New TAB 320S- does stain indicate leaking?

Sneakle

We just bought a new 2018 Tab 320s boondock on Friday. Looking under the back cushion, I notice a darkened stain around the corner area of the right rear. It's not wet, and I see no buckling; but I find it concerning. My first thought was maybe they just used discolored wood there because it's in an area that doesn't show. But then again, the shape of the staining looks almost like water was standing in that corner for a time. Thoughts?

dragonsdofly

@Sneakle, there are 2 possibilities. Directly above this area is your glycol overflow/reserve tank. The stains can be from that, but most likely, your taillights are not perfectly sealed. It happened to us. The stains appeared as the t@b wintered over in snowy Michigan. The techs at the factory knew immediately what it was. The remedy was to remove the back taillight covers, remove the old caulk and redo with fresh silicone sealant, including in the screw holes. But yours is a new trailer and what you have is a warranty issue. Call your dealer. The fix takes only minutes. Good luck.

ScottG

Hard to say with absolute certainty from looking at a photo, but that doesn't look like natural wood discoloration!

Sneakle

dragonsdofly said:

@Sneakle, there are 2 possibilities. Directly above this area is your glycol overflow/reserve tank. The stains can be from that, but most likely, your taillights are not perfectly sealed. It happened to us. The stains appeared as the t@b wintered over in snowy Michigan. The techs at the factory knew immediately what it was. The remedy was to remove the back taillight covers, remove the old caulk and redo with fresh silicone sealant, including in the screw holes. But yours is a new trailer and what you have is a warranty issue. Call your dealer. The fix takes only minutes. Good luck.

You may be right. But what concerns me is the stain explanation I'll have to tell a buyer when If I sell it in the future.

dragonsdofly

@Sneakle, call your dealer and then keep all corresponding paperwork so you can show any prospective buyer and reassure them the problem has been corrected. The stain is only cosmetic if corrected now. I was very concerned about my trailer when we discovered the issue. You're forward thinking, as it never occurred to me to worry about a future buyer. I only wanted my trailer repaired. Pics of my stains to follow. Mine were completely across the back. Never has leaked again after it was repaired.

Sneakle

Your words are wise Dragonsdofly. I have a call in to the dealer. Looks like a 3 hr drive back to Huntsville in my future.

Sneakle

Update. I called Nucamp and they are rushing out replacement wood part and work order for dealer to reseal tail lights. GREAT SERVICE!!! 

dragonsdofly

@Sneakle, and you were wise to purchase from the great manufacturer we have in common. They are always awesome, make things right, and even after warranty will go the extra distance to help.

SueBC

hmmm

SueBC

dragonsdofly said:

@Sneakle, ..most likely, your taillights are not perfectly sealed. It happened to us. The stains appeared as the t@b wintered over in snowy Michigan. The techs at the factory knew immediately what it was. The remedy was to remove the back taillight covers, remove the old caulk and redo with fresh silicone sealant, including in the screw holes.

Can you recommend what type of silicone sealant they used?

dragonsdofly

@SueBC, I don't know what particular brand or type of sealant the factory used, but an email or phone call to the tech at nüCamp will get you the precise info you need. Also, many of our resident experts will chime in soon with great information and expertise. Good luck. Btw, our taillights have not leaked since they were resealed in July of 2017.

Sneakle

I posted the original message so thought I should fill in the resolution. The replacement wood parts arrived at the dealer but they were not able to install it and wanted me to simply let them cover the area with black carpet. After some back and forth they agreed to ship my "new" trailer back to Nucamp next time a nucamp truck was making the rounds. Took several months but finally got the unit back in good condition. I do think the fix is to seal the tail light area.

jkjenn

It is interesting, I had a similar issue on the passenger side and mine did not appear to stem from a leak as Austin checked the taillights. I believe mine could have just been from the extremely high humidity we had in 2018. We smashed our annual dew point average record.

SueBC

jkjenn said:

It is interesting, I had a similar issue on the passenger side and mine did not appear to stem from a leak as Austin checked the taillights. I believe mine could have just been from the extremely high humidity we had in 2018. We smashed our annual dew point average record.

We have had a couple of higher humidity days, but nothing extreme. Nothing that would cause this.

SueBC

Sneakle said:

 The replacement wood parts arrived at the dealer but they were not able to install it and wanted me to simply let them cover the area with black carpet. I do think the fix is to seal the tail light area.

I don't like the idea of just covering the area either - I would rather see if there is an issue rather than it 'festering' under a carpet. Best to keep air around that area.

idletab

That is insane that your dealer suggested that as a fix. Good grief.

T_BDancing

@Sneakle, did you ever touch the stained area to see if was kind of slippery or greasy? Just checked out the back area and saw almost similar stain but not as dark. But it feels kind of 'greasy' which I think there may have been a glycol leak.

dragonsdofly said, 'there are 2 possibilities. Directly above this area is your glycol overflow/reserve tank. The stains can be from that.' 1)What if it was glycol, would the floor be damaged by it? 2)how does one get rid of the back rest cushion to work easier in the back? I was struggling to reach the stained area but only able to fingertip it. 

Thanks for your help.

Sneakle

The stained area was dry on mine. Since I had just bought it I had the dealer ship it back to nucamp and they fixed it and replaced the wood; had to wait a few months to get it back. This was their reply about the stains: 

Good afternoon Mike,
This does not appear to be a Glycol leak, rather a water leak at the handles/taillights, which is a repair our Service Tech’s are very confident in performing.

T_BDancing

Great! @Sneakle, thank you for your quick reply.

Sharon_is_SAM

@dragonsdofly - how do you get back to the area of the leak in the pictures?  I think it probably involves more than removing the side bench cushions😁

dragonsdofly

@Sharon_is_Sam, that area is in the back directly underneath the exterior taillights. The 2 back sofa seat cushions get removed to see the staining. To work on/in the area, my DH removed  the(on our t@b) single back cushion, but left the side hinges in place. After his inspection, we could see the water stains were merely cosmetic. The luan had not delaminated, was not visible inside by normal viewing, so we left them in place. 40,000 miles later, the stains are still there, the area remains dry after nüCamp removed the taillight trim and old caulk, recaulked and replaced taillights and trim, and we still love our t@b. We hope to happily log many more carefree miles with it! As we all know, adventures await! 

Sharon_is_SAM

Thanks @dragonsdofly!  A new owner needs to know how to access this area.

Oldhammer

I found a similar stain in my 2019 320 BD Edge this past Oct.  My trailer is decidedly out of warranty but I called NuCamp.  They went the extra mile and covered all the repairs.  They obviously wanted to make this right and seriously seemed bothered that it was happening.  That kind of customer service just made me a customer for life!  AAA RV in Medford did the repairs and they too were rock stars.  I've attached a picture of what they found when they opened up my baby!  Thank you NuCamp, thank you AAA, and thank you forum members for helping me figure stuff out!

Denny16

Yes, nüCamp service is second to none.  We also had a grand experience getting out TaB floor repaired.
cheers