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Old 06-09-2016, 03:50 AM   #1
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Angry Water in my trailer in lower cupboards.

Yesterday took our Escape 15b out of storage, which it outside. All was fine and dry. Drove a short distance-less than a mile- to home, opened the door and there was water in all the lower cupboards. Searched all over for the source and couldn't find it and found a pool of water in the trailer under the floor of the dinette bench just behind the wheel well. The hot water panel on the outside of the trailer requires a small section of the floor under the dinette bench to be cut out to recess it. Through that hole that was cut out of the floor I could see water up to the top of the hole and when we drove it had spilled over the top soaked all the lower cabinets. Checked outside and found 2 holes drilled behind the wheel wells under the trailer. Felt one and it was dry but the other felt wet on the outside. Went back to the other side and stuck a small stick up the hole and the water came out in a steady stream for quite a while. Not too happy about this, we didn't know about those drainage holes and where does that water come from? It was clean with no odor . Trying to dry it thoroughly but don't know if it's behind any hidden places that need drying. To say we were quite ticked off is putting it mildly. Just want to know if anyone has had problems with this and where the water comes from. Thanks.
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:19 AM   #2
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Real bummer I'm sure.
A few things.
Pictures of the cabinets that were wet and what is above them would help.
You say it was fine before driving it home.
Any idea if there was water in the fresh tank before you brought it home? If so, was the pump on?
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:50 AM   #3
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Seeing there were no signs of water when you picked it up, but after a short drive it showed up. It must have been pooled somewhere, and the movement of the trailer jostled it, allowing it to disperse. This water had to be somewhere in the trailer when you picked it up, it is just a matter of first finding where that was, then taking corrective measures.

Could it be a water line that ruptured, or a connection loose or maybe somehow damaged?

The holes behind the wheel wells are there to allow water to escape regardless of a leak, or something spilled. They are a good thing, and would cause no problem in themselves.

Something like this is pretty tough to sleuth out not being there. Photos would certainly help. Seeing you are just minutes down the road from Chilliwack, if you can't get it figured out, I would take the trailer to them. They would have as good of an idea as anyone on possible cause.

Hopefully you find the cause, and it is an easy fix.
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:51 AM   #4
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These drainage holes are located in several places around the perimeter of your trailer to allow any water that was to leak inside to drain without doing any damage. These holes, similar to the drain holes in your windows perform a function. They are there to allow water to escape.
Now that the water is out you need to find the leak or source of the water. You mention this was a first for you and you leave it out all winter, is there a window above the area that may have clogged drain holes? Try that first.
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:57 AM   #5
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Check the caulk on the upper tail lights. If I remember right, Tim mentioned a pretty major leak from there on his 15'. If it's been outside all winter and leaking...
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:58 AM   #6
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Being just minutes away, I'd be on the phone to ETI 1st thing this am making an appt.
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Old 06-09-2016, 09:51 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
Check the caulk on the upper tail lights. If I remember right, Tim mentioned a pretty major leak from there on his 15'. If it's been outside all winter and leaking...
That's where our water came from too. Stored in nose down position there when hitched up would run out a drain hole above sewer drain. With all the rain in PNW it could be you had more than the low point capacity could handle thus forcing some inside.
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Old 06-09-2016, 10:26 AM   #8
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On our 2010, there is a drain hole on the bottom side of the regular taillight. The lights look pretty much the the same on both sides except for that. We do not have the upper lights.

We found water in our passenger side storage compartment and after a lot of searching, Mary watched inside while I used a hose pointed at locations we thought might be the problem. It turned out that our passenger taillight had been mounted upside down and water was coming in the drain hole. I just removed it, cleaned off the old caulk, recaulked and screwed it back in place right side up.
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Old 06-09-2016, 10:59 AM   #9
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Holes under the trailer body low points- open or taped?

Here is some great info on low point drains including the drilled holes. On ours the drilled holes are taped over and Post #10 says Reace said to leave them taped over.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...html#post71538

My question #6 and reply on #10

Is that the same guidance ETI would give us today? If taped over the water can't drain, but it also can't go up into the cavities and create moisture issues?
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Old 06-09-2016, 01:50 PM   #10
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There is tape where the drain holes are. We figured the tape was placed there before the drain holes were drilled simply to protect the fiberglass in the drilling process. We'll check for the other drain holes and make sure they are not clogged with debris. No leaks in any of the plumbing. Charged the water lines and hot water tank and checked them all and all the drains, no leaks. We'll check the tail lights, we have both upper and lower. If we had known about the drain holes we would have ensured they were all clear before storing for the winter.
Another concern is the hole they made in the floor under the bench to recess the water heater is large enough that many things could fall into that cavity and block that drainage hole. We'll have to cover it with screening or something. It's too big to cover with expanding spray foam, we'll come up with something, maybe just some reflectix. I'd take a picture but we keep the trailer on our recreational property about 1/2 hour away. Next time I'll take some pics. Thanks for the help everyone.
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Old 06-09-2016, 04:08 PM   #11
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I drilled out all my drain holes that were taped over, I had about 6-7 total open on the 21' model, 3 on one side and 4 on the other.
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Old 06-09-2016, 04:15 PM   #12
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Why would you need to drill out holes? Can't you just peel off the tape?
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Old 06-09-2016, 04:18 PM   #13
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Some of the tape locations had no holes, I think the tape was put to mark the hole drilling location but only a couple were drilled out.
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Old 06-09-2016, 06:18 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
I drilled out all my drain holes that were taped over, I had about 6-7 total open on the 21' model, 3 on one side and 4 on the other.
Time to drill mine out? I left them blocked (or undrilled) based on this:


-------------------------------------- copied from earlier post by Jim:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klem
Where is the low point drains located? I'll copy it.

I was puzzled by yellow/greenish pieces of square tape (3/4"x3/4") over what feels like a hole with caulk in it. I have 5 holes with tape and 5 that can drain. The ones that drain are a little bigger then a pencil and none with screen or anything to keep insects from flying in.

Could any of those be for the low point drain that's not there?

Mel
Those are weep holes to allow any water/condensation that does get inside to drain. There is a trough around the perimeter and the floor is elevated by design, thus water will collect, if any and these holes allow the drainage. I opened all my taped holes but Reace said it wasn't necessary. The low point drains have a faucet at the end, identical to your fresh tank drain, so if you do not see more than the one on the fresh tank then no more. I know ETI stopped when they changed molds sometime between my 2012 and 2014 models.
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Old 06-10-2016, 05:48 AM   #15
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Quote:
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The low point drains have a faucet at the end, identical to your fresh tank drain, so if you do not see more than the one on the fresh tank then no more. I know ETI stopped when they changed molds sometime between my 2012 and 2014 models.
My 2009 19 only had a plug for the low-point drain on it. They must have put a valve on at a later date. Man, I really liked the low-point drain.
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Old 06-10-2016, 08:35 AM   #16
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Quote:
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My 2009 19 only had a plug for the low-point drain on it. They must have put a valve on at a later date. Man, I really liked the low-point drain.
Jim, have you asked, will Reace put one on as an option? I too really like the one on our 17.
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Old 06-10-2016, 09:21 AM   #17
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Jim, have you asked, will Reace put one on as an option? I too really like the one on our 17.
I never did. My understanding is that the newest valve in the toilet does not drain back properly and will freeze without flushing. I would thing with a low-point drain, then a quick blow out of the toilet with air, all would be good though. I imagine Reace does not want to deal with any potential liability though.
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Old 06-10-2016, 09:45 AM   #18
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Datashman, you asked where the water comes from. I would check is the filler tube for the fresh water tank and the air vent hose for the tank, both run inside that dinette seat. And I suggest inspecting the electrical panel for water damage since that is also located in the flooded compartment.
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Old 06-10-2016, 11:14 PM   #19
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What happened to me is that the pre filter on the water pump must have frozen over the winter and cracked the screw off clear plastic lid. The crack was hard to see as it followed the threads of the lid.
Please check that.
The hose from the water tank screws onto one side of it and the other side of it threads onto the pump. It is about two and a half inches long with the filter and the screw off lid for the filter in the middle of it.
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Old 06-11-2016, 07:52 AM   #20
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Jim, have you asked, will Reace put one on as an option? I too really like the one on our 17.
I asked about that when we got our 21 a couple of years ago, and it was not available. But who knows, maybe with the new models it is possible.
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