I really hate to admit this......grey tank overflow

[TundraTower]

We have a 3 year old Forest River Cherokee 264L. It does not have the arctic package but has a rubberized cardboard enclosure around the 3 tanks that extends from front of trailer to about the axles.

In mid april while getting ready for the season I experimented with draining the hot water tank without removing the anode rod. I forgot the hot water faucet was open and turned on the water outside the trailer and got side-tracked with looking at a wheel bearing.

I was at the wheel bearing when I saw water starting to drip out of the bottom of the trailer and immediately knew what happened (nothing gets past me). The grey tank had overflowed into the shower and spilled over into the floor on the right side (I had it jacked up on the left side). I immediately jumped into Steve McQueen mode:

=I cut into this rubberized cardboard bottom and into the plastic seal under the floor to let it drain.

=I rigged a corded leaf blower to the access door under the shower and ran air thru the holes in the bottom for about 24 hours

=I pulled out all the wet insulation I could reach and replaced it with new, but could not get the wet insulation between the top of the 2 waste tanks and the bottom of the floor.

=I then sealed up all the cuts in the bottom, rented a dehumidifier, and ran it in the sealed trailer for 4 days (about 1-2 gallon a day).

I consulted a reputable RV repair place and my insurance company. They want to cut the 2 tanks out of the bottom, replace all the insulation, and splice the tanks back in place (requires holes in the walls to cut/splice the pipes). It's about $2,500 and insurance will cover all but the deductible.

We just returned from 3 weeks out west in the driest of humidity, which should have helped. No sign of mold or residual moisture anywhere, and I keep dessicant pots under the shower, bed and storage locker.

My concern is mold on such a new trailer, but the more I think about it this repair is very intrusive and has the potential to create a whole new set of problems that may be worse. We are getting close to cancelling the claim and not letting them take the tanks off.

I talked to a technician at Forest River and he thought my efforts so far were "probably" adequate. He did not think the tank removal was necessary.

Anyone have experience with this situation? .....and/or opinions or experience on the risk of mold if we don't do the repair????

Thanks. (and don't tell anyone I made such a stupid mistake)

[TundraTower]

Just to close the loop on this (so far):

The incident happened 1st week in April. After I took all the heroic efforts in the opening message, I filed a claim with insurance. I took it to a dealer for the estimate on 4/15 and they were behind significantly, said they would call me when they could get to it. They finally called me this month, 14 weeks to the day after I was there for the estimate.

I expressed my concerns about the repair (tearing out all the tanks, cutting holes in the walls to cut/splice pipes, etc) doing more damage than what was there to the insurance adjuster, and we both were of the opinion that we would probably have seen signs of mold by now while we were waiting for the dealer. The week before the dealer called me, I told the insurance to just cancel the claim and we would see what happens. Adjuster appreciated my concern and balancing of risks, and said he would make some notes and perhaps they could still help some if/when a mold problem came up (this is a VERY good insurance company).

On another note, the shop promised the repair would take "exactly 4 days". If he runs a business that is 14 weeks behind, can you imagine what his 4 days would be in real time?

I hope I made the right decision, but the silence on the other end of the phone when I told him to forget it was..........well.........priceless.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping those tubs of dessicant in the trailer and in that sealed area under the shower.

I've talked to a LOT of RV'rs that have had water in their unit just as most of you have. Most didn't do anything other than wet vac, run the heat or A/C, etc.

Thanks for your help.

[Tequila]

I flooded my new trailer in May, fortunately in Arizona. Fresh water. I took similar action, cutting it open underneath and pulling the soaked insulation. I let it dry and drove about a 1000 miles in dry weather with it exposed. A bit of water got under the linoleum near the floor vents, fortunately its not glued, I stuffed a pen under to let the air get in there. I also think I had some wet insulation between the floor & one tank, but some air can get into there even though I am sure it took long time to dry. I know it did not go beyond about a foot as there is a vent coming up from it further along where I could see dry insulation. I pushed a wood shishkabob stick through there recently and no moisture. I did do an insurance claim, most of the cost was replacing insulation and resealing the underside. I have now built an alarm system, and I have water sensors all over the place. Any moisture sets off a loud alarm and shuts off the pump

[brayr]

I have a 2010 Spree and when it was new there was a pinched water line that caused it to flood. I vacuumed up the water and the manufacturer warranty covered the pinched line. It has a covered underbelly and I don't know if there is insulation under there or not, but we have not had any moisture problems. I think that you can smell excess moisture in a closed camper if there is a problem. I would think that what you did is fine.
Ray

[fla-gypsy]

Your efforts were probably sufficient but none of us can say with certainty. If it were me I would be satisfied that everything was ok

[BubbaChris]

About the only thing I'd suggest before making your decision - Contact someone who does home inspections and see if he/she has any moisture sensing equipment that can "look at" the accessible areas.

Probably not too expensive for that type of house call, and you can offer to tow your TT to a location very convenient for him/her.

[DutchmenSport]

I flooded my Springdale several years ago by overflowing the toilet. I cut a simple hole in the bottom of the lining under the trailer and let the water drain. alright then manipulated one of the furnace floor vents. I sealed off the rest of the floor vents and let the one below underneath the floor. I ran the furnace on high for several hours. I never had a problem with the camper after that. I don't think you'll have any problems considering all the steps you went through. I would feel comfortable cancelling the insurance claim. good luck either way.

[TundraTower]

To clarify the timing, I took all the actions listed above immediately.

We have not done the tank removal yet because the RV shop has a 2+ month back-log. I took it out to them for an estimate 5 days after it happened, and still waiting for them to call me and tell me I'm next in line, but I expect that call in the next week or so.

SO.....I haven't waited all this time to make a decision, I've been in line on their waiting list.

I recognize that if I cancel the insurance claim and then later have mold damage it will be on my dime. That's the big consequence of the decision. Wide spread mold in that trailer (a very nice but cheap trailer) would likely total it.

[lbrjet]

Tough call.

[campigloo]

Man, sorry to hear about your new toy. I had a Trail Harbor and it leaked while we were gone. It looked like a water park for squirrels. We got a wet vac and sucked out as much as we could. Left the a/c running constantly and it eventually dried out. Not saying that was the best method, but it didn't seem to do any serious damage either. Tough call on the insurance claim. I would lean toward not filing. Good luck.

[Huntindog]

his was in mid April?

Too little too late.

[jerem0621]

Two things...

1) The insurance company already knows about this incident... if you do nothing then find rot in the future you could be looking at a claim denial. There is flood damage... which you have now.. and there is negligence and subsequent rot.. something that is generally not covered.

2) if water got under the linoleum it will NEVER dry out...

I'm not really going to give you advice on what to do as I wasn't there and didn't see how much water your talking about.

My dad flooded his fiver by accident in the middle of the night (toilet was left running somehow.. just a bit) He took similar action like you did and everything was fine, but he dried out everything he could.

Thanks!

Jeremiah