Trillium Leak

[Colleen C]

Hi,
This is my first post, but I've been an avid reader and have appreciated all the help, first with my Trails West Campster, and now with my '77 Trillium.

I bought my Trill 2 years ago, completely cleaned and sealed the exterior windows and belly band with ProFlex (thanks for the recommendation, all!), and now discovered water in the front right lazarette (? boat talk?), leading down to the space under the door. Can't find any leaks up front or around the windows. Any suggestions where else to look or how to find it?

Also wondering if anyone has thoughts on just running with a deep-cell battery with a charger and plugging in to keep it charged. The original inverter was inoperable and I took it out and temporarily covered the hole, but this has worked so far. Good or bad?

Thanks for the great information and sharing your experiences!

[Joe MacDonald]

Are you sure it's not collected condensation?
could it be from a roof vent leak? water will migrate a long way in these little trailers

Joe

[freddie b]

Colleen,
You can't properly seal windows with caulking. It may last for a while (2 years?) but it is definitely a short term solution. Since there is nothing else around there to leak except perhaps the marker light I'd bet on a window. Pull the ensolite back a bit from where it tucks in along under the window and feel if it is damp.

Actually another possibility just came to mind. On my Trillum there was a separation under the aluminum trim piece at the bottom of the door opening where the floor had come away from the outer shell. Water had seeped through there and rotted some of the inner plywood floor and probably leaked into the area underneath.

Good luck

[Colleen C]

Thanks, guys. I'm going to check all three and will let you know what I find.

[Larry C Hanson]

Hi Coleen,
Your idea of a deep cycle battery with a battery charger should work well.
I have done the same on my 1300 except I installed a simple power panel/
charger in the trailer. An external one should work fine. The battery on my
rig is a 12V Trojan SCS225. It has a large capacity and has served well for
the last 2 years. However, it cost about $160 as I recall.
Take Care, Larry H

[David Swinnard]

In my Trillium I found a small amount of water in the front area under the bench seat/bunk - turned out to be small perforations from rock hitting the front area (that supposedly had a "rock protection" coating on it). By checking carefully from the outside I found small cracks and starred areas that actually had very small holes to the inside.

I sealed them with a bit of epoxy putty ("waterproof") from the outside, and the inside where I could reach. Not leaking there now though a bit of touch-up paint might be appropriate.

[Roger C H]

Something nobody else wrote:

That spot is for the Porta-Potti. Could that have a leak?

[Colleen C]

Wow, thanks everyone!

Based on Joe's thoughts on perhaps a vent leak, I thought I'd go all the way and bought a new vent planning on replacing the original. When I got to it, I realized that the new standard vents are 14" diameter, and the original is just 9", so decided against that idea. I'm not ready to cut a hole in the roof when I'm trying to find a leak as it is. When I got to the top, it appears that a previous owner had a similar issue as there was a lot of some sort of white stuff slopped all around the vent. I cleaned and resealed all around the existing vent, and am going to give it a test dousing today.

In addition, I've now removed the top bunk from the wall (am going to re-upholster, anyway) and pulled away the ensolite and sure enough, the wood frame is dark with water, but not on that corner. I guess I'll take my first plunge in removing and re-sealing the window on this front window.

And Larry, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the battery. Where have you located yours? It appears to be inside ....

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Colleen C

When I got to the top, it appears that a previous owner had a similar issue as there was a lot of some sort of white stuff slopped all around the vent. I cleaned and resealed all around the existing vent, and am going to give it a test dousing today.

Vents, like windows, are best pulled and sealed between the body and frame... not on the outside.

[Larry C Hanson]

Originally Posted by Colleen C

Wow, thanks everyone!


And Larry, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the battery. Where have you located yours? It appears to be inside ....

Hi Colleen,

The battery is on the tongue next to the propane tank. The extra wires one it go to a Battery Tender I keep on when the trailer is not in use.
You will also note a large 80 amp fuse to protect the trailer wiring. A 40 would have been sufficient but the 80A was on hand so I used it.

Regarding the 'black wood'... I encountered the same when redoing my windows. I found that the wood was still OK... it was not rotted, just
discolored. I think the manufacturer used marine ply which can take water without delaminating. On my Trill it was not dry rotted so I did not
replace it. I did use the old carpenter's trick of using glue and match sticks in the screw holes before reinstalling the windows. This allows
using the same sized screws/screw heads which will not interfere with installing new black plastic u-channel over the screw heads.

Good Luck on your project, Larry H

[Colleen C]

Update: Drilled out the pop rivets on the roof vent, carefully removed all the white gunk slopped around. Decided to keep the original aluminum vent, cleaned it up with Xylene, polished with Mother's Aluminum Polish, replaced the screen, and it looks brand new! Butyl tape (thanks, Donna!), pop rivets again and it's just like new. Hosed it down, not a leak. Even it that hasn't taken care of my storage leak, I feel more confident that it's not going to leak for a while and the new screen will take care of those pests.

Now on to the front window.... (sigh....)....