Advise on wet floor problem solving

[OregonCori]

I bought an '85 Scamp a couple weeks ago. After taking it out this weekend I had a bad feeling about the wood floor that had been installed over the old carpet when a lot of water seemed to disappear at the step up to the dinette. So when I got home I pulled it all out to investigate. It's wet, and much wetter in the back than I anticipated. I may have a leak somewhere? There's a little bit of mold. The floor was going to be the last thing I did, looks like now it will be the first! But I'm worried about the subfloor. Thoughts? Advise on getting the carpet foam off?

[David B.]

Bummer Cori. I would just use a large scraper to remove the foam. Home Depot has some for removing flooring, but for such a small area, I wouldn't pay for such a tool, but perhaps they would rent one to you. The leak may be coming from the spare tire mounting rods, or the rear window, or even the water line from the fresh water tank to the sink.
Good luck with your new project.
Dave & Paula

[OregonCori]

Thanks!
Pretty sure it's not the water tank, as that has been totally empty and this is all freshly wet! I don't even own a hook-up hose yet so I don't think it's the plumbing. We have has A LOT of rain here in Oregon this spring, even more than our usual!!!
What do I use to seal the bolt holes? How do I go about re-sealing the window?
The wood isn't soft, so I think I can sand it and seal it and put in something new.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by OregonCori

Thanks!
Pretty sure it's not the water tank, as that has been totally empty and this is all freshly wet! I don't even own a hook-up hose yet so I don't think it's the plumbing. We have has A LOT of rain here in Oregon this spring, even more than our usual!!!
What do I use to seal the bolt holes? How do I go about re-sealing the window?
The wood isn't soft, so I think I can sand it and seal it and put in something new.

Bummer Cori. Not sure which/what bolts you're talking about. To reseal the windows they need to be pulled out, mating surfaces cleaned up and new butyl tape applied. Tighten the frame down in three or four passes. From just holding to fairly tight. The steps gives the tape time to do it's oozing thing, warm temps help. Any excess can be trimmed off with and old credit card or something like that. If the floor isn't soft, that tells me your leak is new. I'd just let the floor dry out for now, no sense in replacing/covering it till the water issue is solved. BTW, a floating flooring installed over the carpet isn't a good idea, too much flex.
Leaks can be very hard to find. As you live in an area that gets a lot of rain, might try a driveway camp out during the next good rain. The door, refer, windows and vents. From what you say I'd rule out the plumbing...at least till you use it . Ley us know what you find.
FWIW, I used to park all my stick rigs with 2x8s only under one side so any water ran off and didn't pool up. Only had one leak and that was while out camping and was able to repair it before any damage was done.

[Jon in AZ]

Possible culprits in the dinette area include the rear window (is yours solid plexiglass or a slider?), the spare tire mounting bolts, the holes for the taillight wires, and roof vent. Side windows and fittings could also be culprits along with any overhead cabinets riveted to the shell (less likely).

It would be good to have a dry place to store and work temporarily. Is there a possibility of putting it under one of those temporary carports?

Get it dried out, get all the carpet off (scraper is good), and then start testing from the bottom up. Run a garden hose on a taillight and look for wetness inside. Because of the wall covering it may take a while to appear and it will probably come out at floor level. Then the other taillight. Then try the spare tire bolts, and so on all the way to the top vent. Easier with two people- one outside with the hose and one inside. Once you find the culprit, we can discuss sealing.

One easy check before you start the hard stuff is to make sure the drain slots in the lower outside frame of all the slider windows are not plugged up.

What am I looking at in your second picture?

[OregonCori]

The second picture is the threshold, just some wet extra pieces that were under the wood by the door. The floor under those wasn't very wet.
My rear window is solid plexi, same with my front. I have two small side windows that slide. I don't see any screws or anything in the front and back windows, just rubber. The side windows are riveted on.
No overhead cabinets in this area.

I might be able to use my parents carport...
I've been running a little heater in it and it's drying out easily. Hopefully I can do some test attempts soon.

[OregonCori]

I'm thinking it's the rear window.

[Jon in AZ]

Do a Google site search on "replace plexiglass window." There are some good how-to threads and links to suppliers for the gasket. Take a good look at the window. If it's scratched or foggy, this would be the time to replace it, too. You can buy the plexiglass at any big box home supply store and cut it to fit using the old window as a template. Here's one:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...amp-37263.html
One trick I didn't see mentioned is to cut the gasket a bit long so you don't end up with a gap at the bottom.

Alternatively, an auto glass shop should be able to do it for you- for a price, of course.

[OregonCori]

I was looking into getting a sliding window for my back window, but Scamp said they don't make them anymore. Lucky for me, my best friend works for Tap Plastics and is going to help me with replacing the solid Plexi, so that will be nice! I've decided to replace the front and back, and over the summer replace and seal all the rivets and put on new snap caps.

But first that rear window and I plan on sealing up and replacing everything on the rear end. I had moss growing in one of my tail lights!!!

I would love a lead on ordering the rubber gasket for the windows. Do you seal the gasket at all after installing it?
Thanks!

-Cori