By Russ and Tiña De Maris
It’s a bit disconcerting: You have the RV out for a trip, and you notice water dripping. Dripping down the side of the rig. There’s not a cloud in the sky, but water is flowing away merrily. Or it could even be worse. You flip on the air conditioner for a hot day, and after a short while, what happens? A nasty drip, drip, drip of water falls from your air conditioning unit. It drips—onto the floor—INSIDE your RV!
What’s going on? In one instance, it’s nothing unusual. Not a thing to be worried about. In the latter, a normal thing, but happening in a place where it ought not. The water you see streaming down the side of your rig (or off your awning) is simply a byproduct of the weather. Condensation.
Where the drips should be…
When you fire up your RV air conditioner, it pulls humidity out of the inside air and pumps it outside. The higher the humidity, the greater the amount of water produced. Typically, the “condensate” drips into a pan in the base of the air conditioning unit. That drip pan has small holes that allow the water to harmlessly drip out on the roof. If the weather is hot enough, and there’s not much condensate, it may evaporate immediately. If not, then it will likely run down the roof and down the side of your rig.
… and where they shouldn’t!
But when there’s not a cloud in the sky and you see water dripping into your RV—look out. The chances are good that it’s still the air conditioner producing condensation. Unfortunately, the condensation isn’t making its way harmlessly onto your roof. What’s likely is that dirt, leaves, or other junk has gotten into your A/C unit and blocked the drain holes in the bottom of the pan.
A/C mounting bolts that need adjustment could contribute to this problem, but you’ll know that if the A/C unit drips when it’s raining. If the water level gets too deep, it runs up and over the lip of the pan and makes its way into your RV. Left unchecked, it can be worse than a nuisance—it can actually damage your rig.
And as to those four mounting bolts that “saddle” your A/C unit to the RV roof? If you get drips when it’s raining outside, that’s the first place to look. These bolts may need an adjustment, and in RARE circumstances, you might even need to replace the A/C-to-roof gasket. If you’re concerned that your bolts aren’t in adjustment, you’ll need to look for the specifications in your A/C manual. The A/C installation manual will spell out the proper specs. DON’T over-tighten those bolts, or you could run into more trouble!
An easy fix for water dripping into your RV
The fix is easy. Turn off the air conditioner unit. For safety’s sake, disconnect the power to the RV. Carefully access the roof and remove the shroud covering your A/C unit. Typically, a few screws or nuts hold it in place. Carefully lift the shroud and set it aside.
Look closely at the pan at the bottom of the unit. Remove any debris that blocks the drain pan. With the holes uncovered, your inside “rain showers” should be a thing of the past. Pop the shroud back on and make sure all the mounting hardware gets back in place and you’re good to go—driplessly!
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RVT1260
In addition to proper roof A/C maintenance, the part about leveling an RV is a half-truth. You want to be very close to level (certainly for an absorption refrigerator and to avoid frame twist) , but not quite perfect. Ideally you will be less than one degree off-level in both side to side and front to back. Most folks want the low corner at the back on the utility hook-up side of the RV. This helps the AC condensation to cross the roof to that corner.
Had a defective A/C replaced under warranty. The installer however did NOT position the condensation hose to the outside of the unit. 1st time I turned it on, water came running our each A/C vent in the RV. It was an easy fix but should never have happened.