Water Damage Source?

targ

Hello everyone,

Looks like our 2019 320s BDL has developed a leak somewhere.  We have water damage in the baggage compartment right at the junction where the flat floor meets the curved tail.  I've inspected everything in the region and can't find any missing or damaged caulk or any sign of the ingress point.  We also went through some heavy downpours over Thanksgiving week and didn't see any running water during the rains.  So this must be seeping in from somewhere else over time.  FWIW, this spot was visibly clean as recently as six weeks ago.

Any suggestions on where to look for where the water is getting in?

mona

Tail light caulking?

jeannie

dragonsdofly

@targ, this has been discussed several times. My damage was discovered after our trailers first winter and was repaired during üCamp 17. It was explained that these leaks in the taillights often don't occur during raging downpours because the water is moving quickly over the skin of the trailer, they happen during long drizzly days or as snow is slowly melting. The fix is easy. Remove the rear taillights, clear away the old caulk, including the wire pass through and screw holes. Begin with a very generous application of new waterproof caulk sealing the wire pass through, the apply into the screw holes and reinstall the taillights and screws to seal (I think they used silicone sealant). It's been leak free since then.

Drivers side rear. Look familiar?

dragonsdofly

Passenger side rear.

targ

Indeed.  Guess that's my next project.

targ

@dragonsdofly, I finally had a chance to dig into this more this weekend.  I pulled the taillight assembly out and, for the life of me, I can't imagine that's the culprit.  All of the screw holes were gooped up well (even had to pull goop out to get the light off and the screw threads are full of the goop top to bottom). The wire penetration is actually turned down so even if it weren't sealed, it wouldn't leak into the cabin.

In your picts @dragonsdofly, if you were to look along the floor (from port to starboard) to the seam between the floor and the sidewall, do you see goop in the joint?  Mine only has one small spot of goop so I'm actually wondering if they forgot to seal the entire joint.  Here's mine:

And speaking of goop, does anyone here know what the black goop NuCamp uses to seal the fasteners actually is?  I need to get some to replace everything I had to pull out to get the taillight off.
Also, does anyone know what structure is directly under this location?  There is a clear outline of a hole/pocket or something in this picture. And the linoleum (or whatever the floor covering is) is *very* soft and unsupported right here. 

PKT

And speaking of goop, does anyone here know what the black goop NuCamp uses to seal the fasteners actually is?  I need to get some to replace everything I had to pull out to get the taillight off.

  That black goop I'd think is butyl.

dragonsdofly

@targ, I watched the nüCamp service employees perform the "fix". After cleaning the taillight area thoroughly, they applied a generous, overly generous amount of silicone sealant to the screw holes and wire pass through holes. They then placed a bead of the same caulk around the base of the tailight trim piece and stuck it against the body of the t@b and screwed it into place. My t@b is a sofitel model, gray trim, gray sides and roof, gray interior. It is a completely aluminum exterior with a matching interior, which is why they used a color co-ordinated  caulk. Since this issue came to light, I suspect nüCamp switched to butyl as it "squishes" to fill voids as @PKT, suggested, perhaps because of this very problem.

dragonsdofly

@targ, nüCamp service employee also explained that during the most ferocious downpours, amazingly no water intrusion occurs. The angle of the t@b  in the rear promotes quick runoff. However, long days with a slow drizzle allows the water to find a pinhole/s and seep in. We had been in the southwest for weeks, during their "monsoon" rains and a leak did not develop. But since we are in Michigan, we found the repeated slow snow/melt cycles of a perticularly brutal winter caused the leaks. Since the nüCamp repair in July, 2017, we have traveled another 25,000+ miles, both east and west coasts and have been bone dry. I can't guaranty that is the source of your leak/s but it was mine, and several others since mine. I commend your diligence and hope you have success repairing your problem.

Jackie_Dave

We had to replace the gasket around the outside storage door. The leak looks like it could have come from the tail light, but ours was from that gasket. We replaced it about 8 months ago and no more leaks. Just food for thought.

targ

@Jackie_Dave, was there anything obvious that made you conclude it was the door gasket?  Mine looks fine with no breaks, cuts, pinches, or "low" spots.  And it takes a bit of pushing to close the door so I believe it is sealing ok.

Jackie_Dave

@targ, No. We caulked around the outside of the door, and that didn't make a difference. So we covered it with plastic and there was no water after that. We were under warranty so took it back to the dealer and they replaced the gasket and no more leak.

The door also shut really tight so that never occurred to us. But I did notice that there were water drops in the middle of the bottom of the inside of the door. Could have been a kink in the gasket before it was originally installed? No idea, but we have no more leaks.

dragonsdofly

@Jackie_Dave, thanks. Baggage door as standard came after my 2017, so I  had no knowledge of an additional leak source. Noted.

targ

Reviving this thread. I did end up pulling the light fixture and recaulking everything back there. 

But there is still something else that is letting water in. That whole area stays damp. 

I’ve also checked the baggage door seal, side marker light seal and the seal around the external power outlet. 

So, any other ideas or stories?

And on a side note, is there any way to get the factory to inspect/repair something like this rather than going through a dealer (asking because I’d also like to get the factory to do the split rear back mod). 

Denny16

It takes a while for wet plywood to dry out.  You need to have lots of dry air 
circulation.  Remove all the cushions in the area, open up and expose the wet area, and place a small fan to blow air into the wet area, have the roof vent and a window near the wet area open to aid in air circulation, and allow damp air out.
cheers