Dirt inside T@B

Bhastings

JohnDanielsCPA said:

We went on our maiden voyage this weekend; a 104 mile offroad (well, gravel and dirt roads actually) adventure into the Owyhee Canyonlands in Idaho.  We were amazed to open our door when we hit camp and find the inside full of dirt and dust.  We checked all the windows (all closed and clamped down tight [to the second notch, not the air breathing first notch]), the vent was closed tight.  When we got home on Sunday, we completely emptied the T@B and did a complete detail.  While cleaning out under the fridge, we think we may have found the culprit.  There is a vent under the refrigerator that is supposed to allow air to enter the refrigerator cabinet to allow the warm air generated by the refrigerator to escape out the side vent.  Coming out of that floor vent was a plume of dirt; looks like it had been pluming quite a bit.  My best guess is dirt got sucked in from the black scoop under the T@B, came up into the T@B through the floor vent, then exited from the grill above the lower cabinet door and entered the cabin that way.  I don't know to what extent the two vents in the front of the T@B would have contributed to this.  One other piece of information - we traveled with the refrigerator off, and the supplemental fan was not running.

The questions are, is my T@B missing a piece that is supposed to seal of that vent while traveling?  If not, has anyone else experienced dirt entering the cabin while traveling on dirt roads?  What have other people done to seal this opening off?  I have had other trailers and a truck camper on dirt roads and have never experienced this kind of dirt/dust intrusion into the cabin.

Hey guys, 
We just bought a 2019 T@B 400 BL and experienced the same issue with significant dust. Did you ever resolve the issue? We need help.

Tink

@Michigan_Mike I was just reviewing this post again and noticed you are from Howell, MI .... so are we!

tteam

We have the same issue under the back bench in our 2020. It is to the passenger side, but not at the wall. NuCamp said it was the Air 8, but we only used that one time for 15 minutes in 2019. I noticed it in 2020 and it has gotten worse over time. I have looked for water after traveling and using the water, but have never noticed water or feel any wetness in that area. The Alde is the black object.

Denny16

Guys, @JohnDanielsCPA has a new 2022 TaB400 (see his signature line), it has a one-piece composite floor, plumbing penetrations are sealed, unlike earlier TaB400s, including mine.  The dirt is coming in from the floor fridge vent, John must have the larger fridge in lieu of the hanging locker.  The dirt and dust definitely come in from this u dear floor sir scoop vent.  The die vent AC with a cover over it will not suck in that much dust/dirt from the road, which is kicked up around the wheels.

We discovered a similar accumulation of dust and dirt under the hanging locker and in the rear Alde compartment, both of these areas are sealed from the cabin, unlike John’s fridge vent which vents into the cabin as well.  The dust snd dirt came from going over dirt roads to Burning Man and other off road adventures. 

I thought the wheel well seal on the drivers side was at fault, as the Passenger side areas were clean.  The wheel well seals were good, but should be checked at least annually.  I had the dealer seal up all the plumbing runs through the floor, there were several in a 2018 TaB400.  

Turns out the issue was under the closet floor where the water pump, and water intakes come into the cabin.  The water pump suction pipe and water tank fill pipe go through a large hole in the floor on the 208/2019 TaB400s, and there is about a one to two inch gap between the underside of the floor and the top of the tank, which allowed the dust s d dirt kicked up by the left side tire to be pulled into the trailer.  The CoolCat compartment was clean, and has the OEM cover snapped over it.  Here is a photo of the large plumbing penetration the dust snd dirt entered through:

Large hole in the floor circled in red.  The large tube with blue arrow down is the  water intake from the side of the TaB, the smaller hose with blue arrow up is the water pump suction hose from the water tank.  You can put your finger down in there between the top of the water tank and the bottom of the floor, big enough for a mouse to get in.  The plastic cover on the bottom of the early TaB400s is not dust/dirt proof, and the top of our cover had a layer of dust/fine dirt over it. 
The dust and dirt came into the cabinet through this large cutout in the floor, which I have sealed, and the problem was solved.

The TaBs are not completely sealed on the underside.  Each year/model of the TaB400 has this issue, in different locations. The. 2020 400s and 320s with a Air8 AC have a vent scoop under the floor into the Air8 compartment for air input, which has allowed dust snd water in. The later model large 3-way fridges have venting openings in the side snd bottom.  So care must be taken to cover theses whilst going down dirt roads, dust will get in the smallest openings…
Cheers