External locker door ingress

I have found water along the wooden frame at the bottom inside the external locker door to the Thetford toilet cassette n our 2019 Nuevo. No obvious points of ingress so am wondering if it is condensation. The fabric covering the frame has started to peel back and the exposed wood is quite wet.

Has anyone had a similar problem? Or have any ideas on likely causes to check for?

Nieve wrote:I have found water along the wooden frame at the bottom inside the external locker door to the Thetford toilet cassette n our 2019 Nuevo. No obvious points of ingress so am wondering if it is condensation. The fabric covering the frame has started to peel back and the exposed wood is quite wet.

Has anyone had a similar problem? Or have any ideas on likely causes to check for?

Could you post a photograph of it.

Try this if you’re having trouble -

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t22401-posting-photos

Thanks Tinwheeler.

Really struggling with this. Am on an ipad not a desktop. Have also got caught up in servimg whatever that is. Any further help would be appreciated.

How annoying is that? Nothing had appeared when i posted the message to Tinwheeler

After some research have established that this is a Thetford Standard Door 3 and thanks to an exploded diagram on primaleisure.com the various sections involved; there is a gasket between the van wall and the door frame and i am wondering if rain is getting in through there. Everywhere inside the compartment seems dry except the strip of wood at the bottom. The rubber seal inside the door itself is dry and seems sound.

Nieve wrote:Thanks Tinwheeler.

Really struggling with this. Am on an ipad not a desktop. Have also got caught up in servimg whatever that is. Any further help would be appreciated.

You seem to have beaten it   

Servimg is the third party host site for posting pics here. It works well on an iPad and phone as you’ve discovered.

Thanks for the photo.  Mine is exactly the same and i think it needs some attention.

Interesting Caraman. I imagine if the wood rots, the door mount would be compromised. Have put a microfibre cloth in overnight and this morning it was wringing wet.

I have checked the screws in the surround and they all had some play in them; i tightened them a quarter turn or so but was worried about overtightening - not sure how much it woud take to damage the gasket.

Can anybody advise on how simple or not it would be to replace the gasket? It is available as a spare part for around £15 from the CAMC, among others.

Is the locker located as in pic below?

Peter - yes - same van, same locker, same position.  I would have thought its the same on all the A-S coachbuilts.

The top of the internal floor is just below the top of the external white skirt. I have a different type of toilet and it sits on the van floor, your images suggest that yours sites on some sort of wooden plinth?

I had a similar problem on my Warwick XL, see link here on how I fixed it, my original seal was intact but not sealing with the door closed.  AutoSleepers should be well aware of this common issue and do something about it.

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t41500-autosleeper-broadway-el-2008#376344

just had a look, looks like a plastic trim all the way round, does not feel like fabric, all sound

I would suggest close the toilet cassette door and pour water over the door with a watering can, then open the door and you will find the source of the leak. I’ve just spent two hours sorting ours out. The standard seal does nothing.

Monty-Plym wrote:I had a similar problem on my Warwick XL, see link here on how I fixed it, my original seal was intact but not sealing with the door closed.  AutoSleepers should be well aware of this common issue and do something about it.

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t41500-autosleeper-broadway-el-2008#376344

Many thanks, Monty-Plym. Very helpful. Did you put the seal all the way round the locker door? Cannot quite see from your pictures.
Nieve

Hi Nieve, yes I sealed all the way around with the join at the bottom.

Well I think I'm off to Screwfix to get some of this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/stormguard-jumbo-rubber-foam-weatherstrip-black-3m/903tf

and stick it around the inside edge of the door.  Hopefully this will stop the rain getting in and allow things to dry out.  Undecided on whether I should re-stick the gasket tape onto the wood or pull it off and replace with all-weather sealant.

PLOUGHLIN wrote:The section cut out of the van wall is used to infill the Thetford frame, in place with sealant. Could this sealant be the water ingress point?

https://nomadicleisure.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Thetford-Service-Doors-Installation-Manual.pdf

I don't think so.  It looks pretty sound to me.

For anyone contemplating adding a rubber seal to their Thetford cassette door, which I have just done, I recommend removing the door and taking it inside and then pulling off the existing rubber seal.  It's easier then to clean and dry everything and fit the additional rubber seal.  The existing rubber seal can then be refitted which was held in place with a little bit of sealant which is due course I might replace.  The additional rubber seal I used was 13mm thick and it was a bit of an effort to get the door to close the first time.  I think this will ease with time.  I hope it isn't over stressing the doors hinge.

The wooden plywood around the hole in the side of the van was covered in vinyl sticky tape which had long since passed its sell by date.  It was no longer sticking to anything, had curled up at the edges and had become delaminated, wet and dirty.  I pulled it out with a pair of long nose pliers.  We are not using the van for a couple of weeks so I have removed the cassette to improve airflow around the wood and having cleaned it  will wait for it to dry.  I will then cover the exposed wood with sealant which will fill the space around it.

Nieve wrote:After some research have established that this is a Thetford Standard Door 3 and thanks to an exploded diagram on primaleisure.com the various sections involved; there is a gasket between the van wall and the door frame and i am wondering if rain is getting in through there. Everywhere inside the compartment seems dry except the strip of wood at the bottom. The rubber seal inside the door itself is dry and seems sound.

I removed the screws hoping to remove the gasket but it was well stuck so I left it as it was and replaced the screws.  I don't think water is getting past the gasket but I might be wrong.  I have assumed the water it getting in past the rubber seal on the door which following advice from others I have augmented with a second seal.  Time will tell if this works.

The recessed door frame securing screws don't help matters with the seal so I applied a small amount of sanitary sealant to make them flush, as well as the additional seal.

Not entirely sure what you mean Monty Plym. Could you post a pic?