Common cause of water leaks in the body?

[Blue~Go]

Does your window not slide open all the way on the left side long window?? Mine doesn't either but I just thought that was mine cause that seemed silly to not open all the way. can you just move the bar stop so it can open more?

On the Councourses with the "parallelogram" windows they don't open "all the way" because the bottom/forward edge hits the vertical divider bar and won't go any further. It's a disadvantage of the shape. (But hey, you look like you're moving when you're parked, and the mirror finish is wonderful!)

That said, you may be able to get a bit more. If you look in the upper track (at least this is how it was on mine) you will see a little round disc (brown) with a screw in the center. That is the stop that they install so that the bottom part of the window won't slide far enough to contact the frame on the bottom edge. BUT, on my sink-side window, they had put the stop in such that I lost even another 2". Come on people! If yours is like that you can move it forward to juuuuuust where it needs to be and no more. You might gain a bit (otoh on my dining side it was already correctly placed).

You can't move the window bar as that is a permanent part of the window separating the panes. You could change the division point if you were having new windows made.

[Astrodokk]

I have multiple wet areas in mine.
The tire trunk definitely, the door for sure, and the fake wood has absorbed so much water that the closet door is compromised and keeps popping open while driving. The bathroom floor divider is also expanded, as well as the closet wall close to the rear door. The step well is soaked, and the door jam wood is completely trashed. The lower fridge area is warped, and so is the area below the rear barrel chair.
I'm thinking of hiring a carpenter to fix all the wood damage. Or would it be better to just go to an rv repair shop and have them do it?

[Blue~Go]

I say be cautious about going to an RV shop. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, but in my experience they are the exception and a lot of RV work is not of high quality. There are some high end places (say, around Junction City, OR) but most RV shops in my experience are familiar with RV type work, which is, shall we say.... a bit on the flimsy side.

I think (depending on your time, inclination, and budget) I would try to find a carpenter or cabinet maker who will work with you. Then I would remove the offending wall pieces (it's all just screws - nothing tricky) and have this person copy them in good plywood. A good multi-ply might be a good choice (you could go marine plywood, but that's not necessary). If you want to take the time, you could coat the bottom edges with epoxy (WEST System, System Three or similar). Of course you will try to get rid of the leaks, but it never hurts to double up on defenses. Plus you will be shocked at how heavy the MDF is. That's one of the few places I really think Chinook could have done better. (Okay, that and the carpet!)

I think I've got some photos in a couple of the remodeling threads (refrigerator side specifically). I removed just about all of my wall panels and cut new ones from 1/2" Apple Ply (the existing ones are also 1/2"). They really are just flat panels. Having the old ones as patterns is key and saves massive amounts of time. I will assume your oak doors (real wood) are fine so you can re-use them, plus the hardware. If you employ someone who is used to working on houses make sure they don't use a hammer to pound things into place (perfectly acceptable on a house) because you can crack the shell if there are any point loads. That shouldn't be necessary if the old pieces can be used for patterns.

If you get into the lower cabinets under the stove and sink (you may not have to) that is one place where I changed the design. I'm making more drawers and then too, instead of having big cross bars it's more open for access to the systems in back (plumbing, electrical, propane). You'll see once you pull out the drawers in the kitchen "ell" that they leave you very little room for working in there! Not that I'm saying you need to change it (and those sections may be fine anyway).

Even if someone else does it, they can employ the same method. But almost anyone who is so inclined could remove the existing panels and take them to a shop (or heck, bring the Chinook).

Note that two of the transverse walls are somewhat structural. They are plywood not MDF. That is the wall between the refrigerator and stove, and the one between the shower and kitchen sink. I wouldn't drive around with those out, plus you also want to make sure they continue to exist (unless you make another structural solution.

On the tire locker: You'll find that if you remove the "back' wall you gain tons of storage space! I did that and just make a small box to cover the plumbing. Then I put some 1/2" foil-faced insulation board up against the shower wall for "padding" and insulation. Probably gained at least 35% more space.

Maybe you could start a thread for your Chinook and then we can get into photos and specifics if you like.

[sm350bl]

I have been whittling away at possible entry points of water into the closet. when I started, the first step and closet walls and bottom of closet were getting wet. sealed up rooftop rear marker lamps to body, replaced licence plate lamp assembly and re-sealed that, pulled my right rear taillight assembly off ( what a contraption that is ) and checked for water entry there, actually looked pretty dry. re-sealed all the ladder mounts to the body. Things have subsequently been drying out but i have been getting persistent moisture on the closet floor. Here on the central coast of Cali were have been getting peppered with water and gusts of wind so I have been leaving the nook out to get the leaky area nailed down. After the last bit of rain the floor is getting a renewed source of moisture and noticed the side area next to the fridge is newly wet. I have been checking the fridge cover and has looked dry in the past but I checked it again and sure enough there were signs of water in the fridge floor area this time. There is a 3/8 - 1/2 gap between the fridge floor and the cover threshold and that's where the water was dropping down into. Since we are staring down the throat of another good wave of systems coming in I temp sealed it best I could and ill continue to monitor. I was looking at the cover door and there is no seal on it. I wonder if thats how the water is getting through. thinking about lining the edge of the cover door with that sticky one side foam weatherstripping tape and seeing if I can get a weather seal that way or not.I did check the outside storage area behind the spare tire and am happy to report its bone dry. Thank god.

[Blue~Go]

I just hate the design of that lower fridge vent (the plastic Dometic part) and the Chinook floor there (Chinook). It's like a leak waiting to happen (only waiting until the first rain ) Can we even count the ways it's a problem?

1) The Chinook body slants slightly inward in that area (sporty), so the vent is already at a disadvantage.

2) Sure, the vent holes are "upside down" to try to prevent water ingress, but where the removable part joins the fixed flange, there is a gap all the way around that is not "upside down." Sure, water, come on in! I don't believe there is ever supposed to be foam around the vent door - I bought a brand new one and it was the same as the stock one (Dometic product). Just plastic that you bed to the body around the flange but nothing at the door/frame interface.

3) The Chinook floor there is below the bottom of the vent vs. being slightly above it. IIRC the instructions from Dometic show the vehicle floor being just above the bottom of the vent, and slanted outward (i.e. they know it can leak and the RV builder is supposed to account for it).

4) There is nothing there to account for water coming in and divert or direct it (I think on later models they threw in the towel and made a fiberglass pan there maybe?).

My Chinook had been kept indoors, so there was no sign that water had come in there, but as I didn't want to camp indoors -- and I could see the potential problems -- I wanted to do something.

I initially made a diverter at the bottom of the vent. That did work (although I was in limited rain). Not sure if it would have allowed enough air to the burner of the stock fridge or not. If I had been going to keep the absorption fridge, I would probably have kept the vent stock, then removed the fridge and made some kind of fiberglass pan - perhaps tying in with the fridge condensate drain - that was designed to accept and dispatch the inevitable water ingress.

However, I already knew I was going to a compressor fridge, and one of the plusses to my mind was being able to close off that lower vent (even if one did want to have a lower vent, it would not need to be that design since there is no longer a fire burning back there once you don't have an absorption fridge). So I never made a custom pan.

Some people have run a bead of caulk as a "dam" on that floor - not sure that really diverts the water to a better place, although if it's just a few drops I guess it can just stay there and evaporate. On my Chinook there was some of the leftover vinyl covered "paneling" pushed up against the outside wall (on top of the plywood floor) and caulked to the outside wall. That worked for nuisance drips.

In contrast, I have never had ONE DROP of water come in the roof refrigerator vent. Much better design. (And I would know as since I removed the absorption fridge, that upper vent has been above a small cabinet so any leak would come into the cabinet). I've been in some wild monsoon storms with that thing. However, that's not to say that if the bedding got old, it couldn't leak around where it is bedded to the roof. If I had leaks in that area I would re-bed it just to be sure. But I mean the vent openings don't leak. Too bad the lower vent is not as good a design.

[Astrodokk]

I haven’t had a chance to investigate any potential leak points, but the first one I will start on is definitely the fridge outer vent door. I have the same wet problem in the lower step well.

[Blue~Go]

Good plan. I think it's almost inevitable for that lower vent to leak - it's always my first suspect when I'm reading about a leak.

(BTW, a friend had a lower vent in an "other brand" Class C that didn't leak. BUT, first of all the body was perfectly vertical there (box shaped RV), and second, it was the older metal type with very fine louvers and a tight fit. Not blocky plastic.)

[itswhatyouvalue]

Hi Bob, my Concourse seems to have same leak in same spot. What, where & how was problem solved? Going to have to replace lower half of closet panel near rear steps. Hadn't seen a post with conclusion for issue. Thank You in advance for any & all time, concideration & responce to issue.
Brian ....

[BobW9]

Brian, if you're talking to me about my issue mentioned on the first page, it seemed to stop after I fixed some leaks on the other side of the door. The water might have been travelling along the lower inside step (or just under it). At least, after I had no more wet spots in the left side, the wet spot in the closet also stopped. I have also replaced the door (with its frame) since then, so that could have been a cause as well (the door was falling apart and had multiple issues, though it didn't seem to be a source of leaks to me)

On the left side, I had one of the marker lights leaking and also a leak through a screw hole of the rear compartment:

1) The marker light just had to be replaced. It had a small crack that was barely visible, but allowed water to drip in - I was able to have someone wet it down while my head was in the compartment and could see some drips falling from above.

2) The compartment door frame has screws all around it, with wood strips glued on the inside of the fiberglass for the screws to bite into. In the lower strip, the wood wasn't placed quite right and one screw was mostly missing the wood, and so was a bit loose. I couldn't tell by looking at it, but after trying to tighten the screw and checking, I realized that might be leaving enough space for water to come in. I added some more wood and then also rebedded all the screws using some butyl. That definitely stopped dampness in that area and across to the door. Whether that water then travelled across the bottom step of the door and into the closet, I can't say for certain, but I don't recall ever having dampness in the closet after that.

That was years ago now and I have had no water or dampness in the back area, left or right of the door since. Of course, I mostly travel and hang out in drier areas these days (AZ, NM, TX), but sometimes I am in heavy rains and so far so good (knock on wood!).

I hate water, good luck!
Bob