Front storage bin leak concerns

[Dave Fro]

Wow, amazing news! I hope that it dries out and then you get another huge downpour to really test it out. Fingers crossed for sure! I don't think there is any point in sealing that edge, it is nearly impossible for the water to get up and under, and then back to the osb from what i can tell. That is crazy how much water comes out of that drain, pretty sure mine is clogged so for sure will work on clearing it out. I think there are about 5 weeping holes along the length of that piece of trim, but no way they could keep up in a downpour. Please keep us posted on how things go once things dry out.
I think to match your setup, i just have to deal with the bottom corners, because currently i'm still getting soggy in the rain.
Thanks so much for all the tips and great pics!

 

[TSQ]

Well, after three days of hot dry weather it rained pretty hard yesterday and all seems well - the OSB remained dry.

Camper is currently parked level front to back, and nearly level side to side. I will keep an eye on it to make sure it stays dry as we park it in different attitudes.

I must confess I'm pretty happy, this has been a long battle for me.

 

[Dave Fro]

Wow, that is amazing news!!!! What an epic design flaw on their part, basically channel all the rain on the whole trailer right into the super cheap (not waterproof) OSB. Hope it stays dry for you. Such a relief to know the water likely isn't coming in from some other strange location that is more difficult to fix. I'm going to finalize my drip edge extension this weekend just in time for some rain next week.
Has been so great to work through this one!

 

[jamsomito]

Yikes, what a journey! I'm just taking my first couple steps

I don't think I plugged the trim drain... but I definitely just caulked all along the bottom trim edge. I followed that up around the curve at the front of the storage bin, did the plastic lid ridge all along the font, and the seam at the trim and diamond plate all along the bottom. I also got both corner marker lights while I was there too - some rusty screws on those, not good. Ugh, I hate caulk. I foresee much more of it in my future too...

We'll see how it turns out after it sits overnight in the rain this week.

 

[Dave Fro]

Yikes, what a journey! I'm just taking my first couple steps

I don't think I plugged the trim drain... but I definitely just caulked all along the bottom trim edge. I followed that up around the curve at the front of the storage bin, did the plastic lid ridge all along the font, and the seam at the trim and diamond plate all along the bottom. I also got both corner marker lights while I was there too - some rusty screws on those, not good. Ugh, I hate caulk. I foresee much more of it in my future too...

We'll see how it turns out after it sits overnight in the rain this week.

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good luck on your journey! let us know if this works out for you. I assume you got soggy OSB in the front corners when it was raining?

 

[TSQ]

How did you make out?

The build quality really is atrocious on these things.

Ours is still staying dry - we are spending the summer travelling this year (https://www.popupportal.com/threads/eight-weeks-on-the-road.139237/) so occasionally the bottom of the trailer gets wet if we are driving in the rain but the OSB hasn't gotten absolutely soaking again like it used to.

So I'm confident you can beat it eventually, although it's ridiculous that anyone should have to put so much work into trailers that are ~5 years old.

 

[Dave Fro]

I'm actually still waiting for a big rain, it has been really dry here. This is the first time I have actually wanted it to rain on my trailer!

Agree that it is nuts to have to do so much to a relatively new trailer, it really is a terrible design defect, wonder if they have corrected it on the newer models...

 

[Sjm9911]

Use a hose, lol. Then you can turn off the rain if you find a problem!

 

[Dave Fro]

Use a hose, lol. Then you can turn off the rain if you find a problem!

I have, but amazingly i can't seem to find the right angle to get the OSB wet, the only surefire way is for it to sit in a downpour for an hour.... I can't spray the hose for an hour without getting too tired

 

[Sjm9911]

Sprinkler! I get you though. Its coming in a certain way you cant replicate. Hope ita fixed.

 

[jamsomito]

Ok guys, good news - it rained last night and the front storage bin was DRY!!

I took some pics before. I like this RV caulk, very clear, not cloudy at all (though I'm sure it will yellow or cloud up over time). I really smeared a lot of it on there... argh did I mention I hate caulk? But these key seams and the marker lights seem to have been the culprit!





And the after pics. Not sure how hard it rained, but everything was thoroughly soaked on the ground in the morning, so it was more than a drizzle!





Most importantly... DRY STORAGE BIN!! (pardon the junk in there)


Also - I checked that front drain channel, and I indeed left it open. However, I noticed one side of it was screwed to the underside of the camper, and the other side was left to flap in the breeze. This could very well have been the culprit if the water was backing up in this channel and just sitting there by the OSB floor edge. What a terrible design. I think caulking that bottom trim / side panel seam was what did the trick, but who knows for sure. (image mirrored - took it in selfie mode. This is the right-hand side of the trailer where I had my leak)



Another very possible leak point was where that bottom rubber flap comes up over the diamond plate. Looks like all the water runs down right there. Sealing that up likely helped too.

 

[Sjm9911]

A dry pup is a happy pup.

 

[Dave Fro]

It finally rained. My OSB is dry! I put some drip edges in the back too as I did notice some rot back there as well. What a weight off my shoulders. Thanks so much everyone who worked together to figure this one out. We should sell our solution to Viking so they can just make their trailers properly from day one...