Water coming from A/C unit when it rains

[Busch77]

I have a 35 S 2016 Precept has Anyone had problems with water coming inside from top A/C units when driving in the rain, is this normal ?

[Vicr]

Not while driving but while camping during a monsoon we had water come in thru the rear AC. Some how strong wind can force water down thru the air inlet. Only happened once so I'm thinking it's one one of those "perfect storm" events.

[BigJohnD]

Only place it can "leak" in is through the compression gasket. The intake / return area of the AC will not allow anything from the outside to come in. Take one apart, install one, dissect one and you'll see. I've done Dometic and Colemans.

[mikem56]

X2, had the same problem 1 week after we bought our 25Z, they replaced the gasket under warranty problem solved

[GJB]

Had the same problem on both ACs in 35S. Pulled the inside AC sections off and tightened the 4 screws that hold the roof air in place. That compressed the gasket enough to seal it from rain. Be careful not to tighten too much. I have been told it's a maintenance issue that has to be done every once in a while. It's not uncommon for them to loosen up bouncing down the road.

[RoyBraddy]

The only times my roof unit has leaked on me is when I let those four gasket adjustments described above get too loose.

You can gain access by dropping the ceiling unit cover where your Air Conditioner filter is located


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Another time was during the night when the humidity was real bad and things started freezing up inside the air conditioner.

After everything thawed out the dripping stopped...

Since my unit is a POPUP and not all that air tight I think freezing up over nite with the air conditoner on all the time is somewhat common...

I have also heard one should have a fan blowing around in the trailer on those high humid nites...

I also always adjust the stablizer jacks to give me just a small amount of drop off on the back of the trailer roof for the normal air conditioner run-off... Better for us to keep the run-off going to the back side of the trailer verses the patio side...

[Griswald One]

I recently located a leak source in my A/C unit following the monsoon rains happening in Myrtle Beach. It took a while to solve because it was above the compression gasket. In the end I believe the source was one of the bolts in the shroud. I had completed the insulation modification many of the members have performed and as a result one of the bolts was not seating properly.

I am still waiting for the next rain storm to confirm my diagnosis and solution.

[BigJohnD]

There is a way to prevent the 4 bolts from loosening. Install jam nuts. You can find a few results on YouTube if I remember right. This doesn't eliminate inspection and such as things still can wear out over time.

[Marcm157]

I agree 100% with Big John. In fact I proactively replaced the gasket under mine based entirely on one of his previous posts.

[Busch77]

Originally Posted by Busch77

I have a 35 S 2016 Precept has Anyone had problems with water coming inside from top A/C units when driving in the rain, is this normal ?

Thanks everyone for the information i will try and tighten the screws. It was brought in to the shop for repair but evidently was not fixed, the back unit did not leak after repair but the front one did, it was raining really hard when traveling.
this is my first time on the forum. very helpful thanks

[Tunce the traveler]

Here's the bolts were talking about.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by Busch77

Thanks everyone for the information i will try and tighten the screws. It was brought in to the shop for repair but evidently was not fixed, the back unit did not leak after repair but the front one did, it was raining really hard when traveling.
this is my first time on the forum. very helpful thanks

I had a rear AC leak during very humid weather. I removed the housing and found the condensate pan free of debris and also tightened the roof mount bolts some but it still leaked. I now run the fan full speed all night when it's humid and it seams to have stopped leaking. I am wondering if water gets built up in the duct work in very humid weather. If so, the constant fan flow could be evaporating it before it builds up.