2000 Concourse Club repairs

[SMan]

Just my rambling thoughts:

Zooming in on the outside compartment it appears all the rotten wood is the walls and that the carpet is covering the floor which I am sure is probably plywood (and saturated). Funny to see carpet with a drain in the middle. With some luck maybe the floor can be dried/salvaged. My 2004 is completely glassed in with the same drain (and no exposed wood). Definitely a design improvement.

I also hate MDF. I repair and build guitars and use Baltic Birch plywood for many things and would use it (treated of course) or marine plywood as a replacement depending on location.

A separate thermostat for the furnace would be my preference anyway and is more than likely the problem. If an RV repair place installed the new A/C they should have known that would be an issue but again good RV repair facilities are the exception in my opinion.

Good luck with your new Chinook.

[Blue~Go]

Zooming in on the outside compartment it appears all the rotten wood is the walls and that the carpet is covering the floor which I am sure is probably plywood (and saturated). Funny to see carpet with a drain in the middle. With some luck maybe the floor can be dried/salvaged. My 2004 is completely glassed in with the same drain (and no exposed wood). Definitely a design improvement.

Can you explain the drain? My '99 has no drain in that compartment. The DWV plumbing passes through, but that's it. In the side area (behind the panel) the black tank flush passes through.

I believe the later models went to a composite floor vs. the plywood with bottom fiberglass layer of my era. This is more like a boat deck. It should be lighter weight (I think that's why they started it, because the Destiny was so close to its weight ratings), but interestingly the later model 21-footers always seem to be heavier than my era and earlier. Maybe feature creep; perhaps a high resin to cloth ratio in the composite (?). I think the 2000 would be the plywood floor, but that said I'm not positive. I guess we will find out here.

With the composite floor you want to be sure not to let any water into the sandwich where it can "fester." This has ruined many a boat. But obviously with either construction you don't want to allow leaks to sit and wreck things (which they will). If Astro got lucky, the carpet will have dried out to the air above without rotting the floor. Once we see the extent of the issues a plan can be made.

I also hate MDF. I repair and build guitars and use Baltic Birch plywood for many things and would use it (treated of course) or marine plywood as a replacement depending on location.

I bet you have a drool-worthy workshop! I always wish I had more woodworking tools and experience, and I so miss having a really good workshop (maybe miss isn't the right word because I have never really had one of those).

I agree on the wood. Marine ply is ultimate, but not really necessary. A multi-ply (such as Baltic Birch) would be more than good enough, especially if the bottom ends were epoxy coated. But really, there is no "excuse" for a Chinook to be leaking long term like this. Any old plywood (excepting the cheapest "2-ply" horrible stuff you can buy) would be world's better than MDF. One thing I'd be thinking of is how do I want to finish the new walls? That might have a bearing on your choice. If you are going to paint, you could also consider MDO. That provides a really nice smooth surface. I'd want to check the MSDS (or whatever "ingredient" list) due to I think it is meant for exterior use (but I'd do that on any plywood).

A separate thermostat for the furnace would be my preference anyway and is more than likely the problem. If an RV repair place installed the new A/C they should have known that would be an issue but again good RV repair facilities are the exception in my opinion.

Hear, hear!

[Astrodokk]

Oh boy.
At least the thing made it back over 3000 miles in one piece, so I’m thankful for that. It seems the mechanicals are up to par. But I haven’t even opened up the doghouse yet.
Anyway, the moisture seems to be coming from below and rising up into that crappy faux wood. I’ll take it all apart and remove the carpet to expose what lies beneath ( ever see that movie?)
The closet outside wall is moist as well, and that’s why the latch failed.
Here’s a better shot of the tire trunk:

[SMan]

I see now there is no drain. I thought the white piece of plastic in the one picture sitting on the carpet was a drain. My bad!

I've attached pics of my storage "box". Note the drain in the upper right corner. The sides have a padded panel applied to the inner box. (Fiberglass or composite haven't really investigated) A bit of water does get in sometimes as the door is not a perfect seal but drains out.

My woodworking shop went away when we moved a bit over a year ago but am planning to build a 28X36 shop building. I do miss my shop!!! (Not sure it was droolworthy ) Working out of a 10 X 16 shed temporarily.

[Blue~Go]

Ahh, that is easier to look at (of course we like to see all the photos). And I don't see a drain (which I wasn't expecting to see).

I can't think of any real way for water to come up from below, so my guess is that water is leaking in somewhere (or "somewheres" plural) and running across the floor to end up in the locker (and hence be sponged up by the glorious MDF).

We've discussed the obvious culprits (locker door, refrigerator lower vent, etc.). There is also the chance that a DWV pipe is leaking (although that's less likely). There is also the chance that a supply line is leaking (toilet, bathroom sink), but again, those seem to be less likely. Also the water supply take-off on the water tank could fail (they are just spin-welded) and that could empty 25+ gallons into the rig. But I'd expect to see some kind of "trail" of evidence. It can't just skip over to the tire locker.

Can you see any evidence of "trails" for a clue?

Can you list all the wet areas? For example, the lower refrigerator vent could leak and the water run over to the tire locker (depending on parking angle) but it can't very likely leak and NOT do some damage around the refrigerator area along the way.

OTOH if the tire locker was the worst damage, then I would suspect something localized first. But it clearly "soaked up" from floor level, wherever it came from.

At 20 years old, everything that is attached to the outside could be considered due for a re-bedding, on any RV or boat; but at this point it would be nice to find the worst culprit(s) and get them sealed up.

[Blue~Go]

Okay, Sman, now I see what you have going there. That is a nice improvement which must have come along in the last years. It looks like a fiberglass pan with a drain. One could fabricate something like that, but if there are no leaks then not strictly necessary. I would still get rid of the carpet and at least epoxy coat and paint the floor (and that would be fine as long as one doesn't let things leak for AGES like clearly someone did here). I imagine the pan was to theoretically handle drips from fill hoses and etc. stored there (I keep my hoses in the side compartment which is a fiberglass pan). Which it would do nicely. A leak from the fridge could perhaps travel under it (but I think there may be a pan there too in last years?).

I see they "copied" (except they did it before we were around ) the mod some of us have made which is to box in the DWV plumbing at the back/bottom of that locker and thus make 90% of the compartment larger.

There were some nice improvements made in the later years. I strongly considered a mid-2000's model myself. But in the end for me I didn't want some of the "other" things that were added (swoops, electric steps, weight), and also I knew I would be more reluctant to do mods on that pretty cherry interior (plus cherry is not my thing and darned if I could EVER find a maple one), and I'd be more worried about my "investment." But they are very nice. One thing I've always really respected about Chinook is that although they stuck with tried-and-true layouts (which is not a bad thing), they always kept improving the implementation/construction/electrical/etc. Right up to the end. Props to them.

[Blue~Go]

Looking at those pics though: How does someone let things get THAT BAD without addressing them?! Okay, I mean sure, I can imagine how.... but geez. That didn't happen in a week or one freak storm.

Well, onward and upward!

[Astrodokk]

I know, right?!
His ad said "minor" wood repair needed. He swore he didn't know the extent of this, and he had it 1.5 years. It had allegedly been kept in a warehouse begore he bought it...I wonder if the warehouse had a roof...
I found those flying wasp bug mud nests under the front hood.
I mean, pride of ownership goes a long way for me. As soon as I could, I WD-40'd the whole under hood compartment and cleaned it up. It looks way better and cleaner now, like it should. I couldn't drive it back knowing how ugly the compartment looked. It's like they say about ladies with lace undies, although no one sees it, she knows and feels good about it. (maybe not the best simile but you get the picture.)
More to come later.

[SMan]

Astro, that is some serious damage! Hopefully you can find the issue that caused it and get it repaired. Its an opportunity to improve the design and functionality of the space.

[Scott]

Could it be leaking around the cap on the vent stack?

On the bright side, once you clean it up you'll have way more storage! Don't fret; it's all fixable.

Interesting they employed that pan with drain in the later years. Almost like a corrective action against the "inevitable" water intrusion. Mine is luxuriously lined with blue carpet, just like all storage spaces should be .

Steve, that's neat that your door has a top hinge. Is that arrangement strong enough to be used as a table? "Strong" is subjective, but does it look as though they designed it with a structural intent?