Wood shavings on floor

[atom ant]

Any else get a fresh pile of wood shavings and sawdust by the stairs in the kitchen after travel? My wife is a perfect housekeeper, but every time we park it we notice a fresh batch of shavings all over the floor. I have a feeling it is construction debris blowing in from the basement.

I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch).

Is it possible I'm just pressurizing the basement blowing debris up into the coach?

[marandjwr]

we have shavings after travel coming from the AC return vents.

[atom ant]

Do you mean those that have the filters in them?

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Any else get a fresh pile of wood shavings and sawdust by the stairs in the kitchen after travel? My wife is a perfect housekeeper, but every time we park it we notice a fresh batch of shavings all over the floor. I have a feeling it is construction debris blowing in from the basement.



I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch).



Is it possible I'm just pressurizing the basement blowing debris up into the coach?

We noticed the same issue of saw dust or wood shavings coming from under the bottom steps during our recent 6 weeks trip. This occurred every day while were actually in transit. My assumptions is that it is left over construction debris. Sometime before long, I actually plan to remove the rearward panel in the storage area and do some cleaning and checking out of the wiring and plumbing.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Any else get a fresh pile of wood shavings and sawdust by the stairs in the kitchen after travel? My wife is a perfect housekeeper, but every time we park it we notice a fresh batch of shavings all over the floor. I have a feeling it is construction debris blowing in from the basement.

I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch).

Is it possible I'm just pressurizing the basement blowing debris up into the coach?

I get the same thing with my RL below the closet by the door and steps. As miles as I've pulled mine you'd think they'd all be gone by now. I think the shavings are coming from behind the control panel in the closet.

Maybe the trailer is just slowly wearing down like a bar of soap from the inside out.

[sinder]

I also get saw dust and shaving on occasion as well. I did find a fair amount of debris behind the front basement side panel, which covers the area under our stairs and also houses our air return vent.

[Adamsvr]

You need to take down the garage walls and vacuum out the debris. In addition to saw dust, you'll find metal shavings, tie wraps, and pieces of wire.

While the walls are down, it's a good time to check the duct work connecting to the plenum, and the plumbing to ensure there are no leaks.

[atom ant]

I guess I have a new fall project - clean the debris and do some maintenance in there, like fix the water filter bracket, and I was also thinking of putting one of my old sonic de-mouser things in there and plug it in somewhere so I don't have to think about it, it will just come on when I plug in.

[NW Snowbirds]

"I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch). "</span>
</span>
Our center belly pan tore loose on the front edge and dragged on the road on the first trip out. I cut it off (4'x 6' piece) and Gorilla taped the wiring and hydraulic lines back up to get home. The black plastic material tore loose from the sheet metal screws with fender washers that were securing it on the front edge. The sides were supported on top of the inner main frame flanges with no attachment. The service dealer replaced the material and secured both the sides and the ends. The sides are now secured by continuous metal strips screwed to the underside of the steel frame. I had them add two cross braces screwed to the side frame flanges using 2"x 2" x 6' galvanized steel angles I got at Home Depot. That solved the sagging that occurred in the middle. I believe that the wind pressure underneath the unit flogged the black material until the front edge gave out and ripped away from the attaching screws. This section is located beneath the entry stair area.</span>

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by NW Snowbirds

"I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch). "</span>
</span>
Our center belly pan tore loose on the front edge and dragged on the road on the first trip out. I cut it off (4'x 6' piece) and Gorilla taped the wiring and hydraulic lines back up to get home. The black plastic material tore loose from the sheet metal screws with fender washers that were securing it on the front edge. The sides were supported on top of the inner main frame flanges with no attachment. The service dealer replaced the material and secured both the sides and the ends. The sides are now secured by continuous metal strips screwed to the underside of the steel frame. I had them add two cross braces screwed to the side frame flanges using 2"x 2" x 6' galvanized steel angles I got at Home Depot. That solved the sagging that occurred in the middle. I believe that the wind pressure underneath the unit flogged the black material until the front edge gave out and ripped away from the attaching screws. This section is located beneath the entry stair area.</span>

You don't have a pic do you? I think that will be my ultimate fix

[Adamsvr]

The Crossroads Service Center added those metal strips on our coach. All without asking for them.

[travelin' texans]

We get saw dust all over the couch in the rear, presumably from lights above or hollow cabinet bottoms above. If planning on cleaning construction debris starting in basement is a good plan, also need to pull all bottom drawers and take a look at what they left for you there. Better start with the shop vac empty.

[NW Snowbirds]

I have lots of pics of the problem and the fix but I have not figured out how to post pics. This forum is too complicated for some of us but I will attempt to send you pics in the private email messaging. Maybe the succeeding forum can be more "pic posting" friendly.

[5th_Time]

Has anyone considered it might be those Indiana termites??

[marandjwr]

yes, from the AC return vents that have the black filters... very holey and the sawdust sifts through during travel

[blrover]

You would not believe the debris &amp; trash I found in my coach. I get the same saw dust others are talking about. I also recently had a W/D installed &amp; Ron at Redwood suggest I remove the mattress &amp; frame &amp; luan to check corrugated piping under bed to make sure there were no kinks or leaks which I did find lots of trash/debris &amp; a fitting that was leaking a little that needed tightning, also added a Blu-ray player to the bedroom &amp; in wall where wiring goes behind tv I had two big handfulls of sawdust &amp; the cutout of wood that was just floating around in the walls from manufacturing. they need better QC in the factory

[5th_Time]

Ya think??

[NW Snowbirds]

Originally Posted by NW Snowbirds

"I noticed our belly pan isn't tight in the front, as it has gaps between where it screws in along the front so that air gets "rammed" in there (so it would seem in theory). I also keep popping the back poly material off the back bumper where is kind of seals it all together after the belly pan terminates (back by the hitch). "</span>
</span>
Our center belly pan tore loose on the front edge and dragged on the road on the first trip out. I cut it off (4'x 6' piece) and Gorilla taped the wiring and hydraulic lines back up to get home. The black plastic material tore loose from the sheet metal screws with fender washers that were securing it on the front edge. The sides were supported on top of the inner main frame flanges with no attachment. The service dealer replaced the material and secured both the sides and the ends. The sides are now secured by continuous metal strips screwed to the underside of the steel frame. I had them add two cross braces screwed to the side frame flanges using 2"x 2" x 6' galvanized steel angles I got at Home Depot. That solved the sagging that occurred in the middle. I believe that the wind pressure underneath the unit flogged the black material until the front edge gave out and ripped away from the attaching screws. This section is located beneath the entry stair area.</span>

Update: I noticed that the rear section of belly pan (from wheels to rear cap) was setting on top of the main frame I-beam flanges and not secured, much as the center section had been until it blew out. Although I have installed a cross brace beneath it from frame to frame I was still concerned that wind pressure would flog it and rain water/ storm debris would get inside. Without access from above I could not figure out a way to secure it to the frame. So I used an aerosol bottle of one component foam insulation and sprayed a bead completely around the perimeter between the belly pan plastic and the lower frame flange. If you have ever used the stuff you know how sticky and adhesive it is, and it expands upon curing. The belly pan is now secure and unmovable, and sealed from the elements as well as insects or vermin getting inside. It only takes a small bead as it expands upon curing and you don't want to force the belly pan material to lift too much off of the flange. I noticed that the factory used this same technique to seal the rear edge of the belly pan to the bottom edge of the rear cap, which needed some more foam to fill the gaps.


Terry

[5th_Time]

Wow, I can't believe how dangerous that stuff is. If you ever get that stuff on your skin, you're in deep "S"!

Once as I used it around the house, the nozzle came off and I tried to reinstall it... getting that foam on parts of my hands, etc. I could find nothing that dissolved it - and I tried some really strong stuff. In the end, the only thing I could do was rub it off my skin and that took days!

It works great but be careful with that stuff!

[atom ant]

I hate that stuff. Used it on my first 5er to seal it, never again. It ages to the color of sewage.