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Old 04-26-2010, 07:29 AM   #1
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BillG
Wet floor, dewinterizing, and other things

Hi, everyone. We bought a 2000 Advancer Lite L-21A last October, moving up from an old, very simple popup. The Advancer had been stored for a year sealed up tight and supposedly winterized.

1. WET FLOOR
I noticed a wet spot on the floor up front so I pulled back the linoleum to see how far it went. I kept going until I got to dry wood... which was never. The entire floor, front to back, left to right, was wet under the linoleum. Since then I've cut out as much as I could find - under the sink, under the drawers, under the bed, under the couch. I can't get it all though, but it's wet wherever I pulled it up. I've had fans running on every nice day the last couple weeks to dry and air it out (it also had mothballs - yech!) There are still a few spots I can see that are damp but I'll get them eventually. After some major rainstorms it didn't get any wetter anywhere I could see. The only damage I found was under the bed near the water tank, but that could have been from another leak. The rest of the floor dried out and seems ok.

Anyone have any idea what could have caused it? I was planning on chalking it up to being closed up for so long and not worrying about it unless it happens again. In the meantime I put down some old burber carpeting I happened to have, at least for now (it won't last more than a season anyway I wouldn't think, and will be easy to pull up if/when necessary and replace with something more permanent.)

2. DEWINTERIZING
I believe the trailer had been dry-winterized. I think there was anti-freeze in the waste tanks but air everywhere else. I started playing around with the 2-valve WH bypass but the valve handles on the bypass pop off so I'm not sure which way is on or off. I'm open to suggestions but I think with a little more playing I should be able to tell if I'm filling the hot water tank. I've read enough other posts about dewinterizing so that I think I know what I'm doing there once I figure out the bypass setup.

3. OTHER STUFF
I'm new at this travel trailer stuff (our previous popup basically had no systems in it.) Anything else I should think about?

Bill
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Old 04-26-2010, 09:47 AM   #2
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HI Bill,

Welcome to SOC. Glad to have you join us.

I'm sure some of the more "techy" guys will be here sometime today and give you some help for your problem.

Pictures can tell us a lot about problems, so "IF" you have a way to take & post photos, they would be helpful. You need to host your photos in a place like Photobucket, Webshots, etc. They are free, and once you put your photos there, you can use the link to post the photos in SOC.

HA, clear as mud ya say, well like I said the guys will be along sometime today to help you better.

Kitty
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Old 04-26-2010, 01:23 PM   #3
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Thanks! Yah, too late for pics - the floor is already mostly covered with that carpeting, but it's pretty easy to visualize - all wet. Nothing localized, no obvious leak, etc - the entire thing, after I peeled back the linoleum, just looked like it had been out in the rain - uniformly wet.
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Old 04-27-2010, 08:39 PM   #4
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Hi Bill

Welcome!

H'mm your water issue. Well it was coming in from somewhere... obviously... now where?? Good question.

I looked up your floor plan. Can you tell us anything about how it was stored? Like the nose was up, rear was down to let water run off roof, or the other way around, nose down.

Since the entire floor area was wet we know the water flowed verses puddle, maybe.

Could it have come in a widow on the uphill side of the way the camper was pitched? Then it came down in the wall under the tile and kept going?

I know I'm grasping at straws here, just trying to read what you wrote and offer some thoughts that might spark some ideas on your end.

Water entry thru the front window under the rock guard has been known to happen before.

Welcome to the club and good luck. Water intrusion is the enemy of any of these campers.

Hope this helps

John
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Old 04-28-2010, 05:20 AM   #5
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Thanks, John! I know - it's a complete mystery, straws are all we have. It really looked like the factory put the floor plywood down, left it out in the rain, then put down the linoleum. The trailer is about 8' wide by 21' long, and that's how much of it was wet. It wasn't splotchy, there weren't any spots wetter than anything else, no streaking or running - it was all just wet. Including under the places I can't get the linoleum up (under the water tank, under the fridge, under the heater - basically wherever I can't reach.)

I assume it is still wet under where I can't get at, and there are still a few spots here and there that haven't dried out yet (I'm probably going to try to go at them with a hair dryer) but it doesn't seem to be getting any wetter and we've had some epic rain storms here in Massachusetts recently.

I think it was stored with the nose slightly up and leaning a bit to the right side (I'm not making a political statement here.) It had been buttoned up completely tight for about a year, maybe a little more, before I bought it. It didn't smell moldy or anything but the overpowering smell of the mothballs might have had something to do with that.

I dunno - at this point I figure that if it doesn't happen again I'll be fine. Water under the bridge (and through the camper.)

I'll post some trailernography pics soon. If there really is no major damage to this thing we got a GREAT deal on a beautiful camper once we finish getting it all cleaned up. Can't wait to get out there and USE it!

Bill
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Old 04-28-2010, 11:03 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BillG
Thanks, John! I know - it's a complete mystery, straws are all we have. It really looked like the factory put the floor plywood down, left it out in the rain, then put down the linoleum. The trailer is about 8' wide by 21' long, and that's how much of it was wet. It wasn't splotchy, there weren't any spots wetter than anything else, no streaking or running - it was all just wet. Including under the places I can't get the linoleum up (under the water tank, under the fridge, under the heater - basically wherever I can't reach.)

snip..

I'll post some trailernography pics soon. If there really is no major damage to this thing we got a GREAT deal on a beautiful camper once we finish getting it all cleaned up. Can't wait to get out there and USE it!

Bill
Bill, Triple WOW!!!!

Having just been thru my 2004 slide floor rot.... this much I may be able to help with. If the floor was wet from the factory, now 10 years ago, the floor may just complete fall apart to dust....actually a rot pile, OSB board totally falls apart when the glue goes.

100% wet. WOW, this just does not add up. However we do have a member here who had to replace his floor in place and did a beautiful job I might add. See here for Bobs TT but it is a 94: http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...pic.php?t=1215

He may be able to shed some light on this as I do not know if he ever 100% figured his out.

The only wild thing I can think of is some how the conditions where right and thru a window or something water snuck in, went under the tile and then wicked all over. While it may not be what occurred, it a least has a hint of “maybe”

For sure keep a hawk eye out for anything like that.

And YES we like pics of all kinds of Sunlines.

Happy camping once you get out. These are great campers.

John
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Old 04-28-2010, 01:34 PM   #7
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I didn't mean to imply that's actually what happened - if it had been wet for 10 years I agree there would be nothing left! That's just what it looked like. I'm thinking it was all closed up tight for a year, moisture built up (although UNDER the linoleum I don't know how) and then wicked across the whole thing. The only rot is sort of near the water tank but I'm not going to bother doing much about it right now. Everything else is pretty much ok especially now that it's mostly dried out. I'm hoping that by really drying as much as I can that the remaining wet spots will eventually spread out to the dry spots and everything will just be bone dry... and stay that way!

Actually I almost forgot, I have the original pics from when I bought the camper last year here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1280046...92936711/show/

Since then I have done a bunch of cleaning and obviously ripped out the carpeting and all the linoleum (which had some weird discoloration.) More pics to come with my updates.
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Old 04-28-2010, 02:14 PM   #8
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Hi Bill,

Almost looks like it might have been through a minor flood at one time. I'm guessing the water wasn't real high and receeded quickly, so the damage wasn't very apparent. It looks like it got just high enough to get the floor wet, and particularly under the floor.

How do the brakes look inside, if you've dug that far? If they're somewhat rusty, this might be an indication.

Jon
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Old 04-28-2010, 04:09 PM   #9
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The owner claimed that the discoloration of the floor wasn't there a year ago when he saw it last (he was from NY, the camper had been stored at a camp in MA.) Eh - who knows. It's raining again today and still nothing getting any worse inside so I'm not going to worry about it any more. Good question about the brakes - I know they work but I haven't really looked at them much. I'm sure they're rusty from sitting anyway. At least there are no major soft spots inside the living area - the plywood all looks pretty good in there.
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Old 04-28-2010, 08:39 PM   #10
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Bill

Thanks for the picture link. That is like a T1950 layout sort of and it has that tapered less wind drag design. Curious how it compares to the non tapered brick we tow behind us.

In case you did not know, there is a Dometic recall on the fridge. Odds are yours is in it like all the rest of us. All you need to do is check the serial number on the Dometic web site, if it is affected, then just find a local dealer who services Dometic and they will put the heat shield and thermal switches on for free since this is a saftey recall.

Good luck with your new camper.

John
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Old 05-02-2010, 11:50 AM   #11
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Bill:

This is a long shot. However, it happened to us, so it could happen to someone else. While in winter storage, a mouse got into our first Sunline and chewed a hole in a water line in the cabinet under the sink and stove. When I flushed the antifreeze from the lines in the spring, it did not take too long to flood the floor. If you're not seeing additional water after a recent rain, it might be a good idea to take a close look at your water lines.
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Old 05-02-2010, 02:51 PM   #12
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Is there any way to tell if the refrigerator recall was already done on my unit?

Thanks, Al - I might not have been clear. The entire floor of the camper was uniformly wet from left to right, front to back. No single leak could have caused that I don't think. Anyway, things seem to be ok moving forward and I'll deal with any problems spots as I need to. Now I just need to finish flushing the tanks and get out to the woods!

Bill
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Old 05-02-2010, 08:31 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BillG
Is there any way to tell if the refrigerator recall was already done on my unit?

Bill
Bill

I "thought" I saw in your pics on your pic site it did not have the recall done. Here is a fast way to tell.

This is what it looks like the old way. No metal shield over the burner chimney


This is what it looks like after. See flat metal shield with the wiring diagram on it.


John
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