Water in storage compartments - 2015 Forester MBS 24R

[FIVE2MH]

Today we traveled about 4 hours from our home (rained the entire drive) to Highlands Hammock State Park, in Sebring, FL. It's beautiful here, however, the weather has kept us from exploring.
This is really our maiden trip, as we only spent one night in it the day we picked it up at the dealership. We were very comfortable traveling, and my husband loves driving it.
As we were setting up camp we found that 4 of the outside storage compartments leaked. We hope it'll be an easy fix. Anyone else have this problem?
Safe travels!

[hkreck]

I've had leakage in the rear compartment of my 24S, short of going to a automotive store and getting some weather stripping to put around to the door. I drilled small drain holes in the compartment where the water was settling which seems to be working so far.

[OldCoot]

How long will you be in Sebring? Where is your home base? We will be in the Davenport/Kissimmee area 01Dec to mid Mar.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by FIVE2MH

Today we traveled about 4 hours from our home (rained the entire drive) to Highlands Hammock State Park, in Sebring, FL. It's beautiful here, however, the weather has kept us from exploring.
This is really our maiden trip, as we only spent one night in it the day we picked it up at the dealership. We were very comfortable traveling, and my husband loves driving it.
As we were setting up camp we found that 4 of the outside storage compartments leaked. We hope it'll be an easy fix. Anyone else have this problem?
Safe travels!

I think this issue was discussed in the Solera forum before. Do a search on leaking compartments on a Solera. I think the poster had a solution.

[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by hkreck

I've had leakage in the rear compartment of my 24S, short of going to a automotive store and getting some weather stripping to put around to the door. I drilled small drain holes in the compartment where the water was settling which seems to be working so far.

Hi!
Thanks for writing. We see that there are drain plugs, but there was just too much water to ignore. We never had this problem in our 5er nor have friends of ours with TT's, etc. We hope the dealer can fix it.
Be safe.

[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

How long will you be in Sebring? Where is your home base? We will be in the Davenport/Kissimmee area 01Dec to mid Mar.

Hi!
We will only be here a few days. Our home base is Parkland, close to Boca Raton. We are new to Florida, so we have much exploring to do! Our daughter just moved from Waynesville, NC to Knoxsville. We love NC.
Have a safe trip!

[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

I think this issue was discussed in the Solera forum before. Do a search on leaking compartments on a Solera. I think the poster had a solution.

Thank you! Will check it out....

[ipolyihh]

make sure the grey & black tank dump valve handles can be pushed all the way closed

my grey tank handle would only close the within 1/4" of fully closed - turned out to be something that I was able to flush out with the tank empty and while working the handle to & fro while using a hose to spray water into the area. I actually had to undo the 4 bolts securing the valve to turn the handle vertical at times.

[bclemens]

Make sure you push in on BOTH sides of the latches. One side may latch and the other does now which will leave a gap in the seal.

The only other way it would be leaking is if the water is coming UP into the compartment. IE the rotocast is not sealing properly to the wall.

[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Make sure you push in on BOTH sides of the latches. One side may latch and the other does now which will leave a gap in the seal.

The only other way it would be leaking is if the water is coming UP into the compartment. IE the rotocast is not sealing properly to the wall.

Hi,
We're confident both latches were closed. Sorry...what's a rotocast?
Thanks for your reply!


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[bclemens]

Rotocase is the gray plastic box that is the actually storage portion.

They "rotate" the mold so that the material flows evenly through all the little nooks and crannies.

[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Rotocase is the gray plastic box that is the actually storage portion.

They "rotate" the mold so that the material flows evenly through all the little nooks and crannies.

Thank you, sir! We'll have the dealer take a look at that.
Appreciate your quick response!


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[Suzasus]

We had water in the driver side rear compartment of our new Solera. Took RV to dealer. They sprayed something to seal it. It has basically been water free since fixed by dealer. I understand it was an easy fix.


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[FIVE2MH]

Originally Posted by Suzasus

We had water in the driver side rear compartment of our new Solera. Took RV to dealer. They sprayed something to seal it. It has basically been water free since fixed by dealer. I understand it was an easy fix.


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Thanks very much for your reply! Ours is going in for a few other warranty items in a few weeks.
Best regards,
Mary Ann

[dswiss]

As has been mentioned on several other threads, the Soleras are prone to water accumulating in the storage compartments. Mine is no different. I had one particularly nasty problem with the driverside compartment. I kept finding water in that compartment even though I installed all new seals and siliconed any screw perforations. Finally I discovered that water would accumulate there even if there was no rain! While I was drying out that compartment again, I noticed a drip coming from the compartment where the water pump was housed. I proceeded to remove the entire compartment cover and voila, there it was: A leak from the joint where the water supply line entered the winterizing valve. On closer inspection I discovered that the plastic nut attaching this line was cracked, as typically happens when you over torque it. And because the cracked fitting was approx. four inches above the floor of the fresh water tank, it would only leak when the tank was filled more than half, and since that tank is most of the time empty, the leak would only occur rarely. Then I made a discovery that really raised my eyebrows: Instead of replacing the cracked nut, the genius craftsmen at Forest River came up with an inexpensive solution. Cover up the crack with a piece of electrical tape. It worked for a couple of years until the tape started to unravel and the crack became visible.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by dswiss

As has been mentioned on several other threads, the Soleras are prone to water accumulating in the storage compartments. Mine is no different. I had one particularly nasty problem with the driverside compartment. I kept finding water in that compartment even though I installed all new seals and siliconed any screw perforations. Finally I discovered that water would accumulate there even if there was no rain! While I was drying out that compartment again, I noticed a drip coming from the compartment where the water pump was housed. I proceeded to remove the entire compartment cover and voila, there it was: A leak from the joint where the water supply line entered the winterizing valve. On closer inspection I discovered that the plastic nut attaching this line was cracked, as typically happens when you over torque it. And because the cracked fitting was approx. four inches above the floor of the fresh water tank, it would only leak when the tank was filled more than half, and since that tank is most of the time empty, the leak would only occur rarely. Then I made a discovery that really raised my eyebrows: Instead of replacing the cracked nut, the genius craftsmen at Forest River came up with an inexpensive solution. Cover up the crack with a piece of electrical tape. It worked for a couple of years until the tape started to unravel and the crack became visible.

Super glue it and put a hose clamp around it.