Strange leak-- if anyone has BTDT-- advise appreciated

[weekender]

I have a 93 with the fridge to the right of the sink. I am getting water coming in under the fridge (the small compartment directly under the fridge). I have not been able to determine where or how the water is getting in. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance

[skater]

I have a couple thoughts...you probably already thought of all of these, but, just in case you haven't:

1. Are you sure it's not one of the water lines that run through that cabinet? If you haven't already, use the water pump to pressurize the system, then wait a while (don't run a faucet or anything). If the pump turns on again, you have a leak somewhere in the system.

2. You're right above the wheel well in that area... you might check the wheel well outside.

3. Check to make sure the openings in the side of the camper outside are sealed properly.

4. It's not refrigerant, right? You'd notice an ammonia smell, and it's thicker than water. If it's that, it's time for a new fridge. Hopefully it's not that.

[Alaskan]

One additional thought....

Inspect the area behind the frig by opening the access door outside your rig.

Any water that might get into that area via the louvers or perhaps a water leak in the sink drain plastic pipe that runs horizontally through that compartment could easily result in water getting into the area you mentioned...

I had a water problem in that area in my 1991....the water ran out under the frig inside the van and was then present both inside and outside that storage area below the frig that you mentioned.

I had discovered the leak was an improperly glued plastic pipe fitting, it only leaked when the gray-water holding tank was full

After all that I added a wood strip glued in behind the frig to prevent any water from running under the back of the frig...

The only prevention Airstream had for not allowing water that somehow got under the frig to run toward the center of the van and perhaps leak out under the front of the frig was they sealed around that front lip on the frig at original installation...but, many of the refers have now been either taken out for repair work or replaced and that seal may not be present now.

[baggydew]

I had this problem and found out that water was getting in around the sides of the access door. It was seeping down the inside of the door onto the floor where the fridge rests and flowing in underneath the fridge rather than down the drain hole. Had a devil of a time finding out what was happening. I fixed this problem by getting some "rubber D seal weatherstrip" at Wal-mart. It's the self adhesive type. I stuck it around the opening making sure that the water would drain down the door and end up outside the lip in the metat at the bottom of the door. When the access door closes it compresses the stuff and water can't intrude at all. I left the very bottom unsealed so that the water can drain out to the outside where there is a metal lip preventing water intrusion. lEnd of problem.

[Alaskan]

BTW.....not all of these rigs had a drain opening in that area.

[baggydew]

I didn't realize that some rigs don't have a drain hole on the floor pan but in any event, my drain hole wasn't functioning properly, either because it was blocked or because the floor pan was uneven. In any case, once I put on the rubber weatherstrip around the door, I haven't seen any dampness at all on the floor. My leak was so bad, I actually had a fungus that looked like something growing on a tree in the cabinet under the front left corner of the fridge. I finally soaked the area with bleach to keep it from growing back.

[Alaskan]

Thanks-a-lot for contributing....

[weekender]

Thanks for all the helpful reply's. It has gotten very cold here in MA, which has meant that I have not been able to dive further into figuring out where the leak is coming from. Because of the cold, I have been able to determine that water is coming down from at least the cavity where the fridge is (we had a heavy, several hour rain, followed by freezing temps). When I checked on the van the next morning, water had come from the cabinet, under the fridge, and run to the throw carpet I keep in front of the toilet (I had already pulled out the carpet in the van and replace with vinyl tiles). When I opened the cabinet under the fridge, there was a trail of frozen water coming from the front of the fridge, right corner. This seems to indicate the leak is coming from somewhere higher than the floor (water lines and pipes) and the wheel well. Hoping for some warmer days after the holidays to dig in further.

[weekender]

PS-- I am fairly certain the leak is not from the fridge, as it is only 2 years old-- previous owner replaced it-- seems to be a huge improvement over the original

[skater]

Yeah, I agree - that doesn't sound like the fridge to me, either. If it were, the ammonia or whatever they use shouldn't freeze. Freezing would be bad. It has to be something at the back of the fridge, possibly something not installed correctly when they replaced it...

[baggydew]

Please look at baggydew's camper in the gallery section. (page 2) I've posted pictures of the D-seal white rubber weatherstrip attached to the access opening. Notice that the weatherstrip runs down the sides but also along the top of the access opening where the door makes contact. In the second picture, you'll notice that I made a water dam with caulk to prevent the water from entering the fridge area. Whatever you can do to prevent rain water from getting onto the floor pan below the fridge will solve your problem. This has worked for me and It's been trouble free for the past three years.