Dust in our trailer

Denny16

The TaB service tech finished up out TaB400 renovations, and could not find any bad seams in the wheel wells or floor th wall seals.  He removed the bottom cover and found large quantities of fine dust, similar to what you have in high desert areas of Southern Calif. and Nevada, under the trailer around the tank areas.  He figures the dust got inside from the areas around the various hose and drain penetrations for the low point drains and the gas lines to the Alde.  The fine sand and dust was collected on top of the polycarbonate cover under the trailer, that covers the tanks.  There is space between them for dust/dirt to collect, comin in from the side oval cutouts in the frame.  He got all the dirt and fine dust out and resealed all these areas in the floor.

So fine dust is going to find its way in through any small opening, like vents, LPG lines, etc.  He said expanding foam is not the best way to seal any void around plumbing penetrations as it reads down with trailer flex movement, but a proper RV caulk material was the best to use.  Vent areas need covers on them when driving down dusty roads or across the desert.
Cheers

Tundra57

I find this post interesting. I have a 2019 Tab 400. I have been on many a dirt road with nary any noticable dust inside.

However when I replaced the battery box so i could add two more batteries, that had a lot of dust inside all over the batteries. There is a vent in the floor and at the side which allows air from the batteries to circulate. I have not noticed this with my new battery box installation. I recently cleaned out my kitchen cupboards to move stuff around to make more room and again saw nothing.

My guess would be that its related to the two way fridge installation as mine is different in that I have the three way fridge where the wardrobe used to be. 

Denny16

The area around my two-way fridge and all under the right side lockers were clean.  It was the left/driver’s side that had the dust under the closet floor area and in the Alde area.  This is where the holes in out TaB400 were from plumbing drains, etc.  

My initial thought was a open seam in the wheel well area, but that checked out ok. It seems the dust fuse in around the pipe fittings going through the floor.
I do not have battery box or cover (have one on order) so nobattery vent either.
But another post here discovered dust in the battery box with the floor vent.
cheers

Denny16

Got our TaB400 back, the dust was cleaned out, all the holes the plumbing went through the floor, low point drains, overflow drain, etc were resealed in.  Tech found a layer of fine dust and fine sand on top the poly cover under the frame the enclosed the tanks.  This was the apparent source coming in around the plumbing holes and coming into the areas under the Alde and closet where the water pump is.  Wheel well seals were checked and were fine.

However he missed and I found the big hole the dust and creatures that go bump in the night could gain access into the area under the closet, where most of the dirt/dust was.  Now that it is clean, ad tanks to another post revealing the same hole.  Here is a photo showing the hole which goes all the way through the trailer floor to the top of the water tank, (Hope nüCamp has changed this to a sealed opening):

@Denny16 - Please reduce your photo size.  Thank you.  Sharon

There is a space between the top of the tank and the under floor panel that covers the bottom of the floor insulation foam.  This rough1/2” gab allows dust to enter the trailer.  The cutout on the left goes through to the Alde area under the bunk, and the dust went from here to the Alde compartment.  Now that the dust is cleaned up, I could see the big hole .

For a temp fix, I stuffed closed cell packing foam into the hole until I take the trailer back to the shop at the end of the month to get a better permanent solution.  This was also the source of a very cold draft, now that the weather has cooled off.  The foam fixed the draft also.
cheers

Sierra

Thanks for all the info. It’s a huge help. I can’t believe this was overlooked in production. We have a three way fridge without cupboard. I too discovered the whopping big hole that you just posted photos of Denny16. I threw some steel wool down there and taped it with gorilla tape to see if that helped at all. 

Underneath is also full of dust. It really catches down there and after washing the tab there was water pooling in there making mud :(
Again just drivers side. We bought the boondock for going on dirt roads :( 

edaletaylor

We have a 2021 320 Boondock.  We just returned from an extended trip through AZ and NM.  So many dirt roads!  Loved it BUT upon returning home I noticed large amounts of dust and grime inside the left and right side storage areas under the back seats.  We are having some work done at the dealers that requires removal of the bottom cover.  Im curious if he will also find dirt there and if so, have him seals any and all cracks and crevices.  Thanks so much for the info, everyone!  It has been very helpful.