cover, will collect on the bottom of the frame, and run inside the MH.

Here is a link to how I modified the cover, and also repaired the water damage.

FIXING THE FRAME SO IT DOESN'T"T LEAK:

Fixing Frig exterior access panel door leaks | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB


REPAIRING THE WATER DAMAGE:

Repairing Delamination and water damage | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB

..

[harderd]

Looks like a nice fix. I have a little delam there also but everything else looks and feels solid. The lip may be a good mod on all RVs.

[OldCoot]

Cover the area with sheet metal flashing and caulk in place after repair.

[harderd]

I looked at mine and no lip so I put a bead of non-leveling caulk. I think the bead should suffice. Silicon is a no no on campers. I looked for 5 minutes and could not find a drain tube. I can only assume it was routed out the bottom of the camper.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by harderd

I looked at mine and no lip so I put a bead of non-leveling caulk. I think the bead should suffice. Silicon is a no no on campers. I looked for 5 minutes and could not find a drain tube. I can only assume it was routed out the bottom of the camper.

Oh God. Never ASS U ME . Especially after all the poor QC stuff we talk about here. A badly routed frig drain rotted wall and floor in a friend's tt. Find it and be sure.

[P47]

Originally Posted by harderd

I looked at mine and no lip so I put a bead of non-leveling caulk. I think the bead should suffice. Silicon is a no no on campers. I looked for 5 minutes and could not find a drain tube. I can only assume it was routed out the bottom of the camper.

We have a 2015 Solera 24R , at Frog in Goshen last year I had the techs look inside my refrigerator cover because the drain pipe just ended inside right on plywood wall panel. They did a great job of adding an extension thru the panel to outside ! Now when refrig drains a LOT of water goes outside ! No damage !

[aceinspp]

Never had an issue as I always put the drain tube out the side of cover so it drained out side. Last five campers I had where done this way and they all had plenty of hose to shove throgh side cover. Factory fails to do this at times so check yours and move so water will exit the compartment. Later RJD

[SULTINI]

I always run my refrigerator drain out under the coach.

[Toddupton]

Originally Posted by SULTINI

I always run my refrigerator drain out under the coach.

X2
I replaced the cheap brittle plastic tube with good poly braided tubing make a trap and run it out the bottom. Too many stories of cracked drain tubes resulting in water damage.

[waiter21]

All good points on the frig drain, but look and make sure your access panel door frame has a lip on the bottom, otherwise when it rains, water leaks in.

[tomrob1161]

On my SOB - Sunnybrook I had a similar problem. In fact, I had water coming out, in front, of the refrigerator. It was rain water coming inside because there was no lip. the dealer made a lip of non-leveling caulk and stopped the problem. Everyone needs a lip inside their refrigerator panel.

[edcronin01]

It looks like the bottom of the frame has 3 drain holes by putting a lip on the bottom of the frame it appears all the drain holes are now blocked. It seems like water would just set inside. My MH has a rubber membrane that overs the floor and sides of the frig cabinet.

[waiter21]

Edcronin01;

If you are referring to my photos, those are mounting screw holes. I just laid the frame in the opening to take the "before" photo while I added the lip..

Mine also had a membrane and it probably kept water from getting into the walls for years. But once that water got in the frig compartment, it stayed there because bottom of the frame is higher than the floor of the frig compartment. After years of soaking, water finiall found its way betwee the walls and ... the rest is history.

Someone who buys a new MH and keeps it for 5-7 years probably won't see the negatives, but I guarantee, when that wall starts rotting, it will severely impact the re-sale value.

I've checked mine since I did this mod. We had 5 inches of rain a couple weeks ago in 12 hours, heavy, heavy downpour lasted all day. I popped the frig cover, dry as a bone. :-)

[NCBBA11043]

Originally Posted by harderd

Silicon is a no no on campers.

Why? Any special applications where it can and shouldn't be used? I used silicon to reseal all the body panel / trim joints. Are you suggesting butyl rubber instead? Thanks for any clarification...

[edcronin01]

Waiter21 if you look of the lower part of the frame there are 3 rectangular grooves those look like the drainage points to let water out. Sorry I referred to them as drain holes. I had 3 inches of hard rain in two days no water in that compartment. Hope that helps.

[waiter21]

edcronin01;

Sounds like yours doesn't have the same problem as mine. On mine that groove lets water drain into the frig compartment and rotted away the wall. If there had been a lip on the bottom of the frame, water could not have gotten into the frig compartment.

On my Mirada, all the other access doors, panels, baggage compartments, etc, all have a lip to prevent water from entering at the bottom. All except the frig panel, no lip on the bottom.

[harderd]

Originally Posted by NCBBA11043

Why? Any special applications where it can and shouldn't be used? I used silicon to reseal all the body panel / trim joints. Are you suggesting butyl rubber instead? Thanks for any clarification...

You should only use RV sealant, Self leveling on roof and non-leveling on the sides. Silicon will only last a short while. Then it becomes a mess to remove and nothing else will stick where it was. Even if it does last and you ever need to make a repair for some reason, it will be a problem.

Ask any RV service manager. Silicon caulk on an RV is bad.

[mud yapster]

Thanks I'll be checking mine today. Thanks for the heads up.
Nice repair you made.