Buying a known (?) problem
Would you willingly buy an RV with water damage if the price was right? Hubby and I own a 2004 Gulf Stream Class C which has served us faithfully; but now we're pondering going south with our 3 dog...
Forum Discussion
Deb and Ed M,
I admit that we have only bought new RV's except for the 2 purchased used of the many we've had or have. Only one had a leak develop in the 50 years of our RVing and ownership. It was in an 11-1/2' Fleetwood Caribou TC that we bought new. By the time it was 6 years old, the entry door was about to fall out as I closed the door and we had no idea how bad the rot was as it was hidden inside the rear wall and covered by the inside paneling and and the interior wall structures and the outside aluminum skin. The TC never had more than a very slight rot/mold type odor and only after it sat for a few weeks and it vanished when the wind blew or when it had traveled down the road. Never could find the source of the slight odor and it was so slight we kind of dismissed it. Real dumb!
Fleetwood (the manufacturer who was in Edgerton, Ohio on the south side of the RR tracks west side of the little town) wouldn't touch it or even agree to repair it if we would pay the bill ourselves. The warranty was many years past but it was obvious that it had leaked from day one as the rot was so extensive and wide spread. They even tried to tell us it was our fault and that it looked like the TC had been in an accident which it had not ever been and we know that for a fact. We had ordered it new and went down to Edgerton ourselves with our dually one ton truck to pick it up directly from the factory posing as working for the RV dealer who were also good friends of ours and with their approval and told Fleetwood we were coming to pick it up. I had to go just east of Edgerton to Bryan, OH to Bryan Plastics anyway for a business meeting and it only made sense to drive our dually and pick it up too.
A long story short! The dealer finally took it in on trade for our first Lance TC and over the winter totally rebuilt it as the RV season was over it it's always very slow. The entire rear wall and part of the floor was rotten and full of mold. Yes, I was curious so I stopped and watched them during the winter. The first thing they did was remove the exterior aluminum skin and all the thin insulation, then liberally spray everything with clear bleach which killed the mold and spores fast. Then, a couple days later they tore all the rotted wood off including about 8" of the floor at the rear and rebuilt it. They doubled the floor stringer by gluing (52-100 epoxy) and screwing with a right angle chuck the jack joists to the solid part joist that were unaffected by any rot damage. Yes it was repaired right and looked new and it was sold in the spring stating that it had been repaired. Only seen the TC a few times after the new owners bought it so I don't know if any other problems had occurred.
What I'm saying is that bleach works wonders to kill the mold and spores but it will not fix the bad damage already done. It simply cleans the air of breathing the bad mold issue and remember that with a wood frame etc, the bleach soaks in and kills everything deeply down. It will save mildly affected molded wood and that can make a huge difference in repairs required to wood framing and floors etc. The first thing it to kill and stop all mold! I have heard of many others using bleach first and several never had to do more than seal the leak area etc and replacing the insulation and then re-skin after eliminating all mold and drying thoroughly. Just food for thought!
I admit that we have only bought new RV's except for the 2 purchased used of the many we've had or have. Only one had a leak develop in the 50 years of our RVing and ownership. It was in an 11-1/2' Fleetwood Caribou TC that we bought new. By the time it was 6 years old, the entry door was about to fall out as I closed the door and we had no idea how bad the rot was as it was hidden inside the rear wall and covered by the inside paneling and and the interior wall structures and the outside aluminum skin. The TC never had more than a very slight rot/mold type odor and only after it sat for a few weeks and it vanished when the wind blew or when it had traveled down the road. Never could find the source of the slight odor and it was so slight we kind of dismissed it. Real dumb!
Fleetwood (the manufacturer who was in Edgerton, Ohio on the south side of the RR tracks west side of the little town) wouldn't touch it or even agree to repair it if we would pay the bill ourselves. The warranty was many years past but it was obvious that it had leaked from day one as the rot was so extensive and wide spread. They even tried to tell us it was our fault and that it looked like the TC had been in an accident which it had not ever been and we know that for a fact. We had ordered it new and went down to Edgerton ourselves with our dually one ton truck to pick it up directly from the factory posing as working for the RV dealer who were also good friends of ours and with their approval and told Fleetwood we were coming to pick it up. I had to go just east of Edgerton to Bryan, OH to Bryan Plastics anyway for a business meeting and it only made sense to drive our dually and pick it up too.
A long story short! The dealer finally took it in on trade for our first Lance TC and over the winter totally rebuilt it as the RV season was over it it's always very slow. The entire rear wall and part of the floor was rotten and full of mold. Yes, I was curious so I stopped and watched them during the winter. The first thing they did was remove the exterior aluminum skin and all the thin insulation, then liberally spray everything with clear bleach which killed the mold and spores fast. Then, a couple days later they tore all the rotted wood off including about 8" of the floor at the rear and rebuilt it. They doubled the floor stringer by gluing (52-100 epoxy) and screwing with a right angle chuck the jack joists to the solid part joist that were unaffected by any rot damage. Yes it was repaired right and looked new and it was sold in the spring stating that it had been repaired. Only seen the TC a few times after the new owners bought it so I don't know if any other problems had occurred.
What I'm saying is that bleach works wonders to kill the mold and spores but it will not fix the bad damage already done. It simply cleans the air of breathing the bad mold issue and remember that with a wood frame etc, the bleach soaks in and kills everything deeply down. It will save mildly affected molded wood and that can make a huge difference in repairs required to wood framing and floors etc. The first thing it to kill and stop all mold! I have heard of many others using bleach first and several never had to do more than seal the leak area etc and replacing the insulation and then re-skin after eliminating all mold and drying thoroughly. Just food for thought!
