We cleaned our storage bays and the one in the middle always stays damp and it is rusted bad. After cleaning we painted them with Rustoleum. The one in the middle has three rivets in the "ceiling" and right along them rivets every morning water droplets are forming. The water lines inside the coach look good (the bay is right under the kitchen sink). Just above the bay is the furnace. Could it be the waterlines going from the motor to the watertank (heating water while going down the road) sweating? Or does anyone have an idea where to look? It is a mystery because it is just along that middle line around the 3 rivets. But it keeps this bay constantly damp and rusting. No it did not rain after we wiped the droplets off but they came back.

The engine water lines going to your water heater are not likely to sweat - they're hot, but they might leak. Have you examined your sink drain? How about dampness in the floorboards anywhere in the coach? Mysterious drips can travel a long ways before they become apparent.

I had a problem with moisture in my storage compartments that was condensation from rain leaks in the weatherstripping around the compartment doors.

I had an old wooden boat that had a frustrating rain leak that dripped in the head near the stern of the boat. I only discovered the source when I was preparing the boat for sale. It was a flaw in the canvas decking under a weep hole in the cabin structure, a full 12 feet from the place it dripped inside.

Check all your water line and drain connections. Don't exclude any possible source even if it's a long ways from where the actual drip appears.

Hey Doris,
Can't help you on the drips but two of my storage bays get wet. We sanded & filled & scraped & por 15'd(a rust fixer) all the rust & the rust came back. Most of the boxes are so pitted they actually have holes in them that I filled with jb weld. Any way when I re did them again I found a product called Chassis Saver. A little tricky to work with & I didn't prep as much as I should have(didn't have a sand blaster)So far it has worked very well. Ill send pics. However the rust will eventually come back anyway because some of the damage in the tight corners I couldn't get to to really seal them. I ended up using a grey caulk(not silicone)to fill in as best I could. I'd love to remove all my leaking boxes & replace but I will just dry them out as we go along.
My electrical cord box is the worst even now because it is @ a wheel well & there was rust through to the wheel well. I found out on the milford trip that it is still leaking like a sieve. But the chassis saver product is holding up great .

Is there any way you can get your hand up on top of the box to feel for wet. Look under sink in kit & see if you see any leaks. or is it under the kit sink.

BTW I discovered my drain pipe in the kit had never been glued. It didn't drip either which is why I never discovered it until I had to move it around for some reason recently & was surprised to find it unglued.

does your gasket start on the bottom of your door?
lenny

The locking mech is adjustable too, but do not overtighten it. If it pulls the door in too far at the bottom it will force the top out up at the hinge and may cause a leak.
You can get large dri-bags at our local Home Depot to help with condensation.
Don

Thanks for the suggestions. Now the Barth is under the "carport" and for two days the compartment was left open (80°F weather, no rain), no water run inside the coach, no motor cranked. And here are the water drops again, all along that line. You wipe them off, about 5-6 hrs later they are formed again. ????? Kitchen sink is above the furnace and shows no leaks. Cannot see under the furnace but peeking around the corners shows some black spots on the woodfloor. Should I pull out the furnace?

I vote for condensation. When we coated both the outside and inside of the compartments, the condensation stopped. The ones that are still leaking, only do so when we are running in the rain, and then because there are some areas that Tere just couldn't get to.
Jim

Before you start pulling things out to see what
is underneath them, find every water line of any sort that is visible or touchable. Run your hand along underneath every one, & the same with every joint & connection you can reach. Only when you have checked every visible & touchable possible source of a leak, should you start pulling things out to see what's underneath them. I learned that from hard experience.

If your coach is like mine, there are some water lines & joints that are decked over. I had the misfortune of having both hot & cold water lines run along the floor to the galley, & then angle up with an "L" to the faucets. Those joints had separated from freezing, & I had to cut through the plywood decking under the sink to reach them; the first major repair I made after buying the coach. Not an easy task.

Tere - thanks for the Chassis Saver tip. It really works good, but now Marvin went on a rust scraping rampage under the Barth and I am painting everything metal (excl. alu). You should see my safety outfit (had to put a swim cap on to protect my hair, working UNDER the Barth upside down I got gravity "dripping" on me). Definitely read the label FIRST and do not shake the can. But I believe that will save the compartments, frame, fuel tank, tow hitch - you name it. The drip is still there, really strange. We took the pressure of the water lines, left the compartment open for days now (Barth is under a roof) and here this little drips are back. Cannot find a leak along the waterlines. One good thing about all that crawling underneath I am learning where everything is. Found a crack in the fuel line by the filter and Marvin installed a new filter for me (it takes 1/2 inch fuel line and matching filter). He also got me a second can of Chassis Saver OMG.

Doris, my compartment under the refrigerator was wet from a leak at the compression fitting in the line to the ice maker. I also know of one coach where the same compartment was getting wet from the refrigerator defrosting.

Nick

Lenny - the gasket starts in the middle of the bottom of the door. But now I am totally puzzled. I will take a picture tomorrow in the daylight. It came back in the battery compartment too and the bigger storage compartment. It produces a white dust with little drips. This is weird. We left all compartments open, had no rain and left the windows on the coach open too while working underneath. The fridge has not been used since the GTG (left the door open), no water run. ???

quote:

It came back in the battery compartment too and the bigger storage compartment. It produces a white dust with little drips. This is weird. We left all compartments open, had no rain and left the windows on the coach open too while working underneath. The fridge has not been used since the GTG (left the door open), no water run. ???

Spooks! trace previous ownership.

Doris,
How is the chassis saver project going. Did you find the leak?
Tere

Marvin & Doris, The city water is on that side of the coach! I had a leak and my electric pump kept cycling on. I found the city water inlet on the l/h side of the coach just behind the kitchen drawers was leaking from it's seam inside the coach. The valve seam is sealed with a oring and is plastic. I think over time the plastic misforms from the water pressure and cannot be resealed.
To find it on my coach I had to pull out my 2 kitchen drawers. They have a backing in that compartment that may keep you from seeing the city water valve directly. I took an inspection mirror and looked at the Valve, which includes a check valve and pressure regulator in one assembly. With pressure on it was dripping from the seam. I changed it with a little contortion of my arms and it fixed my leak and my water pump cycling problem at the same time.
This may or may not be where your water is coming from. It would have to migrate thru your sub floor to get to your compartment. But I thought it's somthing you can check that would put water in that area.

Scotty

thanks Scottie, we will check it asap, our pump does cycle here and then! Got busy at work and had no time yet for further work.