DRV 5th Wheel Water Intrusion

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

We have had water intrusion issues on our 2017 DRV Mobile Suite both a rotten slide floor and a slide roof that rotted. These have been repaired at our expense.  I'm gathering details from other people that have had similar issues with their DRV brand RV.  If you have had issues, please PM me.  I'm not looking to start a brand argument and will delete any comments that don't pertain to my question.

[rynosback]

Jim, would you like me to start a poll on here also for you?

[Kirk W]

16 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

I'm not looking to start a brand argument

Mind sharing what you do have in mind? You know that Thor Ind. bought the company back in 2015.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

11 hours ago, rynosback said:

Jim, would you like me to start a poll on here also for you?

Sure, Go from 2012 to present.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Mind sharing what you do have in mind? You know that Thor Ind. bought the company back in 2015.

Kirk, The focus is on the DRV group.  There have been known issues with water intrusion.  In the 2014 time frame, about when Thor took over, DRV stopped using butyl tape behind the beltline moldings.  They also elected to use a lower quality sealant on the exterior.  Even after dealers informed them that the exterior sealant caulking deteriorates in a few months, the factory continues to use it. For the amount the DRV units cost, one expects or expected a unit of quality that isn't being delivered. 

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

For the amount the DRV units cost, one expects or expected a unit of quality

I have no disagreement with that! I was just wondering if you were considering a class action suit, as that can be very effective if you have enough participants. 

[rynosback]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

I have no disagreement with that! I was just wondering if you were considering a class action suit, as that can be very effective if you have enough participants. 

I think that this is the idea in my opinion.  This and nose cap insulation have been a known issue for years.  I complained about light in my front closet.  The reason was the insulation had dropped.  DRVs fix from the factory was to shoot some spray foam through a marker light on the back of the wallboard to make the light go away.  This did solve the issue of the light complaint, but did nothing to address the real problem.  And I have read where it still continues to this date.  It is really sad that there service dept techs do not have meetings with the factory line techs and management to address issues that are common.  This way they could make changes on the line and no longer have those issues and make a better built rig.  I asked the tech about this idea and he chuckled, saying that they would never pay them for a monthly meeting about common issues.  Really sad for this “quality “ of a rig and for what they charge for it.  

[Randyretired]

Some friends bought a new Mobile Suite a few years ago.  From day one there were problems.  The kitchen sink fell into the cabinet.  The Lipert never lube bearings failed on an a wheel.  The wheel came off and the damage was massive.  Some of the trim just fell off on the outside.  The water tank was never secured and it shifted flooding everything.  There was a number of smaller issues that I don't remember.  They traded after 4 years and were happier to see it go than when they bought it!  I don't know if this is common with some DRV products or a limited experience but they would never consider another one and  I can't imagine buying one.

[orca]

I have a 2015 Fullhouse that i have had too many problems to go into now,  but on topic i have had water intrusion in both bedroom slides but only when closed.

Funny story though...while touring the factory last fall i was talking to another and told him that i was not impressed with the quality of drv because i have had 23 differant issues and he laughed and told me that he had 46 and counting! He won the contest!

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

1 hour ago, orca said:

I have a 2015 Fullhouse that i have had too many problems to go into now,  but on topic i have had water intrusion in both bedroom slides but only when closed.

Funny story though...while touring the factory last fall i was talking to another and told him that i was not impressed with the quality of drv because i have had 23 differant issues and he laughed and told me that he had 46 and counting! He won the contest!

Sent you a PM

[rynosback]

Jim, I placed the pole in the 5th wheel section.

http://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/134986-drv-water-intrusion-poll/

[millertime]

Yes...and yes! 2013 RESB3 with water intrusion from cracked caulk/sealant and now delamination on the kitchen slide behind the beltline molding.  Will recaulk but not sure how to repair the delamination.Obviously out of warranty. Could use recommendations or past fixes that worked for other owners. So disappointed.

[millertime]

Please reply if you have ideas for this repair.

[Big5er]

If the water intrusion was through cracked caulk then I would bet your floor is rotten also. If that is the case, rebuilding the slide is about the only option you have. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Big5er

[Danandfreda]

We have a 2011 drv  rssb3 and just noticed rot in our dresser slide out floor resealed a lot this spring. Waiting for the weather to cool down a little before I replace it. Replaced both axles to get rid of the nev r lube hubs was a pretty easy swap

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

22 hours ago, Danandfreda said:

We have a 2011 drv  rssb3 and just noticed rot in our dresser slide out floor resealed a lot this spring. Waiting for the weather to cool down a little before I replace it. Replaced both axles to get rid of the nev r lube hubs was a pretty easy swap

The floor can be dropped out from the outside.  Just unscrew everything the touches the floor in that slide.

[Kirk W]

On 7/6/2019 at 9:16 AM, millertime said:

Will recaulk but not sure how to repair the delamination.Obviously out of warranty.

There are those who have attempted delamination repairs by drilling small holes through the sideing and injecting glue into it and the applying pressure to the outside with props and plywood. The success rate is not the greatest. I have fortunatly never had to deal with that problem. 

[FL-JOE]

On 2/16/2019 at 12:48 PM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

We have had water intrusion issues on our 2017 DRV Mobile Suite both a rotten slide floor and a slide roof that rotted. These have been repaired at our expense.  I'm gathering details from other people that have had similar issues with their DRV brand RV.  If you have had issues, please PM me.  I'm not looking to start a brand argument and will delete any comments that don't pertain to my question.

Don't really have anything to contribute to your post, but just curious.  How do you delete what another poster puts on?

[Ray,IN]

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

There are those who have attempted delamination repairs by drilling small holes through the sideing and injecting glue into it and the applying pressure to the outside with props and plywood. The success rate is not the greatest. I have fortunatly never had to deal with that problem. 

Hi Kirk, I have found this link useful for repairing fiberglass. Although the website is for aircraft fiberglass repair, some might work for boats and RV's too.

On our first 5er, I repaired a small de-laminated spot as you described, instead of props, I pulled the 5er up next to a tree, then used an old semi-trailer load lock to apply pressure to the exterior wall of the 5er.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Ray,IN

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

21 hours ago, FL-JOE said:

Don't really have anything to contribute to your post, but just curious.  How do you delete what another poster puts on?

Ask a moderator to delete it.  But generally only the original thread owner can have something deleted.

 

20 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Hi Kirk, I have found this link useful for repairing fiberglass. Although the website is for aircraft fiberglass repair, some might work for boats and RV's too.

On our first 5er, I repaired a small de-laminated spot as you described, instead of props, I pulled the 5er up next to a tree, then used an old semi-trailer load lock to apply pressure to the exterior wall of the 5er.

In the past I used the side of a semi trailer... same concept with boards and wedges to apply pressure.  We also had some success using a commercial vacuum system to "Bag" the wall.  It applied enough vacuum to suck the wall in.  Only about 5-7 inches were needed.

[Danandfreda]

Thanks Jim it doesn’t look too bad to replace that small slide floor I was going to try and remove all the wood off of the white piece that you can see from the outside and re glue it on the new wood. I need to see what thickness the wood is. I have a planer if it’s an odd ball size

[MnP]

7 hours ago, Danandfreda said:

Thanks Jim it doesn’t look too bad to replace that small slide floor I was going to try and remove all the wood off of the white piece that you can see from the outside and re glue it on the new wood. I need to see what thickness the wood is. I have a planer if it’s an odd ball size

The white piece that you see is just a viral rap. I don’t think that you can re-use it.

[rynosback]

Why not replace the floors with plastic wood? Not sure if they make them is sheets or not.  But I would think this would solve the problem even is water gets in.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

10 hours ago, Danandfreda said:

Thanks Jim it doesn’t look too bad to replace that small slide floor I was going to try and remove all the wood off of the white piece that you can see from the outside and re glue it on the new wood. I need to see what thickness the wood is. I have a planer if it’s an odd ball size

On mine it was a piece of Formica type material.... Peeled off really easy and was glued onto the new piece.  Our was 1-1/2 thick.  You could use 3/4 and do a stagger joint if needed.  

 

8 minutes ago, rynosback said:

Why not replace the floors with plastic wood? Not sure if they make them is sheets or not.  But I would think this would solve the problem even is water gets in.

There is a product called Coosa Board http://www.coosacomposites.com/  That all the slide floors and side walls need to be made out of.  I used it for years in the marine industry for transoms, stringers, bulkheads etc.  It is the first true rot proof plywood replacement.  There is another product call Starboard- King Star, but nothing much likes to stick to it, and screws will strip out easily.

 

[Danandfreda]

If it’s 1 1/2 I can just glue and screw 2pieces of 3/4 and glue the white piece back on. Today’s not the day though it’s in mid 90’s with heat index near 110 with a lot of humidity