Mystery Leakage

[Bearpoker]

I purchased a 2013 Surveyor Sport travel trailer and recently pulled up the linoleum. Lo and behold there is water damage around the entire perimeter on the floor. I sealed all vents and seams on the roof, and sealed the windows and yet water is still somehow penetrating in!! Could it be somehow be coming from the underbelly? This camper has the liner coating the undercarriage and I am wondering if the water could be rolling down the sides and pooling under there. Anyone have any experience or input on this?

[rsdata]

I purchased a 2013 Surveyor Sport travel trailer and recently pulled up the linoleum. Lo and behold there is water damage around the entire perimeter on the floor.

So assuming you are not the original owner...

Is the wet floor actively wet and growing mold, or old dried damage?

If still wet,, then de-humidifier and fans inside will help dry things out. Then look for a problem.

They used to put in water filters that were prone to failure and would flood the floors with water... especially bad if the owner was not home when the flood occurred.

Maybe just previous owners had kids wet from the pool running trough the camper all the time... who knows...

If you still have water penetrating have you looked at the overhead marker lights on the trailer roof? They often leak... easy to seal temporarily with some blue painters tape on the upper outside of the light... or take them off and look for indications of water leakage into the fixture and into the cabin.

[NJKris]

Geeze, makes you wonder if it wasn't exposed to flooding and water came up that high. Water leaks can be a pain to trace when it runs all around a perimeter like that. Love your forum name btw.

[Bearpoker]

It’s actively wet. I have been monitoring it and tracking with moisture readings. I am in Florida so I have had a dehumidifier running, and I check on things after every storm that passes. The water is present right where the floor meets the wall.

[rsdata]

So I looked up a picture of a 2013 Sport and came up with this.

I see marker lights in the front and probably on the back also, I see a slide on the side, both possible water entry points.

Can you be more specific as to where the water is showing up on the floor?

I suspect you have had some recent wind-driven rain in your area?

[Bearpoker]

Yes, definitely had some high winds and rain due to Elsa. It’s a Sp280 model 30’. I would attach pictures but I am not sure how to do that here.

[Bearpoker]

Thanks �� I have had it for over a month now and have dried the floors out a few times just to see this issue reoccur after the rain. I am just at my wits end with getting up onto the roof and sealing things. I feel like I have sealed as best I can and yet still water intrusion! This is really discouraging me. Was hoping to hit the road for the summer but instead I have taken on a massive headache.

[rsdata]

It’s a Sp280 model 30’. I would attach pictures but I am not sure how to do that here.

using a laptop I find that using the paper clip ICON on the advanced posting ( not quick reply) and uploading your picture from a file on your computer is the easiest way to include a picture...

so a couple of thoughts...

1. How are you sealing the roof and ridges? I recommend and use what I believe is the longest lasting easiest thing... Eternabond tape... just need a good clean surface to adhere to...

I posted a write-up on how to install here
https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nce-90060.html

2. If you are confident of your sealing skills, then look for another place where water may enter... as I mentioned before, outside light lens covers leak all the time... they are high up on the outside walls but not on the roof.

3. I have used a latex-silicon caulk on vertical surfaces, around windows and doors and any other outside thru the wall protrusion I can find. Silicon is OK to use on sides... just NOT ON THE ROOF...

4. a leak from above will roll on the interior roof until it finds a spot to come down... in other words the leak may not be coming from ABOVE the place where you see the water puddle...

5. HOW MANY places are you seeing water puddle? Do they all have the same timing and flow consistency? Like when one leaks they ALL leak the same amount each time?

6. After I posted a diagram of your trailer, where are you seeing the leaks? Certainly the slide area could be vulnerable to wind-driven rain... DO YOU have a slide topper on that area to catch and divert rain that comes down heavy on the roof of the slide?

7. Are you getting leaks when NO rain like from the AC unit on the roof where it drips?

8. Are you talking dampness or puddling water leaks?

Help us help you by giving some details...

Roger

[Bearpoker]

Hi Roger,

I have sealed around every vent and skylight on the roof with Eternabond and Dicor.

I sealed around all of the windows with silicone. I thought maybe that was the source of the water leaks but my moisture meter is indicating that it is coming down from the roof line. It's perplexing to me since I sealed the top of the track and put new weather stripping within the tracks as well.

We lifted up the A/C last night and it was dry under there. Since I pulled up the linoleum, I have been monitoring the water stains inside on the wood subfloor. The water stains only increase with the rain. The latest water damage to present itself is back in the bathroom. First it was the skylight and I stopped that but now the wall next to the water pump was completely saturated. The other areas where it is wet is under the two front bedroom windows.

I just purchased Henry's Tropi-Cool roof coating and that is my next step. But now I am not sure if I should remove the Dicor that I applied to the perimeter before applying the new roof coating or not. Then reapply the dicor over the coating?

The slide also does not have a topper on it.

[NJKris]

I feel so bad for you. And so glad for me that I was fortunate enough to swing getting a new camper with no leaks. Hoping you are able to resolve this quickly.

[rsdata]

Bearpoker,

well putting on a new roof sealer is not a trivial task nor cheap... I believe that
doing what you are contemplating is a remedy for prolonging the life of an already good roof system... I am not sure is your problem, but POSSIBLY it is... as you say you have a 2013 model. Roofs generally have a 10 year minimum lifetime, before sun and physical damage from trees, and whatever requires them to be replaced.

IF in fact you have sealed everything you said and you still have leaks, then it has to be coming from something you overlooked.

Putting your Henry's roof sealer on top of an already tightly sealed roof as you say it is just seems counter-productive to me. Maybe the roof needs it... I can't tell from here.

I would get another set of eyes on the roof, someone with some RV experience. I would look thru the phone book or whatever to get recommendations for a mobile RV technician. They may be able to point out places that you have missed, or possibly some gap areas on the sides of the trailer that are allowing water to enter. Possibly defective siding???

One possibility... when the AC runs which I assume is all the time, where is the water condensate going? Hopefully it runs off to one side and into a gutter and off the trailer. Are you sure the bottom AC metal drip pan is catching and directing water away, or is it going into the roof under the membrane?

With all of the water you say you are finding in different areas I would suspect that you are going to have other problems crop up like MOLD and Mildew growing somewhere inside or under the walls. The water on the floor means it had to find a way down the inside of the walls and that is NOT GOOD.

Find some professional help quick is all that I can tell you at this point..

[louka]

I had a 2007 Keystone Outback Sydney Edition and the first year I kept seeing water running inside the kitchen window and I chased it for months only to find it was the screws that held the channel for the molding (where roof meets gutters) that were actually allowing water to seep in. I took the rubber molding off and ran down the entire side of my 32 foot camper pulling every other screw and sealing them with silicone then screwing them back in. This actually resolved my issue. Picture is so you better understand the molding I am speaking of but I hope you get your issue sorted and maybe this will help