Forum Discussion

marpel's avatar
marpel
Explorer
Mar 17, 2018

Trailer water issue

I have a travel trailer (Crossroads product that has had multiple problems from day one, most due to poor construction quality).

Towards the end of last season, I found water in the pass-through storage compartment, with wet (as in soaked) carpet just below each exterior door. We had gone through quite a few days of constant rain. This suggested to me that the doors/gaskets were leaking.

Once the rain cleared, I dried out the compartment and removed both doors and frames, and resealed the frame (running sealant all around the inside of the frame, then, when replaced, running sealant around the entire frame. I am pretty confident that these areas no longer leak (if they ever did).

I also removed the neoprene? gasket that runs around the inside of the frame that is compressed when the door is closed/locked (the gasket looks like a capital D in cross-section and the inside of the D is hollow, the flat side sticks to the frame).

After finishing, the trailer was left for a few more (light) rainy days and when checked, the interior was dry. The unit was left for the winter (uncovered).

After fairly constant rain this spring (SW British Columbia weather), I just checked the compartments and the carpet is again wet below the doors.

In feeling around the inside of the frames, doors and walls, I am still confident the frame sealant has worked and it does not appear there is any leaking somewhere else and running into the compartment. It seems as if the water is running into the area where the gasket is located and, funny enough, running/wicking up over the 1/2 inch metal flange that runs around the inside of the frame (to which the lock/handle tabs hook over to secure the door closed). That's the only conclusion I can reach, unless someone has better insight than me.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems and is it probable that the water will actually wick up past the gasket and over the noted flange. The gasket has obviously compressed all the way around the frame from the doors being closed, so not sure how this is happening (nor what the heck I can do to stop the water's ingress).

Any thoughts/ideas? And how often should the gasket be replaced? It is obviously misshapen (compressed) in just the last few months since replacement, but I gotta figure they should work for more than a few months.

Thanks,

Marv
  • marpel's avatar
    marpel
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2018
    Thanks to everyone for the posts and suggestions.

    My responses, in no particular order:

    Regarding the screws and possible leaks - When I removed the doors and frames late last year, I sealed everything inside the frames before replacing, as well as caulking every screw hole before re-screwing. Having said that, I don't think the screw holes are the problem because the screws are located outside the frame area where the gasket is located and below the wet area. I checked the interior against the wall and could not find any moisture that would suggest water is getting in from the screw holes and wicking up to the carpet.

    The door itself is a good thought. When I checked, there did not seem to be any moisture on the inside of the door. And the door itself has two holes along the bottom that allows any moisture to run down inside the door (should any water get inside the door) and exit into the area where the gasket is located (which is outside of the flange area previously described). If the gasket is doing it's job, it should prevent water from getting past it into the interior. I will be taking a closer look and consider sealing the door as well (where the door and it's frame meet).

    Funny enough, one of my first thoughts was to lock myself in the compartment and have someone pour water on the outside. Will likely do that after I reseal/re-caulk if it needs it.

    If trapping myself in the compartment does not work, I may consider the pressurize test.

    And last, if it does turn out to be the wicking issue that TVOV describes, I'm not sure what I will do. I can't just caulk the **** out of it because, as you note, the door has to open and close.

    My next move will be to replace the almost brand new gasket with another size/style to see if that works.

    Barring that, after all the issues this thing has had, I may just wait until the fourth of July and blow the thing up in a great big spectacular celebration (smiley face should go here). I will be selling tickets to cover the cost of the dynamite. But refreshments and a lawn chair will be included in the price.

    Marv
  • TKW's avatar
    TKW
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2018
    westend wrote:
    You could pressurize the interior and test all the doors and seals to see if there is a hole where water can enter.


    ^^^x2

    Since you are on the wet coast, it is a good idea to have leak test every so often. There are a few RV Shops that offer Sealtech test at a reasonable cost. I'm going to get mine done before heading out this season.
  • GrandpaKip's avatar
    GrandpaKip
    Explorer II
    Mar 17, 2018
    You could empty out the pass through, latch the door, crawl in and have someone water the outside.
  • Tvov's avatar
    Tvov
    Explorer II
    Mar 17, 2018
    marpel wrote:
    ....

    In feeling around the inside of the frames, doors and walls, I am still confident the frame sealant has worked and it does not appear there is any leaking somewhere else and running into the compartment. It seems as if the water is running into the area where the gasket is located and, funny enough, running/wicking up over the 1/2 inch metal flange that runs around the inside of the frame (to which the lock/handle tabs hook over to secure the door closed). That's the only conclusion I can reach, unless someone has better insight than me.

    Has anyone else experienced similar problems and is it probable that the water will actually wick up past the gasket and over the noted flange. The gasket has obviously compressed all the way around the frame from the doors being closed, so not sure how this is happening (nor what the heck I can do to stop the water's ingress).

    ....


    I had that exact problem, water "wicking" up and over a 1/2 inch flange, with the front window of our TT. Twice it went to a very reputable RV repair garage and no one could figure out what was going on, where water was coming from in the front. Finally one rainy day I went out to the camper and just happened to notice tiny bubbles going up and over the flange at the bottom of the window. Within 1/2 hour I had it at the repair garage, and the owner was surprised at seeing what was happening. In my case, they just caulked the **** out of the non-opening window to solve the issue... I am not sure what to do about a door that has to open.

    So yes, it certainly can happen. Water can run and leak in ways that is surprising, so keep an open mind when looking for water intrusion.
  • ejmorgan's avatar
    ejmorgan
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2018
    marpel,

    I had leakage like yours inside of one of my trailer's pass-through storage doors.

    My storage door frames were secured to the trailer with screws through the metal frame, outside the gasket, around the perimeter. Rainwater was pooling along the bottom of the frame, outside and below the rubber gasket.

    It occurred to me that the ONLY way for water to seep into the storage area was through the one or two screw holes that were securing the bottom of the frame, where the water was pooling.

    After drying up all the water, I backed-out the lower frame attaching screws about 1/4 inch. I put calking around each screw, under the head, and screwed it back down. That stopped any more water from seeping inside the compartment. Hope this works for you, too.

    Ed
  • NanciL's avatar
    NanciL
    Explorer II
    Mar 17, 2018
    westend wrote:
    You could pressurize the interior and test all the doors and seals to see if there is a hole where water can enter.


    How does one "pressurize" a travel trailer ????

    Jack L
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2018
    You could pressurize the interior and test all the doors and seals to see if there is a hole where water can enter.
  • mobeewan's avatar
    mobeewan
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2018
    Another possible source is the door itself. Luckily I haven't had water getting inside the area under the bottom bunk yet, but when I open the outside compartment door and prop it up, water leaks out of the door itself. Apparently water is running down the door and getting inside the door between the outer door panel and the extruded aluminum material that goes around the perimeter of the door itself. When I have the time I will disassemble the door itself and check to see if there is any water damaged material inside that needs replacing. Then I will put the door back together and seal all the edges inside and out with Proflex as I put it back together again.

    Mine is the rectangular door with the square corners.

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