Water Leak, AC Leaking, and Bunk Breaking: Brand New

[jennytee]

Our brand new camper was delivered 10 days ago. This weekend it rained and water was coming in - running down the wall near the dinette window, into the OH storage, and under the storage seat. The AC leaked condensation on the mattress, and there was a stream of water running down the rear wall of the front storage compartment where the electric is housed. Lastly, the bunk that is supposed to hold 300# broke under the weight of a 15 year old who weighs 173#.

I called Camping World and tool the trailer over. I am at a loss as to what to think and how to proceed and have been hearing only nightmarish stories about CW.

Is the wood inside my camper wall ruined, so that even if the leaking is fixed, I still have a ruined camper?

What are my next steps and what recourse do I have?

ANY information/assistance is most greatly appreciated. We are disgusted and devastated.

[mobeewan]

The air conditioner is a window model in a cabinet which is inside the front bedroom and hangs over the bed. It is located in the left side wall over the bedroom window. There is a grill over on the outside wall opening. The a/c is mounted entirely inside the bedroom.

I suspect when setting up if you are not level from side to side with the left side high the a/c is only going to drain to the inside. That is why your bed probably got wet. Any rain comming down hard against the left side or wind-blown against the left side of the trailer is going to leak in.

I would advise when setting up in the future that you set the left side low at least a half a bubble out of level.

Water that you were talking about leaking down the rear wall of the front storage probably also came from the air conditioner since the front storage is under the bed.

If you keep the trailer I would recommend adding a water tight hatch cover outside hinged at the top where the a/c grill is located. I would remove the grill and mount the a/c on a sliding tray so that it could be pushed outside and locked in place when in use. The outside hatch would act as a rain cover for the a/c.

I plan on mounting an a/c in the side wall of a utility trailer to camper conversion in the same manner as opposed to mounting an a/c on the roof. I need as much of the roof as possible for 600 - 800 watts of solar.

[midnightsadie]

I think your up a creek without a paddle on a refund. ,, hope they fix things , right, take pics,, write down ALL the things wrong ,get it in writing what they,ll fix. and a time line. could do alot of it on-line that way you have a record. and talk to the builder.

[RoyB]

Sorry to hear you starting out having problems... Most everything I had was used stuff... My OFF-ROAD POPUP was bought new...

RV Trailers fall into the same category as boats with repairs however... Always something to fix...

Darn shame to start off doing this however...

I image most sales places would honor a 90-day return thing...

What part of the bed broke down with your boy... My beds are the pull out type and both ends has four support poles from the bed to the frame... Not famillar with your TT trailer at all... This may be one of those fold down to the outside type beds... I always wondered how the seal on those would hold up over time...

Not a fun way to start off with haha...

Roy Ken

[jennytee]

We definitely have leaking that is unrelated to the AC condensation leaking. We could drop the AC side of the camper a bit, but wondering if that will throw off the fridge working, as it seems to need to be completely level to chill...

I never thought about previous incidences of rain and leakage - it has been sitting on a sales lot, so...

What recourse do I have with trying to get my money back, or getting a new camper, if warranted? I do have a warranty, but this is all entirely new territory.

[RoyB]

Did you have two leaks or was all of this becuase of the air conditioner heavy condensation.

On really bad humid days my air coditoner did the same thing... Trailer are not sealed enough to prevent the condensation on very humid days/nights I guess...

My air conditioner was roof mounted and we always dropped the back side of the trailer a inch or so more so water would run off the back more verses dumping into the patio area...

I never got wall damage out of any of this however...

I would think POPUP type trailers would be more prone to heavy condensation that a TT trailer would be due to the POPUP trailer canvas walls...

Be interesting to hear what CW says about it...

Roy Ken

[Lynnmor]

Welcome from another PA camper.

Since it is an aluminum siding type of trailer, damage may not be as bad. Water in the walls of smooth side trailers can lead to delamination. My concern is that the trailer may have been in numerous rain events since it was built and leaks from that may have already caused damage or mold. Personally I would make a real effort to get my money back.

[jennytee]

It is a 2019 Coleman Lantern LT 17 FQ

I can't speak to the cause of the leak, but there was enough water running onto my floor that I needed to use towels to absorb it. I would say it was a good little stream - more than a trickle, not a torrent.

Yes, the AC is the window style.

[spoon059]

None of us can provide those answers without more information. Depending upon the severity of the leak and the duration of the leak your camper could be dried out and fixed or it could be ruined.

10 days from delivery you should be covered under warranty, unless they are able to show that you did some damage to the camper in those 10 days.

What make/model camper do you have? I'm confused how AC condensation leaked inside onto a mattress, unless its maybe a popup with a window style AC unit.