Sealed underbelly holding water ?

[jimp]

Has anyone with a sealed underbelly had water collecting in the sealed off area from rain water dripping/running down the sides or back wall and entering inside the underbelly material via small openings between underbelly material and frame rails?? Just curious as I've got water collecting inside my underbelly material and it drains out whenever I adjust the level of the TT. I have NO leaks from water lines, it only happens after rains.

What did you use to seal the small openings?? Gorilla tape or ?????

[Rustic Eagle]

Haven't had any issues as you describe...., but when my TT was new I sealed obvious underbelly openings with spray foam insulation and/or Gorilla tape.

Bib

[ALJO]

The front on TT are usually prone to water intrusion because of the poor design of sealing.
I used vinyl window drip-cap over the width of the TT front to cover the coroplast.
Underneath gorilla tape works perfect on seams, screws etc., but clean with lacquer thinner first. If you have to make an access door for some reason, gorilla tape does a great job.

[oldmanAZ]

I've never had the underbelly collect any rain water when camped. I've towed very few miles in the rain, however.

If you see water when you adjust the level of the TT, it sounds as though the water only gets in when you are towing. Correct?

[ttavasc]

Yes! See picture below. I discovered this just prior to taking my unit in for an unrelated warranty issue. My dealer caulked all along the front where the coroplast stuck out just past the frame. No further issues since fall of 2015 when it was identified and fixed.

[jimp]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

Yes! See picture below. I discovered this just prior to taking my unit in for an unrelated warranty issue. My dealer caulked all along the front where the coroplast stuck out just past the frame. No further issues since fall of 2015 when it was identified and fixed.

ttavasc, thanks for the picture. You leak was in the front, and I could have a leak there but was not thinking the front as the two points where water was draining out from inside the underbelly material was where the BT connection point exits the underbelly material which is just in front of my axles, and then from the recent window the dealer/service tech cut in the underbelly material behind the axles, so naturally I thought water was getting in somewhere on the back half of the trailer.

The TT had been to the dealer for this issue 2-3x's, and they stated they tested all water lines for leaks, along with the BT/GT's. This is when they cut the window into the underbelly material was during the last trip to the dealer for the water issue. Never had any water drain out from underneath while camping with water hooked up, and it only happened when TT had been parked on it's uncovered pad. Yes, it rained on our camping trips but the CG has shady sites, so the trees may have eliminated some rain runoff. The dealer even tested all of the roof vents for good seals as well, thinking rain was running down one of the roof vents into the underbelly but that did not show anything either.

I noticed yesterday after getting home and setting up the TT on it's pad, that the underbelly material had gaps between the screws holding the underbelly material on the rear cross member just under the rear bumper, and figured some of the wind driven rain was getting in that way, or running down the rear wall/bumper and getting in that way.

What kind of caulking is suitable for sealing up these small gaps, or would Gorilla tape be just as effective ??

[sciencenerd]

I have a gap between the underbelly cover and the front cross beam, big enough to stick my fingers through. I haven't seen any water in the underbelly yet, but we haven't been towing in the rain. I am worried, however, about mouse intrusion. Seems like an ideal entry point. Would it make sense to seal the gap, and how?

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by jimp

I noticed yesterday after getting home and setting up the TT on it's pad, that the underbelly material had gaps between the screws holding the underbelly material on the rear cross member just under the rear bumper, and figured some of the wind driven rain was getting in that way, or running down the rear wall/bumper and getting in that way.

What kind of caulking is suitable for sealing up these small gaps, or would Gorilla tape be just as effective ??

I'm not sure what my dealer used but if I was needing to do more of this myself I'd probably look at using something like OSI Quad in black which you should be able to get at Lowes/Home Depot. It actually took a little bit to track this down because while the water was getting in up front it wasn't finding any place to exit until further back towards the axle which is where I started looking and then expanded out until identifying the issue up front.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by sciencenerd

I have a gap between the underbelly cover and the front cross beam, big enough to stick my fingers through. I haven't seen any water in the underbelly yet, but we haven't been towing in the rain. I am worried, however, about mouse intrusion. Seems like an ideal entry point. Would it make sense to seal the gap, and how?

I would definitely want to seal something that big. It sounds like you might need to put some extra screws in along with some caulking to get a good seal. If you can post a picture that might help others provide ideas for fixing it.

[jimp]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

I'm not sure what my dealer used but if I was needing to do more of this myself I'd probably look at using something like OSI Quad in black which you should be able to get at Lowes/Home Depot. It actually took a little bit to track this down because while the water was getting in up front it wasn't finding any place to exit until further back towards the axle which is where I started looking and then expanded out until identifying the issue up front.

Found a tube of Marine GOOP and plan on using it along the underbelly material and metal framing and Gorilla tape as well.

[sciencenerd]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

I would definitely want to seal something that big. It sounds like you might need to put some extra screws in along with some caulking to get a good seal. If you can post a picture that might help others provide ideas for fixing it.

It's kind of hard to see, but at the top left there is a small gap between the choroplast and the front cross beam. The choroplast is floppy there, there is nothing supporting it, and I can slide my whole hand into the underbelly, if I try. I think the same situation exists in the back. I was thinking about sprayfoam, but maybe gorilla tape may be better?