By Dustin Simpson
The below question was posted in one of my many Facebook groups. This one was in Grand Design RV – In The RV Shop, where we have more than 53,000 members. Members post problems and the group members and I try to help each other out with problems, concerns, products, and upgrades.
One group member, Alan, asked this question:
“Any ideas where to start the investigation? 2022 Grand Design RV Solitude 380FL. Last night we noticed water collecting on the right side of the fridge on the flooring. The inside of the fridge is dry. There are no water lines running under the slide, nor is there water on the underbody of the fridge slide.
“We had been running the A/C. I was pretty aggressively washing dishes at the water bay last night. I pulled everything out of the front bay and inspected for water wicking from the under walls, but nothing—it was dry. It eventually went away inside, as I checked before bedtime and nothing.
“This morning, we found more water pooling in front of the fridge. No A/C, but I am noticing runoff outside on the gutters and roof. I will inspect the roof, back of the fridge, pull the walls down in the front bay at the Nautilus system. Wondering if the seals around the slide are allowing moisture to wick inside? Didn’t notice anything like this during the rainy season just a few months ago, though.”
What’s the problem and where’s the water coming from?
Working with Alan, the RV owner, and others online, we traced the problem back to the rear refrigerator drip tray. It was being overfilled beyond the drip tray and leaking into the back side of the rear refrigerator access and leaking into the inside of the RV on the floor.
Fridge drip tray findings
During the inspection, the owner was advised to check the refrigerator’s back side, and he confirmed the fridge drip tray was full, as seen in this picture.
The water was leaking and coming underneath the refrigerator, getting into the inside of the RV and running onto the floor. Lucky for the owners this presented itself, because in the past, we have seen a number of different refrigerator leaks that have caused damage to slide out floors and cabinet supports, which over time caused major damage and additional issues.
My recommendations
To help people in high-humidity areas, if you own a Norcold refrigerator and are having this issue, here is one of my recommendations: You can either extend the drain line to drain outside the vent door, or you can drill a small hole and extend the drain hose through the floor and have it drain outside.
Here are some example pictures.
Here is a link for the drain hose and union:
- Norcold Drain Hose Assembly
- Plastic Hose Barb Fitting 1/4″ x 1/4″ pipe
More about groups
These Facebook groups were created to help educate owners about parts, problems, repairs, fixes, and upgrades on RV units. We will be sharing videos that include WHAT’S IN THE SHOP? and SHOP TALK episodes with information on accessories and products that we use and install on the units from the shop.
We try and help, as time allows, to answer questions and problems. We encourage others to share their experience so we can build a resource page to help everyone.
Please follow us on YouTube, see our published articles on RVtravel.com and other social media pages.
Please feel free to share your stories, problems, and upgrades with us so we can build a resource page to help others.
Thank you,
Dustin
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