Water Leak in Rear Bedroom Light Fixture

[rob_fla]

We have had some very heavy, blowing rain during the last couple of days.
Last night when we got home after going out to dinner for my Birthday, I noticed a wet spot on our bed.
Since we have the RW Front Living model, our bedroom is in the rear.
The water is leaking from the left rear ceiling light fixture.
I removed the light fixture and the insulation in that area is soaked with water.
There are 4 overhead light fixtures in our bedroom, I removed the Right Rear and Left Front light fixtures to check for water / moisture, none found, it is completely dry.
I looked up on the roof this morning between showers and the only thing in the area is the Roof Top A/C Unit, so I am going to assume I have water coming in the A/C unit.
We have one more storm front coming through now then we should have clear sky's and sun for a few days.
I will get on the Roof and check everything again, remove the A/C unit cover and make sure the unit to roof mounting hardware is tight and there is no debris clogging up the area.
Anybody have any other ideas or things I should be looking at?

[r time soon]

Just make sure that the lag bolts securing the a/c unit are snug enough to compress and make the neoprene seal material touch both a/c and roof adequately. Flashlight might make easier to see a possible gap between the 2. If snug you might have to put some kind of sealant where the lag bolts are so that water doesn't follow that path inside the roof area.

Chris

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by rob_fla

We have had some very heavy, blowing rain during the last couple of days.
Last night when we got home after going out to dinner for my Birthday, I noticed a wet spot on our bed.
Since we have the RW Front Living model, our bedroom is in the rear.
The water is leaking from the left rear ceiling light fixture.
I removed the light fixture and the insulation in that area is soaked with water.
There are 4 overhead light fixtures in our bedroom, I removed the Right Rear and Left Front light fixtures to check for water / moisture, none found, it is completely dry.
I looked up on the roof this morning between showers and the only thing in the area is the Roof Top A/C Unit, so I am going to assume I have water coming in the A/C unit.
We have one more storm front coming through now then we should have clear sky's and sun for a few days.
I will get on the Roof and check everything again, remove the A/C unit cover and make sure the unit to roof mounting hardware is tight and there is no debris clogging up the area.
Anybody have any other ideas or things I should be looking at?

I had a similar issue and it turned out to be the cap on the antenna wire. Check that first and it's an easy fix. Once the water came into my unit, to traveled a long ways before it came through the ceiling.

Merry Christmas

[mhs4771]

That cap on the antenna cable is an Industry wide problem as you can read about it on every RV forum out there. I've had to reseal it on every RV we've owned, except our Pop-up.

[rob_fla]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I had a similar issue and it turned out to be the cap on the antenna wire. Check that first and it's an easy fix. Once the water came into my unit, to traveled a long ways before it came through the ceiling.

Merry Christmas

With a Front Living floor plan, the antenna is still up front, (in our living room)
I hope the antenna in the right front is not leaking and the water is coming out in the right rear light of our rear bedroom.
But I will also check the antenna too while I am up there as I have seen where it is a known issue. Thanks !!!!

[rob_fla]

Well, after all my inspections and sealing, we had another heavy rain a couple of days ago.
We did not have water dripping on the bed again but I decieded to take the rear light fixture out again and stick my hand up in the roof cavity area to make sure it was dry.
Well to my dismay, it was wet up there again, I am going to assume it is coming in the rear air conditioner unit since their is not much else back there that penetrates the roof.
We have an appointment set for March 3rd at Lazy Days Tampa to look at water leaks, sure hope we can get everything resolved as now I am very disappointed with our coach.

[Foxfire]

We have the 31SL and had an intermittent leak I believe about the same place as your describing except on our unit it poured through a speaker dead center under the AC unit. It was intermittent we brought it to the dealer end of season around November first. I told him where the leak was as a warranty item and also had ordered a roof maintance to be done by them. When we took the rig from them when they were done they said they found no leak. They said they preformed the roof service and it had been outside for a couple of rainy fall days with no leak. This weekend we went by the camper at the storage facility and I was scared I would find an ice skating rink in front of the fireplace. BUT all was well and dry. Shooosh I was really scared.
Looking up on the roof they resealed the AC legs and tighten the bolts I guess that's where it was coming from.

[rob_fla]

I checked the bolts for tightness and the sealing around the A/C unit but I am not sure what I am looking for, hope Lazy Days has a good tech working on it and can get everything resolved.

Pretty disappointing and aggravating to spend this kind of money on a nice 5th Wheel and have to deal with water leaks after only owning our Redwood for about 8 months.

[rob_fla]

Yesterday was our appointment day at Lazy Days in Tampa to get a few Warranty issues fixed.
The water leak in the bedroom was where I expected, it was the rear A/C unit, the tech showed me the A/C gasket he removed, had a wire trapped under the gasket. He replaced the gasket and resealed the A/C unit. (Another quality issue at Redwood assembly) He also found several other areas where the sealant was not done properly, so he sealed them too.
The shower enclosure water leak was also another sealant issue, he looked at the area between the Glass / Aluminum frame and the Fiberglass and could see light, so he sealed the base of the Aluminum frame all the way around.
The service tech seemed very knowledgeable and was going through and looking everything to make sure it is right.
So we are back in the Lazy Days CG Tampa for the rest of the week.

[Rosey]

Glad you're getting these issues resolved. With all of these sloppy quality control production issues that I have been reading about on this forum... makes me wonder if this is what I have to expect with my ordered 39MB & whether I should have just kept my old 07 Cardinal with bugs worked out. Hope Redwood monitors this forum ! That's my opinion & I'm sticking to it.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by rob_fla

Yesterday was our appointment day at Lazy Days in Tampa to get a few Warranty issues fixed.
The water leak in the bedroom was where I expected, it was the rear A/C unit, the tech showed me the A/C gasket he removed, had a wire trapped under the gasket. He replaced the gasket and resealed the A/C unit. (Another quality issue at Redwood assembly) He also found several other areas where the sealant was not done properly, so he sealed them too.
The shower enclosure water leak was also another sealant issue, he looked at the area between the Glass / Aluminum frame and the Fiberglass and could see light, so he sealed the base of the Aluminum frame all the way around.
The service tech seemed very knowledgeable and was going through and looking everything to make sure it is right.
So we are back in the Lazy Days CG Tampa for the rest of the week.

Glad you got if fixed and hopefully not a lot of water damage!

I like all these techs that can walk up to a unit and within a few minutes they will share with you all the stuff the factory did wrong and they are glad to fix it, when it probably went right past them for delivery before you owned it. Maybe the guy had the day off

I guess my first question back would be who's name was on the delivery inspection and why didn't they catch the obvious factory defect issues which could have possibly averted some of your hassle. Were these defects spotted and Redwood wouldn't pay for them, were they missed, was the original tech not as knowledgeable? When I hear stuff like that I tend to want to throw it back at them, especially when I'm there for a return trip for something that should have been caught before I took delivery. Obviously wire under gaskets and the like aren't going to be caught, but incorrect caulking surely should have. Or maybe he was making himself sound good.

[RWJSIM2003]

It is a good Idea to check the bolts and seals of your AC units regularly. I have learned the hard way on more than one RV that they can vibrate loose as you travel. I check them after any long trips in the unit to make sure they do loosen.

[atom ant]

Actually, how do you do that on these? I'm lost without the lower grille to take off that exposes the bolts.

[Bill n Diana]

x2 I also would like to know how to check these for tightness without having the inside center hole to access the bolts...

[r time soon]

Carefully climb the unit ladder or fly to your rooftop and take the screws off that hold on the A/C shroud. The 4 lag bolts are near the corners of where the gasket is. Be careful to not over tighten or you could strip out the wood or plywood backers for that purpose.

Chris

[atom ant]

Thanks Chris. Do the shrouds come off with screws under those two blobs of lap sealant on both sides of the shroud? I don't remember seeing any other screws.

[r time soon]

Brad, I don't remember right off hand, but do think so. I would go out and look for you but we still have 1 1/2 to 2 feet of snow and ice on the ground in Elkhart, IN Think it would be a difficult and slippery climb up the ladder to the snowy roof to check.

Chris

[Bill n Diana]

Thanks Chris.

Bill

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by r time soon

Brad, I don't remember right off hand, but do think so. I would go out and look for you but we still have 1 1/2 to 2 feet of snow and ice on the ground in Elkhart, IN Think it would be a difficult and slippery climb up the ladder to the snowy roof to check.

Chris

no-no-no! Don't do that. If you remembered great, but mine is buried up in storage in another town and so I won't see it until spring anyway. A lot of things I need to check on the AC now after reading these posts over the winter. the bad separation between supply and return that Rob-Fla found is concerning as well, as that would really knock down the efficiency.

[piper guy]

Same here Brad. My spring list of "putter stuff" is growing. I also plan to check the AC units and ductwork both outside and inside the rig. Along with a long list of other stuff. Not much "wrong" with mine, just that since we know we are keeping it for the foreseeable future I've got a long list of "improvements".

Drives Tracy nuts. ...... LOL.