2010 Roadtrek 210 Popular A/C compartment leaks after rain

[Voz123]

my Roadtrek A/C compartment doesn’t drain properly after running A/C and heavy rains blowing in

 

[youngnretired]

How was your parking arrangement? We're you parked nose down and/or with the rear facing into the wind?

Do you have any additional details that you can add to help out?

 

[Voz123]

This has been ongoing since I bought it 10 years ago.
Yes the storm that hit was 60mph.
I have never been able to understand the design and how it allows water to drain

 

[Voz123]

This has been ongoing since I bought it 10 years ago.
Yes the storm that hit was 60mph.
I have never been able to understand the design and how it allows water to drain

Parking was on flat driveway

 

[booster]

There are a few places that can cause the leak. There should be a thin rubber gasket around the edge of the opening for the cover to seal to. The screws go into "well nuts" that should have sealer around them under the cover and sealer put on the screw threads when you put in the screws.

If the rain is getting in past the fins in the back for wind or whatever it may be getting into the air conditioner catch tray, which has a plastic drain tube the goes out of it and comes out under the van, probably, the right side rear pillar by the door hinge. They can often be plugged and need cleaning out.

Short term and for a test, you can just use something like Gorilla tape and put it over the cover edge and to the roof to seal it temporarily without removing the cover.

Where is the water coming out in the van? The tailights on 210s are also known to leak often.

 

[Voz123]

There are a few places that can cause the leak. There should be a thin rubber gasket around the edge of the opening for the cover to seal to. The screws go into "well nuts" that should have sealer around them under the cover and sealer put on the screw threads when you put in the screws.

If the rain is getting in past the fins in the back for wind or whatever it may be getting into the air conditioner catch tray, which has a plastic drain tube the goes out of it and comes out under the van, probably, the right side rear pillar by the door hinge. They can often be plugged and need cleaning out.

Short term and for a test, you can just use something like Gorilla tape and put it over the cover edge and to the roof to seal it temporarily without removing the cover.

Where is the water coming out in the van? The tailights on 210s are also known to leak often.

The water is draining and flowing /dripping along the top back doors and seeping along the inside edge above the back seat.

 

[Voz123]

I see the areas you refer to. The trim around the back entrance appears to be the drain ports. I might try to run a light flow from a garden hose to see if the ports are lined up properly. in the mean time I plan to take swimming pool noodles and cut them the length of the vents and insert them in the vents when not using A/C and heat. Some type of louver system should have been designed to address the problem.

 

[booster]

I see the areas you refer to. The trim around the back entrance appears to be the drain ports. I might try to run a light flow from a garden hose to see if the ports are lined up properly. in the mean time I plan to take swimming pool noodles and cut them the length of the vents and insert them in the vents when not using A/C and heat. Some type of louver system should have been designed to address the problem.

Yes, the interior of the cabinet should drain out the back, but it will only if the van it sitting nose up on many of the Roadtreks. This was mentioned by others earlier. The goal is to make sure the top of cover on the roof surface is not leaking into that area in any wet weather. I would check that area first with water to see if it leaks into the cabinet area and if it leaks either tape it off for temporary fix or take it off and fix replace the gasket and check for stripped screws. Be aware that some users have found the screws stuck in the nuts and the nuts spinning, requiring grinding out the the screw heads to get it apart.

I think you missed on the actual air conditioner tray drain, however, as that drains under the van from a long plastic tube connected to the condensate catch tray that is under the AC unit in the cabinet. You may be able to see that tube through the lower vents slots but also may not be able to see it with the cover on the van. You should be able to find the outlet of the tube, though, probably under the right rear corner of the van hanging just inside the fender bottom but up a bit so it doesn't show unless you are looking up in with flashlight. Blowing some air up it or putting some water in the tray if you can reach it will test if it is plugged, which is very common.

If you get big winds and rains, some sort of cover or plugging of the slots is certainly a good idea and may be a necessity.

Where do you see the water on the inside of the van?

 

[youngnretired]

Also the two outermost rear marker lights are installed where if any water gets past their seal, it goes into the passenger compartment, not the area where the AC unit is. Remove those lights and use butyl tape to reseal them. But you should try to test for where water comes in with a hose if you can first and fix one item and keep testing so you know for the future

 

[GallenH]

If water is running down the back of the van and seeping in around the rear doors you should definitely check the door gasket as well. We had that problem on our Dodge based PW and it completely stopped with a new seal. Water shouldn't come in there if you spray with a hose when you're washing the van.

 

[teslasmuse]

the RV dealership that I bought my 2011 210 Versatile from ended up drilling through my Cool-Cat A/C when they were installing the front and rear cameras (they had to replace the A/C) and it just started leaking several months later in the front and the back so I took it back to them last week and they removed the Fan-tastic fan and covered the roof in soap bubbles and then forced air through the Fan-tastic fan opening so it showed on the soap bubbles where the leaks were. thankfully they didn't charge me to resolve the issues