DX3 outside AC water drip

TRN · 07-23-2019, 01:34 PM

Really enjoying our "new to us" 2015 DX3, but my wife has one pet peeve with the unit, water dripping down the outside of the coach on the passenger side. We have only used the coach in the summer season in the south so far, so you can guess that both ACs are running constantly during the day. This puts a large amount of water dripping into the seating area.

There appears to be no drains designed into the ac units, nor are there rain gutters to help divert the water. We tried tilting the coach towards the drivers side a bit, but that did not work. I'm considering putting a bead of caulk on the roof to direct the water somewhere else. Is anyone else having this problem, if so, what did you do to fix it?

Silver Arrow · 07-23-2019, 02:49 PM

We had a similar problem on our 2014 37TS where AC water would randomly run down the sides of the camper & it was impossible to open a few of the storage doors w/o water running inside. I bought a roll of rubber 'J' channel & installed it where the curved portion of the roof started. I placed it a little higher in the center so the water would run to the ends. The self adhesive strip was pretty sticky but I also applied a small bead of 3M 5200 marine sealant (love that stuff) on the top & bottom edge of the channel. So far it has worked great & there is no sign of it coming loose.

halla · 07-23-2019, 02:51 PM

We just leave the drivers side down a little when leveling, gravity normally pushes it that way.

TRN · 07-24-2019, 05:27 AM

I like the J-channel idea, thanks.

We did try the lean the coach trick, but even with a noticable lean towards the drivers side, it was still coming down on the passenger side.

**bclemens** · 07-24-2019, 08:58 AM

I have not looked, but since it "can" be plumbed for drains, could you not create a drain off the pan and just feed it to the driver side?

Larry-NC · 07-24-2019, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclemens

I have not looked, but since it "can" be plumbed for drains, could you not create a drain off the pan and just feed it to the driver side?

Be careful with this recommendation. The drainage is, of course, condensation from the evaporator coils. Air blowing through those coils is cooled. Any dust in the air is captured by the water droplets on the coils. The dripping water is muddy. If you add plumbing to redirect the condensate, it will eventually plug with mud. It's inevitable. The A/C pan will fill with water which will then flow someplace you don't want it.

It's happened at my stick-and bricks home.

**bclemens** · 07-24-2019, 02:29 PM

Well, I wouldn't go crazy with it. I think if you use a large enough condensate diameter, all you need to do, is get it to the Driver side of the AC and let gravity take control....I'm not suggesting you plumb it through the walls or anything.

My residential AC did the same thing. The builder plumbed the condensate drain. Eventually sludge built up and it clogged. I re-plumbed with 3/4" instead of 1/2". I never told them that.

When they built my latest house, they plumbed the condensate line with 3/4". It appears we all learned the same lesson.

Silver Arrow · 07-24-2019, 08:41 PM

The 'J' channel I installed really works quite well to redirect the AC condensate to the ends of the coach & it doesn't require any real maintenance. It also works during a little rain to channel most of the water to the ends. The hard part was trying to install it in a straight line w/o having gravity pull (or push) me 12' from the roof to the ground below.

**bclemens** · 07-31-2019, 01:36 PM

I just checked on the Coleman Mach and they do not have a drain plug that we could "plumb". It is a mold part with the drain built in on both sides.

So, if this were my coach (and I am not saying you should do this), I would look to see if I could plug the passenger side and maybe drill out the driver side to be larger.

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