Leaks

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Sheila G
Weekend Camper
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 8:07 pm
B190 Year: 2000
Location: Houston

Leaks

Post by Sheila G »

Hi All
Yesterday I got in my van for the first time in two weeks. There was a puddle of brown liquid all over the floor in front of the fridge. At first I thought it was oil or something coming out of the fridge. Looking closer though it appeared to be coming from the AC up above. It felt a little sticky not oily. I couldn't imagine what it was and if it could possibly be coming from the AC. After searching this forum I found back in 2009 another B owner had a problem with his AC leaking. We've had a lot of rain here in Houston so I'm thinking maybe my AC is the culprit. However during Harvey I moved her to higher ground and she stayed completely dry inside. The ac works or worked anyway during the summer. I didn't test it yesterday because I was afraid I would damage it if it's wet.

Also (another problem) I noticed when I was getting out of her through the side door, the window curtains were soaking wet as well as the side panels. The door had been shut tight and locked. Could this mean she needs a new gasket around the door? If so, this seems like a simple fix that I can do myself ...maybe? The AC though does not seem like an easy fix.

If anyone has advice on both problems I would sure appreciate it.

Cheers
SheilaG
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skater
Site Admin
Posts: 2569
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:00 am
B190 Year: 1991
WBCCI: 13270
Location: Annapolis, MD

Re: Leaks

Post by skater »

You could have a leak in the gasket of the AC. Basically it has to be removed and reinstalled with new sealant. Shouldn't be too expensive to have a shop do it.

For the other one, door gasket, gasket between the pieces of the top, or a leak between the fiberglass top and van body, or just even condensation. It will take some work to find.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
slow joe
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:18 pm
B190 Year: 0
WBCCI: 0

Re: Leaks

Post by slow joe »

Recently discovered a leak that sounds similar. I have wet curtains and carpet on passenger side
where passenger door opens. I doubt that a door gasket would let in that much water. You can
look over your door gasket and see if there are any rips or tears in it. I am thinking mine is leaking
from the vent right above the upper sleeping area. Then working its way to the passenger side
because that is the way the motorhome tilts when parked. I havnt had a chance to really investigate
and figure it out yet. It only happened after a torrential rain a couple weeks ago, so I dont
think it is a serious problem unless we get more heavy rain. Keep us posted if you figure it out, please.
I will do likewise.
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Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: Leaks

Post by Kentuckian »

Sheila,
One easy thing that you can do is to clean the drain holes in the windows. Here is a Youtube video that shows where to find the drain holes that I am talking about. Its possible that your drains might have been stopped up and a rain that just happened to be blowing towards the door side of your B190 might have overwhelmed the drains and leaked through the window tracks into your camper. It might be possible that the dripping water seeped along some surface to where you found the puddles / wet curtains?

Not sure if this is your issue. But its a no cost thing to try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uf_R39_fRY
1993 Airstream B190
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mountaindent
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2017 9:06 pm
B190 Year: 1992
WBCCI: 19000
Location: Black Mountain,NC

Re: Leaks

Post by mountaindent »

thank you for referencing this video about cleaning those window drains out. I am going to do that as soon as I can now because no doubt there is residue built up! I learn so much from you guys.
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Choptop
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 390
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:28 pm
B190 Year: 1990
WBCCI: 0
Location: Midwest

Re: Leaks

Post by Choptop »

Nice find !!
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usachris
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 203
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 5:31 pm
B190 Year: 1999
Location: Costa Mesa, California @ St. John, Indiana

Re: Leaks

Post by usachris »

mountaindent wrote:thank you for referencing this video about cleaning those window drains out. I am going to do that as soon as I can now because no doubt there is residue built up! I learn so much from you guys.
Be careful with using that coat hanger method. In the video that woman was scraping the channel pretty hard. It looked like she would be removing any protective coating. Consider using an extra long pipe cleaner or something less abrasive.
Christopher Salazar
1999 B190 #301352
SeaQuinn
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 102
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:33 pm
B190 Year: 1999
WBCCI: 0

Re: Leaks

Post by SeaQuinn »

About two feet of thick Weed Wacker line is great for this job :) Those darn mud wasps/spiders and pine needles somehow get in there! Once I cleaned all window channels...no leaks:) Doing it after a good rain seems to work better.
Sheila G
Weekend Camper
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 8:07 pm
B190 Year: 2000
Location: Houston

Re: Leaks

Post by Sheila G »

Thank you all for your advice and input. I'm hoping to get to it this weekend .... if it doesn't rain (4th weekend in a row). I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again. I love this site.

cheers,
Sheila
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mountaindent
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2017 9:06 pm
B190 Year: 1992
WBCCI: 19000
Location: Black Mountain,NC

Re: Leaks

Post by mountaindent »

Good advice about the coat hanger due to the stiff nature and ability to scrap too hard any coating. Something like the Weed Eater feed would be more forgiving yet do the job. Glad I saw this before the dreaded coat hanger method.
slow joe
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:18 pm
B190 Year: 0
WBCCI: 0

Re: Leaks

Post by slow joe »

I finally got a nice ladder so I could climb on top of the 190. So the leak was just that square hand crank air vent.
You could see cracking in the caulking. So I applied some more, just to see if it would have any effect, and sure
enough, leak stopped. So now I will remove it and replace it properly.
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