Forum Discussion

MrsNewCamper29's avatar
Feb 27, 2015

water leaks!

Hi everyone! My husband & i are new to the camper world (me new to camping altogether) we recently purchased a 5th wheel from Craigslist...thinking it was a steal. No dents, no crinkles, no water stains, no odor (its an 84, so we went in expecting these things) it was in immaculate condition!! So we jumped on it! To give a background we looked at it and bought with 1 1/2 ft snow on ground. When it was delivered to our house the snow was melting. And thats when they appeared! Dozens and dozens of stains. Never any actual water and never damp to the touch, just slightly discolored spots everywhere. At every vent,ac unit,seams, cranks etc. We immediately covered trailer with tarp to prevent further damage. My question is----is this water damage or possible condensation from extreme weather change/conditions? Help! Thanks

19 Replies

  • I am thinking these little water spots/drops could be condensation.

    Per chance with that age could have one of the old ventless heaters inside like my antique trailer had.

    Does it feel humid inside?
  • Yes, crank it up, watch the propane for the first tank to go empty as it's going to suck it down fast. Keep the heat going and get it thawed out then be sure it's covered until you know what is going on with the roof.

    If your propane is low try to go to a propane place tomorrow so you can make it until Monday. Good propane places wont charge for a full fill if you have some propane left in the tank. They will only charge for what they put in. Don't buy rhino's at walmart. Pay attention to your change over valve, some auto switch to the opposite tank and you may not realize one tank is empty.

    When changing tanks over, turn the valve on slowly or it may stay on red in the change over valve window. If it wants to stay on red, turn the valve off, turn on a stove burner and it will release the system pressure, then turn the burner off and again slowly open the propane tank valve. Tractor supply has good propane prices if you have one near that sells propane.
  • blofgren wrote:
    MrsNewCamper29 wrote:
    So it would be wise to crank it up as if we were about to hook it up?


    Yes, definitely. Get the water to run off of it as quickly as possible.



    Will have to wait a few days. Snow turned to ice-wiyth forecast of more snow!thanks!
  • MrsNewCamper29 wrote:
    So it would be wise to crank it up as if we were about to hook it up?


    Yes, definitely. Get the water to run off of it as quickly as possible.
  • The water will run off with the heat on but getting it tilted more will help.
  • Thanks! It has since snowed/iced over since we have tarped it. But I can definitely get some pics up tomorrow. May sound silly but I took a crayon and outlined around the stain to see if it 'spreads' during the daytime, when it warms up and melts the ice. Also we have plugged it in and kept heat on. Hoping that was smart move!thanks for your input.
  • If it was covered with ice and snow it may be ice daming as it melts and water is building up and flowing into the vents and other openings and getting above the ceiling? No matter what, get the roof cleaned off and keep it tarp over until you can inspect for any bad caulking etc.