2018 2670mk Water Damage Under/In Front of Fridge

[TomtheTank]

Hi All,

Hoping someone with a 2670mk has had a similar experience and can help...

My wife and I just purchased a 2018 2670mk in April and are getting it ready for our first trip Memorial Day weekend. During our prep we noticed the floor in front of the fridge is damaged (laminate is bubbling up and feels like edge of subfloor board may be raised a bit). I pulled the draw out from under the fridge (not easy to do with the floor raised) and found the bubbling to go back to the back wall under the fridge.

In a quick Google search I found this happened to some folks when the fridge condensate pan overflowed or drain was plugged so I started looking and realized what I think is the condensate drain tube sticking out the lower fridge vent on the rear of the trailer. I am hoping that was the issue and the previous owner "fixed" it by routing the drain outside.

We have some rain coming the next few days so I plan to go inside the trailer and make sure there are no water sources that I can find from that. Kinda bummed we didn't see this when we purchased it from the dealer but I am assuming since it was cold maybe the floor was less noticeable (it was snowing the day we looked at it) and now that its warmer it is VERY obvious...

Anyway, any feedback from anyone that could confirm or agree that the fridge is the likely culprit would be great! Or if you have other possibilities I should check please let me know.

Thanks!

Thomas

[Second Chance]

If the water damage is limited to under/directly around the refrigerator, you are most likely correct regarding the cause. Unfortunately, once water has gotten into the subfloor, it will need to be replaced.

Rob

[TomtheTank]

If the water damage is limited to under/directly around the refrigerator, you are most likely correct regarding the cause. Unfortunately, once water has gotten into the subfloor, it will need to be replaced.

Rob

Thanks for the reply Rob. We will keep an eye on it and if it gets worse we will see about getting it replaced. Happily, it rained last night and now water to be found inside the trailer with the slides out.

On a similar note though...does it mean something is wrong or out of alignment if, when bringing in wet slides after a rain they pull in water and drip on the floor inside? I find most of the water to be along the outer edges or sides of the slides both on the rack and pinion and the schwinteck. Is this supposed to be something the seals should stop from happening or is this just the way things are when you have to pull in a wet slide?

Thanks!

Thomas

[huntr70]

Thanks for the reply Rob. We will keep an eye on it and if it gets worse we will see about getting it replaced. Happily, it rained last night and now water to be found inside the trailer with the slides out.

On a similar note though...does it mean something is wrong or out of alignment if, when bringing in wet slides after a rain they pull in water and drip on the floor inside? I find most of the water to be along the outer edges or sides of the slides both on the rack and pinion and the schwinteck. Is this supposed to be something the seals should stop from happening or is this just the way things are when you have to pull in a wet slide?

Thanks!

Thomas

Unless you go out and dry off the slide out walls, you will always get some water inside when you bring them in.

The Schwintek slide rails tend to hold more water than the traditional through frame slide mechanism slides.

[trailrydr]

Also, someone on the forum mentioned the small gaps in the slideout gasket in the lower corners of each slide was a design feature from GD to help any water after slide retraction to be able to run out. Not sure if the floor is angled slightly by the walls to facilitate such drainage as well.

Most folks use steel wool to block those small gaps to help against mouse intrusions. Might check to see whats in those lower corners as well.

[TomtheTank]

Unless you go out and dry off the slide out walls, you will always get some water inside when you bring them in.

The Schwintek slide rails tend to hold more water than the traditional through frame slide mechanism slides.

Thanks very much for the reply! I actually did notice a bit more water to the side of the schwintek slide but also notice da fair amount "under" the sides of the rack and pinion slide once it was pulled all the way in. This is our first caper with slide outs so wasn't sure what was normal!

Also, someone on the forum mentioned the small gaps in the slideout gasket in the lower corners of each slide was a design feature from GD to help any water after slide retraction to be able to run out. Not sure if the floor is angled slightly by the walls to facilitate such drainage as well.

Most folks use steel wool to block those small gaps to help against mouse intrusions. Might check to see whats in those lower corners as well.

I have read about that...ours still has the gaps wide as day lol. I was thinking about putting some steel wool to keep out any rodents. To be honest I am not even sure how those holes are supposed to drain water...when I opened the side door the water was thrown off all the way over in front of it and the bathroom door so no way for that water to run out those holes lol...

[sande005]

My year older 2670MK came with the condensate drain poking out of the lower rear vent, like you found. Most full size fridges have a heated evaporator pan the water dumps into, and then is essentially boiled away - but that would be too energy intensive for an RV, so there is just the hose draining to the outside.
My guess - the hose got plugged up with gunk at one time, and the water leaked out under the fridge instead of dripping out of the hose. Or the previous owner thought the hose should be inside, and then discovered his error when things got all wet, and put it back outside.

Note that there is an outside spray hose connection in that corner, on the passenger side. I'd poke around and see if there is a leak, or likely a drip, from that, also. Perhaps the previous owner had an issue, and fixed it. Or it is something that will show up again over time when having the lines pressurized.

OR....that drawer is/was for holding two plastic dog bowls. If the dogs were sloppy...or the drawer got shut with water in one of the bowls....My dogs don't like it, and the bowls are very noisy when they eat. Many people convert it to another use, like wine storage.

[TomtheTank]

My year older 2670MK came with the condensate drain poking out of the lower rear vent, like you found. Most full size fridges have a heated evaporator pan the water dumps into, and then is essentially boiled away - but that would be too energy intensive for an RV, so there is just the hose draining to the outside.
My guess - the hose got plugged up with gunk at one time, and the water leaked out under the fridge instead of dripping out of the hose. Or the previous owner thought the hose should be inside, and then discovered his error when things got all wet, and put it back outside.

Note that there is an outside spray hose connection in that corner, on the passenger side. I'd poke around and see if there is a leak, or likely a drip, from that, also. Perhaps the previous owner had an issue, and fixed it. Or it is something that will show up again over time when having the lines pressurized.

OR....that drawer is/was for holding two plastic dog bowls. If the dogs were sloppy...or the drawer got shut with water in one of the bowls....My dogs don't like it, and the bowls are very noisy when they eat. Many people convert it to another use, like wine storage.

Thanks so much for the info! All really good points. I am concerned about the outside spray hose as well because 1) we haven’t pressurized the water system except when we did the walkthrough at the dealer and 2) the hose going to it is a blue flexible rubber hose which doesn’t seem to me to be factory but maybe it could be. Anyway I will definitely keep an eye on it.

We are heading out today for our first trip, fingers crossed there are no big issues!


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[McDugals]

I would check that condensate drain to be sure it isn't clogged. I would suggest copper scrubbing pads for the drain holes in the slides (example). These shouldn't rust. Also, have you done a roof inspection? Where the roof meets the back wall would be where I would be inspecting. I did have a little break in the sealant there I found on a recent inspection. Good Luck!

[TomtheTank]

Well we made it back from our first trip this past weekend and no water leaks that we could find anywhere via the fridge or the outside spray hose. I left the panel off in the rear of the two little compartments below the fridge so I could inspect the hose on occasion and never saw any hint of water. By the morning of day 4 there was finally a little condensate trickling out of the drain hose sticking out the vent. There was never more than a few drops in the catch pan inside the fridge at any one time. No rain the whole weekend so that is the only other thing we didn't get to "test" but it has rained several times at our house with the slides out and in and never any signs of water leaking in...I guess it is still a mystery haha.

I think if we ever do get the subfloor repaired we may go back with a residential size fridge as this one is lacking in the space department. For such a job who would you recommend? We definitely dont feel comfortable taking back to the dealership we bought it from...or a few others we interacted with during our time shopping...

I would check that condensate drain to be sure it isn't clogged. I would suggest copper scrubbing pads for the drain holes in the slides (example). These shouldn't rust. Also, have you done a roof inspection? Where the roof meets the back wall would be where I would be inspecting. I did have a little break in the sealant there I found on a recent inspection. Good Luck!

I attempted to "check" the roof at the dealer but of course they wouldn't let me climb up the ladder onto it so I could only do a "visual" inspection. I did to a more thorough inspection when cleaning off the top of the slides before pulling them in this first trip and I did not see any cracks in the sealant but the roof membrane around where the ladder attaches is kind of loose-ish. Again, no cracks that I see in the sealant around the ladder or across the back "seam"...I wonder if it would be good for me to go around all the seams with this EternaBond tape I keep hearing about...