In anticipation of finally getting on the road, we washed our 5th wheel Sunday.While up on the roof I noticed 2 small tears in the rubber roof.Monday morning we had the service center that has been working on our hydraulic problems take a look.They found several areas of rotten wood, not around the ripped areas, but spread all over the roof.When the rubber roof was pulled back, it was covered with black mold under the felt and under the rotten wood.It was rotting from the inside out!No water damage from the outside, it was all coming from condensation from the inside.
So we are now getting a new roof.Have gotten a dehumidifier and just glad we found it while we were still here and not down the road some place unfamiliar. Peninsula RV here in Sequim has been so good to us.They are letting us stay in the RV, in the shed while all of the work is being done.
Bottom line….USE YOUR EXHAUST FANS
Terry and Jo said
08:48 PM Feb 28, 2013
Just as a cautionary note, some coaches have both the roof mounted fans that open and vent air to the outside and a vent fan just in the bathroom that "vents" what I would say would be "odors." That single, small vent fan will exhaust into the ceiling area of the coach instead of outside. With that in mind, do not use that small vent fan when taking a shower. It will simply suck that moist air up into the ceiling area. Use the larger vent fan that opens to the outside for discharging moist air if it is needed.
Jo and I never use that small exhaust fan. Even if we are venting "odors," we use the larger fan that vents outside.
Terry
Ann-Hank said
12:44 AM Mar 1, 2013
Good to know Terry. I asked the worker that is doing our roof and was told it is boxed and vented outside, but he may have ment the big fan. They are too busy right now to be bothered by me asking questions, so after the workers leave tonight I will take a look at how ours is vented since we have no roof right now and it will be easy to see. Thanks Ann
Ann-Hank said
03:22 AM Mar 1, 2013
Terry, you are absolutely right. Bob, the worker was looking at the big fan, he checked it later this afternoon and was stunned that the vent was not vented. They are going to redo it and it will now be vented outside.
Hank asked how you learned that this was an issue.
Thanks again for the heads up. Ann
Terry and Jo said
05:48 AM Mar 1, 2013
Ann,
I learned of the issue from some other RV'ers. Fortunately, I didn't have to learn the downside of that little vent on my own, but learned it from others. I have had the pleasure of being involved with three different RV forums, two of which are primarily for the DRV Suites models and then this forum here.
I have been on some of the other forums, Escapees, for one, but I've found those to be a bit more harsh in the treatment one can get. Also, because of those two forums being prety specific to DRV's, when a problem shows up in one couple's coach, it tends to get mentioned, thus we all learn from any issues that one or two owners have.
This is why I tell folks to register, read, and ask questions on any owner's forums that can be found for the brand of RV that they want to learn more about. Some items on one brand may be located in different places than in others. For instance, DRV Suites models all have very similar water manifolds. When I was looking at the Trilogy models some time back, I found that the one model that had a water manifold had one that wasn't as nice as the DRV's type, and that the second model of Trilogy didn't even have a water manifold at all.
Terry
Dave Buck said
02:32 AM Mar 2, 2013
So Terry what you are saying is to not use the small exhaust fan that has a wall switch when using the shower? I just assumed that it vented to the roof. My wife cannot reach the larger roof fan to open it and turn it on. Is there some solution for this?
Terry and Jo said
03:15 AM Mar 2, 2013
Dave and Marge,
Our situation can likely be different than that of others. Being in Oklahoma and during a drought period (at least up until the latest snow storm), we are actually in a circumstance of having low humidity, thus we tend to "spark" a bit more. So, lately, we have been leaving the bathroom door open (side bathroom) when we take a shower so that it helps to "humidify" the interior of the coach.
Prior to that, since Jo always takes her showers in the morning, after I "used" the restroom in the morning, I would open and turn on the large fan that does vent to the outside. Jo is also pretty short, so she can "barely" reach the controls. Because she is short, we keep a folding step stool that folds flat in the linen closet in the bathroom. She uses that to reach some of the cabinets in the coach and can easily reach it in the linen closet to operate the fan herself, should she need to turn it on or off herself.
Here are pictures of Jo's single step folding stool. We got ours at an RV dealer, but I imagine they can be found almost anywhere.
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:30:10 AM
Terry and Jo said
11:31 AM Mar 2, 2013
The switch on the large fan in the bathroom of the DRV products is one that allows variable speeds for the fan. Also, the knob with which one raises the cover over the fan is not electrically operated. It requires manual opening of the cover.
Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:51:50 AM
WestWardHo said
04:03 PM Mar 2, 2013
Ann & Hank,
Sounds like you're having some expensive challenges to getting on the road as we are. Hopefully soon we'll be meeting up and laughing about it (and eating hot sauce!).
Sherry
Dave Buck said
05:40 PM Mar 2, 2013
Thanks Terry, I was wondering if there was some easy to vent the other fan outside to the roof. We have a stool that we keep in the kitchen are so my wife can reach some of the cabinets. I guess one could replace the large fan with one that has a remote. That might be an expensive option.
Lucky Mike said
05:55 PM Mar 2, 2013
you could extend the wires and fish them down the interior wall and move the switch.......its not as hard as it looks, the interior walls are hollow core ......
MarkS said
08:20 PM Mar 2, 2013
Well we'll just have to come up with a compatible switch and an actuator retrofit for thr cover!
In anticipation of finally getting on the road, we washed our 5th wheel Sunday. While up on the roof I noticed 2 small tears in the rubber roof. Monday morning we had the service center that has been working on our hydraulic problems take a look. They found several areas of rotten wood, not around the ripped areas, but spread all over the roof. When the rubber roof was pulled back, it was covered with black mold under the felt and under the rotten wood. It was rotting from the inside out! No water damage from the outside, it was all coming from condensation from the inside.
So we are now getting a new roof. Have gotten a dehumidifier and just glad we found it while we were still here and not down the road some place unfamiliar. Peninsula RV here in Sequim has been so good to us. They are letting us stay in the RV, in the shed while all of the work is being done.
Bottom line….USE YOUR EXHAUST FANS
Just as a cautionary note, some coaches have both the roof mounted fans that open and vent air to the outside and a vent fan just in the bathroom that "vents" what I would say would be "odors." That single, small vent fan will exhaust into the ceiling area of the coach instead of outside. With that in mind, do not use that small vent fan when taking a shower. It will simply suck that moist air up into the ceiling area. Use the larger vent fan that opens to the outside for discharging moist air if it is needed.
Jo and I never use that small exhaust fan. Even if we are venting "odors," we use the larger fan that vents outside.
Terry
Thanks
Ann
Hank asked how you learned that this was an issue.
Thanks again for the heads up.
Ann
Ann,
I learned of the issue from some other RV'ers. Fortunately, I didn't have to learn the downside of that little vent on my own, but learned it from others. I have had the pleasure of being involved with three different RV forums, two of which are primarily for the DRV Suites models and then this forum here.
I have been on some of the other forums, Escapees, for one, but I've found those to be a bit more harsh in the treatment one can get. Also, because of those two forums being prety specific to DRV's, when a problem shows up in one couple's coach, it tends to get mentioned, thus we all learn from any issues that one or two owners have.
This is why I tell folks to register, read, and ask questions on any owner's forums that can be found for the brand of RV that they want to learn more about. Some items on one brand may be located in different places than in others. For instance, DRV Suites models all have very similar water manifolds. When I was looking at the Trilogy models some time back, I found that the one model that had a water manifold had one that wasn't as nice as the DRV's type, and that the second model of Trilogy didn't even have a water manifold at all.
Terry
Dave and Marge,
Our situation can likely be different than that of others. Being in Oklahoma and during a drought period (at least up until the latest snow storm), we are actually in a circumstance of having low humidity, thus we tend to "spark" a bit more. So, lately, we have been leaving the bathroom door open (side bathroom) when we take a shower so that it helps to "humidify" the interior of the coach.
Prior to that, since Jo always takes her showers in the morning, after I "used" the restroom in the morning, I would open and turn on the large fan that does vent to the outside. Jo is also pretty short, so she can "barely" reach the controls. Because she is short, we keep a folding step stool that folds flat in the linen closet in the bathroom. She uses that to reach some of the cabinets in the coach and can easily reach it in the linen closet to operate the fan herself, should she need to turn it on or off herself.
Here are pictures of Jo's single step folding stool. We got ours at an RV dealer, but I imagine they can be found almost anywhere.
Terry
Here is one wireless solution. Www.lightningswitch.com
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:30:10 AM
The switch on the large fan in the bathroom of the DRV products is one that allows variable speeds for the fan. Also, the knob with which one raises the cover over the fan is not electrically operated. It requires manual opening of the cover.
Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:51:50 AM
Ann & Hank,
Sounds like you're having some expensive challenges to getting on the road as we are. Hopefully soon we'll be meeting up and laughing about it (and eating hot sauce!).
Sherry