More used early 2018 Rockwood A213HW new owner questions

[ruggb]

There is some water rotted OSB floor (about 3'-4" wide and 3' long) from the front left side toward the back possibly caused by rain getting in thru the water heater access panel. I don't think the water heater is leaking since I just drained a lot of water out of it and have seen no leaks in the 3 weeks that I have had it. It may be possible it came from the pressure relief valve but I see no signs of that. The extent of the rot tells me it has been there a while. The lower part of the water heater shielding has some rust. The widest area is under the storage access door and over the beam just forward of the water heater. That corner of the water heater access feels like there is no sealer in it. So that may be where it drained onto the floor and ran to the front. There does not appear to be any other rot spots. The questions are:
1. How to prevent water incursion thru this access panel, or is it just seal it up and it runs out the access bottom?
2. How to patch/replace the rotted strip?

thanks

 

[TheLooks]

My guess is the access door is causing the rot underneath it. Either leaking around the trim or left open and water got down thru the inside.... Water heaters are put in with a foam or butyl tape and should be sealed on the tops and sides. The ring or frame that goes over them usually has a sealant on the bottom inside to allow the water to drain out the door. This may not always be obvious. Fixing this is time consuming at best. Nothing says they were done right at the factory.

 

[ruggb]

Thanks - I guess it can go either way not knowing the history. I will more closely examine the seal around the heater, when it stops raining. If it is good, then the "left open" thought is likely correct. Now I need to get some ideas about how to fix it b4 it just falls out.

 

[ruggb]

Well, FYI, the problem with the water heater side was that the frame wasn't sealed inside. So any water getting in, and you can't stop that, just drained out onto the wood.
The back part was mostly due to broken seals between the body and trim on the roof, around the lower rear and baggage doors.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Does it then appear this was a fault from the factory or something that developed over the past ~5 years?

 

[ruggb]

I have filled the void in the water heater opening and also taped the interfaces of the body & access doors and body & AL trim. As far as I can tell, the leaks have stopped. The water heater may, or may not have been a source. If it was, it was from FR mfg. The others were a result of failed sealing material on the body that likely occured after 2-3 years and been ongoing for 2-3 years based on the damage done.